God of little minds!!
The topic I chose to write about on this not-so-warm but a very pleasant Bangalore-day might land me on a controversial plate tomorrow by this time but whats life without some drama , right ? :o))
The topic I chose to write about on this not-so-warm but a very pleasant Bangalore-day might land me on a controversial plate tomorrow by this time but whats life without some drama , right ? :o))
So, I dare to write about a most fought-over concept called God and if my initial perspective makes you think that I am a pure atheist, you are not totally wrong but you might be jumping to judgement too soon.Gimme a chance to explain why its ok to be an atheist and yet support the idea of God.
My mom loves to say this one line and somehow she makes it relevant to almost any topic, “people of olden days weren't like this”. My journey of thoughts too starts at the same place. Heres my theory .. People were probably much simpler and had a very peaceful life with very few but very trustworthy friends and family. When population increased exponentially, so did selfishness and competitiveness within them. So, some well meaning group of men came up with the idea of God and a place called Hell for sinners, to instil fear in people’s minds and to curb the evil that was beginning to take over humanity .
So, a few great men like Shiva(who fought for his tribe of people) and Rama (who lived only for his family, his kingdom and human morals that he believed in) were projected as ideal humans alias Gods, in the hope that everyone learned the right way to live a life and make themselves useful to others. They were supposed to be an inspiration for mankind . They were supposed to be examples of how one should live their life the right way . By hanging a picture of those great men in our homes, we should be reminded of our duties and values of a righteous life, every morning in the name of puja but unfortunately He(God) has been reduced to just a commodity thats most sold in various forms.
Over the centuries, this concept has been twisted and complicated to the point , you know where … offering prayers to Lords Rama and Shiva with deep and dhoop, but not following their paths of righteousness and selflessness; going to temples to offer bribes to THEM(Gods) in exchange for a luxurious life but not to take a moment from the busy life to look deep inside your soul and rectify yourself in the peaceful, serene premises.
Dictionary says,an atheist is a person who doesn't believe in the existence of God. So, yes I am an atheist by definition but a true believer in humanity, cause Humanity,the attribute, is for real and is the ultimate saviour.
If God existed, He would have to be at least a super-super-computer to be able to keep a record of all the deals offered to Him and all the good and bad deeds of every single person in a billion population. Otherwise, if he is really like the sweet guy with a magically cute smile that we see in every photo being sold ,I wonder how he is managing all the hardwork and multitasking. oh wait, He is God right!! oh God, please gimme your definition, if you are reading my blog…
For your last line, I'm sorry you're not gonna get a definition, coz generations have elapsed in search of it! Let's not get into that.
ReplyDeleteAs you rightly observed, it's the Path that's important not the material benefits we offer to God.
I havr one point to add, of course it's self criticising...but never mind - we are the ones who made the system so complicated, stratified, layer by layer, just to arm twist others. It's actually an act of hegemony and a fear of being over taken by other belief systems prevailing in the society. We have to take part blame, coz we still continue to do the same, despite writing and reading so much on this very subject.
Alas! At least we have this freedom to pen our thoughts. No god/belief system has objected to this.
True prateek...what a sorry state of belief system we are stuck in!! The very system which was supposed to be an inspiration, has taken over us by clouding our judgement and we can no longer differentiate between fear and faith.
ReplyDeleteFaith! Faith is the definition of God. Faith that keeps you going. Faith that makes you believe that you are much more stronger than you are. It's your Faith!
ReplyDeleteLoved your equation of GODS with the ideal humans that existed centuries ago (meluha) . A good topic to say your thoughts.
Nicely written and presented!!!
Thankyou Viji..:o)
DeleteRegarding: "When population increased exponentially, so did selfishness and competitiveness within them"
ReplyDeleteIMHO, population never altered the behavior of man. Man, by nature and by birth, is selfish. Children lie, so did we, even when they are kept in the best of the environment.
Regarding, "People were probably much simpler and had a very peaceful life with very few but very trustworthy friends and family"
If peace is measured relative to SELF then " people dead to their conscience are more peaceful" - whether old or new.
Regarding "following Rama/Shiva ...... but not following their paths of righteousness and selflessness"
Morality (paths of righteousness, humanity ) too is person-centric. We try not to lie to anyone BECAUSE lying is bad. And if we do lie then we are by it hurting our conscience and feel burdened trying to live up to what we have lied for. So, we are moralistic for the sake of our own SELF.
Lastly, having said that we by default are selfish and behave selfishly, we cannot truly comprehend the Incomprehensible God and name ourselves "Atheist" or even "Believer"!
The question that must keep worrying us must be " how unrighteous man could find solace in All Righteous God ".
We lose the gravity of thought and direction if we ASSUME ourselves more righteous/better than people around. Here too, selfishness must be overridden by selflessness. ( But what matters is can Man by himself really do that overriding - IMHO, he can't).
So, to me you are not an Atheist. You are an ordinary person in search of finding The Only True God!