Can God Save Us from Religion?

“Religion has convinced people that there's an invisible man ... living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn't want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you. He loves you and he needs money.” Stand-up comedian George Carlin said this many years ago. I would just change religion to Organized Religion. Otherwise he is absolutely and unconditionally right.

For centuries, organized religion has been the basis of hate, wars, strife, conflict and killings. It has been used as an excuse to divide innocent people, living harmoniously, against each other. It has been the most potent, lethal and effective tool in the hands of the religious bigots of the world to carry on their hate agendas against each other. Organized Religion can do what it wants. It not only kills people, it mercilessly kills animals too – just to please gods. America v/s Iraq was not oil, it was a conflict of 2 religious beliefs. So is Palestine and Israel. So is India and Pakistan. Or Syria, or Bosnia... 
World over, religious associations and their incomes are not taxed. How can you tax god? They do not disclose their accounts. Most religious bodies are headed by people with questionable credentials. These are the people who devise creative resource mobilisation ideas - like the 50 rupee or the 100 rupee queue in temples. Or the varied rates for darshan of the almighty. Here is a rate card for your reference - http://www.tirumala.org/Advance%20Booking.htm .

When everyone is equal to the almighty, then who are they to decide the preferential treatment, based on a rate card? We know this is wrong, but we do not question them because we fear god will get back to us. Even the most elitist in the world believe in this moral code. Infact, the richer you get the more fearful and insecure you become about god and religion. Religious places are the most insensitive to women. Women go all over the place protesting against gender bias, but never against religious places. Why? It’s the fear of God.

I have gone to schools run by religious bodies. Many heads of the school chains asked for monetary favors - be it Christian, Muslim or Hindu religion. All these guys with long beards, white and orange robes were suckers in disguise. And think of this, they are heading schools that will train our next generation to become better citizens. Once, one religious priest was drunk in the school premises, when we met up with him. His room smelled with alcohol, and he sat under his god's photograph discussing education! Another guy plainly asked for a 15% cut on every unit that was sold through him. He said the religious organization he works for does not pay him enough to enjoy a decent lifestyle. When he saw the perplexed look on my face, he said he has made peace with 

god on this issue!

Religions use schools as indoctrination centers. At an age when children should learn geography, biology, physics and math, they are shut in a school that teaches them to protect their god against unknown enemies. No wonder, these kids grow up doubting everything around them and then resorting to violence to protect their so-called religion. Kasab repented his actions later, but what is the use? He was hanged anyways. And what happened to the ones who indoctrinated him? They live in peace in Pakistan. Helen Keller once remarked, “It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui.” – this philosophy applies to all those religions that propound hate.

For centuries, religious bodies have been funding religious conversions. Poor people need food and shelter. These so called messengers of god take advantage of their helplessness to convert them into their own religion. You have to be morally corrupt to do this selfish act under the name of god. No god will allow such activity. If every religion says that god is one, then why would he take different avatars and set contradictory rules of living life?

“I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong.” – John Lennon on God.
 
These days religion is being surreptitiously advertised on TV and newspapers. Art of Living and Baba Ramdev are one of the biggest advertisers. Babaji even owns a TV channel. Religious heads are like the fashion mafia, they decide every year what will sell, and then go aggressively on with their selfish agenda. My ex-boss who headed a leading religious channel, told me horror stories of how these gurus used to bargain for top slots and TRPs. Every religious guru is competing with the other for higher revenue share!!

Swami Vivekananda says, "Are you unselfish? That is the question. If you are, you will be perfect without reading a single religious book, without going into a single church or temple."
 
Organized religion works because of their loyal (actually blind) followers. Look at the religious followers. They are most confusing and complicated, when they talk about “their” god and “their” religion. Religion and God is always “us” v/s “them”. Their religion is good, only in comparison with some other religion. They justify all the idiosyncrasies of their god and their religious beliefs through convoluted explanations. But does god really have a religion? Mahatma Gandhi said no. And I second that.

On the other hand, people who believe in god, but not in organized religion, tend to be spiritual. They are the most easy going, simple and selfless. I think selflessness is far more important to mankind than all religions combined in the world. I think it is time to create a Religion of Selflessness. Imagine a selfless world. The moment it becomes selfless, there will be peace, happiness and prosperity.  I would be happy to see the religious heads coming together on a single platform and announcing the 2 commandments of the new religion:

1. God is one.       
2. Not rituals, donations or prayers, but Selflessness is the only way to salvation

I hope God can do this for us someday.