Religion debated - Niharika Sawant & Kunal Sakhrani

RELIGION IS BENEFICIAL FOR SOCIETY

Niharika Sawant X- B

‘What have you brought, that you have lost? What have you created, that got destroyed? Whatever you have to do, you have to do here, and whatever you have to give, you have to give here itself,’ Says a famous spiritual text.

When the existence of man started on earth, he was not aware of any rituals and customs to be followed. But with time, he started to feel that the forces of nature were his caretakers. He felt divine powers emerging from the sun,wind,soil andwater. Slowly and gradually man started to differentiate people according to their beliefs and this gave rise to ‘RELIGION.’

The literal meaning of term religion is ‘a community of people having similar beliefs’. As of now, there are 4,200 religions in the world.

If we go through ancient history, we come to know that many beneficial acts have taken place because of religion.Teachings of Buddhism made Samrat Ashoka stop bloodshed and violence and motivated him to adopt the path of peace. During the conflict era between the Mughals and Indians, Rajput ladies used to tie Rakhi to invading Afghans, thus creating a bond and reducing enmity. Religion gives a kind of shelter to all the distressed devotees, encouraging them to share their problems and this gave them mental support.

In Mahabharata, Lord Krishna stated ‘do good and don’t expect any fruit for your labour’. This quote tells us to stay away from unhealthy emotions and desires, like anger, jealousy, hatred, greed which are the biggest enemies of man. Because of the teachings of certain saints, man is afraid to perform bad deeds as he believes that he won’t make his place in heaven and will goto hell. As people fear God, they stay away from sin. All religions encourage honesty, charity and righteousness.

Religion by itself is not bad. Religion is the base of brotherhood. While giving a speech in Chicago, Swami Vivekananda started his speech by saying ’all my brothersand sisters’. Lokmanya Tilak organized Ganesh Chaturthi and other festivals in order to bring equality in society. So, in a way, religion helps to enhance divinity in society. The castes and sub castes were basically created for smooth functioning of government.

Some anti-social elements, commit crimes under the name of religion.They explain that their religion tells them to do so. These people are misguided and have been brainwashed into committing acts of cruelty. Quran preaches that the gruesome acts of beheading, rape and enslavement are not allowed.Jesus tells that he will be with us forever.

At the end I would say, that religion, when understood and practiced correctly, is definitely beneficial to the society.

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Religion is a Bane to Society

Good morning respected judges and my dear friends.

I am Kunal Sakhrani from XB. I will be opposing the views presented by my worthy opponent with my speech.

My worthy opponent stated that religion is a blessing. I disagree with this statement. Religion has not always been a blessing to our society. History’s most savage incidents took place when religion exercised a stronghold on the culture, some examples are the crusades , holocaust and the apartheid.

Religious beliefs are responsible for a great deal of prejudice and intolerance among people,nations and cultures. Attitudes of ,”You don’t believe what I believe so you are inferior or an infidel” have created animosity between people and neighbouring countries.

My worthy opponent stated that religion is the base for brotherhood. I disagree with this statement.

On 6 December 1992,members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal destroyed Babri Masjid which caused great humiliation among Muslims. Eventually a great riot broke out and countless people were killed .

I would like to ask you all a question,“Don’t we still meet superstitious people? Don’t we still come across innocent people falling prey to occult practices of so called godly men? I believe you all know who RadheMaa is. A fake woman who calls herself a godly saint. Recent cases of lynching of people, who were believed to carry beef and slaughter cows, have created havoc and fear in the society. Are these people truly spiritually inclined?

My worthy opponent stated that religion gives peace of mind, divinity and brings people together. I totally disagree with this statement. I believe that you all know what an honour killing is. Honour killing is the homicide of a family member because he or she has brought shame upon the family. In 2013, in Garnauthi village of Haryana , a young couple belonging to different sub castes was murdered as they had run away and were planning their marriage. But here is a shocker, this killing was approved by the villagers. What kind of religion permits you to take lives?

I would like to conclude by saying that where there is truth and righteousness there is no need for religion.

Thank You.