How Religious Are You?

If anyone were to ask me how religious am I, I would say- I am not religious enough, that I don’t follow it to the core.

And then they play this song ‘Namo Namo ji Shankara’ and you see me grooving along with complete faith and devotion 😉 Although I just said I am not much into any religion but my actions say otherwise.

What we’re really saying when we say we are not religious enough-
(pun intended)

• That I don’t know if I am religious or not.
• I think I am not, but I love the God that I was introduced to more than the ones that I am alien to.
• I am not aware of the soft spot for my religion. So don’t finger it.
• I am not like my parents-I don’t advocate my faith but you don’t dare say, your God is the only God.
• I am not religious enough to go on a killing spree in the name of religion but again don’t tell me, my God doesn’t exist.
• I don’t have religion on my priority list. But don’t say anything stupid about my religion, you might end up being on my list.

So, that’s what our head is saying when we think we are not that religious. If someone corners me and puts my faith down, can I still walk past that without getting affected? Not always.

Then again, I am not religious. Why am I getting affected?

Perhaps the problem is in assuming that we know ourselves too well. Do we? Don’t our thoughts and actions surprise us?

Today, if I see my faith painted on a doormat, it irks me. But what should ring an alarm in my head is when I don’t feel the same when I see other religious figurines on a doormat.

We do terrible things in the name of God and religion. And who does these things? People like us.

• People like us who are unaware of our religious conditioning.
• People like us, sceptics, theists & atheists, are only brainwashed into thinking that no faith or one faith is superior or different from others.

Breaking religious conditioning or being Cynical are good places to start but that road should lead us somewhere.
What If we do not Evolve? We will continue being the question mark.

Jeez! Frightening, I meant…

So, the next time we size up our religious quotient, we should keep in mind that we are equally conditioned and ignorant like others. That will help us ignore the religious triggers coming our way else we become dangerous to our own species.

If we get too sensitive or do not articulate our beliefs well then we will go extinct fighting for our religion.

This Is Exactly What You Shouldn’t do..

Have you heard this song ‘Attention’ by Charlie Puth? If you replace the lady by the World and Charlie by the Mind. Interesting, eh? 

The world never lets a chance slip by in getting the mind’s attention and the mind is waiting to be swayed by the world. Aren’t they made for each other?

You know the thing with the mind, is that it wants to be in the spotlight all the time. And to make that happen it keeps on performing. In fact, we don’t even notice when the craving to perform an action hits us. 

I have been guilty of this most of the time. When I am mindful I could see that yearning but I am not being consistent in not acting on the impulses that aren’t necessary. 

I will tell you something interesting that happened yesterday. Why am I telling you this? 

Because the mind knows well that nobody sees its tantrums. And when you write about your thoughts, as I do, there is a temptation to make oneself look good. It irritates the mind when you make it look like an ass. But if it decides to behave like one then it’s going here. 

The Mind knows that nobody can see the real face

Anyways yesterday, I accidentally got locked in our balcony for hours when no one was home and the conversation in my mind was this:

Mind: Oh S***. The door got locked and I don’t have the phone on me.

Right Brain: Aah! There is a stick lying around. Let’s try using it as a key to unlock the doorknob.

Left-Brain: Are you crazy, the stick won’t do the job. Anyways let us try. 

Mind: it’s not working.

Right Brain: Okay, no problem. We can reach out for the knife block sitting on the other side of the kitchen window and then try opening with that.

Left-Brain: Dude, it’s gonna damage the door lock and moreover it wouldn’t work. But do we have a choice, let’s try.

Mind: Hopeless, you guys are. It is not working.

Right-Brain: Our windows have sliding doors. Why don’t we try lifting the body and try reaching for the window and jump in?

Left-Brain: Are you crazy? The neck or the back, worse still both can be injured in this process.

Left-Brain: I remember somebody telling me that a coin can help open the door. But f*** we don’t have a coin either.

Mind: Shut up. Let me see if I can find someone to help us.

Mind: It’s getting dark and I don’t see anyone walking around.

Left-Brain: It’s not pleasant. Aren’t we supposed to panic?

Mind: No, No. I am not the body neither I am you. I remember I am part of something whole and I am sure some help will come by.

A little while later, a lady was walking her child home and I called for help. She informed the community office and a carpenter came by. They had to break open the door before that he asked me if I can slide open the windows and jump inside.

Left-Brain: Gosh, careful. Try not breaking the neck or the back.

Right-Brain: There is a small empty bucket here in the balcony and a full cylinder. Pull the cylinder towards the window and with its help get inside.

Left-Brain: You are nuts. The cylinder is full.

Mind: I have to get in before it gets too dark. Let’s do what the right side is asking us to do.

And finally, without any injuries to the body or the door, we land inside the house. I go out and thank everybody profusely, especially the lady. Till here, it’s all good stuff, the mind behaved.

Then it got excited and wanted to share its story with the husband and the mother. It forgot all about not being the body 😉  Everything was under control, it could have waited till the husband is home but no. It knew it doesn’t have to and yet I called both of them.

See the theme? This is a great example. These are the times when I should put the theory into practice. I don’t have to act on impulses that aren’t necessary. The desire to unnecessarily act is also a disease.

If you are thinking, where is all this in Gita? Chapter 4, verses 19 and 20 is on this. Nirashraya Nityatruptah..

I understand, as social beings, there is a strong compulsion to feel appreciated by the group that we belong to. But as seekers, this is one of the many things that need to be tamed.

So try not being a puppet when vying for somebody’s attention and surely don’t be a puppet of your own mind.

Header Image credit:Internet