Capital H-I-M

"God. Who is God? And what does he have to do with me? "

Religion is a very important part of the lives of the people here, in India. All children, growing up are taught to go to temples, pray, celebrate festivals of the religion they belong to, pray when in trouble, before an exam, before an important match, assignment, test, job interview..or anything for that matter. And I'm no exception, My mom is a VERY spiritual person, and yes, I have visited the temple of my sector a lot of times. I have said prayers before going to bed when I was young. I have prayed before an important exam. I have attended the puja at home before Diwali every year. And till few years back, even I believed in God. Yes, I did. It's not that I visited the temple everyday, or didn't eat chicken on Tuesdays and Thursdays...but I knew He was there. The 'one'. The Supreme power. I believed everything that was happening was done by a supernatural power, which no one had exactly seen. I believed that I could blame Him for all the troubles I had in life, and he was responsible for all the good there was, all the happiness, the oneness, the love, the laughter, and I had to thank him for all of that. If I couldn't do something..I would just shrug and say...'Maybe God doesn't want me to do it at all'.

But as years have passed, I've started NOT believing in God. No, it's not because I want to be different from 'the lot'. It is because I don't believe in this whole idea of blaming some supernatural power for the wrongs in life and thanking Him for the good stuff. I don' believe in any Ram, Laxman, Ganesh. Or the Bible . Or the Quran. Or the Sikh Gurus.I just believe in myself, me and the PEOPLE around me, and for me, that is what is important. My family is important. My friends are important. Not supernatural powers.

Yes, I know that if I scream that there is no such thing 'God' on the street, I'm likely to be beaten up :P Being an Atheist in India is not very acceptable, even though it is a secular country. But it's not about the law, it's about being accepted in the society. Right?! If you don't believe in God, it's a sin. And no, I'm not exaggerating, it IS true. Choosing your religion might be your choice, but then there is not option of not believing in God, is there? I don't think so. And even if you try to turn into an Atheist, someone will probably point their finger at you.

I am born to a Hindu family, and thus, I am a Hindu. Is it supposed to be that way? Is that the criteria of choosing your faith? Why don't I get to choose if I believe in the idea of God at all? Choosing which religion comes after.

I am not anti-religion or anti-God, or anti-people-who-believe-in-God. This is my view.I just DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD. NO, I DON'T. You might say it is morally incorrect, but if it is, be it. This is my choice and my faith, my belief. And I was taught to stand up for what I believe in, and shall continue to do so. Yes, I'm not perfect. No one is. But we need to understand people and their ideas about life only then we can completely accept them.

So, yeah, this is my take on 'God' and religion. If you have a difference of opinion, you have full freedom of shutting down my blog, because this is IT....