India is a land of hundreds of Gods, god men, saints, gurus and pirs. We are a race of god-fearing people who religiously observe and celebrate our traditions everyday. At birth, we are named according to the letter chosen by the position of stars; we are told stories of sacred texts through our growing years; we get married at an auspicious time and to a person whose compatibility is measured by the matching of kundlis. When things go wrong, we turn to magical stones that have remedy for every ill.
We believe that there is an omnipresent, all-powerful, kind and compassionate God to take care of us from our cradle till our graves. If we respect his word, there will never be any suffering in our lives. But, is it really true? Haven't there been saintly people who have lived miserable lives? Why is there so much suffering in this world if there indeed a benevolent God up there?
Way back in April, as part of our training at the Academy I visited the Rann of Kutchh. It was a five hour road trip from the town of Bhuj in Gujarat. This was the time of the holy pilgrimage to the dargah of Haji Pir, across the salt plains of the Kutchh. Thousands of people - young and old walk with their belongings on their shoulders in the heat of the dry land. The guide told me that many of them walk for over a month in the hope that the blind God will be awakened to their plight. They all looked very poor, but they were all rich in the hope that their wishes will be fulfilled by the pir. It's quite amazing how tormented by miseries, they still believed in the benevolence of God.
I have always felt that God is a comforting idea that helps us surrender our worries to nature. Growing up we have always found people on whom we can just leave all our worries and smile. But there comes a time, when we can no longer do so and then it's the construct of God that gives us that much needed support. When there are no shoulders left for us to cry on we imagine the tough shoulders of God to carry us through.
Arun Shourie in his book "Does he know his mother's heart?" describes his search of God through his son Adit, who is mentally and physically challenged. He asks that if there were a kind God, why did he inflict such suffering on Adit? There can be no plausible explanation for a child to be born this way. He looks to all religions for solace and ultimately finds his answers in Buddhism.
Buddhism does not believe in the concept of God. It lays down the idea of overcoming suffering through "selfish service". The Buddha says that there is no point in questioning why God loved me less to have punished me like this. These whys, ifs and buts are futile; instead we should serve others and maybe this service will quench our miseries.
I really don't know how far these two perspectives reconcile. For me, personally, a mix of both usually works. God will not always be merciful, there will always be pain and suffering in this world - what we need to is realize that we are the hands of the blind God, we have the power to change things. But ultimately, we have to bow before the almighty and accept with grace his bounties. Some questions have no answers how much ever you ponder.
I have always felt that God is a comforting idea that helps us surrender our worries to nature. Growing up we have always found people on whom we can just leave all our worries and smile. But there comes a time, when we can no longer do so and then it's the construct of God that gives us that much needed support. When there are no shoulders left for us to cry on we imagine the tough shoulders of God to carry us through.
Arun Shourie in his book "Does he know his mother's heart?" describes his search of God through his son Adit, who is mentally and physically challenged. He asks that if there were a kind God, why did he inflict such suffering on Adit? There can be no plausible explanation for a child to be born this way. He looks to all religions for solace and ultimately finds his answers in Buddhism.
Buddhism does not believe in the concept of God. It lays down the idea of overcoming suffering through "selfish service". The Buddha says that there is no point in questioning why God loved me less to have punished me like this. These whys, ifs and buts are futile; instead we should serve others and maybe this service will quench our miseries.
I really don't know how far these two perspectives reconcile. For me, personally, a mix of both usually works. God will not always be merciful, there will always be pain and suffering in this world - what we need to is realize that we are the hands of the blind God, we have the power to change things. But ultimately, we have to bow before the almighty and accept with grace his bounties. Some questions have no answers how much ever you ponder.
In ancient time, when there was no democracy, there was a need of a system, a thing which can make governing people easy. God is a concept which emerged from that time. He is not a man nor a woman. He/ She is just a philosophy which is more used to instill fear in people nd lesser used to inspire and motivate them.
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