Killing Plants for Food?

A Case for Plants

Plants breath. Plants grow. Plants reproduce. Plants die. And hence plants are living things. Whether they feel pain or not, let me discuss in later. But for sure we can say that they are living.

Everything is life... You have to open your eyes!

Killing for eating. Is it correct? We uproot carrots, beets, radishes, onions, garlic, ground nuts and other innumerable plants just to satisfy our hunger. Is it ethical? Is it acceptable for rational human beings to do this to plants which can’t even defend themselves when attacked?

Is not killing a carrot plant for it’s food reserve which it stored day by day is like killing an old man for his wealth he accumulated in his entire life? Is not boiling a cup of rice is like boiling thousands of unborn foetus removed from dying mothers? Won’t those innocent rice and wheat grains grow in to new plants if they are provided with soil and water instead of being boiled and eaten as idlies and chapattis?

Where are your ethics when you kill a plant which can’t even express its will to live? In the name of farming, we kill thousands of insects using pesticides. We kill ants which are almost always harmless to human beings. Also innumerable plants are killed in the name of weeds. Are we really behaving with responsibility?

If we have to be humane to animal, why not to plants and insects? They are also living beings. Why there is discrimination? Why some animals are considered even more venerable than some other? Why people are ready to share their dining table with pets (which can harbour lot of diseases) yet they throw an entire meal in to trash if an ant lays dead on it (which is almost always harmless)? Is this not discrimination?

Let us assume killing plants is ok as they don't feel pain. Then comes the question. Is it ok to kill and eat animals/humans in comatose? Or is it ok eat animals killed in road accidents or died naturally or nearing their natural death? It is the same logic used by people accuse meat eaters being unethical to justify their killing of plants.

Here is my summary on this topic:

I feel, killing any animal/plant just for fun or for no use is unethical. I believe endangered species should not be killed for any reason. But growing animals in a good and acceptable condition for meat/milk/research is acceptable. On the other hand, factory farming, where animals are not allowed to move and live a natural life should not be allowed. Those factory farms pump animals with anti-biotic and hormones for extra meat and milk. But don't think agriculture is any better. Ruthless agricultural practices also damage nature comparable to factory farms. Extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers pollute land, water and air in irreversible ways. They also pose threat to human health.

Meat from animals grown in good conditions are better ethical choice than vegetables from aggressive farming with hazardous chemicals.

So there is no denial that, we as a species have to kill in order to eat. We are omnivores(both meat and veggies eaters) by our design/evolution. So whether it is meat or plant, there is no guilt if we don't over hunt, aggressively farm or over consume them by wasting the resources. With that said, no one is morally superior on the grounds of their choice of food.

Being a BE

Everyone of us are born unique. Our tastes differ. Our choices vary. But when it comes to education, everyone is pushing for BE. I am here to share you what I feel about the entire BE-mania.

My Case

When I was a kid, I always dreamt becoming an astronomer. I was very much interested in space. Before we even had our own TV at home, me and my parents used to sit at the steps of our house during nights and I used to watch the sky and ask a lot of questions. Days rolled. My dad took me to a computer center when I was 7. He told me that to become an astronomer, you need to learn computer (really he meant it, as there was no IT boom back then). I was very happy. Those were the days of QBASIC and Lotus 123. When I was 10 years old, my demand was a telescope if managed to get first rank. But I didn't make it that time. Hmm... But by that time, my dad bought me lot of books about space. Almost all of them were printed in Soviet Russia, the pioneer of space. So, they served as a paper telescope for me.

Night sky was my playground!

When I was 15, things changed. Everyone around me started to tell me that unless I get "good" marks in SSLC, I won't get "science group" in higher secondary school. OK, so what? Then I can't study engineering or medicine. But, what about my astronomer dreams? Then I realized that I myself had lost my interest somewhere in the middle. I was shaped by the education, society and lack of opportunities. The same parents who encouraged me when I was a kid, started to say, you first improve your handwriting or you memorize the poems, when I watched programs on space in Discovery channel.

I scored moderately good in SSLC, and landed in science group. By that time, my dad had some health issues, and I couldn't give lot of thoughts about space or anything else for that matter apart from school and family. But at the same time, I was blessed with great teachers. Back then, we had entrance exams for engineering. So I joined a coaching center like everyone else. My friends who were with me know how much I hated the entire engineering thing (even though I had interest in electronics and computers it was not up to the level I loved physics and space).

My first DIY FM radio, while at school

But the pressure on me as the only son to take up the family responsibility before my dad retired was so bad. I had only 5 years in hand to study, find a job and earn to support my family as my dad's health continued to have issues.


I was left without options. I didn't even apply for any other courses apart from BE "as everyone did". There was literally no one to tell me. No one to support me. If this is the case of the only son from a middle class, educated family, imagine what will happen to the rest. I joined BE, electronics and communication in a private college through merit (That is just a lie, I am coming there). Even at that time, I thought if I can study well, I can become anything I want. I did so. I envisioned lot of jobs. I thought, at least, I should become an electronics engineer in some space labs. But people told me that I will not be able to find a job with a decent salary as I am not studying in a "good" college. FUCK! Everyone is studying Anna University syllabus right? I was wrong.

Believe me! It is a trap! But you have no choice...

I was one among the first 4 who got selected in an IT company in our college. I didn't even know the name of that company when I was selected. I believed for sure that I will not work in that company. I was very much interested in circuits and micro-controller programming. But when I finished my education, even with a good streak from primary school to college, I couldn't find any job that I dreamt. I became, not an astronomer, not an engineer in a government or private space lab, not a circuit designer, not even a guitarist but a "software engineer" (I still hate that title). The company that recruited me took people in batches. It was not until you are called, that you know which technology you will work on. I was called in a batch. Until I went there and joined, I didn't know which technology or nature of job I am supposed to do. I didn't even know whether it was a development or support or testing or anything else. It was much like "Shut the fuck up and do what we say or else get the hell out of here!". There was so called "bond" too!

Yet another faceless person in the crowd! I feel that I have lost my identity :(

I thought that they would fire me within the training. But cleared it. I thought I will resign after the bond ends. But fortunately or unfortunately I was tied up to work and earn. People say, "if you don't get what you love, then love what you get." That happened to me. I slowly started to love what I got. Life as a programmer goes on. The only achievement I can boast till date is my resistance against onsite positions. I was offered to travel abroad to client location many times. I declined. I hate to follow crowd. Especially those who want to go to US on whatever cost. By ignoring their family. By playing dirty politics in office. Just to earn money and become inhuman. I don’t want and never wanted to become one of them. This is my life. Not only mine. Many of the BEs live like this.

Why parents are forcing their children to BE?

If I tell that the government policy is the main reason for all this mess, will you accept? I am not saying DMK/ADMK/BJP/Congress are the reason. No matter who rules, the policy is determined by corporates and rich elites. That is the reason. At least, that is what I believe to be the reason. The greed and culture of the society is having a minor impact too.

The government opened doors for corporates and multinational. The corporates need skilled labor for their air-conditioned sweat shops called IT companies. So the government increased engineering seats. As it can't afford cheap and quality education to everyone, they bargained with rich industrialists/movie stars/politicians to open colleges. The fees is rightly set so that not too low to make the parents and students feel that the education is cheap. Not too high that makes parents think this is not for us. It is rightly set to the level that every parent can pay after getting loan or with very tight economic planning. The students are preached day in and day out that they are risking their parents money and their future. So they should not talk with girls, involve in politics or social movements. Instead they should present paper in symposiums. Join IEEE and add weight to their resume.

Students should not talk with girls, involve in politics or social movements.

Hand picked students are sent to campus interviews to lift the college's image. The students are brainwashed to become mute and not even in their thoughts they rebel against authority. That is the corporate mindset. That will make them obey their PM unconditionally if he shouts at them and force them to work on weekends. That is how they shape the young generation to become aware of the world. "Keep quiet and live! Else, suffer.", "Cultured people won't fight for their rights, they just live calm", "Settling in life is more important than doing what you love." Good lessons indeed. These colleges are run by rich people who see it as yet another business. They exploit poor people and milk the middle class everything they have and force them to take loans and sell properties. They call it is merit seat, yet demand Rs. 60,000 every year! Is that the respect you pay for merit? Fuck off bastards!

Which parent will think, "let the kid next door become a doctor or engineer. My son will become a hockey player as he wishes."? Everyone wants to see their grandchildren. For that they want their children to marry. For that they need own house. For that they need money. For that they need a job which can give lot of money. For that they need to do MBBS (only few seats and need for MS/MD makes it hard for many) or MBA (only B schools or foreign universities makes it hard for many) or the last option BE, which can land you in an IT job with "onsite" option. For that they need to score well in 12th. For that they need to study in a "good" school. For that they need money. For that they need to earn more. And this cycle never ends.

The people who study other courses are forced to feel inferior to their BE counterparts. They have to force these BEs to take loans, drive their cabs, build their apartments, manage hotels, serve them as air hostess etc. We are just chickens from newly opened factory farms to meet the demand created by KFC and Mc Donalds. Other are just local chickens left with no food to eat and no water to drink. They have to eat the leftover of KFC and Mc Donalds and drink the water they wash their hands.

A typical parent's mindset:

I will join my child in a high class school even if it takes 1000 times more money compared to "normal" schools.

I will take up the interview to join my kid in LKG.

This will make sure that my kid will get seat in a good school for 6th.

For 6th admission, even if he doesn't get good marks, I will give donation and get seat in a good CBSE school as Matriculation follow the same syllabus as government schools after "samacheer kalvi". YUK!

If my son is interested in kabadi, who cares? I will join him in skating class. No matter there are no good roads to skate in my town.

I will start sending 10th tuition from 9th standard itself.

Even if he gets lesser mark in 10th I will get recommendation or pay donation and get seat in a strict school with good coaching.

There is no 11th. My kid will study 12th for two years.

After that I will join him in a engineering college with "campus interview" through merit by paying 60,000+ per year!. Even with donation.

If the company he got selected doesn't have good onsite option, I will send him to B School or MBA in foreign university.

My kid will pay the loan for first 4 years of job.

After that 2 years onsite.

After that an apartment with 20% down payment, rest EMI.

Marriage with 1 kg gold and 5 lakhs dowry, apart from car and all home appliances from soap box to AC.

Force his wife to work and have only one kid.

He will pay EMI for 20 years. Else go to onsite and reduce it to 18 years.

Join my grandchild LKG in a good school to start the cycle again.

I will close my eyes in peace!

Shit! You better eat shit, than living like this.


Frankly I Don't Know!

I don't have much idea to say what we need to do! I am not expert. All I have written is the emotional outburst I have everyday. I think we should diversify our education and allow young people to do what they love. Opportunities should be created equally across various sectors. Science and arts should be given importance. Agriculture should be given priority.

We are an agricultural nation. We need lot of research in crops and irrigation. We need to build dams and power plants. We need to explore the space. We need to build bridges. We need to establish food and social security for all. We have to afford free education. We have to invent and discover new things. That won't happen with the our young generation locked in BE/MBBS/MBA and forced in to slavery for corporates.

I know some may think that this guy is in IT, living a comfortable life and writing something to fool us. I am sorry for still working in IT. But I have no other option. I am still trying hard to switch to some other stream. But the harder I try, the more frustrated I get. Only thing I do is, I live cheaply. I try my best to keep luxuries like AC, microwave, LCD TVs etc at bay. I try not to join the crowd in traveling to onsite, killing time in malls and pubs, buying car and apartments on loan. I call on everyone to do the same. If you are in IT, just earn for your life like everyone else in other fields. Don't let the excess money entice you to get addicted to luxuries. Once you are addicted, you can't leave that IT hell for ever. You will demand for more and more and more money, until you forget all important things/people/joys in the life.

Can Christians Get Interest for Money

First, Christians should take Christian faith as a guiding light in this world, not a blinding dark glass that distorts every view. Some people take everything in Bible literally and cause so much pain to themselves and others. Can Christians get interest for money? If so how and by what measure? Here is my personal opinion on the same.

Is There Love in Interest?

When we are going to lend someone money, then we should follow the three principles below:

1. We should try not to lend but gift the money. i.e. You should not lend the money expecting your friend to pay it back, instead you can give it to him as a gift. I know it will be hard if the amount is larger. So this rule can be suitable for small amounts. For example, your friend may come and ask, "I need Rs. 200 to visit doctor. As this is month end, can you help?" In such cases, just give the money and assure your friend that as a brother you are helping him and not expecting the money back. The small amount is dependent on your economic status, and the decision is up to you.

2. We should lend the money without interest. This can be done even for large amounts. But be extra cautious. Don't lend large amount of money to people you don't trust or you know for sure that they can't pay you back. It is better not to give and allow that money to create hatred or spoil your peace of mind. This option is better than lending money for interest in short term. For example, if someone asks Rs. 50,000 for a major event like marriage or buying a home, give them and tell them that you need the money as soon as possible. It is ok to set a deadline too. For durations within a year, there is no need to think about interest is what I feel.

3. Lending money for interest(some sort of interest, not the conventional one) in case of long term loans involving huge sum of money. Here comes the actual problem. It may seem to be breaking Biblical rule for some people. But let me explain. For example, a person gives Rs. 1,00,000 for another person's son's education. The money is returned after 8 years without interest. Is that acceptable? Bible was written in a time when there was no inflation and value of money and price of goods rarely changed for years or even in a lifetime. So it was usually unethical to get interest on those days. But today, imagine, what Rs. 1,00,000 can buy 8 years before and now? For simple standard, let us take gold. It was Rs. 840 per gram back in 2006. Now, after 8 years it is around Rs. 3,000 per gram. That is more than 3 times the value. Consider the person who gave the money also has a son, can he count on the money to spend for his son's marriage?

So what can Christians do to evade money loss in such scenarios? First option is to not to lend the money. This can be simple. But what if when you have lot of surplus money and want to help the other person? You can make an agreement over some commodity. For example, you can tell the person that you are lending money equal to so and so quantity of gold or rice or land or anything whose price can be easily agreed upon. When he returns, he should return money equivalent to the same quantity of same commodity. By this, we are not taking interest but getting what we deserve honestly. Even simple terms like nett change in national inflation or gold sometimes result in negative returns. Remember gold prices suddenly fell in 2013. In such cases, we should assume that we have bought the gold and the loss is ours and should not accuse the person for paying back less. These type of deals can even be made as legal bonds. I don't know about exact nature and ways of doing that though. You may need to seek a lawyer for help.

Can We Get Interest from Banks?

Banks usually offer very less interest and most of the times the interest will be lesser than inflation and rise in price of food or other essential commodities. So we can get interest from banks without guilt. Also most banks invest in market and hence business profits are 100% clean, we can get the interest without feeling bad. It is actually the bank that gets profits from our investments.

What Are The Other Options?

The best way to invest money is to diversify your investment. That is what Bible says. So if you have lot of money, buy lands or houses (don't buy apartments). If you have even more money, start a new business. If you have relatively lesser, go for gold or long-term investments or insurances. If you have even lesser, allow the money to stay as liquid cash in you savings account. If you have not much money, Praise God for not giving you the burden to mange it and ensure that you just earn money in good ways and meet your ends in a honest way. Investing in shares, joining hands as a sleeping partner in businesses are also clean options. While investing in business, try to avoid businesses that contradict Christian values. For example, go for food business even though you know that a wine-shop can earn you more profit.

 When We Need Money?

If you are in need of money prayerfully get government bank loans or get loan against land or gold from government banks ONLY! Never get money from private banks or from bankers. That is going to pull you in to an economic black hole. Also don't take loans for luxuries. For example, taking education loan, agricultural loan, for medical reasons etc are acceptable. But taking car loan or for a foreign tour is unethical. Such loans increase overall economic burden and makes your life more miserable.

Conclusion:

Whatever I have written here are my own understanding and ideas. We live in an ever changing world. So we can't say anything black or white as there are lot of gray areas. What we can say for sure is that God loves us and provides us so that we can love others and help them. So ask yourself in whatever you are doing whether it will be acceptable in God's sight. Again, never lend money to others so that it becomes a burden for the person who takes or creates enmity in a beautiful friendship or spoil your peace of mind. Also don't compare your lending with those bankers and money lenders who extract money by tormenting innocents and taking possession of their properties. Also don't get tempted in investing in illegal businesses, private chit funds, money doubling, pyramid schemes etc. They may sound great options, but will make you regret for a lifetime at best and cost your life itself at worst.

Food Review: New Maggi Chicken Noodles

Myself and many in my family are fans of Maggi Chicken noodles (old flavor). Recently Nestle silently changed that in to a different packaging. So I thought it will all be the same inside. But surprise awaited me... The flavor is entirely different and there were lot of red chili flakes added to the tastemaker. :(

So I rushed to the super market and purchased some 3 to 4 family packs of classic Chicken flavor and kept stock for few months. I hoped that they will sell both classic and new flavors parallely. But sadly, after 3 months, when I went to shop, there is no classic version available.

Now what I do is to empty the tastemaker in a small plate and pick out all chili flakes and then use it. Still the flavor is not par with the classic version. We all badly miss the classic version. Hope many of the reader too will miss it.

So let us ask Nestle by sending emails/posts/commenting in their websites and writing blogs to bring back the old Chicken noodles.

Old Maggi Chicken noodles fans kindly comment how bad you miss it!

Phone Review: Huawei Ideos X5 Pro (U8800)

I recently purchased a new mobile, Huawei U8800 pro. I bought it through an online store, as the brand is not sold commonly in shops. The major plus of the phone is the price and it is from the world's largest telecom manufacturer. Although all phones are made in China, there is a mindset that Chinese products are inferior.

The phone is well built. Not too large like Micromax canvas series or not too small like the Sony xperia series. It fits your pocket and if you have a large hand like me, you can easily use it single-handed. The phone lacks any physical buttons in the front. Only volume keys and power/lock buttons are the physical keys in the phone placed at left side and top, respectively.

Screen:

The phone has a 3.8 inch capacitive touchscreen. The display is good and vivid. The screen is scratch resistant. I am using without screen guard, and not yet have any scratches. Resolution is 480 x 800 px.

Sound:

The sound quality is relatively good. Ringtones are loud enough to be audible. FM radio is also there. So there is no need to carry a hefty memory card filled with songs always.

Camera:

Camera is not up to the mark. I have expected a better camera. Video 720p recording is available. But quality is 50-50. No front camera. That's ok if you are not in to making video calls.

OS:

Comes bundled with Android 2.3. I updated to Android 4 (This is an official update). It is smooth and works like a charm. For those who are not satisfied, check XDA developers site for other ROMs.

Other Hardware Specs:

1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 1 GB for apps, 1.6 GB internal storage, microSD up to 32 GB  (I got 8 GB free). Comes with a charger and headphone. Headphones are not in-ear type. But quality is good.

Battery:

This is the best part of this phone. It lasts for 3 days with moderate usage (1 hour calls, videos, music etc) but without internet. With internet connection, it lasts for 1 to 1.5 days.

Update(December 2013):

After 1 year, this phone has lived up to the expectations. I am completely happy with this phone. :) :)

State of Fear - Book Review

Introduction

I am a fan of Michael Crichton's work from my college days. That was when one of my senior in college said that I should read Michael Crichton's books. I asked him who was that. He said, the guy who wrote Jurassic Park and gave me his book. WOW! That was awesome and I read that in just 3 days. Then I started to read his works. The latest book of his I read was "State of Fear". It is an awesome novel and it is a good mix of science, skepticism, action, detective, sex & violence and information. No wonder anyone who starts reading this book gets lost inside it and couldn't be found by friends and family until he/she finishes it!

About The Book

The book is a 600+ page paperback edition and come with Author's Message, an Appendix and Bibliography of extensive references about the sources of data and quotations used in the book. The book also has lot of graphs and foot notes to enhance the readers insight on the details given. You don't need to worry about yout lack of knowledge in "climate science", because if a climate n00b like me can understant it, then you too can! The novel is organized not as chapters but as Place/Date/Time chronological logs of events. That was really cool. The book is published by HarperCollins. I bought the Indian Subcontinet version, which is cheap indeed!

Plot Overview

A rich philanthropist funds an environmental organization. There are murders and other doubtful purchases of exotic weapons and machines in various places. An NSIA agent and his assistant with the help of the philanthropist's lawyers try to unravel the mystery. Ultimately they find that the fear-mongering tactics used by the environmental organization to create the "state of fear" among people to milk their cash! (Hint: You can get the full plot from Wikipedia or many other sites. But if you read such plots, you are losing the chance to read one of the best novels of Crichton.)

The Moral

I myself, being a hardcore anti-corporate and anti-pollution guy, don't exactly believe in what media say about man-made global warming, but I fully accept that humans are contributing to ongoing global warming. I have some reservations in both sides and my opinions is mixed on that. But where I agree with Michael Crichton is, when he opposes the fear-mongering tactics used by these eco-friendly gangs to milk the cash from people as well as corporates and to lobby governments to accept their unruly demands without a second thought. For example, you can see Greenpeace guys standing in railway stations and IT parks in India handing out tracts and forcing you to sign-up for a monthly donation through credit card. People who are brainwashed by their scaremongering tactics opt in to donate. But they seldom care about that blind old man selling peanut burfee or that poor old man without leg begging in trains.

From PeTA to Greenpeace, these organizations are founded and run by wealthy nations which have a higher share in polluting the environment. But these organizations try to steal the money of people all over the world and try to impose crippling laws in developing nations that can slow-down or stop or reverse their progress. People are fed with fear and distracted with dubious facts and are made to believe that they have done some thing terribly bad. At this point they will show their membership form and the gullible person will sign. I have been told absurd stories like Kit-Kat is manufactured using Orangutan finger bone, Indian cities will drown in another 20 years (this they told me in 2004) and so on. When I confronted them with some facts, they will say I have been brainwashed by corporate media!

This is what Michael Crichton explores in his novel. Most of these organizations are themselves funded by corporates. They demand people to submit to their views without asking question, much like the religious leaders force their followers to submit without doubting. Moreover, like fake religions which demand money or favors for atonement of sins, these organizations seldom talk about population control, reducing car usage etc but they always ask you to donate. One day, I was walking out of an IT park. There was a bank stall offering car loans and a car company stall displaying their new model car and giving test-drive. The Greenpeace guys were there giving out tracts. I called them to join me to tell the bank people and the car company people to stop selling cars and automobile loans so that we can cut back carbon emission. But the Greenpeace guys were asking me to leave. As I insisted and more people joined me in that request, they just left the place and started giving tracts in some other corner! This is their real face. They are not here for nature. They are here for business.

Conclusion

If you want to read a good story and also know how these organizations cheat people, this is a very good book. I am not asking you to deny global warming or increase pollution. I am just asking you to stop believing blindly and start asking questions. In the long run, we can expect the unaltered truth to surface.

Atheism and Rationalism

There are many people who claim that they are Atheists for various reasons. Some people simply lack faith in supernatural, some have lost it after a catastrophic event in their life, some choose it as a mask to attack other religions they don't like and very few come to that conclusion after skeptical and rational analysis of things. The above statement is true for every other religion too. In case of other religions, most people follow a religion only because they are born in to families practicing those religions. Now what makes Atheism special?

Most of the religions claim that they are the oldest, only true religion, most scientific, have proof etc. Likewise Atheists also suffer from a problem, “rationalism”. Few of the prominent Atheists were/are rationalists. That won't make all Atheists rationalists by default. So let us see the how good rationalism of Atheists fare.

Type 1: I don't believe in anything supernatural

This is sufficient to make one Atheist. But this includes people with differing level of intellect, critical thinking and rationalism. For example, I know people who believe in Homeopathy, but say that they are rationalists. “Wait sir, you are an Atheist, but believing in Homeopathy is superstitious.” But if I tell them that Homeopathy is fake, then, the following argument will be like telling a religious person that his/her religion is fake. So there is no rationalism in their Atheism. They just lack any religious belief may be due to brought up or because they thought it is fancy. There are lot of Atheists I know, who believe in alien invasion, astrology as science, some races are superior, moon landing never happened etc.

Type 2: I lost my faith

Losing and gaining faith is a matter of personal choice. I am not here to say no one should lose their faith. But losing your faith won't make you a rationalist. You are only an Atheist, only when you critically examine things, you become a rationalist. I have seen a very religious person who lost his faith in supernatural after a miserable event in his life. But he still believed some incorrect things taught by his religion. And whenever he faces some big problem, he will softly revert back to his religion and after the problem resolves back to his lack of faith. These type of people just argue against existence of a deity in only one line. “If there is a God, then why there are so many sufferings and troubles in the world?” Other than this, they don't know anything else. So their lack of faith too is not about rationalism but about pessimism.

Type 3: Hiding The Truth

There are some popular figures in media and politics, who act like they are atheists and use that cover to attack religions they don't like. There are some directors and actors who claim that they are Atheists, but attack other religions while softly criticizing or in some cases, militantly supporting their own religions. These people may or may not lack faith in supernatural. But they claim that they are Atheists, only to avoid problems while attacking other religions. These are the worst type of Atheists. They too lack any rational thoughts, as rational thoughts prevent one from doing morally evil things, while what these people do is outright immoral. Like the religious wear secular mask, these people choose Atheist mask to avoid counter attacks while criticizing other religions.

Type 4: Rational Atheists

They are the minority within Atheist community. These people are the only one who are suitable to be called rationalists. But most of them can't be seen or heard in public. They are the one who works on science and technology. They are the one who try to makes law and society neutral from the grips of religions. But wait! There are such rational minorities in every religion. But I have to accept that Atheists have a higher percentage of such people. Chances are high that a person lacking in faith can question things easily without fear or angering a deity or hurting their own sentiments. But how many Atheists move to this step apart from simple lack of faith?

Conclusion:

Buying a laptop without OS won't make you a Free Software supporter. Only when you install a Free Software OS, you become one. Likewise, lacking faith won't make you rationalist by default neither associating with a religion makes you irrational, unless you partake in superstitions. Only when you critically think and examine things around you, you are a rationalist. In olden days rational minds stayed religious. In recent past great minds had belief in supernatural yet remained rational. They called themselves Deists. Even today, many people culturally associate themselves with a religion but in practice remain rational. These type of people are encouraged by their society and education to free their mind from shackles of superstition. Such cultural change can produce even more rationalists than simple lack of faith.

No matter whether we believe in supernatural or not, it is better to keep such beliefs personal and try to apply critical thinking in whatever we do in our life. By that we can can serve people and God (if you believe in one) better.