Atheism first step towards becoming dharmic

[Generic_user_5]

Ram Ram brothers
Atheism first step towards becoming dharmic how many of you agree ?
reason:
Atheists donot believe in anything without proof and even veda's say that don't believe in anything without proof even people are free not to follow veda's if they don't find it valid.
Atheists donot believe in dogmatic thoughts likewise dharmic person will never follow any such thought.
Atheists accepts humans as supreme and likewise even spiritual folk things humans as supreme..
Atheists are fastest to become dharmic..
jai shree ram

 

[Doomlord_uk]

I don't know what dharmic means but I would say I wouldn't agree atheism was a 'first step' to anything religious or spiritual?

Addressing your reasoning:
Atheists might well believe in things without proof - atheism is the position that there are no gods in existence. It actually doesn't tell you much about a person's philosophical viewpoints, their understanding of science or what they do know about the world. If Vedas don't accept anything without proof, that sounds like a much more strict approach to life than most atheists would ever take. But, even if we accepted that athists and vedas (whatever they are) have the same philosophy about truth, that does not imply that an atheist is a veda, or vice versa, or is in anyway inclined or likely to become one.

Regarding dogma, atheists are quite capable of being dogmatic - indeed even about atheism. If Vedas are never dogmatic, then atheism describes a wider set of people than vedaism does.

Atheists would probably not say that 'humans are supreme', I suspect that most might agree with me that we are evolved lifeforms like any other alive today, and if the nature of our minds and bodies is such that we effectively control the planet, that still in no way justifies the raterh arrogant or narcissistic term 'supreme'. I think most atheists would also shy away from using such quasi-religious terminology, too.

Thus, even accepting that I don't know what 'dharmic' means, I rather doubt - based on your reasoning - that we will be 'dharmic' any time soon.

If ever.

 

[LuisDantas]

I beg to differ.

As you say, atheism

(...) actually doesn't tell you much about a person's philosophical viewpoints

and right there you have a good incentive towards Dharma. One must find his or her own answers.

 

[Doomlord_uk]

I'm not seeing the incentive "towards Dharma"? Can you explain?

According to Wikipedia:

"Dharma [...] is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism.[8] There is no single word translation for dharma in western languages.[9]

In Hinduism, dharma signifies behaviors that are considered to be in accord with order that makes life and universe possible,[10][note 1] and includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and ‘‘right way of living’’.[7] In Buddhism dharma means "cosmic law and order",[10] but is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha.[10] In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for "phenomena".[11][note 2] In Jainism dharma refers to the teachings of the Jinas[10] and the body of doctrine pertaining to the purification and moral transformation of human beings. For Sikhs, the word dharm means the "path of righteousness".

(I can't post the link to that wikipedia page because I don't have that privilege yet on this forum)

Just because I assert with confidence that there is no such thing as a god, that in no way implies I have any interest in adopting any aspect of any Indian religion! Indeed, in general, an atheist may evince behaviours and beliefs quite at odds with those religions!

In short, atheism is not a step on the path to religious or superstitious beliefs or practises and, in general, results from a general tendency to dismiss the same.

***

You say that "we must find our own answers" but to what questions? And why must we find them? And how on earth does seeking "answers" lead to adopting an Indian religion?? You should expand on your reply.

 

[LuisDantas]

I'm not seeing the incentive "towards Dharma"? Can you explain?

If nothing else, atheism means the absence of the disincentive towards Dharma that belief in God often turns out to be - or at least enables.

Many people end up "trusting in God" and as consequence failing to seek their Dharma.

According to Wikipedia:

"Dharma [...] is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism.[8] There is no single word translation for dharma in western languages.[9]

In Hinduism, dharma signifies behaviors that are considered to be in accord with order that makes life and universe possible,[10][note 1] and includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and ‘‘right way of living’’.[7] In Buddhism dharma means "cosmic law and order",[10] but is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha.[10] In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for "phenomena".[11][note 2] In Jainism dharma refers to the teachings of the Jinas[10] and the body of doctrine pertaining to the purification and moral transformation of human beings. For Sikhs, the word dharm means the "path of righteousness".

(I can't post the link to that wikipedia page because I don't have that privilege yet on this forum)

Just because I assert with confidence that there is no such thing as a god, that in no way implies I have any interest in adopting any aspect of any Indian religion!

That is quite right.

However, Dharma is not a particularly Indian concept except by an accident of origin.

Indeed, in general, an atheist may evince behaviours and beliefs quite at odds with those religions!

Of course he may, but the question presented is rather whether it is possible to more easily find one's way to Dharma by being an atheist than by being a theist.

In short, atheism is not a step on the path to religious or superstitious beliefs or practises and, in general, results from a general tendency to dismiss the same.

That is to an extent a matter of judgement call. In part because one may examine the question by the perspective of how many of those who seek Dharma are more inclined to atheism instead of theism.

To put it more clearly, the question asked in the OP is not "Does atheism usually lead to Dharma?", but rather "Is Dharma more easily found by Atheists than by Theists?" - a fairly subtle yet significant difference.

Or so I understood it, anyway.

***

You say that "we must find our own answers" but to what questions? And why must we find them? And how on earth does seeking "answers" lead to adopting an Indian religion?? You should expand on your reply.

Dharma is not an Indian religion, nor should it be restricted to them (or even to Asian religions in general). It is instead an approach toward religious philosophy - and one that, quite frankly, every single religion needs even if it does not realize it.

So it is not that atheism leads to Indian Religions; instead, it frees up the way to potentially create a new religion from the ground up, as well as to validate and improve those that already exist.

 

[Michael Colton]

All sorts of clipping about to happen:

Atheists donot believe in anything without proof
Atheists donot believe in dogmatic thoughts
Atheists accepts humans as supreme

None of these are necessarily true.

 

[Revoltingest]

I "believe in" some things without proof, eg, fairness, survival.
But I know they're not "true"....just things I like.

I was never a fan of the "Dharma & Greg" TV show.
Is this a problem?

 

[Sha'irullah]

Atheists accepts humans as supreme and likewise even spiritual folk things humans as supreme..

This is not true in the slightest bit. Atheists understand that as humans we are nothing but animals and hold no supremacy over nothing. Our lives can be expunged by a virus the next day or wiped out by cosmic devastation.
To realize you are nothing else but an animal is the lack of supremacy and also the pinnacle of humility