I saw two episodes of Satyameva Jayathe by Amir Khan and am really liking the themes he has chosen and the way it is handled where the topics are well demonstrated with interviews etc . Hats off to him for he is an exception among celebrities who has always stood for social causes unlike many celebrities who make extra money during their sparetime with their ads promotions from slippers to curry powder .
Today i saw an episode on untouchability and the treatment of low caste people in certain parts of the country . There was some scenes showing low caste people being not allowed in temples and when the low caste rallied with a member of partliament who was from lower caste the main priest to avoid confrontation simply locked the temple door and left . (Does Gods house have a closed door ? I dont know )
Last week i was talking to a new found friend of mine . He was not from a lower caste but from a casteless religion -Christianity . His observation was different . Apparently the church he visited had benches inside and depending on the type of clothes he wore the seats next to him were occupied or not . When he wore clean but simple clothes the particular church with many rich patrons had difficulty in people sitting next to him . But these days when he wore branded clothes his sideseat was always occupied . Being a devout Christian he observed that Christ is seeing all this from above .
Organised religion as the above examples show has never stood by the weak or downtrodden . My observation has almost always showed me that wherever organised religion is professed there exists strong hypocrisy . And one of the most blatant example of this is that sizeable number of people killed during the last thousand years was in the name of religion ---- and all major religions teach to love another. Isnt there a paradox here ? There is no paradox because religions say love another of the same religion . And various religions have even descriptions of which people go to hell and that includes the non-believers in that particular religion .
What is the solution ? For one religion organised or unorganised should be made personal . Why should there be a large collection of believers when the main connection is between you and God ?
Another solution which i had always thought but today was endorsed by a famous documentary director in todays Satyameva Jayathe episode . Encourage inter-religious and intercaste marriages . How can you speak in bad terms about another religion when your spouse/in-law is from another religion ...
And correct me if i am wrong here .... I was very impressed by the Golden temple when i visited punjab and not only the free lunch concept but i didnt find a gate there blocking my way when i entered ..
Today i saw an episode on untouchability and the treatment of low caste people in certain parts of the country . There was some scenes showing low caste people being not allowed in temples and when the low caste rallied with a member of partliament who was from lower caste the main priest to avoid confrontation simply locked the temple door and left . (Does Gods house have a closed door ? I dont know )
Last week i was talking to a new found friend of mine . He was not from a lower caste but from a casteless religion -Christianity . His observation was different . Apparently the church he visited had benches inside and depending on the type of clothes he wore the seats next to him were occupied or not . When he wore clean but simple clothes the particular church with many rich patrons had difficulty in people sitting next to him . But these days when he wore branded clothes his sideseat was always occupied . Being a devout Christian he observed that Christ is seeing all this from above .
Organised religion as the above examples show has never stood by the weak or downtrodden . My observation has almost always showed me that wherever organised religion is professed there exists strong hypocrisy . And one of the most blatant example of this is that sizeable number of people killed during the last thousand years was in the name of religion ---- and all major religions teach to love another. Isnt there a paradox here ? There is no paradox because religions say love another of the same religion . And various religions have even descriptions of which people go to hell and that includes the non-believers in that particular religion .
What is the solution ? For one religion organised or unorganised should be made personal . Why should there be a large collection of believers when the main connection is between you and God ?
Another solution which i had always thought but today was endorsed by a famous documentary director in todays Satyameva Jayathe episode . Encourage inter-religious and intercaste marriages . How can you speak in bad terms about another religion when your spouse/in-law is from another religion ...
And correct me if i am wrong here .... I was very impressed by the Golden temple when i visited punjab and not only the free lunch concept but i didnt find a gate there blocking my way when i entered ..
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ReplyDeletedidn't you see the dalit churches in the episode? No religion in India can claim to be casteless!I have come across a Muslim girl in Hyderabad who was not "the same as others" 'cos she was a Bhangi!
ReplyDeleteyup very true . i think humans need some reason to discriminate and religion is the biggest excuse. then race then economic status ...
ReplyDeletelike someone told me recently it is when we require blood we dont check whether it comes from another religion or a poor man ..