Thursday, February 26, 2009

God Knows!!

"Vinaa Venkatesam nanatho nanatha: Sadaa Venkatesam smarami smarami Hare Venkatesa Praseeda Praseeda Priyam Venkatesa Prayachha Prayachha" sometimes resonates in my mind. These lines have been etched in my brain by MS Subhalakshm, who sings ventakesha subprabatham. She might be mortal, her voice is immortal. Being a vaishnavate, knowing the above was not a big deal. What it means is that, O Narayanana, I will pray to you always.


( This snap I have taken from Flickr.com, courtesy)

Yeah, I do believe in god, but sometimes my mind makes me think that there is no god, it is all just a blind faith. One of my friends read a book called "God delusion", after which he turned atheist. The trouble is we cannot prove that God exists, even if we prove, it would not be fool-proof. One might ask, is that blind faith then. I would say, why cannot we have faith on something with cannot be proved. We do have somethings, that cannot be explained by either science or common sense. History could have been changed by anyone to have told in the way he wanted it to be said.

Puranas and vedas, can anyone have tampered with them, God knows. Does God know his story has been changed, God knows. The search for God has been there for centuries now. There are many miracles, that cannot be proved. Some call it luck, some call it plain mere coincidence. You might say, where is the role of God, if you are responsible for everything you do. I might say, well, God exists in miracles. He exists in plain luck. He exists in mere coincidence.

The Atheists will always find a way not to believe in god, as they are what they are. They can easily prove something which they don't believe in. Believe me, there are atheists who can turn a believer into an atheist in seconds. As it really seems visibly impossible to show the existence of God, no wonder they have a higher hand.

This debate can go on and on and on, without any conclusion. But I conclude it by saying, I see God in the hearts of good people. Some one who feel guilty of their own actions, people who are willing to take responsibility in the misdeeds. Recently, I had parked my bike at my office premises. Some guy hit my bike and shook it. As it feel, the leg holder on the left broke. Without that I cannot place my leg on while driving to change gears. The guy who broke it, took full responsibility of the broken part and reimbursed me the money for the broken part. It could have easily gone the other way. I see God in his heart.

As I started with a vishnu verse, I thought ending it with something relative would be precise. I had been to a Balaji temple in Nerul; last weekend. It is a replica of temple as in Tripathi. The tulsi smell and the smell of thirtha, the holy water made out of tulsi and other juices were very refreshing. MS Subhalakshmi's devotional songs on Lord Vishnu were just touching ears through the loudspeakers.(public announcement system) Here are some of the snaps to relive that moment of ecstasy.




10 comments:

Anonymous said...

U've written abt something tht I wonder abt time and again! Does God exist?

I did buy a Suprabatam CD when I visited a temple in Kerala. It was sung by the same person u have mentioned. My dad had told me once tht it should be played at dawn. It sounds very nice. But I don't get the words:)

I have also recently come across a Vishnu slokh: something like "Shrimal Pancha Dashaska Reikha Nilayam.........and so on"
Ever heard of it???

Lan said...

nope not heard of this one!! but i will ask my dad; he will know...Suprabatam in the morning is awesome......u should try it early in the morning!! :)

Amol said...

Let me first intriduce My self as the person who read "The GOD Delusion"...

I have a lot to write so bear with me and forgive me in case you feel bad...

First: If mere faith is everything and nothing else matters then the guys who conduct terrorist attacks are also right.. as they have absolute belief that their actions will lead them to heaven.

Second: About the good in men. I have seen "Anbe Sivam". Kamal Hasan has a similar concept. But person who does not believe in GOD can also be good. My point being.. The concept of GOd becoms redundant in this case.

Third: If I recollect correctly the Guy who hit your bike actullay cheated his company and made them pay it.. So much for GOD in his heart.

Anonymous said...

Amol,
I am vivek ..friend of LAN.
i like ur ideals & thoughts.so,ur an atheist after reading the book:))interesting.the reason to address u directly is....after reading the same book..i started to believe in god much more than before:)have a question for u..How does 'thoughts' occur?Now dnt get into neurons,receptors..stuff...

Vivek

Amol said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amol said...

Hi Vivek,

Actually I did not become an atheist just because I read one book. It was a very gradual process for me. I became an atheist in steps. LAN believes I became an atheist because of the book as I became a more vocal atheist after reading it.

The truth of the matter is (as Richard Dawkins aptly put it) The concept of God is now “GOD of the GAP’s”. If Science has a GAP in some theory, everyone would jump to the conclusion that GOD exists because Science cannot prove something. The concept of GOD as such cannot offer any explanation other that that "there is all knowing, all powerful being" who did it.

With regards to thoughts.. Of course if you are searching for some philosophical reason for the same, you will find a lot of mystical answers which would provide justifactions using similes and convince you that science cannot explain everything and so God does exist…

If you need a Biological reason without the neuron mumbo jumbo, Thought is only a by product of the powerful brain that evolution has provided us with. We think and so we could survive a lot of catastrophes in the past. Evolution favored it. And why just Thought, even dreams and other aspects can be explained in this manner.

I guess the reply is pretty big. But only one point before I end. In the bhagwad Gita, In the very first chapter Shri Krishna first tries to open Arjuna’s mind before instructing him on Dharma. The same goes for any book. Open up your mind first and read “The GOD delusion” again. I am sure you will have a change of heart.

nitin said...

one must have faith....if nothing else it gives us little peace of mind. FAITH that someone or something will always protect our near and dear ones....rest everything is debatable.

Anonymous said...

Hey Lan

Your post has given me the courage to post about something that I found extremely strange at the time.

I have linked to your post in it.

yogs said...

Hi Lan,

I read your post and also all the comments, and I am actually happy that there has been so much discussions on it as expected. I have not read the book and have added it to my "Books I want to read"

Regarding the concept of God, I also would like to add something

I guess God is just a concept brought in by our ancetors to ensure that human beings have someone to fear, someone to look forward for help, someone who would bring out the humanness in it ..and lastly for economical and health reasons .

For example, worshipping would create the need for temples and priests, thus serving the brahmins, directly and the whole public indirectly.

Also if one looks closely all the rituals and ceremonies, they all help in betterment of one's health. Things like, fasting once a week is now suggested for medical reasons also...There are many examples..

There is one more aspect. If one has a firm belief in something, he/she will achieve it. This also has been proved by pscychologists..Thus having faith in God will achieve what you want........



Thats all...

Lan said...

hey thanks yogs for stopping by!! :) keep stopping by :)

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