Songsoptok
SONGSOPTOK: «Belief is simple acceptance that a proposition is true,
without regard to reason(s) while faith is the acceptance of a proposition rather
than an epistemological (evidence-based) reason.” Does this reflect your
understanding of the two words? If so, why? If not, then how would you
distinguish between the two?
ANINDA: As you have yourselves cited in the question itself, evidence n reasoning
n rationality hardly plays any role in most
cases. Mostly, belief n faith are
both based on a firm conviction .
Like Theory n Hypothesis vis a vis
Law. To me, not much distinction
exists between the two aspects n both
notify firmness in Confidence &
conviction & acceptance . Point of
distinction is , Faith has more of blind
stubbornness in so far as one does not / is
not allowed to question / reason before accepting. Faith is far off from Justified True Belief concept.
A Faith is ingrained to the core
n ethos of a human, & such deep rooted is the conviction that one occasionally goes blind & sarcastically superstitious . Support to a cult, to a
religious guru/God man / God woman/ to a
political leader , a lingua leader , or
a caste leader are
frequently biased n based on complete
fanatic faith on him / her , without
going into logics n reasons therefor.
SONGSOPTOK: Each person can inherit, adopt or construct her own set of
beliefs and faiths, or it is a combination of the two. How would you qualify
your own personal set? Were your faiths and beliefs handed down to you by
someone? Who? Or were they acquired? If so, how?
ANINDA: Faith, as I said, means unquestionable loyalty &
dependence. If I am a Hindu, I shall not allow anybody to question any vices of
Hinduism, whatever strong the reasons may be.
At the rise of Renaissance at Constantinople n beyond, so many lost
their lives for questioning. Galileo was
subjugated , as he wanted to live, while Copernicus preferred death. Jesus himself got crucified. Catholics believe that divorce
n abortion are bad & they illegalize the same, irrespective of whether that
can cause death to a lady. These are all
mostly inherited . There are
exceptions too, where people go for religious conversions , these are
self-constructed , based on the influence of muscle / money/ persona /cult
powers.
My parents always voted for Congress , I prefer NOTA. There are
1st gen drifters into BJP/RSS
fold too, although most come from a family lineage. Reverse is true too,
but to a lesser extent. I
had developed a fanaticism in my
college days against Congress , going by
their Emergency era atrocities. Later I realized , a faith / belief against Congress may be bad.
Similarly, so many of my old
leftist friends have turned to
BJP today, as BJP holds a strong
influence among CAs. But my own
belief was so deep rooted that I could
not leave it. May be all the Nazis believed Nazism
can uproot all evils. Today, Jews are killing Palestinians day in n day out, because they
have that trust n belief . Apartheid
system prevailed in South Africa
& colonies of US n UK , officially n
unofficially because of social acceptance. Unless a large sect of ppl have faith n belief , u cannot sustain such systems.
To come to my own persona, I acquired my faith n belief n conviction in Socialism n communism, influenced by Com. Sandipan Mitra & Com. Debashish.
Gradual reading into Das Capital, Comm
Manifesto, Red Book etc ---I kept my ears n eyes open n wanted to stay afloat
with my Rationalist Society . While denouncing terrorism, I could see &
hear about the confessed errors n
the Buddha/ Mahaveer/ Chaitanya like sacrifices made by leftist leaders , which, to me, were much
more than some of great Hindu leaders. I
got convinced in d belief n faith that
Religions is an ultimate opium that obstructs free flow of reasons n
reasoning in society .
SONGSOPTOK: In your own personal sphere, do you consider worship as a religious
act involving rites, rituals or other types of practices? Or is it related to
something that transcends religion? Can you explain your position with some
examples?
ANINDA: In Bangladesh, in last 1
year , if I can recollect correctly, 9 atheists have been killed. My wife also
got the threat of murder once she enters the country. Some of my
Chittagong n Dhaka friends called up n said ( against my allegation of
their no response against such
murders) that they never supported such killings but they
are afraid of lives once they openly
protest. Personally I have belief n
faith in secularist credential of Hassina Apa. In Bengal , we have
seen terrorism’s growth catalyzed
by Mamta Banerjee’s out of way
support to Islamist fanatics.
I am an atheist , but my wife is a spiritual lady. She calls
herself a non-religious human. I have hardly seen her visit any temple. I like visiting
the external structures of all temples n mosques n dargahs n churches,
in case photography is not prohibited. Just last week we went to Dharmasthala but did
not go inside . I cannot justify the power of any Jyotirlinga, but , yes, I
believe , there is a Universal system, as proclaimed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi n Acharya Rajneesh ,
which govern us all. That system decides, what is to happen today / tomorrow /
1 year down the line. I did not use the
word Faith , ‘cause I strongly believe, any atheist, any theist & any
agnostic shall suffer equal fate, if an
accident happens & any good is a coincidence / a miracle , no act of
God. I believe, the words like ACT OF GOD/ IN THE NAME OF GOD
/ RELIGION N CASTE CITATIONS IN EMPLOYMENT/ ACADEMIC FORMS must be banned.
SONGSOPTOK: “Faith takes over where
reason leaves off” – do you agree? Can you explain your point of view?
ANINDA: I repeat my
faith in the words of Karl Marx that
Religion is Opium. You see, my wife n daughter do not take Beef , while I love. Again, I
cannot relish rat/ snake/ spider/ lizard meat, because I am taught to. In Guwahati, in my tobacco factory once a
sudden strike broke out, because the
Assameese caterer , on 26.12.2000, served the left out portions of chicken n mutton out
of 25.12 night party dinner, in the breakfast. And Tiwary n Iyer Brahmins , on touching the plate,
felt that they have lost their religions. In fact, they said, they were not allowed to dream
of egg ( like Vaishnavas) . Muslims hate
non Halal chicken n pork. Ask
anybody why, n no answer. These
food habits n prohibitions n untouchability syndromes are carried for
generations. Goth inspired killings
& high female feticide are
driven by such faiths n beliefs.
There are neither reasons
nor reasoning ability to judge with clear mind n reject . Similarly, the unhealthy n unhygienic practice of putting on knife testicles n
hymen in Islam go unchallenged on faith. On unknowingly relishing beef once, my
wife had to vomit , when told. My
mother believes , shasthi , Ashtami n
other brata rituals shall do immense
good to her hubby, her son , her entire family. Nobody has ever got proof for the benefits of such fasts . My mom
has visited both Puri n Kashi 4 times each, because her faith is, these shall
lead her
to salvation n no rebirth. With
her shallow knowledge of Ramkrishnaism, my mom only believes in 1 sermon of Ramkrishna that Faith makes
you meet the goal n reasoning
only distances you .
SONGSOPTOK: Did you ever face a conflict between your beliefs, reason and
knowledge? How do you react to such situations?
ANINDA: The biggest challenge I face is to justify that
despite best of efforts we do not get
results ; despite best of noble jobs, my dad in law is suffering from
Cancer ; then I have to put up the theory of an invisible aura of
forces that run n dictate the Universe.
SONGSOPTOK: Are you a believer? What do you believe in?
ANINDA: I am a believer in cause
n action. I believe that whatever
has to happen shall happen , but
the 7 forces of nature are responsible , not God. I believe, God as a sect, if at all were there, may have lived as super
humans either in Siberia or in some
other planets , but they have nothing to
do with fire, earthquake, accident,
flood , flash flood, or our ill fates/ good fates. I am an atheist like Govind Pansare, Ananthmurthy , the slain Dr
Kalaburgi & so many leftist
dignitaries . I believe , it is
religious mindset in the rich n the lumpens ( not middle class) that concur
most evils .
SONGSOPTOK: Do you think that it is essential to convince and convert others
to your own system of beliefs and faiths? Why? Can you please describe the
reasons for your answer?
ANINDA: The Sikh Carnage, Delhi
1984, or Gujarat 2002 could not
do any good to mankind. Nor , the
mindless atrocities on Christians during Obama’s India visit. First of all, I feel, nobody should have
a religion that causes nothing but heartburn n division. I am elated
that Assameese Muslims also voted
for BJP in Assam, to tide over the fear
of unprecedented Muslim influx. I feel, no religion is good or bad. And Love Zihad
& Ghar wapasi are
equally bad, like the original
conversions. Parties must rise over
Babri vs Ram Janambhoomi to address, why
SC/ST benefits are not
percolating to real neediest; why creamy
layers in SC/ST/OBC & Jaats
have enriched unbelievably . The real
reason for conversion has been
highest atrocities on poor low caste Hindus by BarnaHindus, Jaats, Brahmins , Bhumihars,
Thakurs n Rajputs.
SONGSOPTOK: Do you think that each individual has some form of faith or
belief, whether related to religion or not? If yes, then what do you think are
the main reasons?
ANINDA: A Yoga guru , whom I respect for
teaching good Yoga practices , told the class last month that Brahmins
are born to be better , as they do not
eat non veg. I asked him , are
Mangaloreans , so fascinated with fish
bad & if so, why are the Shettys so successful in Mumbai n elsewhere? I
also asked him, why are Malayalees
successful ? His reply was restricted to
Iyers , Iyengars & Raos as
higher scholars n achievers , for so many centuries , because they are sacred n
veg eaters. The reason for ISIS ‘
growth / Catholics’ growth in Africa & even growth in atrocities / subjugations on Shudra / low castes are the age old
beliefs & faiths. And many are
caste based.
When JNU n Kanhaiya are
made into a political battlefield incl
by GOI, 2 things work—a) a Muslim ,
unless chattering Bharat mata is to be
charged of sedition & can be well
rusticated from India by any so called
Hindu group. b) Anybody
challenging basics on J&K / Indian democracy / Hinduism are to be convicted . I feel, these happen mostly on lingua, caste,
religion.
ISIS
has legalized women’s slavery , as
it believes in women’s subjugation as a
natural phenomenon; Saudi has
legalized wife beating / wife bashing; Talibans
have legalized systems of
torturing women ; Mukhtar Mai n other
instances of honor killings are shamefully rampant in Pak, for driving n
other funny offences women get flogging
n other such punishments in Saudi n
lashes for stocking wine, sex
talking, pestering girls, insulting Islam , homosexuality, adultery, time spend
with opposite sex members, are too common. In the name of revolution, Irani
women have to follow strict Purdah rules of oppression.
These
are all examples of Beliefs under
the aegis of Faith .
SONGSOPTOK: “A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him
than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the
walls of his cell.” said C.S. Lewis. Do you agree with this view? Or do you
think that some form of worship is indispensable for humans? Why?
ANINDA: I feel, there can be very
few real gurus like Ramkrishna, Swamy Vivekananda or very few leaders
like Gandhi, Mao, Marx, Lenin,Hochimin, Tolstoy. When God’s existence is a hypothesis, why should one worship any other persona as a
superior?
SONGSOPTOK: You may or may not choose to answer this – but nevertheless we
would like to know who do you worship? Why do you worship? How do you worship?
And above all, in what way does it help you in your everyday life?
ANINDA: I have
great respect for Marx, Lenin , Mao & their
staunch Indian followers , who sacrificed lives n happiness in search of
bounties for poorest n wretched have nots n tribals . I believe in
Senonomics –Dr Amartya Sen & Dr
Yusuf as
proponents of Welfare / HDI based
economy .
ANINDA GHOSH: An ACA of 1990, a poet-writer-
strong BJP critic & a staunch believer in HDI based economic upliftment and wealth creation of
nations . Lives in Karnataka ( last 8 yrs)
& loves art films , little
mags, group theatres .
We sincerely thank you
for your time and hope we shall have your continued support.
Aparajita
Sen
(Editor:
Songsoptok)
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