Can The World Survive Without Religion (Yes or No) A Hindu P (General)

by dhw, Wednesday, December 01, 2010, 13:07 (5107 days ago) @ satyansh

Yet again, my thanks to satyansh for a thorough response. I too am a huge fan of Tendulkar!-The only outstanding matter from your post is that you would like to know my views on spirituality from a western perspective. -I have a completely open mind on the question of whether what we call the spirit is or is not bound to the body. By that I mean that I find our powers of consciousness, emotion, imagination, memory etc. totally mystifying, and don't know if the brain is some wonderful machine that PRODUCES these processes, or if the brain acts as a MEDIUM through which some unknown form of identity operates. If there is a duality of spirit and body, I don't see it as being of any significance unless there is some form of afterlife. In other words, if all of me dies when my body dies, the whole question of duality will become irrelevant, although that doesn't stop me thinking about it! On the subject of reincarnation, see my final paragraph.-As for spirituality in the sense of a personal philosophy, I have tried all my life to be kind, not to be selfish, to fulfil whatever talents I have, and to respect other people's opinions unless I consider them to be harmful. I can't claim that this is in aid of some grand ideal, because it just happens to be the way of life that makes me happy. On the other hand, if I think someone is out to make me unhappy, I will defend myself! I abhor violence and aggression but am not a pacifist. I would probably have been a useless soldier (I'm far too old now anyway), but I accept the necessity for defensive warfare. Spiritual matters such as religion and the arts are of great interest to me, but I have no religious beliefs, do not feel any need for them, and am sceptical towards all prescriptive religions and philosophies.-My scepticism does not, however, blind me to the spiritual values that the various religions and philosophies set out to foster, and in general ... if we can shut theology out of the equation ... I think the basic ideas of self-improvement and consideration for others are common to them all. Whether the link to forms of existence beyond our own is real or not is another matter, which is why I'm an agnostic.-In response to BBella's post on reincarnation, I see no point in it if we do not remember our former lives. We might just as well start from scratch, as it makes not the slightest difference whether we were or weren't here before. As regards people's good or bad luck, if a branch falls on my head, I would much prefer to have people attending to my injuries and saying how unlucky I am than to have them telling me it's my own fault because in a past life I must have been an absolute bastard.