Can the words of Atheists save the world's most religiously diverse country?

"Who really knows?

Who will here proclaim it?

Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?

The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.

Who then knows whence it has arisen?"

One of the first documented stances questioning the role of God comes from none other than the Nasadiya Sukta (Creation Hymn) in the tenth chapter of the Rig Veda. 

In an alternate world, you would not fear the length of my long beard or the shades of my clothing, be they saffron or green. You would realise that religion was meant as a guideline, not a whip to rip across the night skies at disobedient herds. You would not need to be reminded that there are bad people in your religion and good ones in mine too. You would not need me to ask you why you choose to focus on a person’s religion when judging him, rather than his state, his street, his school, his eating habits or the breakfast cereal he ate today. You would not need to call me bad words over social media even though we are complete strangers, just because our viewpoints differ.

You would judge me for who I am and not the religion that I was tagged with, one that I could throw away at any moment in my life of my own free will, should I choose.

You would not need me to ask you what happens when you finally convert 100% of a country to your religion? What next? 

Can we then FINALLY start thinking of how to put food on everyone’s plate? How to make better roads? Have better health facilities? Or do we then travel overseas and take revenge on every Britisher for the crimes of a century ago? Every Persian for centuries ago? Every Sri Lankan for the audacity of Ravan? When we are done either converting or killing everyone outside, will the next fight then begin between sub-categories here in India: Catholics vs Protestants, Shias vs Sunnis, Vaishnavites vs Shaivites? North vs South? State vs state? Street vs steet?

When do all these fancy words, rituals and cooked up wars stop and the ACTUAL ACT of being compassionate to human beings begin? 

I see your world and the topics that matter these days: LoveJihad. ISIS. Sanghi. Sickular. Fanatic. Troll. Boycott. Convert. Gharwapsi. 

Words that only have one common linking factor: hate those who are not like you. Not because you know them personally. Not because 99% of them have never hurt you or even met you. But just because they are not of your faith. All this hate just to show how much you love God.

Douglas Adams. Isaac Asimov. Ayn Rand. Ernest Hemingway. 

Carl Sagan. Alan Turing. Somerset Maugham. Mark Twain. Bruce Lee.

 Brad Pitt. Angelina Jolie. James Cameron. Danielle Radcliffe. Ian McKellen. 

Bill Gates. Billy Joel. Rafael Nadal. Albert Einstein. Keanu Reeves. Jack Nicholson.

 Richard Dawkins. Jodie Foster. Mark Zuckerberg. Pablo Neruda. Katherine Hepburn. 

Elton John, George Clooney. Bill Murray. John Lennon. Keira Knightley. 

Bhagat Singh. Hugh Laurie. Morgan Freeman. Susan B Anthony, Matt Damon. 

Kamal Hassan. John Abraham. Amol Palekar. Javed Akhthar. Natalie Portman.

These are people you all know by name and fame who turned their backs on your religious beliefs. But unlike you, they are not anti-anybody. They do not hate those who believe in God. They just don’t believe in him themselves. People who don’t have any issues with you praying but just don’t pray themselves. They are not evil for it, just opinionated… a sentence which fits you too, I hope.

 Most importantly, they carry on in life being normal people EVEN THOUGH they do not have the fear of going to hell should they stray. Their character – good or bad - is not based on the fear of how God will punish them. It is just them being normal human beings. How crazy a concept is that, huh? Being good even without worrying what Allah Jesus Vishnu God would think of them? 

Some call them atheists. Diluted variants would consider themselves agnostics, I suppose. But I wonder what you call them in your mind. Do you fear them too? If they do not believe in your concept of God, are they automatically evil too?

Atheists recently held a poll where they invited fellow atheists to comment online on what their version of the ten commandments would have been. The results are here below.

Here’s the funny thing.

In their words, I see compassion. I see love for a fellow human being. I see freedom of individuality. I see open mindedness to accept a person as good irrespective of his religion. I see responsibility for actions and willingness to change should they be proven wrong. I see foresight to care for the betterment of generations to come.

I see the words of God.

I see the words of God in the Commandments of atheists.

And that leaves me with a very disturbing set of questions in my mind... how have you fallen so badly that atheists are doing a better job of carrying forward God’s message than the self-appointed authorities of your religion?

Is it possible that because they have no need to fight over whose God is more bad-ass, they can actually focus on being kind souls? Is it possible that you could learn a few lessons about God's will from atheists for a change?

Blasphemy, you say? Oh, wouldn't that be ironical.

Is this blasphemy... or humanity?

Author’s note:

I sincerely apologize to all atheists for linking you all to God with my words.