Abhijit Naskar's Blog - Posts Tagged "bigots"

Fervor of faith is not the problem, bigotry of faith is the problem. Or to put it simply. Religion is not the problem, fundamentalism is the real problem. But we must be aware of what a fundamentalist is. A fundamentalist is not necessarily a person who takes the scripture literally, rather, a fundamentalist is a person who deems their own religion as the only true religion, and all others as heresy. Some fundamentalists do interpret the scripture metaphorically, and still manage to remain a bigot.

After all, you see outside, what is inside. So the point is, if you want to see integration in the world, first you gotta irrigate your heart, not your colon, of all division. Until you understand undivision, you won’t understand divinity. No sabes unidad, no sabes divinidad.

Even if you have never heard of Jesus, even if you have never heard of Buddha, even if you have never heard of Moses and Mohammed, even if you have never heard of Nanak and Naskar, you can still be divine. But if you never treat another person with kindness and dignity, you can never be divine.

It’s your behavior that makes you religious, not your belief. Besides, even in this day and age, if your belief still keeps raising walls, instead of bringing them down, it’s time you seek medical help. Because you see, bigotry is not a legal problem, it is a medical problem, just like alcoholism is a medical problem. Fundamentalism is not a neurodivergence, fundamentalism is a lethal neuropsychiatric condition, which requires immediate medical attention.

There is not one but two imaginations,
One causes stagnation, another expansion.
It’s okay to have a little bit of stagnation,
But stagnation as life causes degeneration.
A stagnant mind raises cognitive defenses,
To guard the stagnation against radical ideas.
An expansive mind brings down their defenses,
To expand perception by embracing new ideas.
Stagnant minds revolting against new ideas,
Are like impressionable kids throwing tantrum.
It’s not their fault that they despise expansion,
Ascension takes a huge toll on minds in stagnation.
So when stagnant souls laugh at your expansion,
It is sign that you’re moving in the right direction.

Our ancestors are not the boss of us,
Life must be dictated by living conscience.
Dead people may have the right to make suggestions,
But they do not have the right to issue mandates.

Our ancestors belong in history books,
Our descendants belong in comic books.
Only we are alive to belong here and now,
Don’t waste that life, submissive to books.

Too much involvement in the past cripples your present,
The same is true with too much involvement in the future.
If you are oblivious to the human condition of now and here,
Ignorance and intellect will equally end up causing disaster.

Use past and future as markers of direction,
But never as authority on living tradition.

Dear believer, I don’t believe in an Almighty God.
Do you hate me for it? If yes, you have
learnt nothing from your faith.
Dear atheist, I don’t believe in supremacy of facts.
Do you hate me for it? If yes, you have
no mind but machine, my friend.

Everybody has imaginary friends,
My imaginary friend is my late teacher,
And I find it therapeutic to talk to him,
Whenever I hit rock bottom during disaster.

Quite like air, water and food,
It’s something we humans need to survive.
Last thing this world needs is more war
to prove whose imaginary friend
bears the greatest of might.

Militant atheists are no more humanist,
than religious fundamentalists are religious.
Secularism is not the absence of religion,
secularism is the absence of religious intolerance.

“Now more than ever the hateful, intolerant, separatist bigots need our help, for they are ill, terribly ill. They are suffering from a condition, I call, Clinical Culturitis. So next time you see one, offer them a flower, and say – get well soon!”

“Get Well Soon (The Sonnet)

Upon absorbing all cultures into my blood,
I realize, the supreme culture is love.
Upon studying all scriptures as my own,
I realize, the supreme gospel is love.
Even after speaking six languages,
I say, the supreme language is love.
Upon observing all political ideologies,
I say, only ideal worth submission is love.
Unfolding the neural underpinnings of behavior,
I realize, seed of civilization is love.
Unraveling the cellular mysteries of life,
I realize, existence oughta be a record of love.
Tiny-brained know-it-alls will still yell,
their culture beats all, like some tipsy loon.
To which all I can say is – get well soon!”

In the beginning even I was,
Bedazzled by the concept of truth.
It took me some time to,
Step across the lure of truth.
That is when I realized that,
Every brain creates its own truth.
So we’d never achieve harmony,
With the heartless pursuit of truth.
Understanding the definition of truth,
May differ from person to person.
But the virtues of basic goodness,
Need no divisive interpretation.
Always place love first, truth second.
Humanity first, intelligence second!

Only way to grow together as a couple,
is to nourish each other’s individual growth.
Only way to grow together as a society,
is to empower each other’s personal growth.

Learn from Manu, Majnun, Vyas and M.A.S.H,
Absorb all good like an eager sponge.
Tradition of tribe has outstayed its welcome,
Now outgrow the fences across fearful hunch.

Na desi, na videsi,
Banna hai to bano visvadesi.
Bohot aye despar marnevaale,
Des ke par chalo sudhare
insani zindagi.

Ni local, ni extranjero,
Simplemente seamos humano.
Más allá de la patria,
más allá de la muerte,
Vivamos como un planeta pueblo.

Ni obediente, ni opresivo –
Luchando por igualdad seremos humano.

Failure is inevitable,
Defeat is optional.
Suffering is inevitable,
Self pity is optional.

Ridicule is inevitable,
Bitterness is optional.
Treachery is inevitable,
Vendetta is optional.

Heartbreak is inevitable,
Heartlessness is optional.
Ignorance is inevitable,
Bigotry is optional.

Biases are inevitable,
Prejudice is optional.
Amidst indecisive animals,
stand human inevitable!

Enter a hall with high
ceiling, and you feel small,
in a room with low ceiling
you feel like a giant.

The height of human
doesn’t depend on numbers,
we judge our height
relative to the world around.

Bigots hate an inclusive world
not because it is unorthodox,
but because it reminds them,
how puny they are – how small.

Hence they lash out at an island
of people, as an island of garbage.
Only garbage are those calling others
as such – time ’tis to hand them sentence.

No matter how many years go by,
how many decades, how many centuries,
there’ll always be some people who’d
call me a fraud – don’t be upset,

don’t hold a grudge – nothing good
ever comes out of bearing grudge,
just let them be – let them be and
let them go, because I forgive them.

Let them hate their head off,
seeds of heart are already planted.
Apes throw tantrum when they are insecure,
pursuit of delusion soothes the vegetated.

When calls the Kainat*, chatter of
monkeys turn faint echoes from the past.
*Cosmos chimes in my chambers of heart –
veritas est pons, pons est veritas.