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To all the pseudo propellers of organized religion,
If you don’t know who you are, here’s a test-
Tell me honestly, how numb have you become to the news of mob lynching, hate crimes, and bloodshed carried out on the name of saving religion?
Over the past decade, there have been a total of 301 reported and acknowledged hate crimes, taking 101 human lives at it’s prime and fatally injuring 741 other in India alone! Did that data send chills down your spine?
Regardless if you answered very numb to the first question or if you shrug reading the stats on the second statement thinking Muslims have been killing Hindus for hundreds of years/ It’s all because of the damned Hindus supremacy/ Yeah those infidels deserved to die - I am writing this letter to you.
Well then, Hello pseudo propellers of organized religion.
Hope you’re doing well. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, you are doing well because 2019 is the best time to be alive for people who are ignorant about religious traditions and protecting it at the same time. Don’t believe me? Let me bust some myths for you.
Myth- Indians are becoming more nationalist and accepting their roots
Reality - The rise of Hindutva agenda in India and other religious fanaticism
The very fact that we don’t even have to ask what’s Hindutva agenda is proof that India is no longer a secular country she vowed to be in 1949 when the Indian constitution was adopted. The unapologetic direction in which the country is going is troubling while the ruling party has been apathetic to people beaten and lynched by self–styled cow vigilantes. We are constantly bombarded with news of migrants and minorities being attacked and even killed. One of the most gut-wrenching reports I read was of the brutal mob lynching of a 22-year-old supposed thief named Tabrez Ansari. He was tied to a tree and thrashed for over seven hours on charges of theft and also forced to chant 'Jai Sri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman' before being handed over to the police.
Other examples of extreme religious violence include the Gujarat communal riots (1969), Anti-Sikh Riots (1984), Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, and so many more Anti-Hindu, Anti Muslim and Anti Christian riots.
Myth: The LGBTQ community is safe now after decriminalizing homosexuality
Reality: The violence against the LGBTQ community still carries on
The religion infused honor culture is the prime culprit behind such hounding of India’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) community. This is despite the Indian penal code’s section 377, which criminalized gay sex, being knocked down by the supreme court last year.
Far away from the fabulous gay pride parades, families in rural India plan secret honor killings because being gay is against God’s plan. “Village medics and babas often prescribe rape to cure lesbians of homosexuality. Refusal to marry brings more physical abuse”- Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, trans-woman LGBT activist and public policy scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad.
Myth: Women are considered goddesses
Reality: The lowly place of women in all communities
I won’t go much into detail here, as this topic is very close to me personally and I would like to dedicate an entire article about it. Keeping it brief, regardless if you belong to Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or even Buddhist religious community, they all are quite patriarchal and elevate the status of men over women. The sanctions against women are stricter compared to men - be it when it comes to being submissive and dehumanizing the female gender role to being a daughter, wife, and mother to marriage laws, divorce laws or even right to inheritance - religious laws are designed by men to keep the women “in their place”.
Myth: ISIS was created by the Obama administration to sell firearms
Reality: ISIS was created by religious fanatics
It’s a sad reality of the world that there is an entire empire established in the name of protecting religion from non-believers. These are pseudo-religious people at their extreme. Even if ISIS is created and supported by world leaders like Obama and Putin, the fact that they were able to do it in the name of spreading Islam is nerve-racking and heartbreaking.
Myth: Religion brings people together
Reality: Religion has become a full-fledged business
Ranging from a priest in Rajasthan curing people of their sins for ₹11 with a sin-free certification to reports indicating that income of temples grew by 27% in 2016. The then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu attributed this rise to "growing sins." He said, "people are committing sins and getting rid of them they are going to temples and offering money." If there was any doubt before, there are none anymore. In the materialistic society today, where anything can be sold or bought, God has become the most significant commodity for pseudo godmen to sell and faith on the said God is the best thing to exploit for money. The examples for that are endless from Baba Ram Rahim and Nirmal Baba to Asaram Bapu and more.
I know when you are looking at the bigger picture, it all seems a VERY fucked up! And it mostly is.
Sit back and take a long breath and ask yourself, is this what religion about?
When will you understand that your God, Allah, Brahma, or any other deities don’t need you to save them or fight their battles for them?
Where is the spirituality and peace that was promised by the godmen?
If achieving Nirvana or a similar concept of finding the ultimate truth was and remains the epicenter of religious awakening, then how are we so far from the truth?
If we all are collectively walking towards the same goal, then why are you so hell-bent on hurting people who don’t agree with you?
Is religion guiding you in the right direction or using you to create havoc?
When you find the answers to these burning questions, you’ll be ready to abandon the concept of organized religion and truly understand that what you are seeking has always been inside you.
Till then, I am going to keep talking about how organized religion is the root of all evil in this world and how since its inception all it has done distract us from the path of gratitude, forgiveness, acceptance and spiritual awakening. I invite you all to abandon your way of violence, greed, and manipulation and join me and help me heal the subconscious of every human being in this world.
Always there to heal your subconscious,
Poonam Dutta