I used to spend many hours in the library of the University of Michigan, reading books prescribed for my Master’s degree and writing reports to be handed in at the end of the semester. After completing these assignments, I would switch over to reading other books which I found more interesting. A book on Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution had a profound effect on me.

I discovered that it took millions of years for human beings to evolve from single-celled organisms in the seas of planet earth and that the biblical story of Adam and Eve is a myth. Therefore, it is a fallacy that God created humans. Actually, human beings created the myth of God. I discovered that humans are mythographers par excellence. They created innumerable fictitious persons, ideas, and objects including God, heaven, hell, angels, devil, soul and reincarnation. Additionally, a system of priests praying by proxy has also been propagated in most religions.

Humans have given God certain mythical characteristics. God is held to be powerful, compassionate, and just. But we find baffling contradictions regarding these characteristics. If god is so powerful why is He unable to prevent natural calamities such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, falling meteors and asteroids? If god is so compassionate, why did he allow the maniac Adolf Hitler kill six million Jewish people using horrific methods such as murder, starvation and gas chambers during the Holocaust. And why in 1945 did He allow the Americans to invent and drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima? And if he supports justice for all, why are there castes and caste-conflicts in India and millions living in poverty in the world? Why did he not save Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation, from being assassinated?

The eternal and ever-expanding universe and the big bang theory of the origin of the universe leave us clueless about the existence of a God who guides the destiny of humans on Earth. Karl Marx wrote with contempt that, “religion is the opiate of the people.” The people he was targeting were poor peasants and domestic servants working in a feudal society, and underpaid, exploited workers in the 19th century. These people were unwilling to revolt against their masters. But the reality is that since the Middle Ages, religion and religiosity has roused many people to fight and kill for the gods that they worshipped. During the crusades Christians and Muslims fought each other, and more recently wars have been fought between Hindus and Muslims, Catholics and Protestants, Shias and Sunnis; and terrorists have killed thousands of people for religious reasons and causes. How can religion be called the opiate of the people?

The word “Eternity” is the mystery of all the mysteries that we should give up probing. While the universe may be eternal, the human race on earth may not be eternal. At such times it is humans and not God who will probably control the destiny of the race.

In a recent newspaper article by David Adam , the author comments on a possible asteroid collision with earth and says, “It is the stuff of nightmares and, until now, Hollywood thrillers. A huge asteroid is on a catastrophic collision course with the earth and mankind is poised to go the way of the dinosaurs.” NASA, the US space agency is drawing up plans to land an astronaut on an asteroid hurtling through space at more than 30,000 mph. It wants to know whether humans could master techniques needed to deflect such a doomsday object when it is identified.

Europe’s “Don Quixote” mission hopes to launch two robot spacecraft, one to collide with the asteroid in an attempt to deflect its path, and the second to film the collision and monitor any deviation in the asteroid’s path. So why do we need a god when we have brilliant scientists to help us survive in such situations? My view is that religion, religious rites and worship meet psychological needs of millions of people all over the world because they create a state of consciousness which frees them from anxiety, grief, depression, despair and fear.

I became an atheist in 1948 and have continued to be one for more than half a century. I have deliberately kept knowledge of my atheism from my friends, relatives, and others. It might bewilder and shock them. It might have an adverse effect on my relationships with them and lead to meaningless, endless arguments. The only person who knew about it was Balram. When we met at the University of Michigan in 1948, he was not critical or shocked. He just let me believe whatever I wanted to believe.

In this connection, I am tempted to relate an incident that occurred years later when we were back in Madras. Balram had gone to pay his respects to a certain Grand Old Man (GOM) who may have been responsible for the introduction of the Religion column which still appears in The Hindu today (we are not sure about whether this gentleman introduced the column). This GOM had written a pamphlet on Hinduism which he gave to Balram, saying, “After you have read it, give it to your wife.” Balram said immediately, “She doesn’t believe in God.” The GOM was shocked and said, “That is all nonsense. Give it to her. It will change her mind.”

I am not suggesting that all people become atheists. It was intellectual honesty that led me to atheism. It is up to the individual to choose what religion and rites he or she is going to believe in and practice.