May be for every "venkrish" who indicate why they are logging off, there may be five others who silently retrace their steps and go away never to return.
The problem for some folks here seems to be that they are psychologically unable to put up with opinions contrary to what they hold as sacrosanct, especially in matters of religion. This is evident from the comment
"I find it a sin to be hearing and in the company of such discussions." (
here)
I have reasons to doubt that for such people their faith in god, religion, scriptures, etc., are still in a very nebulous stage and even a slight exposure to heretic views, according to their lights, makes them jittery. (In the case of infants, there is a similar stage which our old women describe as தலை நிக்காத்த ப்ராயம், the head has to be very carefully supported lest there is some fatal mistake!). In the same way such folks, especially their religious brain, have to be very carefully handled but, alas, they are fully grown adults, or even grandfathers, and on that mere physical aging they opt to join forums to find what they think will be completely acceptable to them!
I have been a run-of-the-mill tabra for more than 60 years when I got interested (more than in the past) in knowing more about hindu religion and what exactly it says. I started reading and as my reading progressed and my inquisitiveness continued, I became an agnostic. I do believe in a super-power above Man and everything else in this world, or even universe perhaps, but I am of the considered view that none of the religions is any reliable guide to that Super Power, call it by any name. Nara and Yamaka are atheists here, Kunjuppu is a believer but differs from my views on many points (for example, he believes in lighting the kuthuvilakku everyday, praying to Hanuman, etc.). I have difficulty in being a full atheist but I know that both Nara and Yamaka have a great lot to contribute and enrich our views and broaden our knowledge. So, I have rarely found it difficult to read their posts and keep silent when I may have a different pov. That is because my religious stance is a result of long introspection and my own, adult, conscious decision, and not simply confined to what my parents and/or elders, all of them confirmed theistic, ritualistic tabras, had followed and told me all along.
I therefore feel that our "touch-me-not" (mimosa pudica) friends should perhaps come back after a period of strong introspection and irrevocable confirmation of their devout attitude so that they don't anymore feel scandalized to read some non-conformist views.
I would also endorse the view "Education doesnt always confer wisdom"; we ought to have the broadness of vision to allow different, or even contrary viewpoints to exist in this world and we should not try to "shape the world" according to our specifications; for the theists it may look as if they are implementing God's plans but what is conveniently forgotten is that the same Power has given rise to all the varities of opinions and view points.
Lastly, I have not found, at least in this forum during the last nearly two years, the non-conformists bad-mouthing or berating the theists, but only criticising religion and its various aspects/facets; the devout theistic members, (some of them even commence their "avataara" in such fashion) on the contrary meet their opponents with strident comments on the non-believers, not their belief of non-belief, i.e., atheism. To an uninitiated mind like mine, it therefore, looks as though the atheists have religion to criticize but for the devout believers they have no valid ammunition against atheism per se but only the atheists to be hated, criticised, berated, and then to quit the forum in disgust, as a show of extreme hatred. Is this correct?
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