The Decency of the Atheist - Manu Joseph
Excerpts from an article published in the 13th Nov edition of OPEN
There is a spiritual movement among the urban affluent to understand life through a guru who is differently dressed but is not expected to do magic.
There is an unsung decency about the atheists, as they are loosely called. they know there is no hot weather hell, there is no punitive rebirth as an earthworm, yet they never hope to benefit through evil. They do not create traffic jams, they do not create noise, their charity is never a pathetic transaction. In their moments of confusion, at the most they would say, "I believe in a Force". It is not a great line, but it is a pure line - they really do not expect the 'Force' to do them any favours, like increase their salary. they just go about their lives without harming anyone, even though they know nobody is watching. You may say that most bad people are bad because they are godless. But that is the astonishing thing. From what I have seen, most criminals (and criminals who have given themselves fancier names) are great believers in God.
People who do not seek divine mediums, who know that 'skepticism' is a name given to higher intelligence, they do have their just rewards. They go through life with a clarity of mind which is like a clear, beautiful day.
It is also called joy.
There is a spiritual movement among the urban affluent to understand life through a guru who is differently dressed but is not expected to do magic.
There is an unsung decency about the atheists, as they are loosely called. they know there is no hot weather hell, there is no punitive rebirth as an earthworm, yet they never hope to benefit through evil. They do not create traffic jams, they do not create noise, their charity is never a pathetic transaction. In their moments of confusion, at the most they would say, "I believe in a Force". It is not a great line, but it is a pure line - they really do not expect the 'Force' to do them any favours, like increase their salary. they just go about their lives without harming anyone, even though they know nobody is watching. You may say that most bad people are bad because they are godless. But that is the astonishing thing. From what I have seen, most criminals (and criminals who have given themselves fancier names) are great believers in God.
People who do not seek divine mediums, who know that 'skepticism' is a name given to higher intelligence, they do have their just rewards. They go through life with a clarity of mind which is like a clear, beautiful day.
It is also called joy.
posted by supramenta at 6:52 AM
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