From: fafat@aludra.usc.edu (Vijay Fafat)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: Do we need a religion?
Date: 24 Dec 1992 22:26:07 -0800
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: aludra.usc.edu

Rohit Parikh writes:
>So Bush beats Perot who beats Clinton who beats Bush.
>
>So who is the `choice of the people'?  There is no one at all who can claim
>to be that.
>
>Arrow showed that this phenomenon is GENERAL.  Thus a `fair voting system'
>is logically impossible.   But in most cases democratic elections sort of work
>so we have them.  

	Yea, this was what I was pointing at. Democracy may or may not
	work. Arrow's theorem proves that you can NEVER devise a system
	which will ensure that democracy will ALWAYS work. I think it's a
	marvellous piece of work.


>But belief in God also sort of works.  So why not have that
>too?  There was a philosopher who prayed to God  on the grounds that  if God
>exists,  then the prayer will help.  If God does NOT exist, then no harm
>is done.  So why not pray?  :-)

	:) That's called, "Dono haton mein laddoo rakhna". btw, an inside
	info. My bicorn gives a dollar minting machine to
	the one who can pray to him and please him. So now your philosopher
	has God *and* a bicorn to worry about. And his set of potential
	worries will increase very fast :) The philosopher was'nt very good,
	no? :) You can't bank on every Dick and Tom who comes and proclaims
	GOD exists :)


>But seriously, India has a low crime rate in many categories in spite of
>poverty BECAUSE the people are religious.  If you destroy the influence
>of religion, then your favourite saying `poverty breeds crime' will indeed
>come true, and where will you find the kind of money for social services
>that even the US finds it hard to pay for?  Think about it for a moment.

	I don't have the stats. I'd like to see a comparison of the no. of
	dispassionate murders and the property loss to those which have
	religious roots.


>  The business about the Babri Masjid reminds of a joke.  A man goes out
>for a walk and comes back holding something in his hand.  His wife opens
>the door and recoils in disgust.  "What on earth is THAT?" she says.
>"Look what I almost stepped into", replies the husband!!

	Here's one which *might* be a bit tangential. There's this guy
	who's an ardent Shiva bhakt. prays a lot and all that. But is always
	in extreme poverty. Parvati gets very upset about this and tells Shiva
	that he should make him rich and alleviate his problems. Shiva says,
	"It's no use. That guy cannot have a good life because he has so many
	internal conflicts. No matter what is done for him, he'll manage to
	ruin it". But Parvati does'nt relent (you know how females are :)
	So Shiva says, "ok, I'll see". One day, this guy decides to visit a
	nearby village and his route is thru a forest. Shiva carefully 
	keeps a bagful of gold in his path so that he can find it and get
	rich. The guy walks happily along the road till, about a hundred meters
	(my best guess :) from the sack of loot, he has an idea. Says,
	"I *want* to know what a blind man feels while walking. And I have
	to know it right now". So he closes his eyes and starts walking,
	meandering along till he misses the riches completely. Shiva tells 
	Parvati, "Look at that". 
	I identify India with this guy.

	FFT



Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian