There are questions that have troubled me over the years and I need someone with a sane head who can talk rationally and explain them to me. One of such things is why people change their religion. How do they rate one religion over another, so much so that they convert to it. I am not talking about the villages where allegedly Christian Missionaries spread the name of God and force people to convert to a so called better faith. They do it by giving some incentive...let's not get there, it's a different territory altogether...
I am talking about people who WANT to convert to some other religion. The list includes celebrities like Madonnas, Michael Jacksons, Muhammad Alis, and many others. I assume these people are mature enough to decide what to follow and what not to follow. It's completely a personal opinion and I have absolutely no right to intrude into someone's private life. But I fail to understand the REASON behind it. WHY do they have to do it??? Aren't the teachings of all religions essentially the same. Don't we all know what we need to do and have our conscience to guide us for that. There are people who say that this religion is bad because it dehumanizes women, while this is better because it gives them complete freedom. Bull Crap. Being educated individuals, we absolutely know our positions in society. And how does it matter if we are born in a Hindu family, or a Christian family or a Muslim one. By changing the religion, can we change the people around us, their mentality and their perceptions. I really doubt so. Good people can be found everywhere, so can be said about the bad people. How these converts are able to connect to the Almighty in a better manner by doing so is beyond a mortal like me. And as far as personal freedom goes, it's more about the culture and society in which one is born rather than the religion that one follows. I am a Hindu and proud to be so..but does that make me better or worse than a Christian or a Muslim?? The question answers itself. How can a religion change a man...it's only a road, which one has to follow, and all roads lead to Rome..don't they :)
Why do people change their Shampoo brands?.. to me all seem the same :)
ReplyDeleteSome people convert to islam for practising polygamy!!(some men are just sick!!)
ReplyDeletethere can be varied reasons..
if all lead to the same God...
then cant we think the other way round,what's the harm in trying out all the ways in one's lifetime?? it's one's personal choice afterall...
Some people convert to islam for practising polygamy!!(some men are just sick, THEY DON'T!!)
ReplyDelete**************************************
Very very well written... almost agree...
just that:
THERE IS A STORY BEHIND Y MUHAMMAD ALI GOT CONVERTED...
a story behind y industry had Dilip Kumar and not Yusuf...
and not all their reasons are crap always.
THERE IS perhaps ALWAYS A REASON...
things become unanswerable only when we start reasoning the reasons.
I am converting to Islam, for I wanna marry another girl... But i cannot always tell ya, y I cant live without marrying her...
hope u got my reasoning the reason point...
well well well...
ReplyDeletei think you've got it all wrong here...
two of the most important reason (at least in India) happen to be society and marriage...laws governing matrimony are still different for different religions and have strict requirements. take a practical case: I love a Christian and their family wouldn't want a non-christian; then i'd gladly do that.
plus some people are generally drawn towards rituals and teachings of certain religions... especially newer ones which are free from the crap that has accumulated in the old ones- Scientology for instance is a religion based purely on scientific principles.
religions prescribe ways of life and rules...and you might believe that a certain way of life might bring you closer to god. so you might want to convert. lots of other reasons - wud tell u later coz this comment has started looking like a post itself!
@Anonymous1: Nice...
ReplyDelete@Anonymous2: Agree with you to some extent. Though can't call men bastards. Coz given the choice/freedom even women would do the same. Infidelity and lechery are not gender specific. Referring to your second point, I agree that it is definitely a personal choice. But I still fail to understand the REASON why people exercise this choice. Coz, if we consider polygamy to be the reason for conversion, then it is not something done for spiritual reasons or for personal growth. Invariably, the man would continue to follow his own religion, though would do differently in face of law.
ReplyDeleteI think I was not able to convey my point clearly. I wanted to know the reason because of which people willingly change to other religion
@Rohit: I agree with you as well bhai...but still can't get the Reason. Marriage is again no reason. It's not done willingly.I want to question those people who find solace in some other religion because they find their religion torturing them. They feel they can't connect to God and want to attain some higher goal. I believe that all this is meaningless if one is pure at heart. He doesn't need a specific religion then, coz the basic teachings of all the religions are same. And thus even Atheism is a religion. Jyada bhokali ho gayi :)..itni philosophy nahi patakna chahta tha..
ReplyDelete@ Tripti: It seems like I am arguing..though I am not :)...Let's not get into Marriage thing...that is something based on 'incentive'. Regarding your second point, I still don't understand how rituals are important to connect to God. If you consider rituals to be important, then I think Sikhism is the religion having least rituals (i hope i'm not wrong) and it essentially preaches the goodness of man(which essentially all religions preach). This is the point I was trying to convey, that we are mature and educated enough to understand this notion. Then we don't need to change religion, though I still believe religion is necessary coz it guides us and teaches to be a good human being and even multiplicity of religions is necessary coz it teaches us tolerance and respect for others.
ReplyDeleteHmm.. very interesting question and discussion. I think like research into Shampoo, we must also investigate and research this question. There should be a vast market for diyas, dhoop, agarbatti, kumkum, calendars, bhagwanjee ke photos, diaries, pocket cards.
ReplyDeleteAnd with this talk about polygamy, we can think about population control and that gives more ideas. This market should be milked. Totally !
- Anonymous1
PS - Don't mind ! :P