My Quest of Understanding Religion* - Part 2

Why is religion so important?

The only reason that I can think of is because it gives me a set of ready-made though, I would believe, customizable guidelines to lead/deal with my life and its events. I can either follow the religion of my parents, or customize them, or choose another religion or create a new religion.

 

Who owns respective religious scriptures?

:) Let’s search.

 

What should not be part of religion?

• It’s amazing that we find so many inhuman beliefs and practices in religions across the world. Every religion as of today is at least 1000-2000 years old, I think it is time humanitarianism supersede these practices. No sacrifices (animal or human), no prejudices, no discrimination, no exploitation, no degradation, no penalties and no negative messages. These points are the main reason of conflict in today’s world. I would have liked updated versions of the scriptures but the belief is that scriptures are God given and not to be “tampered” with.
• Forced exclusion of other religions/ prejudice against other religions should not be there.

 

My personal religion would have

• Reflection of international beliefs and customs and not just a region. Universal religion.
• Belief about life, essence of life and after life. I think science can deal with creation of life better so I will leave that there.
• Belief about how we are all connected. I am wary of thinking that there is actually a separate Energy-Being out there waiting for all of us to join him/her as smaller Energies. I prefer to see all of us collectively forming Energy-Being. So there is no separate Energy-Being. It is just a play of collective energies in the form of intellect or behaviour. It basically translates to mean that, if I pray to God, I actually am praying to the universally connected consciousness.
• Maybe some guidelines on how to pray, nice poetry, nice words but not rituals with corresponding penalties if not followed correctly.
• Definitely a list of what to do for obvious events like birth, marriage and death. But based on not just the customs and beliefs but also on the awareness/advancement from today’s world.
• Definitely a list of tenets to dictate our behaviour. This will be complemented by the law of land and the worldwide movement of Humanitarianism.

At the end I ask - Do I fit myself to religion or fit religion to myself?

I definitely want to fit religion to myself because at the end of the day it is personal. Religion is there to give me hope and relief. I create religion not vice versa. This means I can choose from multiple beliefs from multiple practices and have my own personal religion that I can follow with understanding and commitment. The existing beliefs definitely are a starting point but not the ultimate say in what I believe and practice.

 

* Author does not claim to be a religious exponent. These views are in progress just as my experience with religion.

My Quest of Understanding Religion* - Part 1

That’s a tough project for sure. :) So where do I start. The options that I have, go bottom-up, that is, read every scripture from my religion to start with and hope to understand religion by end of the project. I tried, seriously I did, but 3000 year old thoughts, practices and then multiple contradictory interpretations leave nothing tangible.

 

So, I am trying the next option of top-down, which is to start with questions and see where they lead me and see if I can find answers to them across scriptures.

 

I hope my questions are correct because then the battle is half won!

 

What is religion?

I think it has more than one aspect

  

• Firstly, at a historical level it provides beliefs and customs of people of a region at a certain time.
• Secondly, at a cosmic level it provides theory on creation of life, essence of life and after life.
• Thirdly, at a personal level it provides an anchor in the name of God to hold on to when we are down in dumps so to speak. It seems we don’t want to be all alone; we need to believe that there is someone out there looking after us, fighting for us and punishing people who wrong us. (Think film Castaway – we all need Wilson of sorts)
• Fourthly, as a practitioner it provides details on how to worship God so he can look after our well-being.
• Fifthly, at a social level it provides basic framework of what-to-do's for events that are mix of celebration, sadness or achievements.
• Lastly, at a moral level it provides list of tenets to dictate our behaviour in relation to other individuals.

What are religious scriptures?

These are the documented aspects of a religion covering the above points. In almost all religions they are said to be directly dictated by God to human messengers who then pass on to fellow humans.

 

Where are the religious scriptures of Hinduism?

In Hinduism, they are pretty much scattered, not easily accessible, and if found not easy to connect the points unless taught by a well-versed teacher. Below are the key religious scriptures that form the basis of Hinduism

• Vedas (Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda)
• Upanishads
• Bhagavad Gita

To implement the practices advised in these key scriptures there are various supplementing ritual books that are used by purohits. In addition, there are books on individual deities depending on the extent of following.

 

There are some supporting scriptures or books that I prefer to see as religious literature, dealing with mythological stories to convey the religious message.

• Puranas
• Epics
• Treatises/essays/poetry on the main scriptures written by religious men across ages.

There are other scriptures that deal with teachings on health, science, astronomy, astrology, economics etc. which can be explored based on interest.

 

to be continued

 

* Author does not claim to be a religious exponent. These views are in progress just as my experience with religion.

Do we encourage sexist remarks?

As I was reading through some articles I realised some of the phrases that we use in our daily communication are quite sexist/gender biased in nature. We attribute certain personality qualities to gender and use that as a means to point out strength/weakness and even to take a dig at someone. Mostly these phrases end up stereotyping men to be all positive and women to be all negative. Below are a few sayings that make quite an interesting read with a common underlying, though a disturbing, message.

Of course the phrases depict the history of our society but as we are moving towards a more open and unbiased society, I feel we should be more conscious of the language that we use and the message that we are sending.

Some other good reads
http://www.shamelessmag.com/blog/2008/03/trendy-tomboys/
http://www.languageinindia.com/sep2001/genderandlang.html
http://www.languageinindia.com/jan2003/womeninindianlanguages.html

At the grossest level, gender-biased language implies that people are male unless 'proven' to be female. Female gender may be designated by either tagging on a feminine descriptor (e.g. lady professor, women doctor, female engineer) or by belonging to a stereotypically female group (e.g., kindergarten teacher, social worker).
(Janet B. Ruscher, Prejudiced Communication: A Social Psychological Perspective. Guilford, 2001)

 

Being a girl seems a curse to me…

That’s what my domestic help tells me and I am unable to answer her anything different after listening to her and other working women’s stories. How can we change that mind-set? Why are women still victimised? And yes, they are not just the lower working class but across the social strata. I would like the answer to be No for every girl/women but then that does not seem so in many cases. Let’s take the below cases

1. A girl aged 26, working as domestic help since childhood, living with her 2 elder brothers who mistreat her at their will. She tries to run away but is cajoled to come back and keep home for the 2 brothers as a family. She does earn some money, but is asked to shell out more than her share for the rent of the house without getting any respect, love, care or support from her supposed family. She worries for basic needs of food, house and clothing along with the umpteen eve-teasing that she encounters daily on her way in and out of work.
2. A girl aged 34, well educated, fun-loving with happy go lucky attitude, marries a good looking, well-educated NRI, has a kid and then is mistreated by her in-laws and her husband to the extent of physical and mental collapse. She is unable to take care of herself and is left dependent on her aging parents.
3. A girl aged 36 years, working as domestic help, has 2 kids, husband who has a steady job. Suddenly, they have an accident; both are badly hurt but luckily get through with surgeries. Then the guy remarries on the pretext that he wants a boy. Again, she worries of basic needs for herself and her 2 daughters.
4. A girl of 26 years from a remote village is married off at 16. The husband leaves her after 10 years, her parents don’t support her, and she runs to her maternal uncle in a big town. Instead of guiding her, the uncle seduces her. She believes he wants to marry her but he is not yet divorced from his earlier wife. She is worried about where to live, how to live, what to do, how long to wait.

Now in all the above cases the girls are knowingly or unknowingly a victim of domestic violence, public molestation or infidelity. She has options to file a complaint, fight her case or get help from NGOs.

 

 

But in each of the above cases there are limitations to what level of support is provided, how soon the justice is reached ensuring the girls dignity is maintained throughout the proceedings. I think that is the trouble – I haven’t heard or seen people in above cases maintaining a level of dignity to handle these sensitive cases. People find cheap thrill in shredding someone to pieces at the smallest pretext and especially when it is related to sex and violence which are taboo topics. There is no compassion shown towards the victim. And according to one national newspaper article a girl is never considered a victim but the one who seduces the guy!! 

1. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/in-and-around-delhi-cops-blame-rapes-on-women-tehelka-investigation-with-ndtv-194735
2. http://www.firstpost.com/living/from-the-delhi-police-six-reasons-why-women-deserve-to-be-raped-269957.html  

So if we want us, our daughters and other girls to not to feel violated or victimised at any point of our lives then as an individual we need to ensure below aspects in our lives. 

1. Be mentally strong and clear to make our own decisions
2. Learn that we have right to maintain self-respect and dignity in all our relationships and cannot be weakened by emotions/family obligations that debase us
3. Be physically fit to respond to any physical abuse
4. Be able to earn our living without depending on brothers or husband to provide for it 

Unfortunately, I realise a girl unlike a guy does need to fight for her self-respect, dignity and physical security on a day to day basis as that is something NOT given in our society.

 

 

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. – Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC)

Can rent paid by working couple be claimed by both the spouses in part?

Well, this was the practical question I faced when I had to sign in rent receipts for my tenants. I looked through net to find what the Income Tax Law says about it, but couldn’t find any section in the rule book that confirms or rejects such an assumption. I thought I should do a bit of research and get some understanding in this area as I like to:

1. Know the rules, exceptions, assumptions and then
2. Keep to the rules

So below is the summary of what I understood from the content available at Income Tax Law website: http://law.incometaxindia.gov.in/DIT/income-tax-rules.aspx (House rent Allowance - Clause 10 (13A), Clause 80GG, Rule 2 A and Rule 11 B)

 

The confusion comes as for 1 salaried person the maximum he/she can claim is driven by Rule 2A and company policies that may not cover the entire rent of the house.

 

 

For e.g. the house rent is Rs. 15000, Person A can get exempted upto 6000 and Person B also can get exempted upto 6000. In such a case, personally I would like the law to be in favour of each individual and not see them as 1 entity. In which case, each person can claim partial rent (say Rs. 7500 each) and get tax exemption upto Rs. 12000 instead of 1 person claiming full Rs. 15000 and getting only 6000 as tax exemption and the other person actually losing 6000 under taxation.

 

 

Well, I think the company tax advisors do recommend the above approach though I have seen few links that say the rent cannot be shared by 2 salaried persons (husband and wife) as they are considered 1 entity by the law. I think this interpretation has following loopholes: 

1. Each salaried person should be treated as an individual.
2. The affordability of the rented place should not be dictated by the law. If both spouses are earning then the chances are they will rent a place that gets covered by overall income and not just by one of the spouses.
3. The law should be focussed on creating a win-win situation.
4. Finally, why penalize one of the family members for working and then not being able to claim the benefit!!

Hope this blog helps as a pointer to what we should know/do as Owners and Tenants when it comes to rent deduction while paying taxes. I also wish there is consistency across organizations on how this should be treated. Maybe you can check with your Finance department and let me know how this is addressed and if there is any specific rule in the book that I missed out.

In the Land of Invisible Women by Qanta A. Ahmed, MD

Rating – 3/4 (Good read)*

Just completed reading this book and enjoyed it immensely. I find it primarily a sort of travelogue interspersed with perceptions on Islam, on being a Muslim woman professional and of course what it is to be living in Saudi Arabia.

I see 3 parallel areas discussed in the book

1. The book begins with the author’s decision to be part of the government run Hospital in Riyadh. The author takes the readers through countless incidents that depict the spectrum of Saudi society– women subjugation, the teenagers lost to drugs and speed accidents, child abuse, discrimination/racism, dichotomy of beliefs and the terror of men in brown (the muttaweens).

2. It was pleasant to read the author’s spiritual experience through the Islamic philosophy and her experience of Hajj. She describes how, the Saudi women and men she meets in their happiness and sorrow help her get a deeper understanding of Islam. In contrast, we also read how the teachings of a religion can be distorted to one’s political and selfish gains.

3. Across the book we are introduced to women and men professionals who love their country and their profession. These people knowingly have chosen to serve their country in the hope of bringing positive change in the society. These are the people who have faith in their religion, faith in the goodness of humanity and finally faith in their abilities.

My favourite quotes from the book:

1. This was Islam- Hajj! Not the Muttawa with their nightsticks and nihilism. Equality in the eyes of our maker, whether we be men or women, rich or poor, able-bodied or deformed, black or white, was all that mattered. (Chapter 14 – The Million Man Wheel)

2. On being asked by one of the colleagues as to How she can want to go back to live in America after 09/11. Qanta says - “…,in America I get to be a Muslim on my terms, not on those of some illiterate Muttawa! No one tells me how to be a Muslim there, or how to be a woman there, for that matter!” (Chapter 38 – Final moments, Final days)

3. There are also many beautiful translated quotes from Quran.

*My rating scale (1-Bad; 2-Fair; 3-Good; 4-Excellent)