I am fascinated with God. Obsessed even. That’s precisely why I have jumped out of bed at midnight and started writing this post. This post came to me as an epiphany :-) (yes, even I have those every now and then).
God is a concept people made to turn internalists into externalists. The concept turns them from someone who believes that his outcome/success is in his own hands to someone who believes that there is a supernatural force who is acting in his/her divine wisdom. It’s a concept which turns lions to lambs.
This to a confirmed pro-theist, is kind of an eye opener. An atheist friend of mine will be more than happy to say, “Gee, Kida, I told you so. I was right.”
But I still have faith. I still believe in god, not as an excuse to turn into an externalist, but simply for the purpose of having and nurturing faith. Believe in god, but not for the sake of that exam/interview/proposal, etc. All those things are purely in your own hands, and if you don’t move your lazy arse on the hard work required, then trust me, no god will be able to help. Chance, perhaps, god … no.
God … good. Religion … bad!! (or rather the keepers of religion … bad)
:)
Good u woke up middle of night to write this :P Surprised at how ideas strike you!!!!!
@Aina – Yes.
@Hashu – Stop using my id to reply to my posts!!
U know wat they say…God helps those who help themselves… ;)
Dude. I thought you would say even I am obsessed with god. To a certain extent yes I am, with god and religion and its effect on humanity, civilization, history. Purely from an academic standpoint. Faith in the supernatural and absurd does not figure in my way of life.
But yes, you have hit the nail on both counts – god is used as a way of turning externalists into internalists, but probably didn’t start that way.
And, it’s your own hard work that helps you, rather than a “god”. It would help you if it existed :)
Keep having such epiphanies. They make for interesting reads.
Oh, and about the Dune example, well I know the absolute possibilities of what’s gonna happen given each decision I make. But there are numerous other factors apart from me affecting the outcomes – even if we leave out natural uncertainties (or acts of god etc), there are numerous other individuals like me who are going to affect the outcome. Eg. I am driving to work, and I know that if I drive consistently at 65kmph I will get there in half an hour. But I cannot be certain. Even if the road is smooth and has not been dug up, there are some thousand other vehicles plying on the same road which will affect how soon I reach. Which is why mathematicians had to talk in terms of probability, and those who do not get it, dream up a conscious being who is going to “decide” the outcome of my efforts.
@Amit – Yes you are :)
And regarding the Dune example, if you know all the end results, you can decide on the act, … other factors etc will be there, thats why prescience is such a tough thing!
Watch Religulous. Although it takes a shot at mostly Christianity (and to some extent Islam), it can be fit to Sanatan Dharma too (yeah, that’s right, I said Sanatan Dhrama and not Hinduism, because that is technically the religion we follow).
Sanatan Dharma? I have no clue by what u mean by that. But afaik, I dont follow any religion. Paganism at best :-)
Sanatan Dharma is for you then. Its just a way of life. Bunch of set guidelines, not laws or rules. ;)
Will read more about this!
You don’t automatically become a Pagan if you’re not following any religion. By popular definitions Pagans (and Neopagans, which is the fashionable group to be in) are people who worship many gods.
You are probably SBNR (spiritual but not religious).
Correct, SNBR it is!!
And to add a couple more of my cents, Sanatan Dharma is not Paganistic either. We have many deities, I agree, with three main deities (Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh), but we have only one GOD (Brahmana) from whom comes everyone and who is in everyone. The one omnipresent one.
what crap!! brahmana :) ..i dont agree with this god.
“Brahmana” not to be confused with the caste “brahmins”. Its different.
“Most Hindus believe that the spirit or soul — the true “self” of every person, called the ātman — is eternal.[40] According to the monistic/pantheistic theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is ultimately indistinct from Brahman, the supreme spirit. Hence, these schools are called non-dualist.[41] The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realize that one’s ātman is identical to Brahman, the supreme soul.[42] The Upanishads state that whoever becomes fully aware of the ātman as the innermost core of one’s own self realizes an identity with Brahman and thereby reaches moksha (liberation or freedom).[40][43]”
Ashish, lets talk. You have lost me there in the spirituality.
Alright! Will give you a call sometime over the weekend!