Blame it on the Demon
I believe it was in the movie “Life of Pi” that I first stumbled on the multi-god concept of Hinduism. The religion recognizes a plethora of gods, each specializing in different spheres of human ignorance and an attendant nature to ascribe seeming mysteries to the divine. Hinduism in itself does not have a singular system of belief encoded in a unilateral declaration of faith, but it’s rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena. Of interest is the parallel that this concept draws with a core of many world religions — the idea of “demons”. Good deeds are supervised by gods, demons are the perpetrators of evil, and a supreme being orchestrates their symphony. This is arguably a shared philosophy of the varying religions of the world.
Interestingly, the demon is the most accursed character, often taking the blame for man’s ineptitude, insatiable greed, and innate imperfection. The fall guy’s afflictions are greater in regions where a basic cerebral exercise of reason and logic is such hard work meant for intellectually lost souls. Africa exists as a proof of the direct relationship between demonization and illiteracy. A quick look at the continent and one can easily infer that a reason for the rapid spread of religion across the continent is illiteracy. For if truly the potency of the religions was a reason for their growth, poverty, corruption and ethnic fighting would have been obliterated.
A child’s academic woes can be better explained by the demon of ‘dumbness’ inflicted through a pat-on-the-cheek of his wicked aunt. The importance of breast milk or the teacher’s skills is a banality in this scenario. Even the non-conducive learning environment and the hostile family setting are second fiddle explanations. Of course, which aunt doesn’t love to kiss her nephew/niece on the cheek once in a while? Yet, certain messengers of god(s) specialize in demonizing such predicable human nature, peddling panaceas of deliverance rites and manuals.
Having career issues? Don’t worry. Blame it on the demon of ‘stagnation’. He’s the demon that causes a person to choose a course of study without having any interest in it. Notice how difficult and boring school was? Those are evidences of his operation. The final hallmark of his perpetration is the duration of unemployment and underemployment. Even when he gracefully allows one get a good-paying job, he causes your boss not to like your inability to take initiative, causing you to move in circles without remarkable progression. Your deliverance prescription is a mix of prayer, fasting, and an offering/giving commensurate with the level of progression you want to experience.
Who cares if the economic outlook of a country is gloomy? Marriage is a natural phenomenon, collectively agreed and ordained by the gods. If you aren’t getting married, you must be under the influence of the demon of ‘remaining single’. This demon is of the same parentage as ‘divorce’, ‘barrenness’, ‘unhappy marriage’, and ‘unfaithfulness’. Looks, dressing, hygiene, sex-appeal, character, intelligence, and humour are all required elements of foreplay for attraction nay commitment but are inconsequential when laying the blame. The demon is the obvious reason you haven’t committed to each other. Neither his financial unpreparedness nor the reality that he’s not so into you suffices. He’s a woman beater. Blame it on the demon causing his fist to clench and displace air in the direction of your face. He has low sperm count and you’ve damaged your womb during an abortion. Blame your present condition on the demon for bringing both of you with dire reproductive conditions together. Skirts are magnets of his manhood. Blame it on the demon for his sleeping around.
The danger of this blame-transfer culture enshrined in the demon-personality portrayed by religion is grave. A situation where there is always a blame-person who cannot defend himself against the accusation of his role, worsened by an absence of self-critiquing, encourages incompetence. Ultimately, when a person is absolved of the role of taking responsibility for his life, he loses the ability to predict the outcome, settling for whatever can be wrestled off the demon’s hold. The greater danger is the window of exploitation created by the demon idea. It is on this threshold that deliverance mercenaries ply their trade. The belief that the outcome of one’s life rests in daily assimilation of esoteric literature and pious living, with the penalty of demon possession for doing otherwise, is manipulative. The commercial use of this tool has become a booming industry in third-world regions. While the age-long debate about religion’s origin, relevance and truthfulness rages on, we can easily conclude that demons are not always culprits for our predicament.
