An Atheist can be Spiritual

Dr. Rajesh Bhola
India
Apr 07, 2014

My parents were strong advocates of scientific thinking, and growing up I was part of science clubs and other activities, which gave me a lot of room to learn about the who, how, when, where and why - and not to take anything for granted. I was taught to think and to adopt a rational approach. I once accompanied one of my friends to a ‘god-man’. There was a huge congregation, with hundreds of devotees waiting for the god-man’s ‘darshan’. I was told that he performs a miracle - moves his hand in the air and blesses the devotees with ‘instant vibhuti’. Religions often propagate such miracles. To be honest I did not like it, because it left me feeling confused and isolated. My grandparents on both sides were atheists and hence my parents were raised with no religion - as were other members of our close family. My father told me that I could believe in anything I wanted, but that he only believed in the symphony of this universe at play - and, on top of all, in people. His only advice to us was to be good human beings, to absorb and form good values, and to work out - over time – the answers to how we wanted to lead our lives. He said that the family would always be there to love me as a person, to guide me with their experience and to give me a shoulder to lean on when I was in need. The journey of a person with a scientific temper is not easy, since being a ‘non-believer’ is so unusual in India.; so many of our traditional rituals and festivals are basically religious in theme. 

The rationalists or the atheists do not believe in miracles. A miracle is an event that cannot possibly be explained by any of the natural forces or natural laws. Rationalists have often found ‘miracles’ to be baseless. Further, any evidence of a miracle would not prove that God exists; it would simply prove that that there is a force in the universe that we currently cannot comprehend. Since there have been no documented miracles in the recent past, does anyone seriously believe that there will be a miracle in his/her lifetime? And if there are no miracles, then God cannot be ‘active’ and anyway does not appear in any visible form as evidence. God does not seem to intervene in any way on our planet. There is no evidence that God has answered any prayers. Many bad things like earthquakes, plane crashes, murders and rapes happen in the world all the time, with seemingly no regard for any religious beliefs? Has God ever done anything to stop bad from happening? Is there any evidence that God has ever used his powers; is there any expectation that he will ever use them? Also, are we not being self-centered when we ask a God to suspend the natural order just for us? One explanation generally given by theists is the attribute of God by which he fills the universe in all its parts and is present everywhere at once. Not just a part, but the whole of God is present in every place. How do we know if God is always present if he can’t be seen or measured? And if you do not believe that God intervenes, is it logical to pray to him and worship him? 

We do not need to believe in any god, to be moral. Atheists may be non-believers but they are per se clearly not immoral or unethical; many also donate to charities. There is no single ideology that all atheists share, nor are there any institutionalised rituals or behaviours. Atheism in its broadest sense is an absence of belief in the existence of gods. This definition includes both those who assert that there are no gods and those who make no claim about whether gods exist or not. Narrower and more common definitions, however, often only qualify those who assert there are no gods as atheists, labelling the others as agnostics or simply non-theists. Sometimes atheism is a stage in between different religions. With or without religion, good people behave well and bad people do evil. Also, by denying belief in gods, one need not totally dissociate oneself from the culture associated with religion. Virtually every agriculturalist celebrates a winter and summer solstice holiday. Such a celebration can also be important to an atheist, for its intrinsic social values of sharing and community. 

In the Indian context, scientific rationalism as a belief system is gaining a toehold. Religion is indeed considered part of our identity in India, but that is changing - at least amongst the growing middle class, which is organising fast within groups online. Such ‘activists’ need to focus on more than just religion. There are many other areas in which critical thinking and scientific skepticism are needed. Indeed, there are many ‘self-identified atheists’ who gladly buy into illogical and pseudoscientific ideas. To change that, India’s new atheists are taking the battle from the classes to the masses, to help debunk the claims of astrologers, tantriks and ‘god-men’. Despite long years of democracy, India remains one of the world’s most repressive societies.  Political groups routinely use religion to stoke hatred and provoke deadly riots; and the Constitution and the law seem bent on intertwining — rather than separating — religion and the State. In the long term that’s what the atheists, or free thinkers, aim to change.

One can choose to lead a happy life within a set of mutually agreed, and continually re-negotiated, boundaries, so that the communities of which we are a part of do not collapse. And that choice can be made from a desire to live as a socially responsible person - without the guidance of any faith or religion, We can love, live a good life and deal with the various demons we encounter - without the God factor. We can do so just as a group of people, willing to support each other in our times of need. But religion has its place….and a purpose. It is necessary, for it purifies the general masses - which are generally ignorant and illiterate - and lifts them from gross materialism to something a little finer. We need not abandon religion in order to find the truth. In fact it acts as a purifier. The external customs of a religion were instituted to create internal mental and spiritual habits. Probably, religions are centrally concerned with the question of living meaningfully in an afflicted world; they have been ‘made’ to solve moral dilemmas, by addressing the struggles of the human heart. Religion is perhaps best intended to loosen man from his material desires and bind him with God.

 

As children, we are extremely susceptible and prone to learning, which means that what we learn may be hard to shake. Faith in anything should be confined to one’s private space, because all it should do is help a person to lead a good life. When it seeps into our public institutions, it many times serves to dictate and divide. From school prayers to marriage and after, religion creates a framework for how people should act – which, although well-meaning in conception, has left so many people leading empty and unfulfilled lives.

The difference between a belief in a scientific theory as opposed to a religious dogma, is the difference between the institution of science and the institutions of various religions. Religious ‘facts’ are not subject to testing, and in most cases cannot be tested; they are supported by evidence that is open to interpretation - or no evidence at all; they are not reviewed by other religions, to try and reach a consensus. The institution of science is primarily concerned with discovering the nature of reality without making any assumptions. Scientific theories must, by definition, be testable; they must be published, for review by other scientists, with the intention of reaching a consensus. Accepted theories are supported by evidence that is not open to interpretation, or is consistently interpreted by qualified scientists. If evidence is found that contradicts a theory, the theory will be abandoned. A scientific body derives its authority from the review process, and because it has an interest in discovering the truth – which is not the case with a religious body.

 

Dr. Rajesh Bhola is President of Spastic Society of Gurgaon and is working for the cause of children with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities for more than 25 years. He can be contacted at rabhola@yahoo.com