Disclaimer
This essay originated as a series of messages between me and my friend (you know who you are). After that I took those messages and worked on this for quite some time to polish then into something presentable.
Okay! so ...
Humanity always had a special relationship with reason. Reason is the main keyword here. It is reason that ultimately led to all beautiful inventions and achievements. Since the early days humanity has always strived to find the reasons that could describe the naturally occurring phenomenon around them.
Man was (still is to some extent) a very inquisitive animal. If it were up to man then he would have had proper reasons for all the things that he could have had reasons for and he strived to achieve just that. Reasons that described everything man could think of. He strived for perfection. This led to a problem. Man did not realize that some (read: most) answers are not ultimate. They all lead to further questions that need further answers and the cycle repeats all over again. Soon enough humanity had more questions than it had answers for.
This created a feeling of helpless-ness. Man could not stomach the fact that he did not have all the answers. Man could not stomach the fact that he was not in control. Man could not acknowledge the universe. Man felt helpless and insignificant (as he rightly is). Man was (still is) a bit too arrogant. A bit too arrogant for his own good. Man was/is a bit too fragile to accept the responsibility for all of his actions. He needs a scapegoat; not only to blame someone in case anything goes wrong but also someone to take the credit in case something goes right. This way man can escape accountability for his actions and blame god for the good and the bad. He needs to believe in something far bigger, far greater than himself to make him feel a part of something bigger than himself, to define a sense of purpose for him.
THIS led to the invention of god. GOD was someone who had all the answers; someone so perfect that he could take all the bashing and all the accusations of lowly creatures like ourselves and still be righteous. God was (still is) the perfect scapegoat for man. This is what messed up the world as we know it.
We were born a Hindu, raised a Hindu, trained a Hindu until we realized what we were and we gave up our religion. We are atheists now.
Giving up our religion was not a great feeling, there was some form of disconnect. This is when we realized the power of the "believing in something bigger than our-self" feeling. That feeling is a powerful feeling; it keeps you sane.
So what do we believe in ??
We believe in the Universe and the Reason. The universe because it is what is ultimately out there and reason because reason is how we insignificant beings communicate with the universe. The universe is the ultimate form of power and grandeur. Nothing can beat its elegance and majesticity. When compared to the universe, you truly are insignificant. And that is also a powerful feeling.