Designed Intelligently

I was religious. Deeply religious. Its almost unbelievable now, even to me.

I come from a modern, quasi-religious Hindu Brahmin family, where the women folk are the backbone of the religious fervour and the men folk just step in and out.

Anyways, for some reason my father decided to take the plunge and turn into a religious purist. This was during my high school days. And needless to say, I got sucked into the vortex. I used to perform my "Nithya Karma" three times a day. Each time reciting the gayathri mantra thousand eight times. And apart from that I had been initiated into other japaas as well. So before I left for school in the morning which was around 8:30, I had to complete all my religious duties starting at 5:15 in the morning right upto 8:00. Similar routines would follow once I was back from school in the evenings.

And then it all stopped. It stopped abruptly in my last year at high school and I have never looked back since. Now, I am areligious. I am oscillating between an atheist, a non-believer and an agnostic but my religious passions flare up at times too.

I still go to the temples occasionally. I get worked up if someone insults my religion. And feel the pride rising in me when I receive the spam mails that praise Hinduism for its tolerance.

So though I might sound confused and at war within, I am not. I feel perfectly ok and do not think this apparent lack of clarity is anything to worry about.

Anyways, so when Science began to explain the phenomenon's around us in a rational and factual manner and began to debunk the age old theories of God's will being the reason behind these natural occurrences, the purist and the religious-orthodox began to feel threatened. This was primarily in the west. Because I do not think religion in India felt threatened by these explanations and incursions. Nor did the Indians feel compelled to choose between the two.

For decades now, the "Evolution" theory has been holding forth and no theory worthwhile has come about that could even dream of dethroning Darwin's pet theory.

So what did the religious do ? They found a back door entry.

Years ago I recall reading a book by Erich von Däniken titled 'The God's from Outer Space'. It was really a compelling book that left a lasting impression on me.

The question was simple. How could man evolve from a monkey if the level of intelligence exhibited by man is vastly superior to that exhibited by a monkey ??

If evolution is a step by step process over millions of years. If species' on earth today can be neatly fit into each of these steps. Then how did evolution take this lone giant leap when stepping from the monkey to the man. Does not make sense.

According to the book, this giant leap from monkey to man could not have been accomplished but for an invisible helping hand from outside.

Thats when "Intelligent Design" gingerly stepped in.

Its not evolution they cry out. Evolution came only as far as the monkey. The leap from monkey to man was the design by intelligent beings. Otherwise by the present evolution theory it would take much much longer.

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of furore this created in the media and the US educational system. The religious screamed that evolution was anti-god and so should not be taught in schools. And if it was continued, then the students should either be told in no uncertain terms that this is just a theory which could possibly be wrong and that there were other theories too. Or better still, yank the whole thing off the text books.

I was really amused to read the arguments and counter arguments by each side. And to understand both sides of the issue, please read The New York Times piece titled "In Explaining Life's Complexity, Darwinists and Doubters Clash".

With a smug look on my face I said to myself - I still cant understand what this fuss is all about. I really dont. Is this a case of taking things just too far, too seriously ?