Every year, India erupts in the spectacle of Ganesh Chaturthi. Streets fill with massive idols, loudspeakers scream bhajans late into the night, people dance in processions, and at the end of it all, tons of plaster-of-Paris statues end up choking our rivers and seas. For many, this is devotion. For me, as an atheist, it feels like an annual reminder of how deeply superstition and blind ritual still govern our society. The Idol Problem We are told that Ganesha is the remover of obstacles, the god of wisdom. Ironically, wisdom is the one thing missing in how this festival is celebrated. Statues of clay or plaster are “brought to life” by a priest chanting mantras, worshipped for a few days, and then dumped into water as though the god somehow swims back to heaven. If that isn’t magical thinking bordering on absurdity, I don’t know what is. If obstacles in life were really removed by offering coconuts and sweets, India would have solved poverty, unemployment, corruption, and inequality d...
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