Mythological Juggernaut

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Humans started living in communities more than 10,000 years ago and it was primarily started as an insurance against vagaries of weather, unpredictable disasters and frequent natural calamities.

Safety of human lives further depended on animals and creatures stronger than the humans. This led them to conclude that animals like snakes, lions, elephants and even big sea life are more powerful and probably control natural forces too.

Therefore, to safeguard their lives and assets, they started inventing methods to please these stronger forces and this led to worshipping of some particular animals or mix of them as superforces or Gods.

These methods or procedures called rites and rituals were mastered by certain individuals in each tribe, clan or community. These specialists called priests or by any other name, were feared people as they were thought to be intermediaries between superforces and humans.

Any story or event narrated by them was considered to be authoritative and was not normally questioned. This situation led to creation of myths from small & real initial stories and their vastly exaggerated versions handed down with passage of time as actual happenings.

At times, surfacing of prehistoric mammoth skeletons due to accidental excavation or natural calamities like earthquake, flooding or erosion further added support to these myths which were conveyed as absolute truths by these religious teachers, preachers or storytellers.

They took full poetic liberties while narrating these or putting them down in lyrical form and acceptance of these myths by a community eventually took shape of a faith or a religion, stated to be ordained from the skies.

It is saddening to know that such is the power of myths that they have affected human behaviour throughout their existence, created political divisions, resulting into fights, battles and wars.

However, due to development of science and dawn of age of reasoning, these myths have now become responsible for jeopardising the faith of new generations in every supernatural phenomenon including existence of God, even though there are arguments in favour as well as against it.

As on date, scientific evidence does not provide evidence of existence of an almighty judge who keeps inequality among human beings but loves all.