Some Serious Rumination

This was a rather boring day. But enlightening nonetheless. Or may be reassuring.
Contrary to most/many people around me, I would rank myself in the believer-atheist grey zone. And an article I read got me thinking.

I do fathom the incredible complexity of this world. I have often thought and have long remained fascinated about The Origin (of Everything). A reference to that concept comes in the starting song of the famous, but now old serial 'The Discovery of India'. I am too ignorant to comment on how most religions treat it in depth, but I do have impressions. Christians assume the existence of a God so powerful that She/He created everything out of nothing. So do Hindus, though in a sense, I am confused whether Hinduism refers to one original God or three. My impression is that other religions also assume, because they cannot explain.

In fact, my conviction is that it is beyond us to explain the Origin. May be because our minds are programmed to think of time as a linear continuum, and so, we always ask what came before... as if 'before' was a completely defined and understood concept. A theory like Relativity, which brings fuzziness into many of our well-understood concepts of time and other dimensions may be an indication that there is a fuzziness in this trail of thoughts that we cannot cope with.

Nevertheless, I agree that there is something beyond us. And my posture is that luck, fate, karma, God (and all its synonyms) refer to that same one thing.
Also that He/She/It does not interfere with what we do. It is we who pray and feel good. It is we who seek silence in the name of God.

Religion, to that extent, is only a process - of trying to live with the deep uncertainty and the human inability to explain away so many things. Religion was made by humans, as much as math was. I remember a very interesting session we had in our Theory of Computation class where one of my favorite Profs asked a stunning question. He drew a '1' on the blackboard and asked us what it was. It took a bunch of 40 very very smart men and women some time and discussion to realise that the question is much deeper than what it appears to be. And I see a parallel in terms of religion. ( If you don't see it, challenge me to a discussion on '1'. And if you are satisfied, do treat me with a cone of a nice ice-cream. )

We realise that there is an underlying concept, and we choose a symbol to express it.

If religion is such a concept, why do people go mad about it?

You may ask, why is my peanut-sized brain thinking about this?

I started wondering about all this, when I stumbled upon this article. The sentence that struck a cord inside me was this: "She was no more exempt from the realization that religion is a human fabrication than any other person..." We may cringe at the concept that someone is an atheist, and we may bloat about our understanding of religion. But what is the big deal about understanding something created by another human being? Certainly, there wasn't any religion when humans walked around naked on this Earth? (Speaking of which, Playboy could give a whole new dimension to the cliche - "Back to the basics"! )

When someone says, "You should go to a temple every once so often, or you should light up an agarbatti every evening, because you should remember God everyday", I refuse to accept it. Rituals must be treated for what they are - processes with an objective. If lighting a candle does not make me happier, why should I waste the effort ? Just think about how much milk is wasted every year by people washing shiv-lings with milk. O you devout Hindu, did you ever think about donating that milk to someone hungrier and more in need of it than Lord Shiva?

I scoff at people who fast for religion but refuse to understand that God never asks them to be hungry. If they feel happy to go hungry, so be it. But to treat it like a commandment that must be followed or else all hell will break lose is something I will never ever accept.

Too much on this. But do read the article I mentioned above. Mother Teresa has been one of my heroes, and this article only makes me feel better about her. She was inside a rigid machinery in which, she had to profess a complete love of and faith in God - The God, as they know it. Kudos to you, Mother. Because you didn't stop tending for the poor even when inside you, there was a turmoil so deep that most people would have faltered at that stage. And therein lies the strength of your conviction.

Far from the madding man (Yours Truly), Strato must be busy attending business sessions in Phuket. How ironical . . . like someone using Shakti Kapoor to promote a brand of Rakhi ! Oh by the way, after many many years, I will be at home on a Raksha Bandhan. Just another ritual, but a very nice excuse for siblings to get cozy and express mutual affection. And trade gifts and mithai as well !

After having zapped all houseflies inside my cubicle and reading all decent articles on news websites, I am looking forward to a trip back home. A nice week spent away from work would be a good change from the routine.

I have many plans on what to do after shadi. And top of the line is a-trip-a-year plan. Long back, when I was a kid, my mom knew I would travel a lot. She defused all my plans of running away from home with a sharp eye and twisted ears. Her eyes and my ears, to be precise. But once out there in the hostel, I had my way. I surmise that by the time I am 50, I will have seen every country which is a member of the UNO and where Guns and Roses are not the most popular accessories.

Humko maloom hai,
Ishq masoom hai,
Dil se
Ho jati hain
Galtiyaan...
Sabra se ishq mehroom hai . . .

Salute, Gulzar saheb.