Abhijit Naskar's Blog - Posts Tagged "love-and-kindness"

Today, religion gets beaten up in the world of rational thinkers because of what it has become. Religion has become a matter of blind faith upon doctrines, without the slightest bit of rational intervention. And that, my friend, is called religious orthodoxy, which, though being related to the term "religion", has, in reality, nothing to do with true religion. The religion that I advocate, and so did the mortal humans known as Jesus, Buddha and Nanak, is the religion of love, compassion and self-realization. I don't want to take away anybody's religion, but simply to make them see what religion really means.

You need to find the highest form of divinity within yourself, not in any book, creed or institution. That is the true essence of religion, which, unfortunately, we see nowhere in today's world. And from this standpoint of true religion, the atheists are a billion times more religious than all the blind "orthodogs". Religion, in the world of thinking humans should be compatible with reasoning and progress. Any religion that impedes in the progress and rational thinking of the human society, is no religion at all.

"Progress" sounds like a fascinating word to be proud of, yet it comes at a price. A price that most of the human society is often unwilling to pay. It is the price of all bigotry, prejudices and barbarian practices. Without sacrificing these primitive tenets of human character, there cannot be any true progress or any true religion. True progress begins with the recognition of your innate evil. Only after recognizing those evil elements of your mind, you can take action towards having a healthy conscientious control over them. It is this control that distinguishes a civilized human, from the primitive cave-people.

As I have said in my book We Are All Black: A Treatise on Racism

"Good and evil are both fundamental features of the human mind."

In a civilized human the good outweighs the evil, whereas in a primitive human, the evil outweighs the good. And one of the most disgraceful and evil tenets of the human mind is today's so-called religion - i.e. religious orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is the biggest obstacle in the path of peace, progress and wellbeing of the society. Take away religious orthodoxy and all the violence in the name of religion and God shall disappear for good. In the face of rigorous rational arguments, any man or woman who, out of blind faith, consistently keeps saying, his or her dear scripture has all the answers in the universe, is either suffering from delusional disorder or simply an idiot. A creature that does not have the basic mental faculty of reasoning, is not worth the title "human".

Here one may confuse orthodoxy with traditions. So, I must make it clear, that you should not confuse traditions with orthodoxy. Traditions can be both healthy and harmful. By choosing not to eliminate the traditions that over time tend to become a harmful impediment in the path of progress, one leans towards orthodoxy, that ultimately drives a people back to the stone-age. Various traditions of various cultures throughout the world make the human species filled with colors. But these traditions must keep evolving through adoption of new practices and elimination of the useless ones, based on the needs of the time. Either one evolves or gets extinct - this is the principal law of Mother Nature.

So, here one may wonder, how can we eliminate the evil tradition of religious orthodoxy, and turn religion into a progressive endeavor of the progressive society! It will not happen by engaging yourself in a worthless debate with the intellectual idiots of religious orthodoxy, as you may think. Because those idiots do not have the cognitive capacity to recognize any rational argument against their dear doctrines. The real answer lies in you - or to be specific, your children. The transformation from a primitive, orthodox society into a real civilized society, can only begin with your children. This means, that your children shall determine the fate of the human society. They shall determine whether religious orthodoxy will keep on prevailing throughout the world, or conscience triumphs over all evil. Hence, it is in your hands, to shape their minds to become real civilized humans of a progressive, loving and conscientious world. Teach your children - "there is no religion better than love, no color better than the color of happiness and no language better than the language of compassion" (quote from my memoir Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost). Once you do that, rest assured, the world will become free from all sorts of prejudices.

Orthodoxy, bigotry, prejudices - these primitive traits only lead to chaos and destruction of all humanity. Hence, it is your existential responsibility to raise your child as a human being above everything else - catholic, muslim, jew, asian, caucasian or whatever. These human beings shall determine the fate of humanity. Remember, orthodoxy has no place in a world of civilized humans. We are not medieval monsters any more, we are civilized beings, and as such our most priced possession is our rational thinking, not mindless orthodoxy.

No tradition is greater than the mental and physical progress of the human society. However, traditions do indeed add value to the survival of a culture, but they must be scrutinize by each generation of that culture in order to get rid of the useless and harmful elements. Traditions that advocate bigotry, misogyny, racism, and fundamentalism, must be thrown away at ones by the responsible, civilized and conscientious beings of a culture. Then only they shall be qualified to be deemed as humans. Remember, no being is a human unless it elicits a character of courage, conscience, compassion and reasoning.

Further Reading
Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
The Education Decree
We Are All Black: A Treatise on Racism

What is a Christian Life? What is it to be a Christian? You think you already know the answer, I am quite aware of it. But, for the time being, allow me to tell you, that being Christian is not what most so-called Christians think it to be. Most so-called Christians would most gloriously think of Christianity to be a matter of undivided loyalty to the figure known as Jesus. But that’s precisely what being Christian is not, and in fact, that’s precious what being religious is not. What is it to be a Christian, one wonders?

We may begin our investigation here, but only if you are willing to take off all labels. Are you? Good, let’s begin shall we! The first thing we need to be aware of here is that, all of Christ’s philosophical ideas and teachings can be compressed into one simple phrase – “Love thy neighbor”. It elucidates the innate kindness of human heart in the simplest manner. So, being Christian is simply about being kind, being loving, being compassionate – that’s all. And in fact, that’s what being religious is about – it’s about loving your fellow being. One doesn’t even need to call himself or herself as a Christian or even religious for that matter, to be a Christian. A Hindu can be Christian – a Muslim can be Christian – a Buddhist can be Christian – an atheist can be Christian, as long as that person practises love and kindness in everyday living.

A true human being with love and kindness in his or heart, would automatically be a Christian, whether he or she actually calls himself or herself as such, because that’s what Christ was – a true human being, with a gloriously kind heart. Basically, you don’t need to be born in a Christian family to be a Christian. Practise love – practise kindness, as you walk through your day, and you would automatically be walking on the path laid by Christ himself, regardless of whether you are announcing most boastfully that you are a Christian. Any human who practices love and kindness is a Christian. So, it is only the true human being who is qualified to be hailed as a Christian, not the person who utters countless phrases from the Bible all the time, yet does not show a sign of graceful kindness in his or her actions towards others.

Christ was a being of glorious character, who wanted to reinstall the forgotten humanity in the heart of humanity, hence he gave his life teaching humanity the lessons of non-differentiation – the lessons of love – the lessons of true humanity, yet his name has been disgraced by many of his own followers with acts of sectarianism and bigotry. Mind you my dear sibling, sectarianism is no christian act, neither is bigotry and extremism. The whole world is filled with countless creatures who call themselves Christians, yet I see very little, or alas, no trace of true Christianity in them. Be the Christian whose heart aches at the sight of
others’ pain – be the Christian whose acts shine with vivacious kindness and glory – be the Christian whose very life becomes an embodiment of true Christianity – an embodiment of Christ himself. Be a living Christ on earth, then and then only shall you be a real Christian.

Remember, Christ and Christianity are not separate – they are one and the same thing. Christ is a being of pure kindness, and so is Christianity. Hence, forget all rules and regulations of the so-called modern society and be the being of kindness – be the being of compassion – be the being of conscience, for that being is the only real Christian on earth, all others are mere mockery of Christian existence. A true Christian life is a life lived for others, beyond the barriers of words, labels and terms. And indeed a life lived for others, is a true religious life. In the end, to the real Christian, the term “Christian” becomes irrelevant, and what matters to him or her the most, is pure conscientious act of kindness. This pure kindness does not need a label of organized religion to exist, in fact in its purest form it is devoid of all labels, yet you can find traces of it in all organized religions.



Recommended Reading
Neurons of Jesus: Mind of A Teacher, Spouse & Thinker

Ours is either aşkistan,
Land of love founded on amity,
Or it is an archaic junglistan,
Run by contagious self-centricity.
What is civilized is also unselfish,
For selfishness makes the animal,
Across the self there is humanity,
What is unselfish is also accountable.
Technology may bring comfort,
But it doesn't ensure ascension,
When comfort belongs to the privileged,
Such progress is mere descension.
Over 3 billion years have gone in selfishness,
It's time to unself our soul and rise as sapiens.

I am but a simple sufi,
What'll I do with applause!
If you want to give something,
Lend a corner in the heart of yours.
I am but a fumbling fakir,
What'll I do with all the gold!
Only with the touch of a kind heart,
We shall bring prosperity in our world.
I am but an ignorant dervish,
I don't know much ayat and psalm.
All I know is, love is the breath of life,
Without it, all progress is harm.
Rituals and intellect all will perish,
What will live on is the heart humanish.

This is what care looks like,
Pure and chaste loving without reward.
This is what conscience looks like,
Strong and just reasoning with warmth.
This is what nobility looks like,
Humble and kind correcting one's error.
This is what courage looks like,
Firm and unbending walking across fear.
This is what sentience looks like,
Awake and upright marching with resolve.
This is what character looks like,
Messy and flawed but not afraid to evolve.
Each human is a reflection of all humanity.
Individual action determines collective destiny.

Love is in everybody,
Not everybody is in love.
Power is in everybody,
Not everybody can power-up.
Everybody loves beautiful clothes,
Few care for heart's beauty.
Everybody is obsessed with liberty,
Few can bear the responsibility.
Everybody lives amidst the collective,
Only few practice collectivism.
Everybody talks about the world,
Not everybody has the world in them.
Poor is not the one whose pocket is empty,
But the one whose heart lacks comity.

Hudson, Thames, Nile and Sindhu,
All are now red with the blood of the innocent.
Who is to blame for such catastrophe,
Everybody who accepts arms race as upliftment.
Suited savages have seduced them to believe,
That bigger the military greater the pride.
It’s necessary for politicians to sell nationalism,
Or else their loyal subjects will all get untied.
Acts of national security only breed insecurity,
Which forces people to seek comfort in weapons.
True, lasting stability and serenity of a nation,
Comes only from a universal desire for union.
Let the politicians sell war in the name of peace.
Why must the citizens buy it like rats chasing cheese!

The day human and love are the same thing,
The day human and harmony are the same thing,
The day human and inclusion are the same thing,
The day human and acceptance are the same thing,
The day human and reason are the same thing,
The day human and emotion are the same thing,
The day human and duty are the same thing,
The day human and dignity are the same thing,
The day human and persistence are the same thing,
The day human and perseverance are the same thing,
The day human and resilience are the same thing,
The day human and character are the same thing,
The day self and society are the same thing,
That day each of us will be a human being.

To live even for a single day,
In the full light of oneness.
To walk even for a single day,
In the full might of kindness.
To talk even for a single day,
In the full sight of humility.
To breathe even for a single day,
In the full height of amity.
To smile even for a single day,
Without a trace of hidden deceit.
To love even for a single day,
As an undeterred force of uplift.
Isn't that the highest sanity?
Isn't that the highest humanity?

If a tradition endorses hate and mistrust,
It’s the tradition that we must reject not people.
If a heritage endorses division and discrimination,
It's the heritage that we must reject not people.
If an ancestor passes on bigotry and barbarism,
It’s the ancestor that we must reject not people.
If a bible teaches phobia and separatism,
It’s the bible that we must reject not people.
If a messiah preaches blindness and conspiracy,
It's the messiah that we must reject not people.
If God commands oppression and occupation,
It’s the God that we must reject not people.
Above all commandment, love is the highest truth.
Anything that divides love is a stoneage residue.