Dear brother Nara Ji,
In your post #249 above, you said:
If dear Y must be called out for his flamboyant atheism, I hope I am allowed to assert my right to call upon the hypocrisy of these theists, weekend/wannabe brahmins, at the very least the ones who make hypocritical assertions.
I don't know what 'flamboyant atheism' is. As I have been saying, and it seems like it is being ignored as nonsense, spirituality and religion are very personal. One can think that theism is not for one, but it seems like to me, Atheists (all who are vocal) are intent on either disparaging theism or as you say, being flamboyant in that they make untenable claims of human superiority both in the make up of an individual or based on the ability to have achieved as 'winners' in life with all the accompanying material comforts. There seems to be no account given to the immediate human condition presented (we have seen it in any lack of empathy for any personal conditions of folks presented here, like Sri S. Ramanathan Ji above or Sri Dharun Ravi elsewhere), instead an amorphous 'crying' for all poor all over the globe as an atheist as the sole propriety is claimed. These seem both obnoxious and obscene to me, as none of these claims can be backed up by any evidence but only by an over blown ego, intent on hurting others..
Having said that, I recognize that you are not of the same ilk. But, then it seems to me, that you belong to the group of Atheists of the likes of Dawkins and Hitchins, who are pained by all the 'atrocities' done by all theism, and blame the ills of the current society on religions. We can argue on these forever, with us the theists bringing up the failures of the Atheist governments of the recent past as well as now, but then these arguments fall on deaf ears, with no logical explanations. In my opinion, this lack of seeing a universality of understanding the frailty of all humans as we develop as humans is what makes this 'branch' of Atheism as religion. Damn even a possibility of existence of a deity, damn any existing reason why the majority of humans possibly born spiritual, the narrative of the epistemology of this Atheism is that these majority of humans are clearly too stupid (irrational and illogical) to see the light.
Consequence of such thinking, interestingly enough is the opposite of the 'flamboyancy' you cite. We will have empathy for anyone we think are the 'victims' of these conspiratorial systems of the past, be it' Brahminism' or any Theistic systems - oh but, we declare any materialism based systems as 'Charvakas' or 'Buddhists' as the perfect religions. Of course, these were mercilessly fell victim to the evil theistic religions!
So, this 'agenda' is what is driving these attacks on theistic folks on the basis of 'hypocrisy'. 'Part time' brahmins, 'poverty peddler', etc., etc., are being 'called out'.
Here is Mother Theresa, whether one agrees with her theology or not, in my opinion, was a simple human being who helped scores and scores of poor and who did not lead a luxurious life by any means is attacked and scorned. A book is titled obscenely, just on the basis that her mission took donations from a few nefarious characters.
Same vein with these 'part time' brahmins. Hypocrisy is a deeply held human condition. It is done because of internal conflicts that arise within a human being, and gives rise even to a lot of parents behaving that way towards their children (Do as what I say, not as what I do). Brahmins of today are undergoing enormous pressures as well as undergoing enormous changes as a group (I understand other groups are doing so as well, but my interest for our argument is this group). They are only about a few generations removed from their ancient way of life, and they are trying to find an expression to explain their current lives. You have found yours. But then, that does not mean that others need to do the same as you did. Human beings are not all the same. They need empathy and support towards this march to find a relative equilibrium in their lives, not dersion and contempt, being called out as 'hypocrites'.
This is why I do not agree with your style of 'in the face' accusations. Being a humanist is a universal condition. That is why, it is both surprising and astonishing for me to see some folks who would not have any empathy for any human beings who are finding themselves at a very confusing place in history. How can one, with a particular intellectual, emotional and spiritual make up say that others who are choosing to lead a different way of life are all hypocrites? What gives a human being any right to say that? I just don't understand.
Regards,
KRS
