The caption of the article is the satirical quote of some philosopher, whose name now slipped off from my memory. An another interesting quote of someone, worth quoting is as ,“by the dark of the midnight, an atheist becomes half theist.” This simply indicates the dialectics between “Atheist” and “theist.” Although every one is at liberty to observe and follow his chosen faith or to disown any kind of faith, that is quite a personal matter. But it’s a fact, every person is counted as a “unit” of the society , he lives in. Likewise, he delivers an impact on people coming into his contact. May that impact be less or more in degrees, is another issue. “Theism” and “Atheism” are the two facets of the same coin. Every person defines the theism and atheism in accordance with his own conviction. But everyone prefers the definition which appeases him best.
The common precepts
The common perception of being a theist is, to believe in the existence of the god as some supernatural, almighty entity. In pursuance of existence of that mystical entity, he observes the religious precepts in diurnal life, saturated with ethics. Atheist, on the other hand denies the existence of the god as such, and is a “self opinionated”. To him every incident occurs in pursuance of some settled principles or laws of science. In his opinion, every thing is an outcome of some scientific process, in accord with nature.
Atheists have so far been present in every epoch. They been so determined to their cause, so that, they never hesitated an atom to pay the biggest price for their conviction. The horrifying instances, we found in the religious history of middle age of England. There a good number of atheist refuted to acknowledge the existence of Jesus Christ, and fell prey to the wrath of the Church. They were put in the fire alive, and given a choice. If, they recognize the identity of Christ, they might be granted to come back to the normal life. But, they were so “self Opinionated” and determined to their cause, that they preferred to die an infernal death.
Every atheist is bound to combat with a” genetic problem,” and this problem comes in the category of “hazardous.” The genetic problem is social by nature. That in the sense, up to the age of attaining puberty or teen age every one as a young member of the family is bound to observe and follow the rites and religious norms of the family. After attaining that age, his/her mind begins to analyse the issue of atheism and theism with perspicacity. This process gradually transforms him into an atheist, from the born theist. Further more, still he is the part of the same family, in which rest of the members still are staunch theist. Simply he finds himself off the track.
It is assumed , still atheists are not born in mass as a generation; meant the children of atheist born not as an atheist. As a principle, this is not on record.
Atheism as a tool in Communist system
Now, we divert to the another example, that lies between atheist and theist, but considered as the supposed befitting example of atheism. I am talking of Communist countries, who rejects the religion all to gather. They follow the principle, religion as an opium to the society. In Communist China, no sooner you submit yourself to the membership of the Communist party, you are bound to solemnly renounce your religion. Now you bow to adhere to your renunciation, whole through your life.
Here a person is compelled to forgo his “faith.” In fact your faith or trust is made to divert, in shape of the commitment to the Communist party. Once you are “party centered,” naturally you are ” Nation centered.” Your religion is now “Nationalism” as such. This inclination to love one’s motherland, can not be defined as “Atheism” in natural process, it’s a forced one. Though here it’s not clear, priority is to Party first or something else. On the same, love for Motherland is the great concept. Concept of Motherland, contains everything in herself. There goes a proverb in Hindus’ scripture, “The Mother and the Motherland is greater than the heaven.” This is the basic concept, where your faith is solely focused on your Motherland now.
Religion, deep rooted everywhere
Interestingly, in China one third of its population follow the Buddhism, another one third follow the Taoism and rest follow the Confucianism. Now again back to the party members, who denounced the religion. If you visit secretly, the houses of such communists, and on taking families into confidence. An astonishing fact emerges up, still miniature icons of religious deities are kept safely at some niche, clandestinely by family members. On routine, from time to time, they worship them and pray before them secretly.
The same clandestine practice got followed, in European Communistic countries like Russia. There in the erstwhile USSR, not only miniature icons of Christ got maintained secretly for ritual purposes. Even multitude of domes of Mosque and minarets of Church remained visible there. No doubt, on the pretension of preserving the architectural heritage of bygone era. Again with the disintegration of the USSR, religion rose with fervor.
Atheists are meager in numbers
People converting from theist to atheist are so thin in numbers. If we count the mannerism of such “Atheist,” a counterpart in shape of “Theist” always travels in the life side by side . In the same way, an theist survives with the subconscious mind of an atheist. A theist, sometimes, raises the skeptical questions about some rituals. It is the counterpart as atheist in him, that in subconscious mind goads him to raise the question about.
Theism too has got the degrees of its intensity. By imbibing the element of love, piety and benevolence, we inculcate the image of god and tend to behave like a balanced “theist.” But when we take our religion transcending others, and assume it superior to other faith. This make us, to hate followers of another religion, then we become “orthodox.” As on today people are becoming more an orthodox, than a theist.
Dilemma
As said earlier of the dilemma of an atheist, in his early age as a young member of theist family. The process of his becoming an atheist takes the Herculean efforts. This “tug of war, puts him often in confusing status. This confusion or state of dilemma, whole through his life, forces him to encounter the “ups and downs” mentally. The empirical paradigm of one of my theist friend to get transformed into atheist, I prefer to mention. With two contradictory happenings of his life, I am going to relate, what I found amusing.
Paradigm of a friend as an Atheist
My this friend, born in a religious Indian Hindu family, that once settled in hilly track, got his schooling up to Intermediate education there only. After that, he migrated to a far distanced city for higher education. There sought admission for bachelor degree in a prominent collage . Side by side, his family too migrated to the same city and erected household there, and got settled permanently. In between, my this friend fell prey in the hands of “Student federation of India.” A student wing of the Communist party of India. There as a member of the Student wing, he deeply perused the “Das capital” of Carl Marx.
In pursuance of the same principle, “religion is opium to the society,” he became an staunch atheist. In the sense that once, when at night he was passing across hilly track on his motor bike, heading to his ancestral village, he got confronted with a hill tiger. He was totally out of his senses and badly perplexed. But even in that do or die situation, he did not utter the name of god to send some help. Fortunately, Tiger gave up and sneaked into dense bushes. My this friend was in the habit to relate this incidence, as the example of his being an atheist. Often he boasted of his this conviction. But wait….this incidence displayed the role of his “conscious mind” only.
Now look onto the another facet, with a different incidence which occurred with my same friend. He was given to put on maximum pressure on his mental faculty, that resulted into ‘brain stroke’ though milder one. I came to know about his illness late, till then he was back home after being discharged from the hospital and recuperating. I went to see him along with two other friends. When we reached his paternal house we found him confined to a room, properly locked by his father. We entreated the father, “let us see him.” somehow he unlocked the doors and our friend came out. Ostensibly,he was properly attired in neat and clean and well creased pant and shirt, as though, ready to attend his official duty, and normal in behaving with us.
His entire persona gave an impression, as if, his father falsely forced him to stay inside the locked room. But the presence of two wrist watches on his left hand, and one on his right hand telltale his real mental position. Friend gave us a stolid glance and pointed his finger to a distant stood banyan tree and blurted, ” I am haunted by some ghosts. But with the blessings of goddess mother Kali, shortly I will be cured.” After that, whatsoever and so many Sanskrit hymns he had committed to his memory during his schooling as a confirmed Theist, all he chanted articulately. Then and there on, we realized how weakly he was shrouded in an adopted “Atheism”. In fact he was a “theist” down to the core of his heart. That got revealed, in his state of mental imbalance. Penned by– Vinay Pharasi…..s
