That God, gods, goddesses, devils, ghosts, hell, heaven, etc. exist is not a refutable hypothesis. But they are very real in the minds of the believers. In that sense mythologies are not merely the fairy tales, they are the source books to guide their moral behavior. And believers use them as role models. Society teaches our women to become Sita and Sabitri and go through all the trials and tribulations to make the male dominated society happy. Bhagwan takes side with the Pandavas and uses tricks to ruin their cousins.
Dharmaputra Yudhisthira is a role model that a typical religious Hindu aspires to become although Yudhisthira consciously lies to trick the enemy. Lying to trick becomes a religious teaching. He is not unselfish.
I think we are drifting away from the original topic of monotheism versus polytheism. My bottom line is: both polytheism and monotheism can be equally good or bad depending on how it is interpreted and practiced.
I think we are drifting away from the original topic of monotheism versus polytheism. My bottom line is: both polytheism and monotheism can be equally good or bad depending on how it is interpreted and practiced.
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On Nov 23, 2014, at 5:29 PM, Jiten Roy jnrsr53@yahoo.com [mukto-mona] <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
That's right, Dr. Das, God and Devil are just matter of perceptions. Ravan was a devil in the Indian North, but, I hear, he was God in the southern parts of India and ShreeLanka. These stories belong in the mythology, and I agree that they have no credibility. I, also, do not think - they have any influence on the religious philosophies at all. This is the point I am trying to make with Mr. Chakraborty, but – so far, no luck.Jiten Roy
From: "Kamal Das kamalctgu@gmail.com [mukto-mona]" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2014 11:52 AM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] RE: Annual Celebration of Mahrram (Ashoura) another Beauty of Islam for the world to see!
God in one community becomes Devil in another. Ahura Majda, the God of Avesta, becomes Mahishasur in India. Darius, for example, is Tarakasur. Krishna is given the status of God, but most of his relatives are devils. How could someone being a God could do nothing to save his community while still alive? Even as a lover, wasn't he less than ordinary? A Don Juan who could not satiate anybody? Let us be fair, such Gods do not meet character standards.
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On Nov 23, 2014, at 9:21 AM, "Jiten Roy jnrsr53@yahoo.com [mukto-mona]" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com> wrote:"Gods and goddesses were not always compassionate and kind."I think, you are confused. Religious philosophies are for human, not for Gods and Goddesses. And, I do not know if any religious philosophies in Hinduism encourages violence against human beings. A religion that allows multiple philosophies, cannot be an authoritarian in nature, and it cannot be violent.Those Gods and Goddesses, you mentioned, are supposed to fight against devils on earth, so ordinary human-beings can live in peace. Hinduism never encouraged human-beings to fight against devils; Krishna said – He will come to fight against devils, meaning God is protector and affectionate. I hope you will understand now.Jiten Roy
From: "Subimal Chakrabarty subimal@yahoo.com [mukto-mona]" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2014 12:24 PM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] RE: Annual Celebration of Mahrram (Ashoura) another Beauty of Islam for the world to see!
Gods and goddesses were not always compassionate and kind. They were sometimes were vindictive and cruel. They used to take sides and fought with one another. That created divisions in the society. That caused many battles. There were many divine authorities and powers. I think this led to the conception of one God and One supreme power. True, as we look around we see that the problem has not been solved.
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On Nov 22, 2014, at 10:54 AM, Jiten Roy jnrsr53@yahoo.com [mukto-mona] <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Yes, all monotheistic religions have roots in Paganism. In fact, all monotheistic religions must have emanated from Paganism. The so called revelation doctrine was necessary for attaining authenticity of the monotheistic ideology at that time. Also, monotheistic religions needed authoritative power of God to survive at that time and sustain its growth in the long run.So, their God is almighty, who run an autocratic religious empire, where any decent is met with dire consequences. Followers become slaves of God; they are possessive of their faiths. And, just like a jealous lover, followers can turn violent instantly when sentimental space is trespassed.Paganism and other multi-theistic religions, on the other hand, are democratic in nature, where followers enjoy freedom of choice. In here, the image of God is kind and compassionate, and followers are relatively peaceful.Everything on this earth happens out of natural cause and effect. Be that Paganism or monotheism, human ingenuity is at the root of all these ideologies.Jiten Roy
From: "Kamal Das kamalctgu@gmail.com [mukto-mona]" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2014 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] RE: Annual Celebration of Mahrram (Ashoura) another Beauty of Islam for the world to see!
A French proverb says it succinctly,"plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" - the more it changes, more it looks the same. In spite of the claim of revelation through some kind of hotline, each of monotheistic practices has roots in paganism.
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On Nov 22, 2014, at 6:45 AM, "Jiten Roy jnrsr53@yahoo.com [mukto-mona]" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com> wrote:What you are saying is that – these religious rituals have been adopted from some past practices of the pre-Islamic societies. It makes sense, because - earliest Muslims were all converted Muslims also. So, it was natural that – some of those earlier practices will get into the Islamic practices.Jiten Roy
From: "Kamal Das kamalctgu@gmail.com [mukto-mona]" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2014 8:58 PM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] RE: Annual Celebration of Mahrram (Ashoura) another Beauty of Islam for the world to see!
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