I remember in 2005 as I was flipping through the papers, when I encountered an article reporting the fall of a very strange cult.
The Sky Kingdom is a commune led by Ariffin Mohamad. Also known by the title of Ayah Pin, Ariffin preaches the gospel of love and the fusion of all major religions, including Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. He is an illiterate man who claims to be a reincarnation of the Gods of all those stated Religions and claims to hav a following of thousands.
The Sky Kingdom is made up of 6 acres of land in Terengganu. Within it, there is a two storey high structure, shaped like a giant pink teapot(Lol), symbolising the showering of blessings of God on all of mankind. Next to it is an umbrella-shaped building and other other objects, such as a fishing boat and a vase. Oh yah, the vase has holy water within it. The Sky Kingdom has a population of 400 plus.
The Ayah Pin's followers do not follow any specific doctrine, and are free to follow any faith they choose, since all the prayers ultimately go to him, as a God of all religions.
Of course, this was all in 2004. As the popularity of the cult grew, the Islamic government of Malaysia and Terengganu started to get nervous. Jail sentences and prosecution on its followers failed to deter the cult from growing, which led to an outright eradication of the cult. The once-colourful land of the Sky Kingdom is replaced by a barren wasteland with the Ayah Pin fled to Thailand.
Here is the strange thing about religion and its rose-tinted glasses. How many of us thought this very strange? A man who claims he is god? A giant teapot? Yet, how is this different from your very own religion? A man who claims he is God must be wrong, yet many listen to the Gospel spoken through the Son of God? What if Jesus was just like the Ayah Pin, only that information has been distorted through history, erasing his faults and lifting him to Messiah status? The simple fact that Jesus died for his faith will only enhance his image, as compared to the Ayah Pin in the Sky Kingdom.
Lets compare the similarities in the Sky Kingdom and Christianity (since im familiar with it). They both preach the love and avoiding of sin in Mankind. Their followers have sworn that they are better off then before they were int he religion. Both also preach tolerance to religion, although one can say that the Ayah Pin cult was more of a union or fusion of the major religions, leading this point to be moot. In a way, this makes all the major religions in the world similar in this particular sense.
Now the differences. One can ask, if Christianity and the Ayah Pin cult are so similar, why did the Ayah Pin cult failed and Christianity fluorish to such an extent. Luck and timing would be the answer. The Ayah Pin cult's circumstances were not different than Christianity's. Both were prosecuted, with the Ayah Pin growing within a moderate Islamic administration and Christianity's esoteric beginnings facing Roman prosecution. The main difference was the fact that Constantine, the Roman Empire's first Christian Emperor came into power, leading to tolerance for Christianity as a cult and eventually to acceptance as a religion. The Ayah Pin cult did not have such fortune. If Constantine did not exist in power, would have Christianity dissipate into the many pages of history?
Another reason was how the central figure of the religion reacted to the prosecution. Jesus stood his ground against the powerful Roman Empire, which led to his death. Death of the central figure is a powerful message to unite the religion, allowing the religion to fluorish. Think about it: several thousand years after his death, followers are still using his death to preach and convert. On the other hand, Ariffin fled to Thailand, which leaves the following disorganised and without resolve.
The third reason was the fact that the religion was at different stages of time. A Malasian official once said that the fact that the Ayah Pin cult was able to gather such a large following and also stand the test of time was testament to the fact of a failure in the system and the lack of education to the people. I agree partially. I think that people who are ignorant will stay ignorant, educated or not. However, education also provides the analytical skills necessary for us to distinguish right or wrong, or the truth from the false. The simple fact that we are able to read about this and laugh at how ridiculous it is, is proof that as educated individuals we can determine the lack of common sense. Education and the evolving formulation of thought was far more sophisticated than, say, 2000 years ago.
For myself, the main failing of the reasoning of religion stems from the fact that it is a system born from faith. Faith in something that cannot be proven, nor disprove. Thus, many followers of religion adopt a circular form of reasoning such as, I believe in God because He exists. or I believe in Him because I have faith. This is equivalent to saying that I know a caterpillar is an insect because it simply is. Since religion is difficult or impossible to explain in terms of reasoning or logic, many followers fall back on the supposition that religion is about the heart, more than the head. Which is where the circular logic starts.
Religion is impossible to analyse without looking at personal morals or principles. Personally, the reason why I have not adopted a religion, even though i do believe in higher being, is the fact that not one religion is able to distinguish itself from the other that makes sense. What makes Catholicism so different from Islam? What makes Christianity doctrine so much more important than the fusion of religious beliefs in the Sky Kingdom? Followers can claim that you have to be in it to understand, in other words to use your heart more than your head, but the fact remains that you have not been able to distinguish or differentiate your religion from another, apart from the different doctrines and traditions.
I prefer to bring religion down to a more personal level, then raising it up on a higher pedestal of the O Great One form. To love someone, in a human relationship, I believe you require equal parts heart and head. Strong practical reasoning paired with powerful, passionate love. If I am to love, let alone worhship, a higher being, I require that much of a balance.
Let me digress. Of course, it isn't wrong to believe in a God of your choosing. However, I believe that such a choice is a deeply personal one, one that you share only with yourself and others of common interest. The act of preaching or conversion is, to me, an act of disrespect to the beliefs and principles of the person being preached to. Unless the person approaches another with the distinct intent to learn more about your religion, wouldnt it be disrespect to your personal believes and morality if you were asked to change it by another? Doesn't it speak of the sense of self-righteousness or arrogance?
To wrap it up, it is perfectly resonable to assume that the continued conundrum that is religion is going to be a source of human inspiration and ignorance all at the same time for years to come. It leads me to wonder if religion is more a product of human psychology and human nature than a product from a higher being. What do you think? Is what I type unreasonable?
