I knew there would come a time when I have no idea what I’m gonna write about, but I didn’t think it’d be this soon. Don’t get me wrong, I have a list of topics (I literally have them written down on my phone), but I don’t want to write about any of them right now. I think I want to talk about religion, but do I? I’m not sure.
Have I told you that I’m atheist? I’m sure I must have mentioned it before. For the longest time, I had been the kind that would simply dismiss anything that believers said (related to God/religion, obviously. I’m not a dick). Recently though, I’ve been much more, let’s say, understanding. If you believe in the existence of God, that’s okay. As long as you’re not trying to force your ideas on me (again, related to God/religion), you do you, sir/ma’am.
Any other day, this post would have probably been “anti-religion,” but I don’t feel like it today (important to note that I’m writing this on a work day). I don’t want to be yet another person pointing fingers in a world that loves to point fingers. I do that a lot, and I think it might be time to change that about myself.
Today, and maybe just for today, I want to be someone that hopefully brings us closer (even though only like 3 people are reading this). Someone that can help us see that no matter who we believe in – Jesus, Allah, the million Hindu Gods – we’re really not that different.
I’ve recently started to realize that the idea behind all religions is the same – we should all try to be better humans. This is easier said than done but let me ask you this. Is it really that difficult to be decent humans? And do we really need religion to tell us to be decent humans? Wait, no, I said I won’t say anything against it (at least not in this post).
I’ll approach this differently. Let me take you back to my past. I was born in a city called Hyderabad, which is in the Southern part of India. The best way I can describe the city is that it’s mini-Toronto. Of course, Hyderabad doesn’t have people from all over the world, but what it has are people from all over the country. And that is a pretty big fucking deal. Because, what non-Indians don’t realize is that while most Indians probably look similar, we’re not the same.
Allow me to explain. India has over 22 official languages. For comparison, Canada only has 2. People love to say that each state in the US is like a different country. What you might not know is that that is actually true for India. Not only is the language different, but the “culture” and food are, too. No, we don’t all eat butter chicken. In fact, many Hindus don’t even eat meat. Side note: I’m not a big fan of butter chicken. It’s too sweet. Why is it not fucking hot?!
Coming back to Hyderabad, what I love about the city is that it has always felt like everyone got along, regardless of who they believed in. Sure, there are pockets where you would find mostly Muslims, or pockets where you’d find only Hindus, but it never had the Hindu-Muslim divide that is an issue in many other parts of the country. That’s one thing that always stands out to me.
When I was growing up (and I should mention that I believed in God until I turned 15), I never had to think twice about who my friends were. Looking back, I think I was friends with Muslims, Christians and Jains, and it never felt out of the blue. Like, I wouldn’t even think “Damn, this guy/girl is not Hindu. So wild.” It seemed natural.
Yet, now, it doesn’t feel so much like it. Was I just naïve back then because I was a child and hadn’t “seen the world?” Or were things better back then? Don’t get me wrong, I know nothing was perfect even then, but it never felt quite as hopeless as it does now.
Something funny just came to mind. I was chatting with a friend (for context, he’s part of a Hindu family) recently, and he told me about a conversation with his mother where she said something along the lines of “marry anyone you want. As long as she’s not Muslim, I’m cool.” Isn’t that weird? If he liked someone that’s Muslim, why shouldn’t he be with her? Why must we have to choose? Or, I guess, not choose?
Do you really think that whatever version of God exists cares about whom you like and what you do in your lives? As long as they’re not a literal monster, why would your God care?
Besides, if your God is real and They (I’m just gonna use the gender-neutral term ‘they’ to describe God moving forward) did indeed create all life as we know it, wouldn’t the person not believing in your version of God still be someone that your God created? Does God just not care about that person anymore because they don’t believe in Them? That doesn’t sound nice. Is that something They would do?
Maybe we should all sit back and think about what this really means. Why would any God care about any person less than the rest? If They really are the way They are described in books, They probably love everyone equally, no? So, just because someone believes in a different religion doesn’t mean they are a bad person? Is that a fair assumption? I feel like I’m going around in circles right now. Maybe I should stop trying to make sense of it…
At the risk of sounding controversial, I want to say that maybe we should stop basing our lives by thinking about what will get us into heaven (or whatever the equivalent is in your religion). For all you know, heaven isn’t real. Imagine if there really is nothing after death. Just gonna sidetrack here for a second: That’s what I believe will happen when we die. Just nothingness. And if I’m wrong and there’s heaven, at least I’ll know. Unfortunately, for all you believers, there won’t be an “I told you so” moment, and I absolutely hate that. Anyhoo, coming back to ‘nothing after death,’ imagine if that’s the reality. You go your entire lives trying to get into this special place, not realizing that you, my friend, have not really lived. Only existed. Wouldn’t that suck?
So, I implore you. Live your life. We aren’t on this planet for too long anyway, so don’t stop yourself from doing things just because a book told you so. Obviously, be a good person. I’m not asking you to kill anyone. Or emotionally ruin them. Be a good fucking person. Be friends with whomever you want to. Love someone that practises a different religion. Marry them if you feel like it. Stop living your life based on rules from a book. Start living, my friend.
I’ll leave you with this amazing video. Bo does it better than I ever could (and in a hilarious way).