Religion is the opium for the people

[N.R.Ranganathan]

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Sir,

A West Bengal senior communist leader Abdur Razaack Mollah is doing namaz daily and is going to Mecca.

He says he will not obey the party's dictat and that he will go to the grave with the call of the azaan ( prayer )
just the way he came to the world with it .

Truly, Marx's comments are right - religion is the opium for the people.

 

[renuka]

religion is the opium for the people.

Religion is the opium for the people,of the people and by the people maintained by a Cartel.

 

[sangom]

Sir,

A West Bengal senior communist leader Abdur Razaack Mollah is doing namaz daily and is going to Mecca.

He says he will not obey the party's dictat and that he will go to the grave with the call of the azaan ( prayer )
just the way he came to the world with it .

Truly, Marx's comments are right - religion is the opium for the people.

Shri Ranganathan Sir,

In one perspective, what you say (Religion is the opium for the people) is very correct. It is because for any human mind and/or intellect, it is very difficult, rather impossible, to believe that everything about himself/herself will definitely end with death. Something in Man yearns for eternity, that is. Religion, most importantly, the organized ones, step in here and cater excellently to this yearning (for eternity). That is why even people who live by atheistic politics like Communism, stick to their religion, as in the case cited by you.

As Sant Kabeer said, only if and when humanity comes to firmly believe in तेरा सायी तुझ में, तू जाग सकै तो जाग ॥, will we find people able to live free from these religions, imho.

 

[vijay_sivasubramanian]

My humble question:
Why should one live free from religion, if it can finally lead one to his/her spiritual quest? Aren't the lives of great realized souls like Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharishi who necessarily did not subscribe to religious practices had infact practised religion earlier or came from a religious family a testimony to this fact?
How many of us came from a religious background who later freed ourselves of religion/religious activities? Didn't religion enable us to do that?
Is religion to be questioned or the disillusioned person to be questioned here?

- Vijay

 

[renuka]

Is religion to be questioned or the disillusioned person to be questioned here?

- Vijay

Dear sir,

Opium does make one deluded but God does not.

Do not take it wrong sir..no one here is actually trying to divorce God from Religion but it is just that Religion does not always lead to God.

 

[vijay_sivasubramanian]

Dear sir,

Religion does not always lead to God.

Agreed. But is there something called a "guaranteed" way of reaching God? Going to school doesn't make you a Doctor or an Engineer.
I would request you to kindly study the lives of realised souls and see if their background involved religion. Religion doesn't always lead to God, but most often than not a soul that did reach God would have treaded the path of religion.

 

[renuka]

Just to add..to a certain extent I feel what we call religion is actually a collection of thoughts and revelations.

Mata/Matam means "thoughts".

I feel the ancients were actually sharing their thoughts and opinions and revelations with everyone and we have wrongly called it Religion.

 

[renuka]

Agreed. But is there something called a "guaranteed" way of reaching God? Going to school doesn't make you a Doctor or an Engineer.
I would request you to kindly study the lives of realised souls and see if their background involved religion. Religion doesn't always lead to God, but most often than not a soul that did reach God would have treaded the path of religion.

Dear Sir,

I recently have been following a show called Q Viva which picks up talent from Latin America to preform in US.

There is a group calling themselves Musica Maya (indegenous Mayan people of Latin America).

You should hear the leader of this group talk.

I have never heard anyone sound so spiritual..his words are Sanathana Dharma in action.

To the whole wide world he might be classified as person who does not belong to an organized religion(they have their own understanding and culture) but if you hear him speak you will salute him.

That is when I realized that spirituality and wisdom is a talent by itself.

 

[vijay_sivasubramanian]

^^ So, why blame the religion? Blame thyself.

 

[renuka]

I would request you to kindly study the lives of realised souls and see if their background involved religion. Religion doesn't always lead to God, but most often than not a soul that did reach God would have treaded the path of religion.

Dear Sir,

I am not saying I have read everything but I have read rather extensively and still reading and of course I agree with you that everyone in this world has a religious background in the form of tradition...but as I said earlier it is Matam(thoughts).

Thought waves make up our entire understanding.

Santhana Dharma is all about getting our thought waves in the right direction and finally letting the ripples in the ocean of our mind calm and settle down.

 

[vijay_sivasubramanian]

Dear Sir,

I recently have been following a show called Q Viva which picks up talent from Latin America to preform in US.

There is a group calling themselves Musica Maya (indegenous Mayan people of Latin America).

You should hear the leader of this group talk.

I have never heard anyone sound so spiritual..his words are Sanathana Dharma in action.

To the whole wide world he might be classified as person who does not belong to an organized religion(they have their own understanding and culture) but if you hear him speak you will salute him.

That is when I realized that spirituality and wisdom is a talent by itself.

But, that doesn't make the organized religion I practise any inferior, with all due respect to that group.
There is no dearth of intellectually simulating, profound thoughts even within this religious system. Why to attach ones own limitations over the system?

 

[renuka]

^^ So, why blame the religion? Blame thyself.

Dear Sir,

No one is blaming anyone here.

Technically Religion as we call it does not really exists.

As I said in Sanskrit the word is Matam meaning "thoughts".

Matam/Mata does not carry the same meaning as the word Religion.

 

[renuka]

But, that doesn't make the organized religion I practise any inferior, with all due respect to that group.
There is no dearth of intellectually simulating, profound thoughts even within this religious system. Why to attach ones own limitations over the system?

Dear Sir,

I am no Atheist myself.

In fact I do not quiet like using the word inferior or superior and neither am I finding fault with any mode of worship of any organized religion.

But to me I feel sometimes the usage of the word Religion limits Sanathana Dharma itself.

 

[vijay_sivasubramanian]

Please note that "Religion" is an English word and is only used to denote "Madham"/Matam/Mata referred natively.

And, what aspects of Religion you find is an impediment to spriritual aspirations?

 

[renuka]

Please note that "Religion" is an English word and is only used to denote "Madham"/Matam/Mata referred natively.

And, what aspects of Religion you find is an impediment to spriritual aspirations?

Dear sir,

That's why I am saying we should not use the word Religion to describe Sanathana Dharma.

Sometimes in English we do not get the right word to describe Sanskrit terminologies.

You asked this:

And, what aspects of Religion you find is an impediment to spiritual aspirations?

Most of the while I have noted many get too defensive and are in a bubble of self delusion.
That is why I think the word opium was used in the 1st place.
Santhana Dharma is meant for liberating us and not make us a stay in a bubble and float on the ocean of Sansara for eternity.
The Bubble has to burst one day and become one with the ocean.

Some people want the bubble..so this impedes the spiritual ascend.

Now when I sit back and read what I had written here..I hope no one thinks I just took a puff of opium!LOL

 

[nannilam_balasubramanian]

Religion is the opium of the people. Perhaps a well known quotation of Karl Marx,
the German economist and Communist political philosopher.

Balasubramanian

 

[vijay_sivasubramanian]

So, you think if a person is asked to forgo his religious practices he will attain God? Or, is that a limitation in itself?

Again, you haven't answered my question. When you say "are in bubble of self delusion", whose limitation is it?

 

[renuka]

So, you think if a person is asked to forgo his religious practices he will attain God? Or, is that a limitation in itself?

Again, you haven't answered my question. When you say "are in bubble of self delusion", whose limitation is it?

Dear sir,

I have answered all your questions to the best of my ability.

I am not asking anyone to forgo religion to reach God but all I am saying that we need to realize that even religion has limitations.

The limitations are man made.

I know a person who used to be a very progressive minded Hindu who stuck by all the aspects of Sanathana Dharma.
Listening to him speak is listening to a Jnaani itself.

He off late decided to join some ashram under the guidance of some individuals.

He is a totally changed person now.
No more is the person who once had vast thoughts and knowledge.

He was made to think that he is fallen and needs redemption and he has become a programmed robot who only speaks Yes Sir Yes Sir Three Bags full..

What I am trying to say that to a certain extent Religion is manipulated many a times for self interest of many and this puts a clamp on the growth of a person spiritually.

I have noted many self styled Gurus too do not let any Q and A about religion to take place cos they do not want to make understanding easier cos once everything is out in the open they lose their place in society.

Religion has become a business and spirituality has been made to sound like a trade secret.

That is the reason why I feel that religion has its limitations..Cartels sometimes make a mess of religion.

 

[vijay_sivasubramanian]

Dear Renuka ma'am,

Thank you for your responses. I'm so glad you have taken the time to respond. It is such a nice gesture especially so when most times one doesn't know zilch about the person asking questions in internet

Your first statement, read "Religion is the opium for the people,of the people and by the people maintained by a Cartel" which I felt was a sweeping statement and was extremely over-simplified.

Your last post reads "even religion has limitations" "limitations are man-made" "certain extent Religion is manipulated many a times for self interest of many and this puts a clamp on the growth of a person spiritually" doesn't support your first statement.

I spend quite a bit of my time pondering over these questions looking for answers. All my questions were asked from that premises and nothing else.

You said "I have noted many self styled Gurus too do not let any Q and A about religion to take place cos they do not want to make understanding easier cos once everything is out in the open they lose their place in society" - are you taking about specific examples?

The reason I'm asking you this is because, the Acharya of Sringeri is in Chennai for his Chaturmasya Vrtam and I happened to listen to a couple of his discourses. He said "follow what is prescribed in Shastra and it cannot be over-ruled". This I found, was the most simple and at the same time the most difficult thing to follow. Because you straight away know what to do, but is just too difficult to practise. I did not find any malice in his words, because I thought if Shastra speaks the truth then it has be eternal and nothing can change it, not even time. If one has to contend with Shastra, may be it has be done based on very sound reasoning borne out of realisation. That is my thought. You may choose to disagree.

- Vijay

 

[renuka]

Dear Renuka ma'am,

Thank you for your responses. I'm so glad you have taken the time to respond. It is such a nice gesture especially so when most times one doesn't know zilch about the person asking questions in internet

Your first statement, read "Religion is the opium for the people,of the people and by the people maintained by a Cartel" which I felt was a sweeping statement and was extremely over-simplified.

Your last post reads "even religion has limitations" "limitations are man-made" "certain extent Religion is manipulated many a times for self interest of many and this puts a clamp on the growth of a person spiritually" doesn't support your first statement.

I spend quite a bit of my time pondering over these questions looking for answers. All my questions were asked from that premises and nothing else.

You said "I have noted many self styled Gurus too do not let any Q and A about religion to take place cos they do not want to make understanding easier cos once everything is out in the open they lose their place in society" - are you taking about specific examples?

The reason I'm asking you this is because, the Acharya of Sringeri is in Chennai for his Chaturmasya Vrtam and I happened to listen to a couple of his discourses. He said "follow what is prescribed in Shastra and it cannot be over-ruled". This I found, was the most simple and at the same time the most difficult thing to follow. Because you straight away know what to do, but is just too difficult to practise. I did not find any malice in his words, because I thought if Shastra speaks the truth then it has be eternal and nothing can change it, not even time. If one has to contend with Shastra, may be it has be done based on very sound reasoning borne out of realisation. That is my thought. You may choose to disagree.

- Vijay

Dear Sir,

I love to discuss matters related to spirituality..so I enjoyed all the exchange of posts here.

I however have not disagreed with you in even one post.

I was just giving you my personal opinion.

Sir..the reason I want Q and A from the learned is we need to be equipped with understanding and not just follow without knowing head nor tail.

If we read books written by bonafide Swamijis we will know they all have the thinking like Lord Buddha..experiment..analyze and understand.

Of course we need a foundation even before we start to question but even a child does ask his teacher "sir I do not understand can you explain to me in detail?"

I know we are supposed to follow dictates but Sanathana Dharma is not all about following anything without any understanding.

As I have always said the Geeta is the best Q and A ever for mankind.

Lord Krishna answers every query of Arjuna and does not tell him "you just get up and fight! don't ask me questions..my words can not be over ruled!"

Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna WHY he has to fight.

When a person knows WHY only then he is in the right path and assimilates the knowledge.

I know many will say we are not at the level of Arjuna.

But if we are given answers like "just follow and do not ask anything" we are not going to get any Arjunas but we are going to create many Duryodhanas.

Duryodhana also had equal exposure in life to Dharma and Shastras and was also aware of Dharma yet he chose not to put anything in practice.
This is becos he lacked understanding to gain control of his inner self.

BTW I had no specific example in mind..I was just speaking generally.