I was proved wrong...
Some things haven't changed from back then. I still believe in the virtuous life - Truth, Honesty, Courage, Commitment, Determination, Perseverance, Spreading happiness around, Live-and-let-live...and Fearlessness. But as for my belief in god, my experiences have led me to conclude something very different from what I believed in.
The 2 most important things I believed in (and still do) are:
a) Death is the ultimate reality of Life - This keeps ego and ambition in check, 2 things which lead to a plethora of problems like greed, possessiveness, an inflated sense of self and so many more.
b) Karmanyevaadhikaaraste - You only have right/control over your actions. In life, do not expect anything else, and from anyone else other than yourself.
But the thing that has changed is how I perceive god. As many others, I used to have this image of one omnipotent, omnipresent, all-knowing almighty being, who controlled this world and the worlds beyond it. After some growing up, I thought that God is more like a force, an energy that drives this universe. And now, I think God is nothing but the manifestation of the highest order of realization of your self. That's right, your own self...
What is God? An ideal, an epitome...the highest degree of perfection. The idea of perfection, of an all-powerful being, has always existed in man's mind. He worshipped this ideal, and that is what led to the first religions. An example is that of Lord Ram - an idea of a perfect family man and a perfect king. But along the way, the imperfect man forgot what was important - that he had to realize this perfection within himself...and that has led to his downfall, to the formalities of religion and to so many unnecessary complications.
And so after intense thinking, sorting out and analyzing, I have found my own religion (quite literally!)...and it is the religion of self. My quest in life is not to attain moksh or nirvaan; but to realize a perfection in myself, to raise my self to live upto the highest ideals imagined by man...and in doing that, attaining perfection for my motherland.
This is my new philosophy, and this is my new religion...
3 comments:
I just find one small inconsistency with your reasoning.
If God is just the manifestation of one's own self, does that mean God is unique for each individual?
And do you mean to say that this highly manifested self has power over the universe? And for some unknown reason created all the mind boggling things going on in the universe, let alone the minds of so many people...
And after talking about perfection and ideals, why did you have to limit yourself to your motherland? Don't you feel this highly manifested self is not limited to some random patch of mud, and is in fact with and within the consciousness of the entire universe?
(a) God is not just a manifestation of one's self, it is the manifestation of the HIGHEST ORDER OF REALIZATION of one's self. Everyone's approach may be different, as may be their own self, but they all have to find their way to this highest order...like the rivers and streams that are different but flow to the same ocean.
(b) In the concluding part of "My religion", I have raised the same point - of universe and nature and intricacies and complexities. The problem I have is with "almighty institution", the beliefs that we associate with him. In fact it makes the point for both of us - we assume too much importance for ourselves in this infinite universe, thinking its creator is doing things for/to us, controlling our lives like a puppetmaster..
(c) As I said before, to each his own way. Of course, we realize that countries and earth are small parts of universe. But my (and only my) way of realizing god is trying to achieve that perfection for my motherland (don't call it a patch of mud though, it is much more than that to me!). I feel it is not restricting myself, it is only starting from a point of reference, for which my feelings are stronger than anything else I can imagine (though I also have talked about bringing good to the world, to nature and to humanity as life's truth).
I am all for religions that are not instituionalized. Your choice is a bold one. One that most folks can either not agree with for they are weak or, don't care to agree with for they live life without much reflection.
All men are not created equal and no matter how much we tell ourselves that they are, we know it's not true. Organized religion knows that some people are weak and on the pretext of helping these folks out, goes ahead and exploits them. It's all a power game, in the end. Although I am anti-religion, I think belief in God (as the flawless, all forgiving, magnanimous being) is a good thing. Apart from providing a role model that we all look for, in bad times, it's a source of hope and hope isn't a bad thing at all.
I say, so long as there are no intermediaries and it's just you and God , as the force that lives in you, or as nature, or as your motherland, or as an external being guiding you along in your journey through life, we are good.
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