Whenever the word god echoes through my mind, myriad of contradictions come rushing. My mom and several others say that god is over and above the realm of logic and science. Also, that it is not possible to explain everything about god because we don't know enough. That is a convincing argument because there are so many things we cannot explain using science and logic, including building blocks of matter and our own universe. Science as develops will shed more light over these issues. Will there be enough evidence to prove or disprove the existence of god, i really doubt.
Even in science fiction stories, a god is created which cannot be really explained. Star wars call it the 'force' which they say is a collective consciousness of all the organisms in the universe. The good derive strength from this force and so does the evil. Matrix calls it the architect who is a program himself. It is again left unexplained who created him in the first place. If I am allowed some liberty I would call this creator as the combined consciousness of the machines - again not a very lucid concept. This uncertainty, I am sure comes from our own ability to define our own god precisely.
The reason why such contradictions arise is because we fail to make up our mind that god is not evil. The Christians believe that the very fact we are born on this earth because we are sinners and the only way we can escape the hell is to stay devoted and to not to indulge in any sins while we stay here. Hindus believe that we were not really good enough to be accommodated in the moksha and hence given another chance to prove our worth. Therefore, we should stay miles away from sins. Both Christians and Hindus define god as merciful and only if we bow before them they will absolve us of all the sins (Christians believe that confessions will absolve them of all the sins and Hindus believe that a holy dip in Ganges or a visit to 4 dhaam will do the same). That looks like a corporate blackmail. Only if one worships the god, can he be saved from an unseen wrath. We are asked to follow the righteousness which keeps changing with time, i guess because so does the god!
In my view god and his creations cannot be above any logic. Since he made us in his own image, he should be the most logical being. This also follows from 'god is absolute' paradigm. if god is absolute and beyond comparisons, we cannot say that god is above , below or under logical realm. Why there exists so many contradictions about god is because some people, the keepers of our religion, have taken away from us the right to define our own god. How did they succeed in the delusion of such large populace?
1. Initially people did not know who they would go to if they faced peril. They defined their own god and found solace in him. Creating god in their own image, people started offering their gods what they thought would please themselves like food, wealth etc.
2. The religion keepers suddenly realized the potential of the idea - power and wealth is a tempting cocktail. They created religion, made the creations of some learned men holy and declared themselves as the expert over them and hence closest to god.
3. Humans like to be led, and all that was required was some rhetoric about abstract topics like pleasing the god, death, heaven and hell, life, after birth, miracles. Religion keepers also created ample excuses for people to give them power and wealth. Some other time on how they created morals!
4. Slowly organized religions spread as people found learned men practising it. Eventually it became the cult. Some other time on why they succeeded!
A child doesn't know that a god exists. He needs to be taught, in fact, he needs to be scared to believe in one. As the child grows up all his curiosities are dealt with an iron hand. Living in the big bad world, he realizes his insecurities - the fear of failure, the fear of rejection - and commits that bowing to god only can save him from them. Unable to cope with the peer pressure, he finds god to be the only being who can help him find the courage to fight the world, to help him work a miracle. He fails to realize though that he is the dreamer, the thinker, the doer, the winner or loser - he is the source of ideas, the source of courage, the source of hope, the source of motivation. He is - the source of success and failure - the god he worships! And the religion.... lets him.
A monk passes by a green prosperous, beautiful field and says to farmer, " What a beautiful field you and god have made." The farmer replies, "True Father, but you should have seen it when he had it all for himself."
PS: More on how we are trained to follow religion later.
No comments:
Post a Comment