Religion Blinds

Here comes a post from my fav blogger Mr. Sujai

Religion comes with theology; but most religious people do not indulge in it. Religion comes with spirituality; but very few devout people actually concentrate on it. Religion however comes with huge paraphernalia of rituals, customs, traditions seeped in blind belief and superstition. And most believers actually practice this kind of religion.

This ritualistic and superstitious facet of religion is the most prevalent form the believers practice. It blinds people. It blinds them from receiving new knowledge, stops them from becoming wiser, and curbs originality and creativity. It forbids them from thinking farther and beyond, and makes them more of a robot and less of a thinker.

Religion stems wisdom, stops people from making sense, rationalize, think and reason. It makes them unreasonable and dogmatic. These people refuse to change views in spite of counter evidence. It makes them hang on to blind belief, orthodoxy and superstition.

There are many ideologies and belief systems that make a person blind to reason. So why single out religion in my attack?

Many other ideologies qualify for the same problems posed by religion. However, there is no other potent force on earth that comes close to religion in terms of its extent, depth, longevity and effectiveness. Religion is altogether a different beast.

For example, people who subscribe to an ideology like communism tend to face the same problems cited above. They are blinded. They do not reason, they are dogmatic, and unreasonable. However, communism as an ideology started less than hundred years ago, gripped only certain portion of people, and is already dying. The newer generations coming from the shadow of communism tend to detest it with more vigor than others.

Religion has killed more people, made more people act barbaric, act uncivilized, commit genocide, rape, and murder than any other ideology. It is embraced by more people than any other ideology, and exists for much longer time and continues to increase in efficacy with time.

These are some attributes where religion beats all other ideologies.

Kill and Die

No other ideology produces people with the same level of commitment and fanaticism to kill and die. More religious fanatics are ready to kill and die to defend their belief system and impose their belief system onto others. Unlike adherents of capitalism, communism, or globalization, the adherents of religion are ready to kill and get killed much more enthusiastically. The only other ideology that comes close to this is patriotism (but it ranks lower than religion).

Inheritance

No other ideology gets inherited the way religion does. A child in Christian family is invariably a Christian. For ages, kids born into Christian families tend to be Christians. (In some cases, proselytizing and conversion tend to change the ratios, but the neo-converts tend to practice this inheritance with more vigor). People born into a religious family tend to be religious. That is not true to most other ideologies. A son of communist need not be a communist. A son of capitalist need not be capitalist.

Catch them young

No other ideology seems to target young children the way religion does. Unlike most other ideologies, religion is taught to young children. Indoctrination of religion starts very young and the concept of God and the concept of heaven and hell, sin and blind rules are introduced to kids who are just two or three years old. They are told, ‘God forbids this, God likes this. Do it this way, God will reward you! Don’t do this, God will punish you!’

Not many communists teach their young kids Communism. Nobody says to his three-year old kid, ‘Don’t do this! Lenin will not like it’ or ‘Do this! Lenin will praise you for it’

Curb creativity and original thought

No other ideology curbs creativity and original thought the way religion does. Though patriotism qualifies for the above three attributes, religion beats it on this. Also, it starts doing its job attacking people at a quite young age. By answering most mundane questions by saying ‘God said so, and hence it is so!’ and ‘God created this, and hence it is so!’ the original thought is curbed. By forbidding people from doing things calling it a sin, and imposing mundane habits as if they are unquestionable diktats of god, and introducing prejudices quite early on as if they are unchangeable rules, religion curbs creativity, makes people illogical, prejudiced and unreasonable.

Blind belief is a virtue in religion. Faith in extremely nonsensical things is hallmark of devoutness. Subscribing to most ridiculous practices is hallmark of piety. Many other ideologies seem to prescribe these attributes, but religion does this more effectively – affecting the state and its apparatus, the institutions, society, and the individual.

Abandon and reject rational thought

Other ideologies such as communism, patriotism, nationalism and even racism seem to have evolved and at some level they have incorporated rational thought and results of science, sometimes flawed. But not religion! Religion stands against all rational thought, suppresses debate, discourages empiricism, thwarts logical reasoning, and in most cases rejects the theories and results of science.

Longevity

We have had problems with other ideologies, either it is nationalism, fascism, Nazism, or communism, but many of these ideologies have not been there forever. They had their own times when they reached the pinnacle and then they subsided. Not religion. People have been fighting over religions since the inception of religion itself. And it has not subsided and it has not let up. More and more people join in throngs and swell the ranks. It has more adherents than any other ideology and the enmities and persecutions continue for thousands of years. Casteism in India would have not have survived for two thousand years if it was not made a part of the religion itself. The same is with persecution of Jews.

Intelligent but lack in reason

It’s not that religious people are dumb. In fact, they can be very intelligent. Some of them could be more intelligent than the entire non-religious people combined. What the religious people lack is not intelligence. What they have given up along the way is their ability to reason when it comes to certain issues of life and society. In face of counter evidence, instead of looking at it and inspecting it, the religious people would like to dismiss the evidence as false. They would like to say, ‘Look! What you say seems to make sense, yet I would not like to get convinced by you’. Religion legitimizes foolishness like no other. It’s like saying, ‘what you are doing is actually foolish, but since it is prescribed by religion, I respect that!’

Is it LoVe or LuSt?

Love and lust are inextricably intertwined. Lust is ground zero for hormones — it's nature's way of bringing the opposite sexes together. In fact, without lust, it's doubtful that love between a man and a woman would have a chance to prosper at all; which is also the reason why sexless marriages fail.

However, love is the most ennobling of human emotions — transcendental, exalted and capable of engendering emotional states.

But how can you tell the difference between lust and love? Read on to find out.

It's lust if:

• You're totally focussed on looks and body
Even before you know your crush's name, you're already fantasising about them and drooling over their looks.

• You don't care about anything they have to say
It wouldn't make a difference to you if you never had a conversation with your crush. Furthermore, you don't bother to return calls promptly and you can easily go for days without talking to this person.

You don't mind checking out other hotties, or looking at other people, like friends, to satisfy your emotional needs.

• You spend most of your together time in 'action'
You make excuses not to spend time, unless it's in the confines of a room. And if they ask you for a favour, you say you're too busy. But if you have to be together and not have sex, you find them boring and look forward to doing something else like going shopping by yourself.

• You leave after sex
After having sex, you look for the easiest way to leave. No cuddling, no breakfast the next morning, just "I gotta go".

It's love if:

• You have great chemistry
You get lost in your conversations and the hours pass like minutes. You're more than willing to listen to each other and sex rocks too. The chemistry between you is remarkable.

• You like the way they look
Even if you catch them on a bad hair day and in the worst of their clothes, they still look gorgeous to you.

• You want to spend some time together
All you want to do is to be with them, while you're having sex and even when you're not.

• You see a future together
You experience the strange feeling that your life would be totally empty without that person. You tell your friends and family that he/ she may be 'the one', and you're even thinking about marriage.

• You introduce them to your friends and family
It becomes very important to you that your parents like him/ her, and that he/ she gets along with everyone close to you.

• You include them in all your plans
Whether you're going out with your friends or taking your dog for a walk, you want them there with you.

And if they're not there, you can't get them off your mind and sneak off to give them a quick "I miss you" phone call.

• You are more romantic
All of a sudden you find yourself listening to cheesy romantic songs and thinking of him/ her. You send them flowers and set up romantic evenings candlelit dinners.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lifestyle/Relationships/Man-Woman/Is_it_love_or_lust/articleshow/msid-2058074,curpg-1.cms

25 Ailments That Can Be Cured By Having Sex

Sex is one of life’s most enjoyable physical pleasures, but did you know that it’s also great for your overall health? That’s right-sex has been found to help with conditions ranging from the common cold to high blood pressure. And although you’re not likely to come home from your next doctor’s appointment with a scribbled prescription for sex, it can be highly effective as a preventative measure and complementary treatment. Read on to find out what conditions you’re protecting yourself from every time you enjoy a roll in the hay.

1. Depression: Without the help of researchers, just about anyone can agree that sex will make you feel good about yourself and just a bit more confident. But one researcher has said there’s a scientific explanation that goes a bit farther. Professor Gordon Gallop says that there’s an unknown chemical in semen that has an antidepressant effect on women.
2. Pregnancy: Sex is both the cause and the cure for pregnancy. Women who are ready to induce labor often have sex to speed up the process, and research backs up this method. Semen contains prostaglandins, which help the cervix prepare to open, and orgasms produce oxytocin, which will help cause contractions.
3. Headaches: Although sex can sometimes bring on a headache, it can cure them too. The tension release your body experiences during and after sex can ease restricted blood vessels in the brain.
4. Menstrual cramps: Sex acts as an analgetic to relieve menstrual pain, primarily because of the relaxation and endorphins sex brings.
5. Arthritis: In his book, “How to Treat Arthritis with Sex and Alcohol,” rheumatologist Carter V. Multz asserts that sex, as well as alcohol and other complementary treatments, can reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation associated with arthritis.
6. Common cold: Manfred Schedlovski, a Swiss researcher from Zurich, asserts that sex has a positive effect on phagocytes, which are a part of the immune system that goes after alien bodies, like cold germs, and kills them. Phagocytes are increased signficantly during sex, and will often double after orgasm.
7. Stress: Orgasms offer a great way to relax, and even nonorgasmic sex offers some relief. Dr. Joshua Golden asserts sex’s relaxation properties, as well as emotional benefits.
8. Tooth decay: Kissing, as well as oral sex, encourages saliva production. This increase in saliva helps to wash food particles from your teeth, prevents plaque build-up, and helps lower decay-causing acid. Additionaly, seminal plasma has been shown to help prevent tooth decay.
9. Erectile dysfunction: By exercising your Kegel muscles with frequent sex and delaying ejaculation, men can help strengthen muscles enough to help with minor erection problems.
10. High blood pressure: Semen has been found to lower blood pressure in women. Specifically, swallowing semen can help ward off preeclampsia, which is a dangerously high blood pressure that sometimes occurs during pregnancy.
11. Insomnia: Many people find that the relaxation they experience after sex helps them go to sleep.
12. Prostate cancer: Men who ejaculate more frequently have been found to be at a lower risk of developing prostate cancer.
13. Hangovers: Sex may not save your liver, but it will help you shake off a funk. Having sex will help boost your endorphins and oxytocins, which stimulate muscle contraction and help you avoid aggressiveness.
14. Toxic system: Sex gets your blood pumping faster, which helps to rid the body of waste.
15. Heart disease: Studies have shown that if men have sex twice a week or more, they tend to have a lower risk of heart attack. For women, increased levels of estrogen caused by sex help to protect against heart disease.
16. Stubborn wounds: Studies have found that oxytocin, which is released during sex, can help wounds heal faster.
17. Low energy: Sex increases energy through exercise and emotional well-being.
18. Minor cognitive problems: Whenever you become sexually excited or have an orgasm, the hormone DHEA is released. DHEA has been found to improve cognition.
19. Skin irritations: The sweat released during sex will cleanse your pores, helping to relieve rashes, blemishes, and other skin problems.
20. Pain: Orgasm releases endorphins, which will alleviate pain for just about everything.
21. Obesity: Although few doctors are likely to prescribe a sex diet, the fact is that sex is a form of exercise. Performing the act of sex requires physical activity that will burn calories and strengthen your heart. It’s an especially great exercise for those who have little motivation to get to the gym.
22. Incontinence: Every time you have sex, you’re exercising your Kegel muscles, which are the same ones you use to stem the flow of urine.
23. Weak bones and muscles: Sex brings on a boost of testosterone, which helps to make your bones and muscles strong.
24. Semen allergy: Unfortunately, some women are allergic to their partner’s semen. However, along with other treatments, frequent sex has been found to work as an effective desensitization therapy for this allergy.
25. Death: That’s right, sex can help ward off death for men. Professor Stuart Brody reports that men who orgasm twice a week are half as likely to die as those who only orgasm once a month.

Source : http://www.100bestdatingsites.com/blog/2008/25-ailments-that-can-be-cured-by-having-sex/

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Homosexuality: Nature or nurture?

This is an article which I read in Sunday times of pune edition yesterday, so felt like sharing with you guys. Does homosexuality arise from nature or nurture? It's an argument that has raged around the world for a long time. But scientific research increasingly seems to be tilting the debate in favour of nature. In case of male conjoined twins, if one is homosexual, the other is likely to show similar tendencies, although the same may not hold true in case of females. In 1991, Boston University psychiatrist Richard Pillard and Northwestern University psychologist J Michael Bailey found that in identical twins, if one twin was gay, the other had about a 50% chance of also being gay. In 1993, Harvard-trained researcher Dean Hamer found that gay brothers shared a specific region of the X chromosome, called Xq28, at a higher rate than gay men shared with their straight brothers. Shortly thereafter, Newsweek ran a cover story on the subject, 'Gay Gene?'. Then, in the midst of a landmark legislation battle in the state of Colorado which raised the question of whether homosexuality was normal, innate and unchangeable, a prominent researcher testified, "I am 99.5% certain that homosexuality is genetic." In 1994, two Canadian researchers discovered a statistical relationship between the number of ridges on men's fingertips and homosexuality, contributing additional evidence to the theory that sexual orientation can be influenced by biological events that occur at conception or early in fetal life. J A Y Hall and D Kimura of the University of Western Ontario examined the fingerprints of 66 homosexual and 182 heterosexual men, comparing the number of ridges on the index finger and thumb of the left hand with the number of ridges on the index finger and thumb of the right hand. If the number of ridges on the index finger and thumb of the left hand exceeds the number of ridges on the index finger and thumb of the right hand, one's fingerprints are said to exhibit leftward directional asymmetry. Hall and Kimura found such leftward directional asymmetry in the fingerprints of 30% of their homosexual subjects versus 14% of their heterosexuals. "Some may refute such theories but they essentially point to the fact that homosexuality is, to some extent, determined even before a child is born," says gay activist Ashok R Kavi, who runs Humsafar Trust. "Another study has found that in case of males, if there is less testosterone (male hormone) secretion during the development stage, they may have some girlish traits, and could even be attracted to boys. Daryl Bemm, a psychology professor at New York's Cornell University, had propounded a theory that hormonal levels are the causes of homosexuality," adds Kavi. Interestingly, zoologists have discovered that homosexual and bisexual activity is not unknown within the animal kingdom. Experts say that all in all, as many as 1,500 different species of birds and animals are known to have displayed homosexual behavior. Researcher and author Bruce Bagemihl documented such characteristics among birds, mammals and insects in his book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, published in 1999. "No species has been found in which homosexual behavior has not been shown to exist, with the exception of species that never have sex at all, such as sea urchins and aphis. Moreover, a part of the animal kingdom ishermaphroditic, truly bisexual. For them, homosexuality is not an issue." That was the verdict of Petter Beckman, academic adviser for the 'AgainstNature?' exhibit - an exhibition on homosexuality in animals in The Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway to illustrate that it is not unnatural. So, if homosexuality can be the result of genetics, and if it exists throughout the animal kingdom, logically it cannot be unnatural. But the Indian legal system thinks otherwise. As per section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, any intercourse which goes against the "law of nature" is illegal. But what exactly does the term mean? Some would argue that it is adapted from the religious belief that intercourse that doesn't lead to procreation is unnatural. But by that definition, apart from homosexuality, all other forms of non-reproductive sexual activities become unnatural, including contraception. Says gay activist Lesley Esteves, "We are born this way, we are not perverts. People have to understand that it's not a matter of choice to get attracted to someone from the same sex or from the opposite sex. And it doesn't have only sexual connotations. The relationship between two people from the same sex could be equally romantic as that between a man and a woman. So classifying us as criminals and penalizing us under section 377 is very unfair to us." An 18-year-old, who has "just discovered" his sexuality and found out that he gets attracted to "his types" more than to girls, says: "I am feeling very apprehensive about my future. If society and laws don't penalize someone born a eunuch, why are people like us singled out?"

Virtual World !!!

Well this post I am writing on my experience as well as seeing other people’s experience on extensive use of virtual world for personal satisfaction.

Well this post is not on people who talk with their “real” friends through internet, but this is on people who try to make friends (well I think everyone try to make b.f/g.f thru it) and also people who write their personal experiences on their blog.

Y do people do this? Well if I conclude these kinda people who extensively are hooked up to virtual world, have certain flaws in them. I cannot describe the flaw, but it is something due to which they cannot find themselves attractive enough to stimulate opposite sex. And the easier medium for them is “virtual world”.

Well chatting is dimensionless. People can’t see your flaws and you can easily camouflage you flaws on Internet. You can talk with confidence with the opposite sex cause neither they can see you or cant recognize your flaws. But ultimately they don’t realize that they meet people in real world and have to live life in the real world. So instead of taking shortcut and finding friends in virtual world, I can suggest them to find their flaws and improve upon them so that they can make friends in the real world who are more reliable and honest compared to friends in virtual world.

Also people share their personal experience on blogs. Well I have lot of friends with whom I can share things with them, so I don’t require the help of blog to share things with persons whom I hardly know. Yeah they can comment, but they hardly know me and which kinda situation or circumstances I hve been through, so I wont find their comment quite related to me. I think this kinda people want to communicate with strangers and share things with them cause somewhere in real world they cant do it. They hve certain flaws which are keeping themselves away from the real people of real world.

So I don’t know whether these people (these people, I think I am categorizing them LOL) should introspect the role of virtual world in their life. They shud concentrate on the flaws in them cause of which they have got hooked up to virtual world and try to improve the flaws to have better life in real world.

LoVe

Love is easy to fall into
Hard to maintain it
Harder to understand it.............