Aurangabad Trip

Religion=??

Whenever I fill up the forms for any office or visa or any other stuff I am always asked for my religion. I am a Hindu so I write ‘Hindu’. Does it make any difference to my life??I don’t exactly know this. I have often wondered how much Hindu I am? To begin with I am an atheist, so it doesn’t matter which religion I belong to I just don’t have any belief in any form of GOD.
I have been educated in Christian missionary school so Bible has been an integral part of my life since my childhood. I have read The New Testament, The Old Testament; I have celebrated Christmas and have enjoyed the pork chops in my meal. I have never refused any wine offered to me during Christmas. I am fascinated by Christian wedding and white gowns, not to mention their churches have been an architectural treat for my eyes…so does that make me a Christian?
I have loved Muslim architecture, I have been fascinated by their artwork, I love their Biriyani, I have read Quran(Although Translated Version) , I have been touched by the beauty of Muslim women in my trips to Kashmir and Hyderabad . Sufi music has been a treat to my ear ever since I have been listening to music..so does this makes me a Muslim?
I guess my likings for Hindu religion needs no explanation because that’s what I am by birth, isn’t it. If that’s not enough then I must say that my grandfather has been a devout Hindu throughout his life and so is my mom and I belong to that family! So that makes me a Hindu, right. I wished that while filling the forms I was given the option to choose as many religion as possible I would have ticked them all..OR for online forms if they would have given me check boxes instead of radio button then I would have probably clicked them all.
My parents have been wonderful in bringing me up and giving me the option to make choices in my life. So till day I haven’t been able to make up my mind if I want to choose any religion although officially I am a ‘Hindu’. So whenever I hear things going wrong on basis of communal divide I am perplexed. Does following any religion ever make any difference to a man unless he/she decides to be a religious fanatic? History has shown that religion was invented to bring people closer to one another. It was a basis of social networking for likeminded people. And in a country like India which I so wonderfully variant how does religion play an important part in shaping its destiny??
I know that thousands of articles and stories have been written on communal harmony and religious tolerances and on topics pertaining to religion but still we have the lines. The line that divides people on the basis of the religion he/she follows. The lines that burns countries leaving behind unremovable scars. The lines that given rise to fanatism and hatred among people. The lines that modern day science has not been able to wane away inspite of huge advances in technology.
I guess the time has come to progress forward as ‘Humans’ and believe in the saying “Live and Let Live”. Although these thoughts may be a bit philosophical but I guess history have proven that the greatest of kingdoms have been the ones which have held all religions at the highest level. Since we want India to dominate the world in the coming century so guess we should look at these aspects also.
I must confess I am happy to be a human, an atheist more than that of being a Hindu….!