Which way to go - mono, poly or atheism?

Theism, in the broadest sense, is the belief that at least one God exists. Most religions believe in the existence of God and describe God as a changeless, formless, ever-perfect, all-capable entity. It’s good to see that there is some common thread between all these philosophies.  Most religions, even believe that God is a creator of our universe, but then they face conflict with the theory of evolution (if it was a perfect creation, then how come we are evolving, and if it was not then how come God can create something imperfect). Our world is continuously evolving, and things look perfect only if you look with respect to the era they existed. Dinosaurs fit perfectly in the era they lived and then the time came when they became extinct. I think now we understand that it's not God who makes some species go extinct or causes some natural disaster, or causes suffering, so many factors contribute to it. The term ever-perfect doesn’t exist, whatever is perfect today may not be perfect tomorrow as every living creature evolves.

Some religions believe there is only one creator or superpower who controls everything in this universe (monotheism). Hinduism is known for idol worship and for having many Gods (polytheism). We humans have the unique gift of imagination and this unique quality differentiates us from other animals. Once people started believing in the concept of God they used their imagination to give it some form, shape, and image. It was the obvious next step, as we humans like to be creative and bring our imaginations into reality. All these images of God are created by various artists, they are not photographs or portraits or any real person. People see what they want to see in them in those images. In India there are many forms of Gods, I think once India's population was less than or equal to the number of Gods which they believe in. We like to have choices in our lives, I think people thought, why not have choices when it comes to selecting our own God. Polytheism is like a vending machine from which one can choose whichever God he/she likes and worship that god, many options are available and the choice is yours. If people don't see anything wrong in worshiping God as a formless entity, equally it should be OK if anyone wants to worship it in some form. If people want, everyone can have their own God or create a new god if they are not satisfied with the current choices. I don't see any difference between monotheism and polytheism, once you are a theist then it doesn't matter whether you believe in one God or many gods. The problem starts when people want to force their choice of God on others.

The argument about God's real form or existence/nonexistence is useless as it's endless and doesn't lead to any conclusion. Expecting the whole world to believe in one religion, one God, and one book is as insane as to expect all countries to merge and become one country ruled by one leader. This will never happen. So why don’t we concentrate on teachings that help us to realize the inner truth and try to solve our difficulties, that was the whole purpose of introducing God and religion, to unite people and teach kindness and love but many people are doing exactly opposite. 

I know many people who don't believe in any religion or God (atheist). They live a very noble, happy, and peaceful life without being part of any religion or using any single book as a source of ultimate knowledge. For some reason, almost every religion doesn't say very kind words about nonbelievers of that religion and atheists. Atheism and related philosophies are very attractive options available for people who don't want to associate themselves with any religion or don't believe in the existence of God. It's interesting to see that the percentage of non-religious people is growing very fast in the developed world.


Once we know our destination, we can choose whatever path we like to reach there, all these books (scriptures) and philosophies are like flashlights, only to help us, some people need them and some don't. Monotheism, polytheism, atheism, or whatever you want to choose, doesn't matter, don’t worry who is using which flashlight let them find their own way. It's our right to choose our path and find our way, let's respect each other's choices and continue the journey. Which path we take is not that important, as we can change it anytime. It’s the journey of self-discovery which is special and everyone’s journey is unique and interesting, so value the journey. God as an external entity is the result of our imagination and our imagination doesn't have any limits. Humans will keep on producing new Gods or their avatars as long as the human race exists. So, make your choice, change if you don't like it, leave others to do the same, and enjoy the journey. 

Thanks for reading. Your comments are welcome.

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)