Reviews And Rants

Religious Or Superstitious?

This time I will be diverting from the topic of rapes and talk about something more sensitive, that is whether we are following the so called religious rituals blindly without knowing the reason behind them? The views posted in this chapter will be completely mine and even if anyone does not agree with it, he or she has no right to abuse or insult me.

The recent incident of Tripti Desai's Bhoomata brigade struggling to get an entry in the Shani Shingnapur Temple in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra has compelled me to write this article. From around 400 years, women are not allowed to go to the temple. The common reason that is given for this is that Shani God will be angry on the people and they will suffer if women are allowed to enter. Years later, the High Court and the Supreme Court gave women the right to enter the temple. But now the priests and many other people say that this would kill our religion and more women will be raped if women enter the temple and pray to God. Tell me how can it happen that women are allowed to go to Shani Temple located in Ghaziabad (a place near Delhi) but not Maharashtra? Please don't say that he doesn't like women of Maharashtra.

Now my question is, do we know why was this rule made? It was made because of the fact that during periods women face a lot of discomfort and pain and so should be given a complete rest. At that time women did not have sanitary pads and so the chances of injuries on thighs increased. But now the things have changed. Women are able to carry out things with ease even during periods due to the invention of sanitary pads. The original reason for making rules had no connection with the purity bullshit that we give. Having periods is a natural process and so please do not link it with the purity.

Now coming to the bigger question, are we religious or superstitious? Being religious doesn't mean that you pray five or six times a day or do all the fasts or follow all the superstitions blindly. Being religious means you have a true faith in God and that you at least try to imbibe his basic teachings in your life.

No religious scripture advocates degradation of women. I have read Bhagvad Gita and a bit of Bible. Every religion teaches us to respect women and treat them as equal. But the people who follow these things mould it according to their interests and what happens is that baseless dogmas emerge.

No religion teaches you to go and kill people even in the name of it. But some extremists do spread terrorism. They think that they are doing right but the fact is that they are just insulting their God.

The basic thing which every religion teaches is to respect fellow people, help the needy and the destitute, to respect women and treat them equal. But alas we do all the other things like praying, fasting and following all the superstition instead of helping others.
Please question the dogmatic beliefs. If God did not want the people to question, he would not have given people brains. Love God and try to impress him by doing good for yourself and others as well. If you are praying all day and then going out and abusing people or mistreating others, then there is no use of praying. So try to follow the basic principles.