"The God Delusion"

I first heard of The God Delusion from a random sms. A day later, I came across an article on the book by Suresh Menon– though this was primarily a compilation of extracts, he sounded suitably impressed. And the same evening, I started reading Amartya Sen’s Identity and Violence – whose principal argument is that societal violence stems from the tendency to associate human beings with a single identity, most commonly related to the person’s religion or community. The coincidences were too many to ignore – much like a message from God (pun intended!) – enough to pique my interest.

I read the first chapter of the book from NYT, which dwelt largely on the difference between Einsteinian religion and supernatural religion. Not very exciting fare, but one should not judge a book by its first chapter!

The NYT’s review on the book seemed to indicate that the book had its merits, but apparently some of the arguments were far too specious, rhetorical and occasionally caustic to appeal to the rationalist. Wikipedia’s synopsis of reviews about the book appeared to corroborate the views of the NYT’s Jim Holt.

Both Bertrand Russell (whose views I can speak of more authoritatively, having read Why I Am Not a Christian, What is An Agnostic, and Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic – all excellent reads) and Dawkins (who I have not read – so what I say is likely to be an interpretation) present compelling rational arguments for the non-existence of God.

My dissatisfaction with both, however, is that they focus on the Christian God, i.e., both dwell upon the notion of a collective God, as defined by the Church. Indeed, Dawkins’ book would have been more aptly named The Christ Delusion, or at least The Religion Delusion – Russell, to be fair, was more explicit in his naming. Russell, being a precise mathematician, goes to the extent of including belief in Christ as part of his definition of a Christian, along with belief in God and immortality. Dawkins tries giving us a definition of what belief in God can denote – belief in a supernatural creator that is appropriate for us to worship – but his focus thereafter appears to be on a Christian God.

Given this, it is no wonder that both move on to making an impassioned plea for the abolition of the practice of religion, and by extension, abolition of belief in God.

I will try to examine my thoughts on this, but with some modification. I will go with the definitions of God proposed by Russell and Dawkins, but my God will not just be Christian – he (or she!) may as well belong to any other religion. That is easy – I need only ignore the first part of Russell’s definition (about the belief in Christ). Also, while my God has powers that are appropriate for worship, the forms of that worship need not necessarily be collective, and is for me to decide (and may include no worship at all). By this, I want to introduce the concept of a personal God – a belief in God, without necessarily an accompanying belief in religion.

So, why does one believe in God? More importantly, why do most people tend to exhibit a strong belief in the existence of God, and treat the existence of entities such as Martians and spaceships with skepticism, given that we have seen neither?

I think it is partly due to what we learn at our mother’s knee – where did I come from, Mommy? Well Dad and I prayed to God to give us a bundle of joy to light up our lives and He gifted us with you. Any entity that has created the special ‘I’ was bound to have powers to grant, and deny, wishes. And by the time we understand the boring truth about how we to came to be, the belief is too far entrenched for us to discard – the result is regular visits to His House (church, temple, etc.) to demonstrate our belief and convenient explanations of chance instances as ‘acts of God to right the Universe’

It also cannot be denied that a belief in God has the capability to inspire some to reach for the impossible. Everyone needs an anchor, something to hold on to and to believe in when all else is falling apart, and for most people, God plays this role to perfection. I personally don’t believe in any of the miracles attributed to Gods of various faiths, having never been witness to one myself. But I have seen instances where people have been inspired to achieve impossible feats, and have attributed this solely to a belief in God.

Given this conditioning and so-called evidence of his super human prowess, God is built into something to be appeased and feared. Keep him happy, do as he bids you to (which will be decided by his torch bearers), and he will reward you. Anger him, and he will ensure you will get your come-uppance. To quote Russell - It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes. I’ll take that further – his existence not just gives you someone who will stand by you, but also someone you can blame when things don’t go the way you want them to. It is an explanation of the unknown by an artificially known-unknown. You might as well replace him by a robot, or a Martian!
So the good fortune that we usually attribute to a faith in God is really an outcome, partly of our inner strength and capability, and partly a dash of good luck. And the bad times when God is supposedly punishing us for sins perpetuated years ago (or maybe in some other before-life!) is really ‘just one of those bad times’ when our luck runs out.

But we continue to attribute this to God because human beings like having a reason, a justification, for everything, even if that reason is inherently irrational, or leads to irrational outcomes and behaviors.

So, what if God was one of us, Just a slob like one of us, Just a stranger on the bus, Trying to make his way home.

What about religion?
There is no disputing the arguments laid out by both Dawkins and Russell, as well as numerous others, against religion – the misdeeds of the Church (and other religious bodies) perpetuated down the centuries are adequate evidence. In India itself, there are numerous instances of people who flaunt every convention of humanity (deceit, rape, loot and murder), all in the name of God. I am as inclined to believe in the existence of Christ as in that of the Greek or the Hindu Gods – which is almost zilch. In fact, I am sometimes tempted to believe that Christ and the Bible are the outcome of the first successful marketing campaign launched by the chiefs of religion – no wonder the Church is reputed to be one of the best run organizations in the world!

But all the evidence of the misdemeanors of religion relate to religious fanaticism – religion that is exclusive and taken to the extreme. Unfortunately, it does not account for the ‘moderates’ - the significant numbers who are devoutly religious, and have the good sense to not participate in religious extremism, or those who are moderately religious (most people I know, including my parents, would probably fall in this category ) and finally, those who are not religious at all, yet have a belief in God (I was a former member of this clan).

So, on the one hand, we have the faithful who are inspired to greatness by God, but who may not feel the need to impose their faith on others. And on the other hand are the zealots who may not understand God (or religion), but use it as a weapon of power (and destruction). Does the existence of the latter mean that everyone should stop believing in God and/or stop going to a Church/mosque/temple? To me, this sounds as specious as the famous Indian argument to ban ‘revealing clothes’ and ‘public display of emotion’ to cut down on rapes and eve teasing!

At a metaphysical level, there are no rights and wrongs anyways. But given that we agree on a definition of what is right and what is wrong, I see nothing wrong in believing in God or religion, as long as the belief, and the practice, remains personal and non-invasive. In fact, their presence might have more benefits that the Agnostics or Atheists are willing to give them credit for. If God’s presence, even if fictitious, makes life more bearable for me, whether I call him God or Jesus or Ali or John is really no one’s business. Many priests act as wonderful guides for youth, several religious institutions provide food, clothing, shelter and education to the needy, and many religious practices (such as Buddhism) provide support groups to the lonely.

But the problem arises when I want others too to see him exactly the way I see him, and to mould their actions in deference to him the way I do. We do not expect other people’s parents or spouses or children to emulate ours, nor do we expect them The same degree of moderation, if displayed towards God and religion, will make the world a much saner place

Like Russell, I believe that life in general does not have any purpose, but human beings have purposes. I would like to extend that belief to state that, just because what I am doing is not a part of some grander design, does not in any way diminish the value of my thoughts and actions. Unlike Russell, however, I see nothing timorous in using the imaginary crutches of religion to bolster my confidence, as long as those crutches are not used as a weapon to injure someone else. Look for imaginary allies in the sky, for what is life without a little imagination, but do not let your imagination limit your actions, or the free will of your fellow beings. Reach for the impossible, but do not expect it to happen on its own, and do not be discouraged if you do not get your heart’s desire even after trying. For the greatest miracle is what lies within a wise and compassionate heart.

Coorg Trekking & Rafting

In a way, it was the perfect build up to a weekend full of adventure. The literally last minute shopping for clothes and floaters, the hilarious fiasco of landing up at Mainland China and almost collecting someone else’s order, only to realize that E had placed our food order with the Calcutta branch (the Indiranagar folks were kind enough to rush the food to my Bangalore address – bless them Lord with tons of food, always!), and finally, both of us getting locked inside the bathroom (and the house) exactly 10 minutes before our bus was to pick us up! The last really did frighten me – and I am eternally grateful to B for the inventive rescue.

Finally, we dawdled up to Barbecue Nation at 11 PM to catch our bus – we were on our way to Coorg, for a light trek in the mountains and white water rafting in the river KKR.

The bus was not exactly what we had anticipated (a Volvo was expected for the money we were paying!), but we were too excited about our recent and anticipated adventures to care! The jerky lamb we had devoured for dinner was soon forgotten, and we treated ourselves to Kurkere and Ferrero Rocher while we chatted and finally dropped off to sleep. I slept fitfully – the rain water was seeping in through the window and there was hardly any leg space – but some sleep is better than none! I finally woke up around 6 the next morning as the bus was navigating its way through a carpet of shimmering green. The sky was a pristine white and the air smelt of coffee and spices – we had entered the land of the Kodava’s.

Coorg Guest House was more like a college dormitory, and we were aghast to discover that nearly ten women would be accommodated in our room – which had a single loo! After a long queuing up for our bath, we made our way to the dining room for a wholesome breakfast of poha and sweet coffee. By 8 am, we were loaded into the jeeps to make our way to our trek starting point.

Giving us company in the jeep was Raju, a tall, handsome Coorgi dressed in boots and a hat that reminded one of the cowboy Westerns. It was he who broke the pleasant news that the trekking route was infested with leeches, and conversation quickly turned to the most effective means of fighting the dreaded creatures.

The sky was still misty as we crossed the stream that took us to the base of the our trekking destination. The mountains loomed large in front of us, and we had just learnt that we had to climb nearly 8 km – so much for an easy trek! In a way, we were glad that we would not walk under the exhausting glare of the sun, though the rains would make the path more slippery and treacherous.

We made our way in single file up the first hill – in all, we would scale three small hills before reaching the summit. The path for the most part was rocky but not very steep. There were frequent stops to fight off the numerous leech attacks with salt & deo, and also to take in the breathtaking views of the town below whenever we stumbled upon a spot of plain land. By about 9.30 AM, everyone was exhausted and glad to make the first pit stop – we had covered only 3 km by then! The chatter was diminishing, and it was a quieter and very exhausted group that dropped down at the second pit stop. I was grateful for the muesli bars, and somehow, the peak seemed really far away. We plodded on, however, and finally, our goal seemed a lot nearer. The last one km was the steepest part of the climb, and was made much tougher by our weakening limbs. However, it was an awesome feeling to run up the little hillock at the top of the hill and find a nice rock to seat our tired body on – we had climbed nearly 3000 feet and finally made it to the top!

We made our way back through a shorter route, and stumbled through numerous streams and pretty butterflies. The route was slippery, and I even got a leech bite towards the end of the trek as a trophy for all the exertion! We were back at Coorg Guest House by about 2 pm, and did we have a ravishing appetite!

In the evening, we were driven to Irupu Falls. It took tremendous will power for our tired bodies to climb the 100 odd steps to the fall, but the effort was well worth it. Thanks to the monsoons, the ice cold waters roared down in magnificent splendor, and the tremendous lung power could be heard miles away!

We spent a lovely hour by the Falls, hopping and skipping our way over the rocks and soothing our aches and pains in the refreshing chill of the waters. It was dark by the time we made our way back to the Guest House, and we took a quick shower to prepare ourselves for the evening barbeque. Getting to the barbeque site was a bit of a nightmare, as we had to make our way down a km long rocky path in almost complete darkness (the torch bearers did not provide any assistance!), dreading leeches and other sundry creatures of the night. Two large fires had been lit next to a large lake (Luckily, alcohol was prohibited, else many in the group would have certainly landed in the lake before the night was out!), and we were happy to note that the boys had already started barbecuing the first lot of meat.

Day two was reserved for the adventure we all awaited - rafting! Most of us had no prior experience with rafting (My rafting experience in the placid river Sita in Jharkhand hardly counted!), so we were bouncing with nervous anticipation. We soon discovered that there were only two rafts available, so we had a long break as we awaited our turn! Luckily, Prakash, the owner of the estate (http://www.coorgwhitewaterrafting.com/) has a rudimentary kitchen with a cozy fireplace close to the rafting start point, and he kept us occupied with tales of his youth to the accompaniment of endless cups of tea & coffee.

The first batch returned in a few hours, high on adrenaline and adventure, and it was our turn to pad up in the rafting gear and listen attentively to our coach’s instructions. After a few practice drills, we were ordered to jump into the water! While the swimmers dived in joyfully, the non swimmers had to be cajoled & occasionally pushed in – our shrieks for help and the later whoops of joy at our miraculous survival (or so it seemed) must surely have been heard as far as the next district.

We were now ready to push off into the waters. The first twenty minutes was simple rowing, enjoying the lush greenery, waving to our friends by the banks & oohing at the solitary kingfisher perched on a rock. Soon, the river began to open up, and we caught sight of Morning Coffee, the first rapid on our course. We braced to follow the instructions of our guide, but we needn’t have worried. Just like its name, our first hurdle was short & perky, and presented minimal challenges to us amateurs.

Our first success had us all jumping with bravado, and we whooped with joy as we successfully navigated the next two rapids - The Grasshopper & Ramba Samba. In between, we made a brief detour to a small alcove by the banks – doubtless a shelter from the storm for frequent river travelers.

We were now brimming with confidence, till our guide cautioned us about the next rapid – the Wicked Witch. It’s unpredictable and if you don’t follow my instructions, you can get caught in an endless whirlpool, he warned – and we soon discovered the truth of his words as we kept on going round and round when one of our team members mistakenly rowed forwards instead of backwards! There were a few apprehensive moments as our guide barked out commands like the rapid fire round of a game show – Forward! Right! Duck! Left…Left, Left, not RIGHT !!! - but finally, we were through and emitting war cries as though we were Hagar The Horrible’s soldiers back from massacring the English!

By now, the river had opened up to reveal vistas of dense tea plantations and mist covered mountains. The view was breathtaking - the weather just right with a warm sun creating a sheen of shimmering yellow and green against a brilliant blue sky. We would have been happy to chug along at an easy pace while soaking in the fantastic sights, but our last rapid awaited – the Big Bang. This was reputed to be the toughest hurdle on the course, but luckily did not pose much of a challenge to us veterans.

All too soon, the banks of the river were visible - our adventure was drawing to a close. The swimmers dived in for one last tryst with the blue waters, after which we dragged our water logged bodies & the rafts across the sand. We strolled along the coffee plantations & admired the brilliant hues of the greenery and the variety of flowers. The elevation afforded a superb view of the river and reminded us of our recent adventures. As we piled into the jeep for our return journey, we suddenly realized how exhausted and ravenous we were – but our dreams of a piping hot meal were interrupted by the extremely bumpy road revealing brilliant vistas, sprinkled with conversations with a 20 year old on the disastrous effects of the Nano & the Tata’s massacring of Oliver Ridley turtles. The discussion was a fond reminder of my college days when the world was painted in strong shades of right and wrong – there is still nothing more intoxicating in this world than a delightful combination of youth and idealism.

A word about the organizers – the Bangalore Mountaineering Club. Kudos to Neeraj & his team for regularly coordinating outdoor and trekking activities in and around Bangalore and bringing together a diverse set of nature lovers. I do think that there is scope for improvement in the organization – for instance, the buses & accommodation can certainly be improved upon. But I also recognize that this is not a full time job for Neeraj, so one cannot have the same expectations as from a professionally run travel outfit. I’m quite hopeful that as the club grows in popularity (and it already is!) and the founders get regular cash flow, these aspects will be looked into – it would be wonderful for Bangalore to boast of an adventure club that offers the best of the very best travel experiences in the world!

Shame

Goa is one of my favorite destinations in India. It is one of the rare places in India where you can just BE, if you know what I mean. There is a sense of freedom in Goa that I am yet to experience anywhere else in India, except maybe in Bombay.

But the recent cases of rape & murder have sullied Goa's idyllic reputation, revealing the sordid politics and drug dealing that seem to chase all good things in India. This recent article in the press makes me ashamed of Goa and of my country.

The mother of the German minor, who was allegedly raped by Goa Education Minister Atanasio Monserratte's son Rohit, has withdrawn the charges against him. The German woman has written a letter to police, saying 'the whole system has failed her'.
On November 5, Rohit was remanded to three days police custody by a Goa court in connection with the rape case. Rohit had surrendered before the Goa police. He was booked by Goa police on October 14 for allegedly raping the German girl and had gone missing after that.He appeared before the police on November 1 to give his statement, a few hours before the 14-year-old German girl deposed before a magistrate after initial reluctance.

Too many of us exult over India's GDP growth and the growing number of Indians in the world's richest list. We live in the dangerous delusion that India is finally being recognized as a developed country. I find this ridiculous, for true development is indicated by how well a country's policies & systems treat its 'less advantaged' citizens -the poor & marginalized, women and children, amongst others. And if people, both from within and outside the country, repeatedly experience systemic failure, we should abandon all pretense of democratic development. Hell, this is not even civilized behavior, forget about development.