Today, while teaching Hindi to my son, I happened to read a write up by the famous Hindi author, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, ‘Dharm ki aardh.’ The writeup belongs to the pre-independence era and is over a hundred years old. The clarity of thought with which he has written it and the content of the article, shook my heart and instantly, I placed this man on a very high pedestal.In the article, he talks about how people have no idea about what religion is but they are ready to kill and die in the name of religion. These people are being manipulated by the strong and powerful so that they can maintain their influence over the weak and economically backward. Sadly, these foolish people do not realise that those who are using them know nothing but POWER and that they are not any religion crusaders but mere pawns in the ugly game of power.
He points out that even Gandhi ji was a staunch believer but his form of religion was very different from the one that people follow. His religion meant that one must be of a sound character and treat everyone respectfully, only then can we call ourselves true followers of God.
Hundred years on, nothing seems to have changed. One feels that education would have revolutionised the way people think but the irony is, that even the so called educated are still being used in the name of religion. It is disheartening to see posts by ‘educated’ people, justifying some gory crime in the name of religion.
Mindless mob lynching, the competition of Azaan and Aarti during the morning hours, the construction of religious structures and not to forget the frequent riots. The propaganda of religion seems to be never ending and what bothers me more, is that it isn’t even about religion. It is still a matter of the power game. The powerful are still using people as a bait. Dive deep and you will see innocent human faces desirous of living in peace.
How can we forget that humanity is above every religion? How can we kill others in the name of being protectors of God?
It seems quite paradoxical to me that on one hand, we believe that God is the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of the Earth, and on the other, we believe that the same God needs our help in saving HIS existence!!!
How naive can one be!
Wake up people! Wake up and realise that God doesn’t need us to take care of him. He is all powerful. He created us, so that we can co-exist peacefully. We are not doing any service to God by tearing each other apart.
My point is that humanity should always be the first religion. If we cannot respect the existence of another human being then we have no right to call ourselves religious.
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