The Evolution and Impact of Demigods

The last three decades have been witness to the evolution of an exclusively new class of Babas or demigods in India. Their devotees consider them as gods. These five-star Babas preach about myths, prayers, morals, Yoga, meditation, divine remedies, etc. The prominent reasons of the sudden rise of this divine service agency are as follows: human miseries, poverty, injustice, ambitions, faith, illiteracy, devotional channels and almost negligible fear of Indian law.

Today, most people have developed never- ending desires in almost every aspect of their life, may it be education, carrier, prosperity, luxuries or relationship. Ambitions, possessiveness, arrogance, greed and jealousy are the major motivating forces behind many humans’ behavior today. The preference for individualism over community has rendered the common person lonely and depressed. Furthermore, sedentary lifestyle has exposed people to new diseases like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, cancer, mental illness, etc. Modern medical scientists have many drugs to control, but not to cure these illnesses; consequently, people look towards Yoga or some divine remedies. While a simple physical exercise, say a daily walk of 4 km, may provide a far better relief than any Yoga.

In short, today, most people are facing one or other misery, and when they could not find some scientific remedy, they resort to the divine one through some Baba. Since almost every Baba claims that he/she has the remedy for every problem under the sun such as difficulties in study, employment, marriage, business, court case, property, rivalry or health. In fact, the concept of Babas among Hindus is not a new one; however, with the help of television they could catch a very big audience that too for peanuts against the gain.

Almost all the Babas are big hypocrites: they teach ancient knowledge to the devotees, but utilize modern technology for themselves. They oppose the scientific inventions about gods and religions; however, they enjoy the fruits of science very frequently. They use most modern communication and transport, do not look towards the gods for their illnesses, and enjoy the most modern medical facilities, including cosmetic enhancements.  

They proclaim that their lives are devoted to serve the poor, but they themselves live in well- equipped palatial abodes like business tycoons. Many such a Babas earns more than one million rupees a day; nevertheless, they tell the masses to lead a life of contentment and asceticism. These Babas are not even following gods and religions, since they commit sins frequently. For example, they frequently teach that each human must refrain from ego, lust, anger, greed and passion for worldly things. On the contrary, most of them harbor all these human instincts more abundantly than the masses do.

In order to attract people, these Babas behave like skilled politicians during their orations. They are very good orators and marketing the concept of gods, like clever sales agents. The magnitude of their fake promises ascertains their success: frequent and bigger claims predict greater success. Most of these Babas do not have even the basic knowledge of science and religions. For example, one day Baba Ramdev taunted the scientific discovery of evolution, ‘British claim that monkeys are the ancestors of humans. Yes, the forefather of British may be monkeys but not ours!’ Obviously, he has not yet read basic science. This Baba often teaches Yoga and diverse remedies to some 10,000 people at his sermons, without a formal education. On the contrary, a doctor in India has to study for over 10 years to legally prescribe medicines. In India, to practice medicine without a valid medical degree is a punishable offence; however, the Baba does not bother to heed the Indian laws.  

Let’s consider their knowledge of religion; the logo of another famous Baba Shivanand reads: ‘The Baba teaches the Vedic techniques of meditation that liberate humans from their past karma.’ In fact, the Vedas have not mentioned the concept of punishment for past karma and any meditation to liberate people from them. Even the Buddha, the inventor of Karma theory, did not dare to advise such a meditation to save a person from the punishment of karma. This Baba claims that his meditation therapy can heal any human disease, help in examinations, avoid traffic jams, solve marital discords and all the problems under the sun. This Baba makes a funny claim that his meditation is a science beyond science. This indicate he do not know even the definition of science or doing some chicanery. Science is a knowledge that can be observed, verified or proved. None of his claims about the meditation can be verified, observed or proved. In fact, he is deceiving people that certain god has given him divine knowledge which is a science beyond science.  

Amazingly, these Babas claim to heal only the diseases that are not easily curable by modern medicine. The patients of arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, stones, kidney failures, skin diseases, psychosis, sterility, etc., are their preferred targets. On the contrary, they do not claim to cure the simple diseases such as malaria, typhoid or tuberculosis, since the patients would deteriorate soon. Baba Shivanand claims to cure cancer but not malaria. These Babas advertise their claim, through the statements of several fake patients, in newspapers and television channels. For instance, a great Baba often gives a full page advertisement in almost all the newspapers that he had healed 500 million chronic patients with the divine help; the number is far higher than the total chronic patients in India. His promo displays photos of several national leaders, film-stars and devotees to authenticate his fake claims.

Today, science has discovered the cause of all human ailments and has discarded the theory of sins, gods and demons behind diseases. Therefore, all the Babas, who are prescribing divine remedies, are frauds. If they are honest and sure about their teachings they must take an oath that they themselves, their family and devotees will not seek any modern medical help even in emergency. In fact, before preaching religion, one must study science. During all the periods of history, humans tried to explain their mysteries and miseries rationally. And the phenomenon—they could not comprehend rationally—were explained through divine powers.

Therefore, one must read science before teaching religion. To teach religion without knowledge of science is similar to teaching a degree class without going to school at all. Many such Babas have declared that they are the incarnation of a particular Hindu god; obviously, they have no fear of gods. For example, long ago, Satya Sai declared himself as the Avtar of Sai Baba, and began to exhibit his divine powers by simple conjuring tricks. People began to consider his tricks as his divine powers, and he earned more than a trillion rupees and lived a lifestyle of a business tycoon. Surprisingly, the actual Sai Baba never displayed his divine powers and lived an ascetic life. Similarly, Baba Asharam also maintained that he is the incarnation of Krishna; this fake claim fetch him both money and pretty women in wholesale, not retail. His assistants preached the target females that they are going to make a pious conjugal love with Lord Krishna, the universal lover; that would bring them and their family a great fortune.       

All these Babas wisely propagate that devotees must have blind faith in them and gods (BFG); this virus is mandatory for the smooth running of their business. It sparks a vicious circle of thoughts in each human mind: if one has BFG then only gods would help them. BFG simply prohibits each person to have any rational thought about gods and the Babas. Such Babas wish to propel people into the ancient era and do not let them learn the scientific fact about gods, in order to fool them continuously.

Many Babas have insatiable lust for money, power, luxuries and/or sex; rather, they chose the profession due to their lust. And they do not hesitate to violate the law e.g. tax evasion, land-grab, claim of miracles, sexual exploitation, sale of blessings and divine-induced remedies. These Babas could commit such corrupt practices in broad daylight, since they have no fear of law with the protection of their political alliances.

We have frequently heard about the corruption of politicians in India; however, it is rare to find corruption charges against a Baba. There is a simple logic, politicians have their rival parties and they often expose each other. On the contrary, most Babas belong to one single party that has one-point program of selling dreams at the price a particular person wishes to buy. For example, all Hindu Babas knew the tricks Nirmal Baba was playing to extract money, but nobody spoke a single word against his chicanery, before he was exposed by media. Similarly, no Baba ever exposed the dirty picture of Asaram, JaiGurudev and many more. Almost all Babas knew that the claim of Satya Sai, to be incarnation of Sai Baba, was a fraud, but none considered his responsibility to inform his devotees. We can assert this for sure, since all Babas must have worshipped Satya Sai, if he was really an incarnation.  

Today, these Babas are influencing Indian politics as well. They are having a big following ranging from thousands to millions. Politicians are regularly using them to seek votes and Babas are using leaders to continue their illegal activities. This is very serious threat; devotees never question the opinion of their demigod and they vote as per their order. These Babas would never support an honest, rational and educated person, who would not support their illegal business.

In fact, the corruption of Babas is far bigger than politicians, since they grab the hard earn money of an already miserable person. Did we need a Lokpal to control this corruption? Some 50 years ago, Indian parliament passed an act to control the concept of magical remedies. In short, the Act reads: To advertize, claim, popularize any magical remedy is a punishable offence; the violator would get 2-5 years imprisonment. However, there is mushrooming of magical remedies on electronic media, since there is no enforcement of the Act. Today, Indian Government needs to enforce an effective ban on the sale or free advice of divine remedies; these may be amulets, Pujas, Yajna, secret-mantra, etc. There should be a censor board to monitor the lectures of these Babas that may control their chicanery. The law is not enough, people must be taught to recognize their fallacies. We must appreciate media for exposing several Babas and saving many innocents to be cheated.

How the Invention of Language &

Writing Transformed the Human life

Today, Information Technology (IT) has transformed the face of the earth. Let’s visualize the process. It is believed that eminent scientist Alexander Graham Bell, around 150 years ago, discovered the technique of telephony and it was the birth of IT. Several scholars assert that some five thousand years ago, humans learnt the art of writing and that was the beginning of IT. However, the first foundation stone of IT was laid, in prehistoric era, by the invention of spoken languages—the soul of all human communications.

Today, scientists have established that the human race was not created by some divine power: it was a product of a gradual evolution. Most anthropologists assert that the human race came into being some two hundred thousand (200,000) years ago. At that time, people lived as nomads in the groups or bands of fifty to a hundred members; they often used fire and stone tools. They had not yet learnt language, clothing, morals, religion or cultivation. Furthermore, they depended upon hunting quarry and gathering wild vegetables for their survival.

The journey of human inventions, that transformed caveman into a metrosexual, began—far earlier than they assumed human shape—with the technique of igniting fire and carving stone tools. At one point in time, humans discovered an incredible skill—the technique of speaking. The invention of language was a quantum leap towards the human expedition of scientific advancements. Gradually, this nascent IT laid the foundation of almost all the further discoveries. Before this, people shared their basic needs, such as fear, hunger or sexual desire, only through crude sounds and gestures. All members of a particular band understood these sounds and gestures, and thus, they could commune their basic needs with each other.

When and why did humanity begin to speak? The Bible mentions that God himself taught speech to Adam—the first human of the earth. Had it been true, there would have been only one tongue in the world. In fact, speech was an art that developed over time: many human groups invented their own spoken words independently to share their feelings, experiences and challenges. Most anthropologists believe that humanity learnt to speak around one hundred thousand (100,000) years ago. The earliest speech was similar to the utterances of a baby. At first, people named many things around them—these were nouns. Later, they coined the words to describe different actions—verbs. With the help of a noun and a verb, people began to construct two-word sentences, and their vocabulary increased with time. People began to discuss their day-to-day problems and their solutions.

 Anthropologists have found several sophisticated implements such as stitching needles, cave arts, idols and jewellery belonging to some thirty thousand years ago and later. They believe that the manufacture of these must have required some discussion. This implies that the artisans of the articles had evolved a good vocabulary. Furthermore, people discussed the uses and properties of fire at length. They appreciated that fire could help them in various ways such as cooking, warmth and protection from wild animals. Consequently, each human group began to maintain a hearth or fireplace round the clock, in order to use fire more frequently and efficiently. For example, scientists found fireplaces in several human settlements belonging to twenty five thousand years ago. 

Let us try to visualize the impact of good language: it must have radically changed the upbringing of children. Now, parents could share their feelings, experiences, dreams and challenges with their offspring. Each new human generation could receive the experience of its ancestors: that is what we call education today. Thus, each youth of the period began his life with the accumulated knowledge of seasons, nature, herbs, food, animals, toxins, etc. 

Gradually, people must have begun to talk about every happening around them such as childbirths, deaths, seasons, rain and storms. After exhaustive study, they appreciated that several phenomena were beyond their comprehension. For example, they could not decipher the reasons behind childbirths and deaths, the changing seasons, earthquakes and storms. These inexplicable events left them confused and scared. Without speech, each person pondered over such issues individually; however, now, all members of a human band could share and discuss the possible reasons behind such events. Whatever they could not comprehend, they imagined some unseen power or force behind it. Every member of band shared their viewpoints on such matters; however, the wisest of them convinced others to follow his/her opinion. Later, this person was designated a specific title such as chief, priest or shaman.

Gradually, these priests imagined several divine powers behind all natural events. For example, they imagined that some power in the sky caused storms and rain. Priests also noticed that there were two types of phenomena—good and the bad. They speculated that the good and bad events were the result of bliss and wrath of the powers respectively.   

At some point in time—we do not know exactly when this happened—people in various far-flung parts of the world developed an instinct with the help of their communication technique. Whenever people encountered some power beyond their control that could harm or help them, they began to worship that power. They believed that worship protected them and sought blessings of that power. All over the world, people adopted more or less similar methods of worship: folding hands, bowing, kneeling, floral offerings, praying, sacrificing, etc. During prayers, they sang flattering songs to seek the mercy of that power.

Apart from the above, language laid the foundation of the institution of leadership. In order to establish the leadership, each leader has to command others, take challenges or explain their credentials: all these all only possible with language. Chief or priests of the human bands were the earliest leaders. They guided people to hunt, treated the sick, facilitated the unity, resolved internal quarrels, wrestled with new challenges, built morals, buried the dead and performed many such roles for their bands.

Around ten thousand years ago, humans have evolved many hunting tools, implements, hearths, leathers, footwear, cosy huts, institution of priesthood etc. With the aid of the above advancements, their population exploded. Nomadic people faced a serious scarcity of food; gradually, they reached on the verge of extinction. After exhaustive discussions, many nomadic bands, in remote corners of the world, invented and adopted the cultivation. This great technique changed the human destiny and gave rise to several civilizations. After a few millennia, the priests living in four civilizations invented the technique of writing that facilitated development of math, science and myths. Furthermore, people inscribed their age-old myths as holy scriptures and that gave birth to organized religions.

Thus, it is obvious that ancient people began to fathom nature around them with the help of language and imagination. Whatever they could not comprehend, they invented one or other myth to explain. Ancient humans of each locale built their own folklore or myths to wrestle with their mysteries and miseries these gave rise to religions. Furthermore, writing enabled people to carry forward both the scientific inventions and myths. This brought about a progression and thus ensured better living standards with each passing generation. Today, the results are already there for everyone to see. From stone tools to atom bombs, bark canoes to huge ships and paper planes to spacecrafts—all these were developed by the endeavours of many generations. Language and writing made it possible to invent, propagate and accumulate all the religions and science that humankind has today. 

The article is an excerpt from 

The Evolution of Gods by Ajay Kansal

Read the Book at the following Link: 

http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Gods-Ajay-Kansal-ebook/dp/B008XK505O/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391177339&sr=1-1&keywords=the+evolution+of+gods 

The Evolution of Gods: The Scientific Origin of Divinity and Religions 

by Ajay Kansal 

Overview

This book explains why, when and how humanity invented various religions and gods.
The process began around 100,000 years ago; during this epoch, many nomadic human bands, all over the world, invented primitive languages and began to decipher each happening around them. Whatever they could not comprehend, their chiefs or priests attributed to some unseen power.
At some point in time, we do not know exactly when it happened, humans invented an activity: they began to worship each seen or unseen power, which was beyond their control, but could either harm or help them. They invented almost identical methods of worship, such as folding their hands, bowing, kneeling, floral offering, prayers and sacrifices.
For example, anthropologists believe that during the last Ice Age, humans had largely inadequate protection against cold; their survival depended largely upon available sunlight—something beyond their control. In that scenario, solar worship was a logical outcome. In a similar manner, they found thunder and lightning inexplicable and frightening; gradually, they began to worship the sky as a god. There is enough historical evidence to assert that the ancestors of Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians and Muslims worshiped the sun and the sky, before their religions came into practice.
The ability to speak and share their ideas helped humans invent many useful devices such as hearths, stitching needles, leathers and footwear. With their aid, they began to lead an easier, healthier and safer life. Consequently, their population began to increase: approximately 10,000 years ago, it exploded to such an extent that they faced a food crisis. Since necessity is the mother of inventions, several human bands invented the technique of cultivation. Farming necessitated them to settle down near fields and ultimately gave rise to homes, villages, cities and civilizations. Gradually, farmers began to face famine caused by droughts and floods. The priests of several places in the world visualized fertility gods and goddesses behind the growth of their crop, and people began to worship them.
Around 3,000 years ago, cultivation paved the way for another population explosion. At the same time, a sedentary lifestyle exposed people to pets, rodents, mosquitoes, houseflies and other parasites. All these factors together gave rise to devastating new diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis, typhoid and plague. Furthermore, huge population instigated social diseases such as poverty, inequality, injustice, crime and exploitation. Consequently, most people were forced to lead miserable lives no better than hell. Around this time, several saints such as the Buddha and Moses visualized the remedies of human sufferings. Contemporary priests transcribed their teachings as the holy scriptures. These books mentioned worship of new gods, sacrifices, magic or morals to eradicate human miseries: the miserable masses had no option but to follow those advices. These scriptures fashioned the organized religions of today. Thus, history demonstrates that whenever humans faced a new challenge, priests invented a more useful deity and consigned the older one to oblivion.
Although humanity invented gods to wrestle with their mysteries and miseries, religious dogmas halted the progress of science, facilitated human exploitation, instigated many massacres and wars throughout history and ultimately gave rise to modern terrorism. The knowledge about the evolution of gods may vaccinate the readers against the disease of fanaticism.
Let us think for a moment why humanity developed several religious concepts but only one science. For example, one dogma avers idol worship and the other asserts the contrary: scientific principles have no such ambiguities. There is a concrete reason behind this contradiction: about one thing or concept there is only one truth, but there can be many lies. This book is an effort to light a candle in the darkest corner of human consciousness.

Read this book at the following Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Gods-Ajay-Kansal-ebook/dp/B008XK505O/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391177339&sr=1-1&keywords=the+evolution+of+gods