Religion rediscovered

The quote “The tendency to turn human judgments into divine commands makes religion one of the most dangerous forces in the world“by Georgia Harkness aptly summarizes the situation that exists in India today. Communal tension has always been there in India especially due to different ideologies propagated by various religions. But when I say ideologies, I am talking about the ideologies of certain sections of people who are trying hard to force their point of view on others by claiming ‘their judgments’ to be ‘divine commands’ only to serve their personal interests. Even today we have different interpretations of Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana and other religious readings; nobody can claim to know the actual meaning of these. So it is hard to understand why common people get influenced by these instigators who have nothing to do with religion and know nothing about it. Everyone cannot subscribe to the same values and that is what gives birth to a different faith. But it does not mean what I believe is true and what others believe is false. Everyone has a right to his opinion but nobody has a right to demean someone else’s opinion or faith. This is precisely happening in India, courtesy people whose survival depends on the discord among Indians and it has resulted in number of religious fights. So religion by itself has been used to create friction among people and this is what brings us to the second part of this post.
Religion in real sense may have been made use of by people to provoke others but if there is one thing that has united the country time and again, it is Cricket. And the interesting part is that Cricket is a religion in India! The difference between the two kinds of religions is obvious. One religion (religion in real sense) is in a position of being influenced by certain groups of people whereas the other religion i.e. Cricket is of the people, by the people and for the people. We have recently seen how people of all creeds and castes came out on the streets of Mumbai boozing and dancing when India won the world cup. There was no feeling of animosity among people following different religions, in fact it was people’s religion i.e. Cricket that had brought them together. By definition, Cricket may not be religion but considering its role in uniting people, it certainly qualifies as a religion. There has never been any divide among the countrymen; it was always among few people who were provoked to indulge in such heinous acts. And the rest of the people who accounted for the most of India were looking for a reason to show their oneness and Cricket provided that reason. The celebration post the world cup victory was not just another celebration it was a slap on the face of those who believe they can divide the country on the basis of faith people follow and values they hold. I just wonder what would happen if Cricket was not considered a religion in India? Scary thought! It actually serves as an example for the rest of the countries that it is nice to have something that is considered as religion despite not being one in real sense, as the actual religious differences are bound to be there always and only a quasi-religion like Cricket can keep us all together.