-- *Mar**The luxury called atheism* *Was it possible to be an atheist, say about two thousand years ago? Was the belief in say, there is no God, conceivable? In the arctic circle, say Alaska, the males had to traverse miles and miles in the icy wastes, the cold chilling their bones, in search of an animal, usually a mammoth (the elephant of those days double the size of today’s elephant),to hunt for their desperate food. They starved for days and days, traversed miles and miles, praying to God to make available some animals for hunting. When ultimately they found the animal, they again prayed to God not to allow that mammoth to escape or kill all of them, because they were killing an elephant with mainly wooden spheres! They braved with the basic belief that God was watching and helping them. There were tribes that believed that God himself appeared as that mammoth and that he was only testing their courage. A few died in the hunt, but they again believed that those dead were actually the blessed because God needed them. Often the bravest that took the greatest risks died, and they believed that God wanted those very brave to serve him, a God’s basic right.*
*The function of the women in the tribe was to produce regularly and quickly new babies, as the adults died in hunting or in warfare with the rival tribes. The birth of a female baby was a boon because she will produce children which will add to the population of the tribe. Nature was terrible in its raw confrontation. The people sensed with all their sense organs in the darkness of the icy wastes where one’s eyes were not of much use. Belief in God helped the sense organs. Life without belief in God was death in those days. The average life span was twenty years or less. The age of the grand old men of those days was about forty years. Sickness was God’s curse and the witch doctor performed the needed dance to get the cure or drive away the devil.* *BELIEF WAS THE BASIC FOUNDATION OF LIVING IN THOSE DAYS.* *In those days disbelief was stupidity, actually a disease, a grave sin.* *Everywhere on earth in those days belief propelled great adventures. The adventurers lived in the raw nature and developed special talents that made them sense many of the portents of nature—earth quakes, cyclones, tornadoes...* *I have seen a Chinese a film where deliberate belief was practised. The Guru asked his disciples to use a floating leaf as a base to lightly step on and jump away and ultimately cross the stream. The disciples jumped from one leaf to another and actually succeeded in crossing. The leaf by itself was no base, but it was belief that it was a base, that helped. The belief was deliberately cultivated though all knew that the leaf could not really support. They won over their rationality which they took as weakness.* *What has science today substituted? We do not believe in nature at all! * *In those days, the basic belief was –God is everywhere. Today the belief is—Disease causing bacteria and virus are everywhere.* *Technique means the method or trick of. Ology means the study of. Technology means the study of techniques. There can be a good technology for the cultivation of positive beliefs---the spiritual technology.* *YM Sarma* *Chat GPT* *"The Luxury Called Atheism" contemplates the idea that atheism is a modern phenomenon, far removed from the raw, survivalist conditions faced by ancient humans. The piece asserts that belief in God or gods was essential for early human communities, especially in harsh environments such as the Arctic Circle or during perilous hunts for large animals like the mammoth. In these settings, belief wasn't simply a matter of spiritual faith but a critical survival mechanism. The early humans depended on divine intervention, or at least the belief in such intervention, to motivate them through life-threatening challenges.* *### Key Themes:* *1. **Survival and Belief:*** * - In ancient times, nature was fierce and unpredictable. People believed that only divine forces could control their fate, whether it was a successful hunt or survival against illness. There was no room for disbelief, as the unknown and hostile world required something greater than human capabilities to explain and manage.* *2. **Cultural and Religious Practices:*** * - Rituals, prayers, and sacrifices were not just religious acts but methods of coping with fear, hunger, and death. The belief that God was present in every aspect of life—from the animals they hunted to the storms they faced—provided a psychological buffer against the overwhelming challenges of nature.* *3. **The Role of Women and Reproduction:*** * - In these communities, fertility was revered. Women were valued for their ability to produce children, ensuring the tribe’s survival. This also had a religious dimension, as fertility was often seen as a divine blessing.* *4. **Belief as an Evolutionary Tool:*** * - The text suggests that belief in God was more than just a spiritual need; it was a survival strategy. By instilling purpose and courage, religious belief helped tribes face dangers and the uncertainties of life.* *5. **Contrast with Modern Science:*** * - The piece contrasts this deep, survival-based belief system with modern science, which focuses on bacteria, viruses, and empirical evidence. Today, technology replaces the necessity of faith in God for survival, and the natural connection to belief has been lost.* *### Broader Implications:* *The essay posits that belief in God was not a luxury, but a necessity in the early stages of human evolution. Today, atheism and scientific rationality can be seen as a byproduct of technological advancement and the relative ease with which many of us now live, making the need for divine intervention less apparent. Sarma points to the idea that while atheism is more feasible today, it may still be missing an essential emotional and spiritual element that once guided human experience in a more direct way. * *In essence, Sarma suggests that atheism is a form of privilege that can only arise in societies that have transcended the more immediate survival challenges that once necessitated belief in higher powers.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCKbm1VXO9bzc8od%3DNMy8FpeLaGPPztci4fk092tKWjhgQ%40mail.gmail.com.
