I am sure most of us have wondered about this sooner or later in our lives, and more often so in recent times - how can so much evil exist in the world created by God? That was the topic of discussion in yesterday's episode.
So it came as no surprise that instead of discussing the concept of evil in a particular religion, the episode started off with an interview of a psychopath - someone who is behind the bars for raping and killing many women. Freeman asked him why he did that over and over again and the killer simply said that it was not pre-meditated. He did it because he felt like doing it at that moment each time and he was not able to control his impulses. When Freeman asked if he felt any remorse, the killer replied that he doesn't feel that. Then he went on to say that he is wired differently from the rest - that answer sounded a bit rehearsed to me. But then we were told that the brains of some people are structured differently and they show more inclination towards such antisocial behavior. It was shocking when the expert said that earlier the age at which this could be detected was around 15-16 but lately it has come down to 12-13 or so.
The next stop was Luxor - the tomb of someone called Menna. Here the Egyptian concept of the Judgement Day was laid out in all its glory, so to speak - the heart of the dead person being weighed and the decision made to send him to heaven or hell. One look at it and you would know the origin of the expressions such as 'with a heavy heart' and 'person of pure heart'.
The city of Varanasi with its Pishach Mochan temple was shown next. Here people offer Pooja and do rituals to make sure that their ancestors' spirits are at peace because it is believed that these restless spirits create all sorts of issues in the lives of their living kin. I watched in utter disbelief as people cooked food and threw it in a pond that looked sickeningly green as an offering to the departed. I cannot be sure but I think I saw a dead animal or two in the pond. Horrifyingly, people were seen taking dips in that green mess. Hell, I wouldn't put a toe in it even if my life depended on it. It was sad to see this dark side of the religion that I am born and brought up in. :-( I guess the only silver lining was the message that we all are capable of doing good as well as evil. It is upto us to decide what to be. And that evil can be brought over to th good side.
The previous episodes of this series have covered ideas in religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism. For the first time, the Zoroastrian religion was covered in this episode. I did a double take as Freeman was ushered into the Fire Temple. At least in India, non-Parsis are not allowed entry into the Agyaris, as these Fire Temples are called in India. I didn't know that the concept of the devil originated from this religion and made its way into Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Here too the message was that good and evil exists in us all. Sadly, the concept of the devil wasn't explored more - except for a discussion with a priest about the Original Sin.
An interesting experiment conducted in a school was the next to be featured. A group of children were each asked to throw a dart and promised a reward if it hit the designated spot - the only condition being that they have to throw the dart over their shoulders. A hidden camera in the room recorded their movements but the children didn't know about it. So many of them chose to cheat because they thought that no one was watching them. A second group of children, however, were shown an empty chair and introduced to an invisible character called Princess Alice who would be watching over them. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the children did what they were told to do, this time honestly - because they thought that someone was watching them. One little girl actually patted on the chair to see if she could feel the princess sitting there but she also threw the dart honestly. That makes you wonder - is God just a concept created to make sure that people towed the line? Will people be more evil if they stopped believing in God?
The Buddhism teaching that the source of evil is inside us and we all have to make an effort to locate and eliminate it was mentioned. And the episode concluded with an interview of a person who once was a neo-nazi skinhead but has since mended his ways.
The next offering in this series is about Miracles. Looking forward to it. :-)
So it came as no surprise that instead of discussing the concept of evil in a particular religion, the episode started off with an interview of a psychopath - someone who is behind the bars for raping and killing many women. Freeman asked him why he did that over and over again and the killer simply said that it was not pre-meditated. He did it because he felt like doing it at that moment each time and he was not able to control his impulses. When Freeman asked if he felt any remorse, the killer replied that he doesn't feel that. Then he went on to say that he is wired differently from the rest - that answer sounded a bit rehearsed to me. But then we were told that the brains of some people are structured differently and they show more inclination towards such antisocial behavior. It was shocking when the expert said that earlier the age at which this could be detected was around 15-16 but lately it has come down to 12-13 or so.
The next stop was Luxor - the tomb of someone called Menna. Here the Egyptian concept of the Judgement Day was laid out in all its glory, so to speak - the heart of the dead person being weighed and the decision made to send him to heaven or hell. One look at it and you would know the origin of the expressions such as 'with a heavy heart' and 'person of pure heart'.
The city of Varanasi with its Pishach Mochan temple was shown next. Here people offer Pooja and do rituals to make sure that their ancestors' spirits are at peace because it is believed that these restless spirits create all sorts of issues in the lives of their living kin. I watched in utter disbelief as people cooked food and threw it in a pond that looked sickeningly green as an offering to the departed. I cannot be sure but I think I saw a dead animal or two in the pond. Horrifyingly, people were seen taking dips in that green mess. Hell, I wouldn't put a toe in it even if my life depended on it. It was sad to see this dark side of the religion that I am born and brought up in. :-( I guess the only silver lining was the message that we all are capable of doing good as well as evil. It is upto us to decide what to be. And that evil can be brought over to th good side.
The previous episodes of this series have covered ideas in religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism. For the first time, the Zoroastrian religion was covered in this episode. I did a double take as Freeman was ushered into the Fire Temple. At least in India, non-Parsis are not allowed entry into the Agyaris, as these Fire Temples are called in India. I didn't know that the concept of the devil originated from this religion and made its way into Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Here too the message was that good and evil exists in us all. Sadly, the concept of the devil wasn't explored more - except for a discussion with a priest about the Original Sin.
An interesting experiment conducted in a school was the next to be featured. A group of children were each asked to throw a dart and promised a reward if it hit the designated spot - the only condition being that they have to throw the dart over their shoulders. A hidden camera in the room recorded their movements but the children didn't know about it. So many of them chose to cheat because they thought that no one was watching them. A second group of children, however, were shown an empty chair and introduced to an invisible character called Princess Alice who would be watching over them. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the children did what they were told to do, this time honestly - because they thought that someone was watching them. One little girl actually patted on the chair to see if she could feel the princess sitting there but she also threw the dart honestly. That makes you wonder - is God just a concept created to make sure that people towed the line? Will people be more evil if they stopped believing in God?
The Buddhism teaching that the source of evil is inside us and we all have to make an effort to locate and eliminate it was mentioned. And the episode concluded with an interview of a person who once was a neo-nazi skinhead but has since mended his ways.
The next offering in this series is about Miracles. Looking forward to it. :-)
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