Science or art of living!
There is no exact science or art of living:
We are born to live but we chase dreams. We fall chasing dreams; get up and start running again. Some part of us realizes that there is something wrong in what we are doing. Then comes some external shock. The most common is, breach of trust, either followed or preceded by financial crunch. Or some health problem or some death. It shake us up and the fear inside starts to spill out. Then comes the search for some greater meaning of life or greater purpose of life.
Most of the people increase the frequency of their visits to their church, temple or their chosen place of faith. Some start looking for different faith being disillusioned with the existing one. In this vulnerable moments the marketing of religion is started by the innocent members of the cult by narrating their tales of success due to religious blessings. Dogmas are created from such tales. If the problem is not financial, we as consumers immediately spend money in donation to the religion or its various charities or buying paraphernalia it sells.
People who follows any religious cult do not bother to see the contradictions or hypocrisy of its leaders but they form a new pattern of socializing which is considered holy. They congregate with religious friends, visit holy place and for the first time in life suppose to be doing something meaningful in life. It is a different matter that they continue to do all other so called meaningless things as well.
Religious Cults are cultural clubs with different rules.
Religious Cults offer everything to keep mind and tongue occupied and with a belief that this is the purpose of life and a promise of salvation in after life. No consumer can get a better deal. So what if these cults make windfall profits and never truly share their accounts. You got what you wanted.
I have personally seen one cult i.e. Radhasoami of Beas. I have met with its followers and read its literature beside reading variety of other religious literature. Some links to various aspects of this religion are given here. Their snobbery with money is linked here and here. While it can not be said that all what these cult leaders say is untrue but it is certainly incomplete. Further the truth is always relative. In any case if I start explaining what is right and what part of teaching is twisted, that too successfully, I would end up being a religious cult myself. But I must say religious congregation creates problems for the common people.
It is Mahavir Jayanti today. At 8.30 AM a congregation rather procession of followers having about hundred people was passing through a crossing did not bother for red light. They simply waved their hands and put the traffic to a stop and went forward. This religious arrogance is mobarchy which is a portmanteau of mob and anarchy. This is the birth ground of fundamentalism and conflict which is dangerous.
© Sandeep Bhalla
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