Illusion of Religion: A Treatise on Religious Fundamentalism: Humanism Series

By Abhijit Naskar

“The world needs the kind of religion that sets humanity free, not the kind that binds it with textual fanaticism. The world needs the kind of religion that humanizes the society, not the kind that dehumanizes it.” 

One of twenty-first century’s most influential thinkers gives us a beautiful work of scientific philosophy where we get to rediscover the true humane essence of religion. Here the celebrated Scientist Abhijit Naskar makes a glaring attempt to reinforce the faculties of rational thinking and acceptance in the psyche of the civilized society towards distinguishing the evils of religious fundamentalism from genuine religion.

In “Illusion of Religion”, Naskar tears apart the veil of fundamentalism that has befallen the human society masking as religion, and makes us recognize the true meaning of religion within our hearts, beyond the bounds of textual fanaticism. This is a treatise of biological sciences, that reveals the neuropsychological dynamics of fundamentalist beliefs that have most successfully managed to present themselves as divinity. Here Naskar unravels the path towards eradicating this medieval evil from our modern society. He shows us the path of building a truly civilized and wise society, where reasoning, love and conscience triumph over all primitiveness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Neuro Cookies
• Release date: Jun 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386217343

Book preview

ILLUSION OF RELIGION

Abhijit Naskar is one of twenty-first century’s most influential minds in Neuroscience and an untiring advocate of global harmony and peace. He became a beloved best-selling author all over the world with his very first book The Art of Neuroscience in Everything, that heralded the advent of a beautiful scientific philosophy. With various of his pioneering ventures into the Neuropsychology of religious sentiments, he has hugely contributed to humanity’s attempt of diminishing religious differences, for which he is popularly hailed as a humanitarian who incessantly works towards taking the human civilization in the path of sweet general harmony.

illusion

of

RELIGION

A Treatise on

Religious

Fundamentalism

ABHIJIT

NASKAR

Illusion of Religion: A Treatise on Religious Fundamentalism

Copyright © 2017 Abhijit Naskar

This is a work of non-fiction

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Neuro Cookies Edition, 2017

Also by Abhijit Naskar

The Art of Neuroscience in Everything

Your Own Neuron: A Tour of Your Psychic Brain

The God Parasite: Revelation of Neuroscience

The Spirituality Engine

Love Sutra: The Neuroscientific Manual of Love

Homo: A Brief History of Consciousness

Neurosutra: The Abhijit Naskar Collection

Autobiography of God: Biopsy of A Cognitive Reality

Biopsy of Religions: Neuroanalysis towards Universal Tolerance

Prescription: Treating India’s Soul

What is Mind?

In Search of Divinity: Journey to The Kingdom of Conscience

Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost

The Islamophobic Civilization: Voyage of Acceptance

Neurons of Jesus: Mind of A Teacher, Spouse & Thinker

Neurons, Oxygen & Nanak

The Education Decree

Principia Humanitas

The Krishna Cancer

Rowdy Buddha: The First Sapiens

We Are All Black: A Treatise on Racism

The Bengal Tigress: A Treatise on Gender Equality

Either Civilized or Phobic: A Treatise on Homosexuality

Wise Mating: A Treatise on Monogamy

DEDICATION

To my peace-loving sisters and brothers who see all humans from different religious backgrounds as equal.

CONTENTS

1. Real Religion of Civilized Society

2. Violence & Religion

3. Fundamentalism, Terrorism & Religion

4. Religion as Realization

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Real Religion

of Civilized Society

Time has changed. Necessities have changed. Circumstances have changed. And more importantly the human psyche has changed. And for this evolved human psyche, the rugged dogmatic definition of religion and its correlated elements that have been passed on to us by our ancestors, are no longer fit and healthy. Time has come that you need to refresh your perspective of religion and religiousness. So, let's begin - shall we!

There are basically two distinct ways to define religion. One is more ancient and purely esoteric in nature, and the other is more modern and essentially civilized and simple. In the first approach - religion is the process of attaining the transcendental mental state of absolute oneness or union with the universe, or union with God. This is the path on which the prophets of all religions walked, either consciously or quite accidentally.

In the second approach - religion is simply your internal urge to become a better human. Neither of these two paths of religion is superior to the other, and neither of them has anything to directly do with an Almighty Being. However, while the first path is more centered on the self attaining a state of absolute divinity by working on the self, the second one on the other hand, is more centered on plain everyday wellbeing of the self and others through working on both the self and the society.

Here the most important thing is, the first path of religion, though harder than the second one to walk on, eventually leads the self to the second path, after the attainment of divine awakening, whereas the second path of religion is much simpler to walk on in comparison with the first one, and requires nothing but plain ordinary every kindness mixed with courage and reasoning.

Religion is basically the code of conscience that humans live by. This code does not come from any book, or institution of an imaginary divine being. Whatever there is, rises from the human mind itself. Mind is the creator of all religion, not an Almighty Being. However, one who walks on the path of attaining Absolute Oneness, upon attainment recognizes the futility of the man-made terms like God, Jehovah, Allah and Brahman, and thereafter begins to walk on the path of plain ordinary everyday kindness. Basically, this second path is nothing more than what we today call Humanism. The most effective and modern path of religion is the path of Humanism.

Christ, Buddha, Nanak - all walked on the first path of religion, that is, the approaching of Nirvana or Absolute Oneness, and once they did attain that inexplicable state of transcendence, they eventually began walking more confidently than ever, on the path of Humanism. They began to teach humanity, plain, ordinary, everyday kindness. They taught humanity lessons of love and compassion. And that's the religion we need today - the religion of humanism - where the highest concern of the humans are the humans.

Humanism is not a philosophy - it is basically who you are. Humanism is the purest expression of your soul as a human. It has no God to be concerned with, except for the living Gods, that is the humans. It has no doctrine to abide by, except for the natural doctrine of love and benevolence. That's the religion we need my friend.

The world has had enough of mystical non-sense. It has had enough bloodshed in the name of paradise and afterlife and all sorts of primitive fairytales. Now is the time, that you pay attention to the deepest fathoms of your own mind,