Nirvana!

A riveting scene from the movie "21 Grams" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pastor: Well, thanks for finally seeing me. They tell me you don't want to eat. Jack : I'm not hungry. Pastor: Jack,Jesus didn't come to free us from pain. He came to give us the strength to bear it. Jack : Maybe He wanted this pain for me. Pastor: No, He had nothing to do with this. It was an accident. Jack : No, it wasn't an accident. Jesus chose me for this. Pastor: Jack, ask for the mercy of Jesus Christ. Jack : If it was an accident, why do I have to ask for His mercy? "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. "I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Pastor: - Don't be so prideful. That's a sin. Jack : - "And the fearful and unbelieving. "And the abominable, the murderers, the warmongers, Pastor: Jack, listen to me. Jack : "the sorcerers and the idolate...

The answers to the questions here ->  http://prashanth-vaidyaraj.blogspot.in/2013/08/what-do-terms-atheism-religion-etc-mean.html   IMHO emerge when we try to understand the origin of each of those terms like 'Religion', 'Atheism', 'God', etc. The subject matter is too vast hence I will try to be specific to the questions raised in this post.   The factors that make a 'Religion' are a 'God', his messenger, a single authoritative book and a structure to assemble its followers. This 'God' is a male who has created the universe and everything in it, including the evil. 'God' is all powerful and can get angry and can punish you when one does not adhere to his commands. His messenger is to whom 'God' has 'revealed' his 'message' in form of 'commandments' and 'Book'. If one follows the dictums as mentioned in the 'Book' it is deemed as 'Good' else it is deemed 'Bad'....

As I read the title of an article in the front page of in today's The New Indian Express, a barrage of questions came to my mind. The title (see pic) loudly cried thus, "'Athiest' CM turns religious, Visits Temple in Mysore"!!! Now the que stions that came to my mind: Can Siddaramaiah or anyone who are born and brought up in native Bharateeya families belonging to one of the thousands of traditions & customs, claim to be an 'Atheist'? In short, who can claim to be an 'Atheist'? What does '... turns religious ...' mean? What does 'religion' mean exactly and which are the religions present in India and the world? Does Siddaramaiah or any Bharateeya adhering to their own native traditions or personal belief systems 'turn religious'? In fact, how can a Bharateeya turn 'religious'? If TNIE meant 'Nastika', are 'Atheism' and Nastika traditions one and the same? Now, can 'vi...