When i was a kid (or when i was in Nepal), i used to believe in God. I did however have reservations on religion but i still believed in God. Its been a year in US now and having met people from other cultures, the existence of a supreme being doesnt make sense anymore. 

I think that believeing in GOd instills in a person faith, confidence and positivity to get through good times and be appreciative of the bad ones. I want my children to have these qualities so i dont want to tell them that GOd doesnt exist. Moreover, i cant imagine what my parents/relatives will make of me when i talk to them about this. It isnt going to be pretty. 

It does give me great discomfort to think about all this. I must admit i feel less confident and more pessimistic these days. I want to believe in God but my logic doesnt give in anymore. In fact, i get irritated when i hear things like "God COMMANDED you to.." "GOd will PUNISH you if..", "We are SERVANTS in from of Him" "(on Christianity): "Jesus died on the cross for you"(THere are many who have made a similar magnitude of sacrifice). 

I think that God and religion are ancient theories that havent been discarded yet. And it hasnt due to the fear in people of what might happen if they didnt. One of my teachers once said "if there is no god and you believe in god, there is no harm but if there is god and you dont believe in god, there is harm". i feel this and cultural and social stigmas lead people to be religious and not question their beliefs. 

I wanna know what you guys make of this.

Well i was born and raised as Hindu.And i considered myself to be a strong believer as i used to be vegetarian used to fast and visit temples as often as i could. It was 2006 when i came to USA. Here i heard to Jesus for the first time in my life. i thought its good . Jesus is good . i have so many gods in my life why not one more. I started paying more attention to Jesus and Christians around me. But slowly it just started pissing me off because they keep telling me that there is just one god. Which i just could not digest. i had a problem with that . big problem i thought what a haters its my way or high way. i personally used to think that i am a good person i mean someone who deserves to go to heaven. i have helped poor . and have tried to to good to others. In my views i was righteous enough.So i started battling thoughts.. It was driving me nuts . So i cried out to God asked Him to reveal truth to me. One day i was just staring at the cross and its insane but that is what happened to me. He revealed himself to me. I just understood that Jesus is the only living God. How i cannot explain. Before when i tried to read the bible  i could not understand a thing but after my experience the words on the bible came alive to me. All the questions i had about life and death i had answer to everything. As i got more involved i saw the awesomeness of our God . I saw people being healed in front of my eyes. Peoples life beings changed. people being healed from cancer, aids. who else but just one . true God can heal people like this. Not only that He has even raised people from death. Its laughable for those who do not know him. But for believers it all makes sense. God is a God of power. Believing in Him is not for Him its for us. So how do you know what i am telling you is truth? Simple if Jesus is the only living God then you can simply ask him just like i did. Ask him to show you if He is real. And He will because He is God . He can do anything. All you gotta do is ask. ..

 Sajha is getting very interesting with Christards starting to hang out here. If he revealed himself to you then suck his penis and swallow the gravy.  He is the only living god so the gravy has extra protein. Enjoy the jesus juice while it lasts !!!

Very interesting discussion. I am pretty spiritual. I never believed in Religion because the stories were simply bogus. Sometimes I had felt like I experienced god like what other people are talking about here but now in hindsight, I just believed what I wanted to believe without looking at all the evidence. Some of the events like what mazzareala or mero_desh describes are purely because of the figment of imagination. The mind is very powerful. It can create things that doesn't exist. That's why people go crazy and describe seeing gods or aliens, because that's what they constantly think about day and night and that's what the mind manifests to you. Having said that, all the religious people I've seen are eternally depressed people. They rely on god to cure their depression. They either went through a bad childhood, some kind of trauma like loss of business, or failed their exams, lost their loved ones, poverty and so on. I have yet to see if believing in god cures depression or makes it even more worse because I haven't seen anyone being cured by god.  
Final word on religion. All religions especially Islam and Christianity are trapping poor, gullible, and eternally depressed people and preaching them hatred towards other religion, culture, women, gays etc. I seriously hope that someday we will be able to get rid of the plague known as religion and make much more progress in terms of science and technology. But I always think as long as there are people who want to hurt/kill fellow human beings because their imaginary friend from heaven told them to do so or gave them the right to do so  (a.k.a Delusional) it may never happen. 
F(UK ALL religions. Let us be open minded and do stuffs for humanity not for going to heaven.

 

FountainDew,

You make some excellent points.
But, they are not exclusively and only related to religion.

Think of corporate marketing. Think of advertisement. Think of brand wars. All of these are indoctrinating their own dogma on people. You are right. The mind is very powerful. And it is this power of the mind that Coca-cola uses to sell sugar-water as nectar of the gods. It is this power that Gucci uses to pay $2 to some South Asian child worker to make a purse and then to sell it for $200 in New York. It is this power allows paintings and music to be sold for millions of dollars.

Are you complaining about all of these things?

Having said that, the consumers who do not get all the above products, feel that they cannot live without it. They would feel deprived and their lives would feel meaningless. They would be sad. Many of these people feel that these corporate brands would cure them of depression and their misery. I have yet to see if believing in everything that advertisements on TV tell you is a permanent cure for a lack of meaning of one's life.
If anything, you're working like a rat in the race, trying to make ends meet all the time. Trying to earn enough money to your superficial friends. I haven't seen anyone being permanently cured of sadness by any corporate brand, unlike what they all tell you.

Are you complaining about all of this also?

Finally, all these brand wars is causing a lot of hatred between people. There are people fighting which brand is superior and which is inferior. Capitalism brings about all kinds of it's own problems around the world. Look at the streets of Kathmandu and tell me what this culture of materialistic showing-off has produced of our nation. As long as people can don the latest and greatest brands that Madison Avenue has advertised, people in Nepal feel they don't need to have any morality or responsibility for what happens to the nation. They are living in corporate Nirvana. They are in heaven. They don't need anyone else's blessings or approval.

My friend, Are you complaining about all of this, also?

Look at the 'take back Wallstreet' movement or the 'green movement' and the demonstrations happing against APEC in Honolulu this week. These movements have sprung out of needing to fight against the absolute grip of the power of Capitalism all over the world.

Are you complaining about all of this also?

So, I agree with you. There is a lot of work and attention to be focussed on practical problems happening on earth that concern us Nepalese than to spend all of our time in either loving religion or hating religion. Do you agree with me or not?

HomeyJi
You make good points and I agree with your reasoning. But I'm talking specifically about religion in this case. And I don't want to digress from that. It's OK to be spiritual and believe in supreme being as long as it doesn't affect anyone else. But use common sense. You don't want to drink coke every single day or shove it down the throat of someone who just wants to drink water. But that's exactly what religion does to you. That's what I'm complaining about. If you are happy paying money to the instution that goes about and molests kids, then it's your choice to do so. But logical point of view is to give money to instution like United Nations who actually are involved in humanarian efforts without religious motives. 
I had a catholic friend who turned agnostic later in his life. I asked him why. He said from the time he remembered till he was an adult, he used to go to church every weekend with his family. He wanted to become a priest and devote his life to god. So when he finished school and started working at church he noticed that the people around him were very corrupt. If they needed money for themselves, they would devise plans to extract money from people by emotional blackmails and giving them false hopes (Like god will be pleased with you if you donated $2500). They would then use the money for their own benefit. Having seen all that, he lost complete faith in those institutions. I am fortunate that I never had to go through that kind of episode since I always viewed religion as a big business and nothing more just like pashupati bhattas hoarding up the money. It's very funny that people spend thousands of rupees to make god happy while giving pennies to disabled and homeless people sitting outside the temple. That is because people are so brainwashed by religion ever since they are born that they choose religion over humanity. 
Like I said. I'm a spiritual person. I believe in humanity and I do things in those terms. Not for going to heaven or pleasing god. I go to temple sometimes not because I think I'll get something in return from god, but because I want to do that for my family to make them happy and follow certain good aspects of our culture and preserve it from dying (Like recieving tika during dashain)
May Humanity Prevail and Organized Religion die!!
Peace!!

FoundainDew,

Reading your second response made me realize what a waste of my time responding to your first post was. I should have just said, "Yes Fountain Dew, you are 100% correct." This way, both of us would have been happy. And I could have invested that energy on another person who was worth my time.

 The final answer is, god doesnt exist. If anyone of you mistakenly believe in god and his hometown so called 'heaven' you would be better off killing yourself to be with him in heaven. 

Yes, you are 100% correct.

I am not going in altercation with this issue. For me, yes there is God. However, In a common sense i don't believe in something that says God is one who exhibits a miracle in a corporeal way and resides in most  angelic place so called "Heaven". I am proud that my parents brought me up in a progressive hindu religion and allowed me in my own effort to believe in divinity. I also don't believe in fellow hindus who try to bulldoze their verison of God in me. I have my own version of religion and i believe in humanity.

Forget this crappy debate and try to get away from illusions, and yes
Adhere to the path of humanity you will see all kinds of miracles in your real life. You will indeed find God if you follow the path of humanity. Om tat sat
Religion----- _> Humanity---------_> God

 It is sad that people loose faith in their religion.

The problem is with those holy priest or particular groups who think they are pure and representation of God. When they behave unethically, people lose faith. If you classify people and community such as untouchable, then you know you are bound to lose faith. Religion may be good, but those who interpret it in the name of god are the worst enemy.

God never tells you to lie, to segregate or to kill animals in the name of God. these are all made up in the name of God so that they can exert control over other communities. Those days are gone. If you arenot telling the truth, people will lose faith and the system will collapse.

just like christianity is in decline in Europe, same thing will happen to any religion (even in Nepal), Every system has to adapt and change according to time.

Any religion that speaks the truth and understand basic needs of our society, that will flourish. One that doesn't, there is nowhere but to go SOUTH.

भगवान एउटा मागी खाने भाडो हो अनी सक्ती प्रदर्शन को माध्यम हो । एसु को बारेमा पनि दुई चिरा पारे अनी ईस्लाम मा पनि सिया र सुन्नि अनी हिन्दू धर्म मा कती हो कती । बौध एउटा philosophy हो तर त्यसरी नबाच्ने भएर धर्म को रुपमा प्रयोग गरिन थालियो

मानबता मुल्भुत सार हो धर्मको तर त्यो देखाउने दात र खाने दात जस्ताइ हो । ब्यग्तिगत विश्वाश हो ।

191karma...your comment is one of the wisest and mature comments I have read in sajha.

191karma,

Shutting down the government because politicians are corrupt would be an over-reaction. Shutting down Wall-street because a few Fiancial advers are corrupt would be an over-reaction. Similarily, not taking the time to understand the benefits that religion gives millions of Nepalese is unfortunate and very closed-minded of the educated population. 

You stated it a lot better than I can. Thank you.

We need more wise leaders like you  that Nepalese can trust and look up to set the nation's religious culture so that it benefits Nepalese without harming them. This would allow Nepal to take advantage of the benefit of religious tourism in a sustainable manner. 
 

Has God got anything to do with religion? Any thoughts

For those atheists, how do you guys deal with your belief in your family?


Homeyji,

Won't you share your story?

I was having this discussion with this old christian guy about everyday life stuff, he is very kind, sympathatic and generous. He talks about positivity and good things but in very religious point of view. But, the way he tried to convince me to his belief system, I didn't quite like it. In a way he suggested me to believe in Jesus. When I told him about what I think about god, he was too shocked , he was almost speechless or say he was unknowingly stoked of the reality. He could not find any fallacy on what I said. He was like ' is this new age religion?'.  He was simply like.. like awe-struck...

The reason he was baffled was because I said " David , you are telling me to read few thousand years old book scripted by man, no offense please.. I'm telling myself that I should not constrict to that but rather see these things beyond that period of time when there was no religion but still there was some sort of life and civilization. Looking at these things, make me believe no religion. It's not called new age religion, and I don't even know what it is called but with surety, it's something I'd like to call as being spiritual. Mix science and spirituality, that's me. Everything that looks so supernatural, is merely the technology that we don't understand yet. There is no superstition or magic in my book, it's all physics beyond our comprehension. "

He was with surprised eye, ' so who is your god, who do you believe, what is your creator's name?' And, I replied, "my creator has got no name, though I feel her around me.. just when I get out at night , gaze at the starry sky and when I come back and see myself in the mirror , I'm alive, I feel my creator.. When I sit and meditate for hours, and see myself in the mirror, I see an aura on me for brief moment, I experience my creator.. so, it's a moment of bliss I can't describe in words.. so, just to give a clue to you.. look at yourself.. who do you think you are and why do you exist, what is the reason of your existence ,...what is the world from your perspective, there are 6 billion's perspectives and their world from those perspectives.. don't you think how amazing it is to feel that way? each and every of those consciousness is not made up of dead material, it's something,.. it's something indescribable , intangible.. that differs dead from alive. What do you think that stuff is? You may call it soul or spirit but what are those things? Those are the instances of our higher self(creator), when you say, in everyone of us there is god, that means we are just instances of our higher self. '

He was awkwardly staring at me and I was about to tell him about the fabric of dimensions, he didn't really want to get that far. I would have explained him there is no magic, no superstition , it's all science and it's just beyond our understanding and when we don't understand it, we call it simply magic or supernatural. But there is physics behind it no matter what. 

So, friend, I don't believe in any of your religion, but I do believe in one creator who designed this perfect ever expanding universe for his own entertainment. Look at this microscopic planet called earth in this vast vast galaxy.. how come we are constantly protected by zipping asteroids and comets. ?  Planet earth has it's own protective mechanism and before any stone reaches ground it turns into dust. The science behind it says it's because of atmosphere, gravity and friction in stratosphere. Yes, that is right, but who could have done to make it happen so. I don't get that answer yet. It makes me believe the creator up there probably laughing at me. 

Not believing in that ONE god is as stupid as simply refusing your own existence. You really need to change the way you think if anyone of you are strict atheist. There is no harm in thinking like me and jump on to 'pantheist' bandwagon.

@bitter_truth -

"each and every of those consciousness is not made up of dead material, it's something,.. it's something indescribable , intangible.. that differs dead from alive. What do you think that stuff is? You may call it soul or spirit but what are those things? Those are the instances of our higher self(creator), when you say, in everyone of us there is god, that means we are just instances of our higher self. "......."Not believing in that ONE god is as stupid as simply refusing your own existence." - Well said.
 

Pinpoint,

You have requested me to continue with my story, so I do.

Bitter truth, thank you for sharing your profound words. You should write more, my friend. You have amazing realizations.

Dear friends,

Yesterday, I took a walk. I took a long long walk. I needed to. Inside myself, I felt over-crowded. The demands of work, family, friends had crowded in on me. I try to meet these demands in my life. It gives me great pleasure to do so. But I was realizing yesterday that there is little space in my room for more.

I was realizing that I need to live life at the pace that I fnd it beautiful. Live too slow and the world looks ugly. Live it too fast and the world get's ugly. I need to live it at the speed of poetry.
Poetry is the language of the soul. And in our modern day of living in the rat race, it is this inner-poetry that is so easy to lose touch with.

My family could use more of my service. My work could use more of my service. I could always find ways to earn more money. More and more and more. I get so involved in the world that I don't even realize that I have lost touch with my inner poetry.

Well, when I was living in the monastery, it was very easy to maintain this poetry and be in touch with inner-beauty. There were very few demands of the external world. I lived as a monk. I had a regulated schedule I woke up at 3:45 A.M everyday. I went for celebrations. Ceremonies. Think of them as spiritual parties. It was a spiritual theme party that took the time to appreciate the beauties of the universe. There was serenity.
There was space at the temple to explore and find your own inner beauty. Modern day living does not give me this kind of space. I have to fight very hard to get the kind of space I want, the kind of space I enjoyed as a teenager living at the monastery.

So at this monastery, because of the theme, the mood and the other monks, the mood was very concentrated. The mood was very thick. It was very focussed. And you didn't have to be embarrased about pursuing your search for beauty with zeal. Finding beauty in this world is not easy. There is so much in the world that is ugly. But the spiritual practices made finding beauty so much easier.

The biggest thing you first find is space. Space from the demands of the world. Space to explore. Space to go within yourself. Space to explore yourself deep inside. I have explained what it feels like in this story of Dhruva:
http://sajha.com/sajha/html/index.cfm?threadid=85662

I felt engaged and absorbed in my meditations. I was very curious to explore the potential of what I was doing. The spiritual practices completely engrossed me. I was enchanted about the fact that having an experience like this was even possible. I was entranced by the beauty. I was fascinated that this dimension in the universe existed. The more I practiced, the more my interest level grew. I was simply intrigued by the possibilities. As time went on, I got more and more involved. My consciousness was spell-bound by the mantras that I chanted. I felt high stimulated with energy, that I can describe by no other terms than spiritual.

It was very inspiring to see the example of the other monks. I was amazed at their discipline. They led very rigorough and regimented life. My own families style of operating had been very chaotic. My parents fought a lot. So I was very happy and peaceful to be in an environment of tranquilty. The focus was only on spiritual practice. It filled me with a deep inner peace, love, reverence for spirituality. And I explored with abandon. I was a teenager. I was curious. I wanted to see where all this would take me.

In economics, there is a term: Supply creates it's own demand:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_creates_its_own_demand

If spirituality was an economic product, then it's presence created a huge demand from within me. The more I supplied myself spiritual practices and experiences, the more my heart demanded more of it. I feel that there was a vacuum in my life before I had the temple/monastery experience. It was a vacuum for a need for stability, beauty, coherence, continuity. I was looking for something solid to invest myself in. And once I experienced the tangible experiences of spirituality, I just could not get enough. I was like the starving beggar from Pashupatinath who had a feast laid in front of him.

To be continued....

i have felt god many times..harek sano baccha ma bhagwan dekhcu..harek buda-budi(old aged person) ko behavior ma bhagwan lai mahasus garcu..
mero once upon a time gf(my love and my everything) ko asu ani care ma bhagwan lai dekhcu..
dad n mom are always my god..
do does my sis n her son..
i would be loving them 4ever..sano baccha..buda budi..needy person..mom dad...sis n her son..and that's how i m folling my religon..
that's the way i worship my god..i m living beings.that is my religion..

babal khate: so in essence your example of asteroids not hitting us serves as a proof of existence of the unnamed GOD? if so, is it okay for me to make a statement "i was walking on the sidewalk this morning and i did not get hit by a single car that were speeding past me" or say  a statement like  "i was trekking  down rocky mountain i was not attacked by a single grizzly bear" therefore these examples proves that god exists. Is this valid?