Just one question. It might change your life.
But if you felt that I just shook you awake, opened up your eyes or so then this is absolutely for you.
Now if you believe in the existence of a certain entity called ‘God’ then please take note that religion does not start and end with praying and performing rituals to appease him when you feel threatened by your future. Even if he exists, the entity is not there to help you in times of trouble. Only you can. That’s simply lame! Let me assure you that rituals are not going to take you anywhere closer to your goals. Time for you to rethink even more of you believe that praying to Lord Ganesh makes you a Hindu and doing the same to Jesus makes you a Catholic. If you can relate yourself with this, do bother to imagine myself laughing at you.
Although I’m an atheist (Scientific Pantheist) to be specific, I shall not indulge in rubbishing the institution of ‘God’ here as it is beyond the purview of our discussion. Also, in a short while I shall try to present before you a widely prevailing scientific theory that your future exists and is as much real as your past. That if there exists a theory of everything, we can look at the universe using a deterministic view. Your future could be predicted using equations as I have already posted before. No, that doesn’t mean that your astrologer already knows them. If he did, he would have already bagged the Nobel.
The undeniable fact is that we have deviated so much from our roots that we have forgotten our core values. Ask any kid, he will tell you that he follows his religion as his parents do the same. I find it hard to digest. If we do not like their style of clothing or maybe the music that they prefer, we vehemently voice our opinions. But why are we scared to do so when it comes to religion? Without having a grasp over the core thoughts, how do you even ‘follow a religion’?
If you follow a particular religion, I just need you to tell me why you do so.If you could answer all that without feeling uncomfortable or dumbstruck , you need no help! Be happy that you know what you are doing.
Once you do that, also tell me why you do not follow other religions that are accessible to you.
But if you felt that I just shook you awake, opened up your eyes or so then this is absolutely for you.
Now if you believe in the existence of a certain entity called ‘God’ then please take note that religion does not start and end with praying and performing rituals to appease him when you feel threatened by your future. Even if he exists, the entity is not there to help you in times of trouble. Only you can. That’s simply lame! Let me assure you that rituals are not going to take you anywhere closer to your goals. Time for you to rethink even more of you believe that praying to Lord Ganesh makes you a Hindu and doing the same to Jesus makes you a Catholic. If you can relate yourself with this, do bother to imagine myself laughing at you.
Although I’m an atheist (Scientific Pantheist) to be specific, I shall not indulge in rubbishing the institution of ‘God’ here as it is beyond the purview of our discussion. Also, in a short while I shall try to present before you a widely prevailing scientific theory that your future exists and is as much real as your past. That if there exists a theory of everything, we can look at the universe using a deterministic view. Your future could be predicted using equations as I have already posted before. No, that doesn’t mean that your astrologer already knows them. If he did, he would have already bagged the Nobel.
The undeniable fact is that we have deviated so much from our roots that we have forgotten our core values. Ask any kid, he will tell you that he follows his religion as his parents do the same. I find it hard to digest. If we do not like their style of clothing or maybe the music that they prefer, we vehemently voice our opinions. But why are we scared to do so when it comes to religion? Without having a grasp over the core thoughts, how do you even ‘follow a religion’?
Have a look at the definition of ‘religion’ itself.
re·li·gion
noun /riˈlijən/ religions, plural
As you see, religion was meant to be a way of living life. And we all know how bad the implementation has been. Ancient texts which dictated the truth have been tarnished by we, humans.
- The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or Gods.
- Details of belief as taught or discussed.
- A particular system of faith and worship.
- A pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.
Lets get to the point.
Majority of people lack philosophies for life. They just survive, not live. Do ponder upon this subtle difference. Ask yourself and note down what beliefs you have faith in. If you do not mould your life and it’s subsequent workings around certain ideas, you are no better than a lost soul! Do you have firm ideas that you will follow and find peace in till death? If you haven’t picked up lessons from your observations and experiences, you are just digging your own grave. And praying to God is not going to make the situation any better.
It’s time to rise high above religions. Above casts, creed and discrimination. It’s all about being human, with a spice of our own!
After giving it a lot of thought, I have gather up the courage to propose a set of philosophies that will make sense to anyone and everyone. They are not an alternative to religion, but are at a different level altogether! They are simple and they are effective in today’s world. They are fundamental truths that you just can’t ignore, you just can’t contradict. They are elegant and beautiful.
Together, they make up ‘Happism’.
It’s a compendium of the cream of all religious philosophies. It’s a pile of our own experiences. A guide to live life happily and to keep others happy to.
Goals of Happism
- To make and keep everyone happy from within, all the time.
- To make human relations richer and less complex.
- To make people stop surviving and start living.
- To collect, spread and empower people with the power of Happism.
- To eradicate discrimination between people of any sort.
- To convince people that humanity can override any ‘higher power’.
- To walk hand in hand with scientifically established truths.
- To safeguard the integrity of the above listed goals.
Remember, you might be mortal. But not your thoughts!!
Features of Happism
- No ruling authority or leader as thoughts are universal.
- Anyone and everyone can pick up the philosophies and adapt them as per his/her situation without distorting the ideas beyond recognition.
- People are encouraged to contribute to the main ideas, making it a wiki of ideas and philosophies.
- One can take it up being an atheist or a theist as these thoughts do not comment upon ‘God’.
- As it runs parallel to religion, one doesn’t have to swap religions. Be secular. Show respect.
Feel free to have a healthy discussion below about the thoughts as presented above! I shall unveil the main philosophies only when we all have a discussion, when we agree upon stuff. What we are looking for is stuff like ‘Always speak the truth’. Let me again clarify that I have nothing against theists, and this is to do with ideas around which our lives revolve.
Like Happism on Facebook to show your support!
So please contribute towards it. Spread the word! Please contribute! I can’t do this alone. We can.
3 comments:
1st n foremost, 2 answer ur 2 Qs
I started following Hinduism cause i ws born into it n i continue to cause it doesn't inhibit me in anyway.this might seem stupid, but its almost like asking u why u speak konkani as ur mother tongue.cause u were born into a konkani family n u don't see a reason to change it.i am free to change my religion. but i don't feel a need to.i'm free to do what i want RYT NOW.
For me, religion doesn't dictate how i live. its still my choice. what shud i change my religion for?if at all a day comes when i feel like doing so, i will.
as for the rest of ur post, its a discussion i'd prefer hving face to face. but if u ask me, religion is a deeply personal thing. To each his own.My concept of god doesn't fit in the narrow concept u hv defined above.Its diff to every person u'll know.There's no point in trying to convert. Trust me, every individual at a point of time in life contemplates on his beliefs. he questions them. n jus like u have a reason to disbelieve, ppl hv a reason to believe.n its OK to do so.
Think abt it.Religion n god is a concept that has evolved INDEPENDENTLY across cultures all around the world. IT DOESN'T MATTER if its true false, worth believing or not. ppl who feel the need to believe, will do so. those who do not, are equally free to not do so.
to think, by defining a diff philosophy, u r creating another religion, aren't u?
u call it Happism, Tom cruise calls it scientology, i call it humanity!
every feature u've mentioned, i follow RYT NOW. Why bother convincing or influencing other?
PS: there are no universal truths.Ur morals are noble till ur ass is not on fire. for ex, u say u're looking for ‘Always speak the truth’ish philosophy. Can U always afford to do it? Truth is a bully we all PRETEND to like ;)
@Sagar, thanks for bothering to reply. As I rightly assumed, you have the reasons to continue what you are doing. And as I mentioned, "You need no help, you know what you are doing."
The problem that we face today does not lie in having morals that evaporate when one's ass is on fire. It's the fact that people do not have firm morals in the first place. If no morals, how will they even have something to 'bully'? That's what I addressing. Most of the people won't bother to dig deep and unearth some quote that inspires them to live life. In short, this is a call to all the intellectuals to spoon-feed them.
Also your point about morals melting under pressure flies flat in the face of the 'Noble Eightfold Path' laid down by Buddhism. Those are the 'truths' propounded by Buddhism.
Imagine you were born in any other religion. Giving it a thought, would you have felt the need to change? Say if not for any external factor like societal pressure, you would change your religion due to some other factor. A large chance is that you have done so because you do not agree with a particular idea. But to do, you have to know about your religion first. Which many people don't!! I agree that people have different concepts of God (fully respected), but hardly do they have such powerful faith in science. Now who won't pity that?
In today's fast paced world, religion is either a thing that causes fights(for no reason), makes you pray once in a while or for quite a few it is just another thing on their official documents and certificates. What is the use of the concept called 'religion' if people find no purpose in it? Not many will venture into the deep valleys of their own religion, forget the others!
All I wanted to say is that let's work and put in some awe-inspiring ideas together. Don't force anyone (to 'convert'). Don't dwell upon other religions or the existence of 'God'. Just help people simplify their lives. My life would be much better if only a handful of my friends never lie. So would be yours. I don't agree with your point about why bother to convince others. One either sits and yawns, or tries to do something to enrich other's lives. If you want to, you will.
If people don't want to change, I can only smile. That's because I tried what I could. Making a few people think about it was enough to make me happy.
Quoting Gaurav Tamba in here.
"Religion was meant to unite people, but today,the irony prevails. If one shall be neutral on the view that there is neither proof of the absence nor of the presence of god, as per the course of events in the world as they go, would it not be evident that if there was an entity watching over us, things would go differently as they do?
"All religions in the world are complete and utter nonsensical bullshit. Except for mine." - is the view of any devoted person following his/her religion. (Tolerance may be practiced, but that is being treacherous towards your own religion, for if you believe yours is absolute, why make way for others)
The concept is riddled with pretentiousness. The only good that comes out of religion is the inner force it may create within oneself. Someone may mentally use the image of god as a psychological reinforcement to be his driving force in anything. Sometimes ends up with Jihadis going
pop, but is utilized in a good way sometimes. Those mental driving forces one creates are as good as invincible. (As is demonstrated by the relentless religious terrorists)
My two cents."
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