How I am an Atheist but Spiritual - Thoughts on God, Perfection.

"As long as there is something called death in the world, 

As long as there is anything called weakness in the world,

As long as there fear in the human heart,

There shall be a faith in God."

        - Swami Vivekananda

Friends, "theism" is a belief in a higher power. Theists opine that a Supreme being, God is the Creator of the humankind and this universe. And as it follows, each religion has its own conception of the birth of universe, meaning of human life etc. 

Atheists, on the other hand, as the name suggests, reject the idea of God. Unofficially, they even sometimes claim that God did not create humans, but humans created God. 

Xenophanes, this ancient Greek philosopher, was one of the earliest to touch on this concept. He said that humans create gods in their own image, and that different cultures have different gods because they reflect the characteristics of the people who worship them.

I quite agree to this.

The idea of a higher power guiding us, actually gives us a psychological solace. More to that, I believe that "idol worship" is actually "ideal worship", which means that in our idols, we worship our ideals. We outwardly project all our aspirations, insecurities and our logic systems to one God - who we make the Pole Star, the guiding light of our lives. 

We humans love to follow examplary lives. We tend to imitate our heroes and so we worship them to develop qualities like them. 

It becomes mad when you start making superstitions out of it though. 

So basically these must have been the lines of evolution of religions. Essentially it was but meant to be a tool to catalyse our latent perfection. 

The more I grow, the more I realise how the spirit of renunciation, sense-control, purity of purpose and fearlesness are the best goals to achieve in life. Seeking them and them alone, can we be at peace with ourselves. 

Swami Ranganathananda Illustration

Swami Ranganathananda, a very brilliant senior Sanyassin of the Ramkrishna Mission, says on this subject giving the following example. 

"We put the cart before the horse" when we come to the world and are right away guided by its never-ending pleasure cycles. 

He says that one ought to atleast attempt to develop renunciation and practice self-control.

Devoid of dispassion, full of ego and desires; we come to the world to enjoy it, but soon we find that the world is enjoying us! 

If you don't know how to ride a horse, and still ride it, won't the horse ride you rather than you riding it? This is how it goes. 

Bhagat Singh's essay 'Why I am an Atheist' will really enlighten you further on this subject matter. 

Swami Vivekananda on Atheism

We are all atheists; let us confess it. Mere intellectual assent does not make us religious.

The vast majority of men are atheists. I am glad that, in modern times, another class of atheists has come into existence in the Western world — I mean the materialists. They are sincere atheists. They are better than the religious atheists, who are insincere, who fight and talk about religion, and yet do not want it, never try to realise it, never try to understand it.

Religion can be realised. Are you ready? Do you want it? You will get the realisation if you do, and then you will be truly religious. Until you have attained realisation there is no difference between you and atheists. The atheists are sincere, but the man who says that he believes in religion and never attempts to realise it is not sincere.

On 29 March 1900, Swamiji clearly told in a lecture delivered in San Francisco—

"You degrade religion to your low level and seek matter in the name of spirit. You are all atheists. You do not believe in anything except the senses. "So - and - so said such - and - such -- there may be something in it. Let us try and have the fun. Possibly some benefit will come; possibly my broken leg will get straight."

The people say, “Do you believe in God? Do you believe in a future life? Do you believe in this doctrine or that dogma?” But here the base is wanting: this belief in oneself. Ay, the man who cannot believe in himself, how can they expect him to believe in anything else? I am not sure of my own existence. One moment I think that I am existing and nothing can destroy me; the next moment I am quaking in fear of death.

'He is an atheist who does not believe in himself.'

Thanks,

Daksh Parekh.