a request
From the Bhakti List Archives
• January 28, 2003
Respected Sirs, Below are my sinciere thoughts on the subject of God and our relation to Him.Could you please read through them and offer your opinion? [These are not words meant to offend anybody.Please donot mistake my thoughts.] the problem with any theory on god is that it cannot be complete;or rather, we think that it cannot be completed,and thus miss a very important link in life.Our link with the godhead. Why is it that we think that god is going to press his will onto us?Why do we say that by doing something we will be offending god?We also say in the same breath that god created everything and everything depends on him for its existence.Thus by saying that god is offended we mean to say that he is annoyed at his own creation and is thus in a way annoyed with himself.A queer situation to put god in dont you think. Coming to the famous statement:"God's will is my will".We say that all that we do is due to god.Yet in a funny way man makes this a reason to blame god for everything.When he is a loser he says:"this is is how god wished it".When he is caught out he makes the same statement,mostly to himself mind you in a resigned frame of mind.This is how man tries to justify his actions. Let us put to side this blame-shifting nature of man(in utmost honesty question yourself & you will find you have done it atleast a few times if not more,even on god).Looking at the statement itself we see that it contradictory.Given the fact that god wants us to be happy (none but the most deprived of the human race will ever try to disagree),is it not rather funny that he also wants to impose himself on us?And where has that belief gone which says that god has conquered all senses and is in the way of being a para-bramhan,one who has no preferences and loves all his creations equally?Will such an exalted being ever wish to impose himself(herself/itself) on us?Is it showing god in good light?Even not considering all this how would you feel about a god who says:"these are the rules,if you disobey you will be punished"?Is not the reason for this universe attributed to god giving us a chance to experience ourselves?Or even if it was just because god wished to create it would he have created a place which bound the inhabitants to obey certain rules or be punished?Where then is that god who rules by love?Why do we seek to compare him a king who rules his land,where ther are rules,which if disobeyed,will attract punishment?what then is the difference between god and any ordinary king? Well I think there are no such rules.There are just the basic principles(not rules)by which the universe works.We have seen fit to violate all these rules and yet I have not seen and punishment from god.All the effects we see here are just the effects of our actions and not god's punishment as is the case with everything else. Well anyway as has been said repeatedly,how many times god only knows,by saints from time immemorial,god seeks not to imprison us in this life.He wishes that we be given full freedom to do as we choose and not as god chooses.The same,I suppose applies to us as well.What we think is good for others need not necessarily be what is good for them,because they have their own view of how they wish to lead their life,and we should not,I suppose,interfere. But once again it is the choice of the people involved.This non-interference policy is most difficult for parents to follow.But they would be well advised to try it. Well now that we see how god does not wish to impose his will on his children(that's us) the concept of god judging us and our actions seems mis-guided because to punish one needs to judge and when punishment does not exist then why judgement?Also god sees us all as equal.Why then would he judge anybody or thing?Because in judging he conveys that one is better than the other.Then where is the theory that he sees us all as equal?So the belief that God judges us(and our actions)seems a bundle of contradictions. SO WHERE ARE WE NOW? 1)God does not impose his will on us. 2)God does not seek to judge us. Well the other point is having two aspects to it: a)Are we created perfect? b)Are we really different or is it just appearence?Are we all really one? As for the perfect creation everything in the universe is perfect.So are we.Why would God seek to create something imperfect?What purpose does it serve?The entire universe is a reflection of god's perfection.Every thing moves to the rythmic beat of the god-energy that permeates all living and non-living beings.The dance is perfect,we are a part of it;so we have to be perfect too. As to the (b) part the argument is long and tedious.But really,going by the teachings of the great masters,both past and present,we must conclude that we really are a whole and are not seperate.We are individuated beings not seperated beings.WE ARE ALL ONE.Any attempt at trying to believe in the duality of this universe will distance us from our ultimate task of communion with the great oneness that is god. Summing up.... (a)God doesnt seek to impose his will on us. (b)God doesnt seek to judge us. (c)We have been created perfect and will simply remain that way no matter what. (d)WE ARE ALL ONE. [All this ofcourse is my thought process and anyone coming across it,please do not think otherwise.It is not meant to offend anyone,nor is it meant to undermine any religious beliefs. All this my sinciere view on the subject of God and our relation to him(her/it).Please donot take offense because it is not meant to mean any(offense).] Dasan sidharth. ________________________________________________________________________ Missed your favourite TV serial last night? Try the new, Yahoo! TV. visit http://in.tv.yahoo.com -------------------------------------------------------------- - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH - To Post a message, send it to: bhakti-list@yahoogroups.com Group Home: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bhakti-list Archives: http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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