The Splitting Group Theory

Globally, every one’s trying to prove whether religion A is better, or religion B is violent, or religion C is the most peaceful.

And, the tragedy with this behavior is that the majority have a STRONG opinion in defense of their community or against a particular group. This is leading to reactions that are even stronger and defensive.

My advise to it: GROW UP. It’s just your default animal/herd behavior that is making you defend your herd strongly. And, it’s a lowly human behavior to find reasons to split. And here is a hypothetical experiment that will prove WHY:

Keep 100 folks from the same community, same religion, same skin color in one house for a month – something like Big Brother or Big Boss. Make them talk, see each other, eat together, cook together, work together, etc. Observe them doing this. Slowly, you’ll see that new groups are forming, preferences being set, people starting to like each other or despising each other. Slowly, group behavior takes over and if some have strong feelings about their group and its preferences, then a new religion or custom will be created. Trust me, it could be as insane as steak-loving group or burger-loving group.

Despite being the superior animals, we are still following the inferior herd. That’s the tragedy of modern times and it’s the tragedy that’s driving the world peace bonkers. Here is a story of peace, violence, grouping behavior:

A million men form a beautiful country,

Getting together with one religion makes them free.

A peaceful place is what they find,

Enjoying the oneness with no crime.

They follow the one man who tells the truth,

He preaches them a force that is brute.

The force spreads and its wisdom blooms,

Ignored by most and questioned by few.

The rationale of this wisdom is what some seek,

As they question the preacher their voices are made bleak.

Rebels and atheists they are named,

Quakes and storms arrive and drifters are blamed.

To protect their questions and minds,

The drifters flee and escape the grind.

The drifters flee to form a new country,

Again laying the foundation of a place that’s free.

Slowly drifters find a leader,

With wisdom and mind that is cleaner.

A man is a man with his flaws,

The leader preaches what was once a religious claw.

So the human cycle repeats itself,

New religions are formed that claim to bring peace to self.

Herds continue to form as drifters are killed,

Who is to walk against the tide when life is not religiously billed?

Truth is pessimist when I speak on the world,

For the mindless are at peace and questioners are glum.

Tragic as it may be but this is how we think,

Way of our herd is the only peaceful thing.

There are problems and my religion will help us recover,

For now, the world is violent and that religion across the line is the violence maker.

 

 

The Leader Paradigm

Throughout our lives we keep fighting for supremacy over our bosses, friends, partners, parents, and siblings. Almost at every juncture, we believe that our decisions and choices are correct and ultimate choices, and that our choices will be for the greater good of our world.

However, our collective wisdom crashes to the ground when you consider the blindness with which we tend to follow others, especially when we accept them as leaders – especially political or religious. This paradigm of thinking extends, and is at its worst, in groups worshiping an individual, collectively.

When following the path laid by our self-appointed leaders, our choices are at best – average. We tend to lose our rationality as we look for someone to guide us. It’s as if we have a wall in our minds that doesn’t let us take a lead in certain things. Or, it could be that we just consider some work as cleaning the dirt off the street, and let others do it for us.
For someone who prays as much as they dine, it’s certain that they’ll be most likely hell-bent on following a particular guru or preacher. They’ll vouch for their teachings and in most cases, they’ll be following the words of their guru blindly.

Well, in the present day and age, I am no great moral to judge the moral of a religious leader. Many would be way above my ethical ways of life, but the probability that you’ve found one such moral guru is anybody’s guess.

We all are mortals with our own flaws. It’s not a guarantee that the one you are following is without a flaw. It’s upon you to judge how flawed they are. You are flawed, so are they. Also, it’s upon you to think if despite being flawed you can follow them and treat them as leaders, then what about listening to the guiding force within you? Then why to follow them blindly and not listen to your own voice? Why not accept yourself as a leader for your own life?

The most common notion persisting in the society is that those you follow have reached a societal or spiritual nirvana. They are way above the common masses. Well, the argument for this notion is that – how did they achieve such levels of xyz nirvana?
If they are genuine (which is again your judgement), then they’ve achieved such levels through studying the existing literature, deliberating, learning, questioning, interpreting, and then presenting their interpretations to you. From this list of actions that your guru performs, which are the ones that you cannot do?

Listening to others is good, but following them blindly makes you a gun with your trigger in their hands. The gun may not kill others, but it will certainly kill your individuality and bury a rational mind forever. The present society needs rational minds more than ever. The world desperately needs those who inject a healthy dose of rationality in the way the society practices religion and customs. We need to grow beyond the cocoon of the old ways and methods, which are now being leveraged by many for building a divisive and totalitarian society.