Atheism Or Practicality

Religion and belief is a very sensitive topic, especially in a country like India. With a population of over 133 crores, India is home to numerous religions. Each of which has its own rules, own methods and own history and before I begin with my views on these aspects, I’d like to make it very clear that I’m not in support of or against any religion. Neither am I against those who follow their religions with all their heart. Though being a person of the 21^st century who believes in science and technology more than mythology and religion, I was an atheist. Yes, focus on the word “was” and follow me into my journey as a person who just doesn’t accept miracles until she has believable proof.

Years back, as I lied down with my head in my grandmother’s lap reading my course book of “Ramayan” to prepare for an upcoming exam. I got furious and confused, “How is this even possible? How are rocks floating on water? How are carriages flying?” and with a soft smile, my grandmother told me that it was all because of the power of God. Well, I did really leave the topic there that day but it kept bothering me for quite some time and this curiosity just grew over the years.

As it is commonly said, curiosity is the beginning of every new thought, it was the beginning of my transformation as well. Time passed and I watched movies like “Oh my God” or “PK” as a result of which, this confusion grew to a level that I became an atheist. I accepted the fact that God is just something that humans created for people who need hope. It seemed a good concept now, if some thought can give someone hope to get through the toughest of situations, it is the greatest thought one can have.

Though a new direction to this belief came along as I started reading. The Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathy was that one book that turned me from being an atheist to being someone who believed more in god and less in people. I realised that maybe, these stories were true, just exaggerated. Maybe the people who are now considered as superpowers were maybe just normal people who did great deeds, who had great knowledge, who created high technology equipment to create the stories as they are now. With their death, many secrets of this kind, the technologies, and the truths were buried and what remained was a wave of theories and discussions. Passing on from one generation to another, a lot of spice was added to these stories (pretty much like a game of Chinese whisper) and what couldn’t be explained began to be called a miracle.

All in all, I began believing in deities but in a very different and scientific way.