Why should a GOD be so INSECURE?
I met a Swedish national in Berlin while I was taking rest in the Press Centre during IFA 2007 trade show. He said he is a part-time technology journalist and part-time pastor. He did his higher studies in UK.
“So…you are from India…are you a Hindi?” he asked, while having coffee with me.
“Hindi is our national language. You mean to ask am I a Hindu?”
“Yes – I mean religion…”
“Yes. I am a Hindu by birth”
“Do you have Christianity there?”
“Yes, of course. Christianity came to India, centuries before it reached you in Europe” I said.
“Oh, really? Still you are a Hindu?” he asked again.
“Yes – why?” I was curious.
“Don’t tell me you worship monkeys and rats…” he said with a smile.
“As a matter of fact, yes, we do”
“You can’t be serious. You look like an educated person…”
“I am very serious and I worship monkey-god and an elephant-god…what’s that to do with education?” I said.
“You must be joking….People were worshipping animals and trees during pre-historic times…but todays educated people, no way!”
“In fact, we have a pantheon of many gods and we can worship god in any forms…”
“Hey, come on….there is only one GOD” he said.
“Really? I am not sure about it…”
“There is only one GOD…a singular GOD…”
“Better say, you have the concept of a single god…that’s your belief…”
“Concept? Belief…I am telling you the truth…”
“Who said so…?”
“All religious scriptures and sacred books say so… Christianity and Judaism say there is only one God. Islam also says so…”
“Those are great religions…what they say must be true. I don’t know about it… I am not a scholar in Semitic religions or in Hinduism. So let’s don’t talk about the Holy books and religions…I am not capable to discuss it….But about GOD, I have a question.”
“Yes – of course…”
“Ok… you shouldn’t feel angry…I didn’t feel angry when you ridiculed my gods…My question is based on your opinion of single god concept…” I reminded him.
“Shoot”
“You say that there is only one god – single god, right?
“That’s right”
“Your single God claims that he is the only God, who demands you to should worship him failing which he would roast you in hell fire…”
“It is not fully correct…but continue…I am listening…”
“That means. You are following Monotheism – that is the belief in a single god. Monotheism insists that only a single God exists. Other gods are “false” or even demonic…”
“Yes- you can say that…”
“For me, it is difficult to accept…”
“Why?”
“If a God says: “You will worship none but me, that you will associate none with me, and that none of you shall set up mortals as deities besides me. If you commit the foulest sin by worshiping any other Gods (other than me) or associating partner with me, I shall throw you in hell fire as a punishment for this sin.” – That’s what, in a nutshell, your GOD says right?”
“What’s wrong in saying that? You need to have faith in Him”
“Friend, isn’t this self-contradictory and dangerous?”
“How come?”
“First, explain to me about the contradictions…Had there been really only one God, it would not have been possible for man to find another God to worship, right?”
“Hmm…”
“Had the God been confident that there is no other God except him, he should not have been jealous of another God, right?”
“Yes – but who is jealous here?”
“Think…If the GOD knew that there is no other God, he would have been confident that people will not find any another God to worship, right?”
“These are all mis-interpretations….that’s not just right…” his voice became bit feeble.
“Think without biased, without conditionings…think with clarity….”
– The behavioral pattern of any single GOD in such concepts suggests that he is not confident that he is the only God. He seems always to be suspicious that there may be other Gods and people may worship those Gods instead of him.
– So the insecure GOD warns man not to worship another God. It, of course, is not a real god’s message. Can’t you clearly see the insecurity and whims and fancy of a narrow-minded human being behind this message?
– Can any GOD be always feel threatened that a member of his followers’ gang may slip out of his grip and start to worship another God (probably the real creator of the universe)? So he had to enforce strict law that if any one of his gang tries to desert Him, he should immediately be put to death for apostasy.
– How can any GOD be so insecure? The single insecure god theory converts the basic instinct to insecurity right from the childhood. The follower’s behavior may be fostered by GOD’s violent teachings for establishing Himself as the sole proprietary God of the world.
– And one more thing – you say, your singular god does everything. If there is only one powerful god who controls everything, doesn’t that also mean he creates bad things and causes bad things to happen?
“Do these reflections make any sense? Should I believe such a story or such a GOD?”
“You are talking non-sense, ridiculous…” his face turned red.
“Sir, I told you – why do you feel angry and insecure when I talk about your concept of god? We are having a dialogue here…”
“Shouldn’t I defend my beliefs?” he asked angrily.
“Now you are saying those are just your beliefs…”
“Sorry…Truths…”
“You may. But why should a human try to protect GOD? Why should you feel so insecure if somebody criticizes your concept of God? Isn’t it insecurity?”
“You won’t feel hurt when somebody criticizes your beliefs? You people worship cows…even dogs…are you not ashamed of it…”
“Do I look hurt? But fanatic followers – even in Hinduism – will get angry and violent. I am not fanatic or fundamentalist…I am a humanist…”
“Ok…ok…so you say defending the GOD shows insecurity?”
“One may feel insecure when somebody questions his beliefs. If somebody questions truth, why should you feel insecure? Its truth after all…Should you defend the existence of sun? Your defending won’t change anything with sun…Don’t you think that fanatic god theory is the very root is insecurity – that is why we see a lot of followers have aggression and blind faith. We can find the seed of the real insecurity when a GOD is not confident that he is the only God in the world (and not in the universe)….”
“Your god doesn’t ask you to fear Him”
“No…Never…There are two things. One -The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as divine messengers’ time-to-time, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make any sense to me.”
“What’s the second thing?”
“Is God as silly autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him? Can God stoop to such a low level of narrow-minded like a jealous human being? Or is it those human beings created such God?”
“So you don’t fear GOD…”
“I am afraid, I don’t…”
– The Monotheistic God is jealous and wrathful. There is one God, and one correct method of worship. Those who deviate are heretics and may be punished, tortured or killed. In its exclusive devotion to the worship of one God, monotheism has inspired much ferocity and fanaticism….that’s how fear comes in.
– At the heart of monotheism is the sure conviction that only a single god exists, a tendency to regard one’s own rituals and practices as the only proper way to worship the one true god.
– When one starts with the presumption that one is absolutely and utterly “right” and anyone thinking otherwise is just as completely “wrong”, it does not promote the flexible thinking required to keep pace with the rapidly fluctuating pace of modern civilized society.
-Monotheism “demands” a right/wrong, heaven/hell, black/white worldview.
-On the contrary, Polytheism is an open-ended and easy going approach to religious beliefs and practices, a willingness to entertain the idea that there are many gods and many ways to worship them. Many roads lead to the mountain top. A person may choose any path.
– Polytheism accepts that there can be more than “one true way”. This allows for more rational thinking when discussing things like belief system.
Hence, polytheism is more compatible with a naturalistic view of the universe than monotheism.
“Ok…I understand your view points, though I don’t agree with you… But you didn’t answer my question. What does your gods say about worshipping them and fearing them?”
“Very simple. An Indian saint, Adi Sankara said: “Aakashat patitam toyam, Yadha gachhati saagaram, Sarva deva namaskara: Keshavam prati gachhati!!”
“What- what’s that? Come again?”
“It is in Sanskrit. It means: Just as every rain drop that falls from the sky flows into the Ocean, in the same way every prayer offered to any Deity flows to the divine cosmic power (Kesava).”
“Oh…”
– “In short, you may worship or believe in any God. No problem…Even if you don’t worship or don’t believe, still it is no problem….This message from the GOD is so confident, so secure, secular and broad-minded. Because it can only come from the true creator of the universe, if at all there is a creator. And you are not asked to protect this GOD and resort to violence.”
“Ah..That’s why you don’t get angry?”
“Yes – You don’t have to spread the message of this God. You don’t have to defend the God. If somebody says badly about this God, I don’t have to get angry or fight for this God. A true Hindu believes that God protects us; we don’t have to protect God. So a true Hindu cannot get hurt in the name of God or religion….”
“So your religion is against single and personal god”
“Not like that… You can worship personal god or impersonal god…everything is manifestation of the same cosmic divinity…so no problem…you have freedom there too…You don’t have to market this God and convert others into his fold and increase market share. That’s why I remain as Hindu. How can you believe in concepts of any other insecure Gods?”
“OK, you made your point clear. But why do you worship monkeys, cows and elephants?”
“An ancient scripture says: “Isavasyam idam sarvam” (Isopanisad) …Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is Divine. This entire manifest Universe is enveloped by the Divine, the cosmic power….Hence you can see God in everything – the monkey, donkey, rat, and elephant or even in protozoa….”
“That means you can worship anything in this universe?”
“Yes – Be it Sun or Moon, Be it Hanuman or Ganapathi – whoever you worship, you are worshipping the cosmic power. My favorite God is Hanuman (Monkey-God). My traditional village God is Narasimha (Lion-God)….”
“Don’t you feel awkward? Shameful?”
“Why should I? I am not ashamed or apologetic to admit it….Nobody forced me to worship or believe in them. I had a choice there. I am in a democratic country. Nobody told me that this God would roast me in the hell, if I don’t worship it. I just love the stories of Hanuman and Narasimha. And I am free to criticize or make fun of those stories….”
“But, the animal gods are not scientific… So ancient tribes considered everything as GOD…There is no science in it…”
“On the contrary, there was scientific advancement among our ancestors…While my ancestors were learning and teaching the secrets of life and universe, the homo sapience of the West were still crawling in all fours and living in the caves….”
– While my ancestors were calculating the exact distance to the minutest details, between the earth and sun or teaching Vedic mathematics and astronomy, the West was believing the earth is flat till a couple of hundreds of years ago.
– Should I challenge my ancestors and convert my belief to the extent that Coco Cola is better than natural honey?
No – I don’t need a certificate or empirical scientific proof approved by any international scientific body to understand the presence of God in monkeys and lions. At least monkeys are our ancestors and lions are the kings in the forest. It is anyways better than worshiping an insecure GOD. And I don’t expect monkey or lion to show any magic and miracle to prove that they represent divine energy…
Every God -everything in the universe- is manifestation of the divine power.
And the Hindu scripture neither demands you to worship the GOD nor will a Hindu be roasted in hell. Even if you don’t worship GOD, nothing can change – because your karma decides your destiny- the God has little or no role in it – The Gita too assures this.
– “I hope this answer to your question – why do I continue to be a Hindu? I follow “THIS” Hinduism; hence I cannot be a fundamentalist or fanatic….”
“Hmm…Somewhat…but don’t say that you are right and I am wrong…”
– “I don’t. What’s more, let me admit – the entry level Hinduism has some mal-practices and superstitions without any scientific base. (Read up-to-date science. tomorrow this can change). Most of the people blindly follow lot of tradition without understanding its true meanings or relevance. Some of those practices are either unessential or irrelevant in today’s life….”
“That’s true in all religions…”
– “In all other religions you can see the follower has learned everything about his/her religion and can beautifully explain all aspects his/her religion. An ordinary Hindu doesn’t know or learn about his religion. The Gita is read by less than one percent of Hindu population. That’s the problem with a Hindu….”
“You told me about worshipping trees…And why do Hindus worship trees?”
“Hinduism has always been an environmentally sensitive philosophy. It is a totally green religion. Our ancestors were not very much interested in automobiles, petroleum products and plastics. What pollutes the earth? What causes cancer? A cow or an automobile?”
– God exists in everything. The trees are held in a special esteem in Hinduism as they provide food, oxygen, shelter, etc. By associating religion with plant kingdom, our ancient Indians tried to instill in us a reverence for them, so that we may protect, preserve and cultivate these beneficial plants in the future.
– Plant kingdom gives me everything I that I need – so what’s wrong in worshiping it? Worshiping a tree is better than worshiping an imaginary God, isn’t it?
“OK – but I have a genuine question now…If you don’t have a personal God, how will you pray? What will you pray? What will you ask for?”
“Should we pray? What should I pray?” When we know that isavasyam idam sarvam, what’s there to pray? I am part of GOD and the GOD is part of me. I cannot exist without GOD and GOD cannot exist without me.
* Aham Brahmasmi (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad) = “I am Brahman” I am integral part of cosmic energy.
* Tat Tvam Asi (Chandogya Upanishad) = “Thou art That” The identity of individual self as a part of the whole which is ‘tat’, Brahman.
* Ayam Atma Brahma (Mandukya Upanishad) = “This Self (Atman) is Brahman”
* prajñānam brahma – “Consciousness is Brahman” (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda).
“As everything in the universe belong to me, what else I need? What would anybody gain by a prayer? God has provided me everything I need (not what I WANT)”
“That means you don’t need anything?”
“If I answer philosophically, I need something, only if it is lacking in me. Nothing lacks in me. I don’t feel I am imperfect or anyways inferior to anybody. Because, I am created by a perfect divinity. It just can’t go wrong.”
– There is a divine assurance for this:”Om Poorna Madah Poorna Midam Poornaat Poorna Mudachayate Poornasya Poorna Maadaaya Poorna Mevaa Vashishyate” (That is perfect; this is perfect. What comes from such Perfection truly is perfect. What remains after Perfection from Perfection is yet again perfect)
– The cosmic created me just as it created you. So nobody can be imperfect. At least accept this truth: “I am perfect with all my imperfections”
– I don’t have to pray for anything as the force behind creation has seen to it so perfectly that everything is perfectly managed for me. For instance, before I was born, the cosmic has in-stored my food as my mother’s milk – who can take care of better than this? Everything is being taken care, so meticulously – so what should I pray.
– Whatever I need will be given to me by the divine. Am I a fool to think that even a grass can move without the cosmic knowledge? No, I don’t have to remind the cosmic what I need. It knows better what I need. Any situation in life appears with cosmic wisdom – who am I to question it or challenge it or pray against such a situation?
“You mean to say you don’t have prayers?”
– “We do have…. my ancestors taught me three most important and non-personalized prayers”
1. “Asatoma Ma Sadgamaya tamaso ma jyotirgamaya mrtyorma amrtam gamaya Om santhi, santhi santhihi” (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad). Take us from darkness to light’; from ignorance to awareness; from incompleteness to totality. Let there be peace everywhere. This is not a personal prayer.
2.”Loka samastha sukhino bhavanthu.” May happiness be unto the entire world. Not just me. I should not pray for any selfish gain, my ancestors taught me. If your neighbor is starving and I am binging, where is the happiness? The entire world should be happy.
3. “Om Bhur Buvaha Suvaha Thath Savithur VarenyamBhargo Devasya Dheemahi Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayath” (Gayatri). We contemplate the glory of Light illuminating the three worlds: gross, subtle, and causal. I am that vivifying power, love, radiant illumination, and divine grace of universal intelligence. We pray for the divine light to illumine our minds.
By
Udaylal Pai
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well learned and well taught
Sir,
Hinduism looks similar to Budhism, can you clear my doubt the difference between these two. I think you can help me.
Fanatastic! Great concepts of Sanatana Dharma so beautifully explained without having to hurt another belief or religion! Continue with your great work Udayji! Make our own Hindu brothers and sisters understand that they need not look elesewhere for answers about God but just ask who you are where this pure awareness comes from when you wake up from sleep like Ramana says!
God bless you.
ur post was excellent on god
Im a Hindu in Ghana-Africa, I came across your missive and I must say very much impressed. sanatan darma will live forever
i need money can your god give instant real money?
how can i get to your god and make this money?
what procedure will i follow to make this money?
do your god demand for human sacrifice?
let me know
godson.
FORTUNATELY I CAME ACROSS YOUR WRITINGS. I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE MORE FROM YOU AND GAIN COMMOM KNOWLEDE ABOUT THE SAME
Thanks Uday ji for sedning me such a nice articles ” I am a Hindu ” & “Why should a God be so insecure ” its really an essence of truth .Precious article. Can share more such articles with me if you have ?
A very well stated belifs by uday pai maam.I personaly belive that there is only one god who has no begining nor end he is neither born nor can die the goodness in this world reenergizes him the collective forces of good ness make him powerful.He is everything and everything resides in him
Jealousy is a human emotion, so the very fact that the Christian God is jealous of others means that either the Jews and Christians too are worshipping an ancient human being who has been deified,or they are projecting their own human emotions onto a Spiritual God,probably the latter!
This is what we need to think today….
people are killing each other for their Religions, with what I hate to think.
But, when we think about Humanity and culture, which must be Respected for Peace and People do just against, it is a need to punish such peoples……
Well, good job Mr. Uday Pai…..
Keep on
I am a hindu
Well crafted and well written words. However I see a very basic flaw in your argument, which is undermining all that you said. I draw your attention to this simple reasoning.
If you claim to be polytheist and believing in pluralism, why did you disagree with the monotheistic view of the man in the discussion ?
Since with Polytheistic and our Pluralistic worldview, everything is true. You by trying to prove yourself right and the man wrong, have undermined your self. Since pluralistic worldview allows the other man to be true just like you are true in your thinking, now you by contradicting the man on his words and beliefs, you have dug the soil under your feet. You have proven your own belief to be wrong.
This then makes our pluralistic worldview false in itself and all that you said incoherent.
Sir , the arguments and the logic in your approach reinforce the thoughts in my mind , only I could not express them as succinctly as you have done here . Heaven and Hell are here and now on this ‘ Earth ‘ itself.
Brilliant article, a food for thought.
Existence of GOD is unquestionable, as there must be a devine power which created this very complex universe and all the laws that govern it. All humans are not equal in their capability to think with respect to what is right or wrong. Hence great thinkers had created the image of GOD and the teachings of a religion so that human society could survive much longer. It hardly matters which of these concepts of GOD or religion (Hindu, Jew, Christian, Muslim …) is more correct!
At least debating on “GOD” helps us get more clarity on who we are and what’s the purpose of our existence. Man made God/monkey god/lion god/or no god at all….anyways, if we were to be more compassionate, empathetic and loving, the purpose of such debates is served. kudos to the author for initiating the thought process!
TOP 25 COMMENTS ON SPEAKING TREE ON THIS ARTICLE
Delphine Pillar
Jun 28, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Excellent, I think much of the original concepts in Christianity have changed over the years and the original gnostic concepts are closer to the original. Thank You for posting, Sir. It has long been a problem for me, how they make God smaller by attributing human feelings of jealousy, anger, etc. This is not truth, nor was it the original concept of Christianity. If you look deeply into any religion there is a common cord running through all. Pranam, Metta.
Deepaks Shukla
Jun 28, 2012 at 05:07 pm
Madhoor! A very well crafted, logical & still beutiful conception. As perfect as vein described in “Om Punamida————“. It is true Sanatan Dharma has all concept from Monotheism to Politheism,& Hindus have independance to choose from them. In Geeta Krishna says He perfects eaach persons Shraddha & He warns to all not to make Buddhibheda. It is true less than 1% people know & try to read about Sanatan Dharma, that is why Dyan Marga for very few people though every person thinks he is inteligent & dyanMarga is for him, but it is not for every one. That is why Sant Dyaneshwar after writting Dyaneshwari, Amritanubhaw, at the end of his life before taking Samadhi at the age of 21, shortly before that wrote 27 “Hari Pathache Abhanga “for all of us lesser mortals. In Pasaydan also he asks “Jo Je Wanchil To Te Laho”meaning every body can have what he dsires. Thanks for nice blog i realy loved to read it
Soul Curry
Jun 28, 2012 at 02:20 pm
Absolutely wonderful. laying bare the insecurity of the monotheistic god was superb. amazing way to share the brilliance of hinduism. Great blog.
Prashanth Rajarao
Jun 28, 2012 at 04:14 pm
Fantastic , Superb.
Padmesh Varma
Jun 29, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Dear Sir, the entire story is very well said. The author has explained the monotheism and the polytheism very lucidly. Hats off to him.
Anil Singh
Jun 30, 2012 at 08:11 am
A wonderful narration of Truth…which needs no proof, for it is self explanatory…Existence of God cannot be proved…but our existence cannot be denied…there cannot be an effect without a cause; yet God is that Force, which is Causeless….to love art is to admire the artist…to love creation is to applaud the Creator….He created many things and all are a part of Him…the parts belong to the Whole from where it came…the drop of water is not different form the ocean…the ocean cannot fit into the drop but the drop can surely merge with the ocean….
Prof Tkg Namboodhiri
Jun 30, 2012 at 01:10 pm
A fantastic story. Is it a true story or an invented one. In any case it shows the Universality of Hindu concepts of God.Hinduism is the only open religion which allows people to follow any path of devotion. We believe that every one of us has the potential of becoming the God as God exists equally in all.
By the way, is the author Sri Uday Lal Pai insecure enough to state that we should contact him before re posting his writing? I would urge him to give the widest publicity to this.
Johnny Jacob Roberts
Jul 01, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Nice food for my mind. Thank you sir.
Varon Kyle
Jul 02, 2012 at 09:44 am
God isn’t insecure. God doesn’t want us to follow false gods because they have no power to answer prayer, warn us in dreams, give grace to the humble, or encourage us with visions. If we worship a monkey-god or a lion-god like the man in the article does, then we are worshiping the creation rather than the creator. God gave man dominion over the animals, and we are not to worship them or any created idol.
If one looks at Hinduism and the caste system, one begins to see the insecurities of this very harsh, confused religion, and the way it treats its “untouchables”.
Jesus on the other hand was willing to reach out to those who were deemed untouchable by his people… the tax collectors, the prostitutes, those with leprosy, and the Samaritans, all the poor and those who were born blind, or lame. Everyone was welcome, and it was real, not the mystical beliefs that the Hindu like to dabble in. Look at history, and the state of India today to see where Hinduism and Islam lead.
Mohammed Hassain
Jul 03, 2012 at 08:29 pm
A very logical approach which i too would have agreed upon if i werent with knowing many monotheistic relegions .
But i found the answer i was seeking.
god created man and all other creatures and gave man a higher account for consideration.
he also created a beautiful place for him to dwell in but at the same time put him at a test on earth to justify his place in that magnificent place i.e., heaven and at the same time created a dangerous place i.e., hell where he doesnt want anyone go in by justifying their acts on earth.
god said that a key reason to be a part of the heavens is to atlest remember him .
prophet muhammed said that once a jewish prostitute was accquinted for heaven for having quenched the thirst of a dog in the desert. – many other reasons may be found to enter heavens and not hell but the main one is remembering god . and out of care for his creation has he constantly informed them via messengers to find this key reason upstood to be justified for heavens , and not out of insecurity. – god says in QURAN- even if all his creations pray to him or all go against him there wouldnt be any difference for him .
Ameen Syed
Jul 04, 2012 at 05:48 am
My faith is that there is only 1GOD who created everything good and evil and kept them separate from each other so that he may test the humans as per what do they select.Doing evil is easy but doing good requires patience.When man was created soon after he came into the words of Satan(Evil) and started disobeying GOD. In order to remind humans of the truth HE send messengers and tested the humans as to who is ready to accept the truth and who follows their forefathers religion and every time he send them. The messengers had to remind them about the true 1 GOD.Islam says:’there is no compulsion in religion’. there is freedom for you to believe what you want to.
Sandesh Saboo
Jul 09, 2012 at 07:40 pm
A very good attempt to have a dialogue with someone who was open for a dialogue khem prayojanam.What for? To dispel doubts.
actually most of the people do not know there own religion and they are short of words to explain it the way you have done it. Every one is not so well placed with use of language to explain,how many people would have patience to do a 2 hour discussion without actually rasing there blood pressure.
Not many are use to huge discussions.NOt many have a very good language to explain the concept with clarity.Most of the time in a discussion one of the two person gets angry.flare up and become out of control for some time.
Why does it happen when it is a religious discussion.The same would not happen if you were discussing literature,maths or science or any other subject.If there are 100 paths to solve a maths problem people would like to learn all the paths if they are interested in maths.
they would be open with discussion.But as you point out in religious discussion they would pull legs,ridicule you.get angry,become arrogant,try to domineering they would be conceited,they would show disbelief.ask for scientific proof.would be pessimist towards each others faith.and even be condescending.at time dishonest too.to show one upmanship.
Tincy Mathew
Jul 10, 2012 at 10:53 am
As the author said, there is a cosmic force which is universal. Some human messengers branded it as GOD and marketing it. And there are people who are ready to kill and die for such a brand. Can’t you see the truth? Truth doesn’t have two opinions.
If at all GOD is there, it (I can’t give sex to god – it has both male and female force in it) is the same for everybody.
And I don’t think GOD is maintaining a database in clouds(cloud computing???:)) to see you are to be sent to hell or heaven.
It’s very funny way to see god….why should people insist that there is only one branded GOD?
Multiple brands create good competition and you will get better service? Isn’t that so?
Soumyasrajan S
Jul 11, 2012 at 02:23 pm
This one I enjoyed much more Uday.
I like this sentence
“A true Hindu believes that God protects us; we don’t have to protect God. So a true Hindu cannot get hurt in the name of God or religion..”
Even about God – do we really have to believe about him – do u not feel even that is not needed.Most of our philosophies do not talk about God at all. They only try to understand or build up models about universe. Some even very clearly stated that no evidence was found to make a statement about God (an entity with omnipresence or creator of universe etc.) nor is there even any need to make any such statement.
Tony Joseph
Jul 14, 2012 at 12:44 pm
I joined speakingtree.in because somebody sent me a link of two articles: Why am I NOT a SINNER? and Why should a GOD be so INSECURE? – she wanted me to read and give a fitting reply to the author. But when I read his article I was awe-stricken – it is uniquely good and well-written. Everything is based on facts and truths.
I have a request to the author. Few fanatics who doesn’t like truth are just irritating by copy-paste comments. That, shouldn’t dishearten you. “They don’t know what they are doing. Please forgive them..” (Similar to Luke 23:34 Jesus)
Fanatics are always biased and one-sided. They are focussed on the blind belief in one Holy book and blindly believe it to be true. But if they read the above article carefully, they will know that theri arguments are just to save insecure feeling of ego of blind belief. I have read all articles written by this author. When I read “Am I a sinner” I thought it is against Christianity and got angry at the title. But when I finished reading, I can’t stop appreciating the author.
Again, when I read his article: ” Is Vedic Astrology the world’s oldest con?” – I thought it is against Hinduism. The matter of the fact is the author is an independent, open-minded and goes by facts and truth only.
It’s shameful that people use this platform for copy-pasting something irrelevant and irritating a higher, indepth and profound discussion by something that doesn’t make sense.
Julie Rowe
Jul 14, 2012 at 07:06 pm
My view is I saw The One in the beginning by himself. To help me explain one view I see- As a big bubble yet not contained but everywhere. Within Him -came others gods still inside with likeness of Him. (bubbles within bubbles) It was a family. Each was given free will but yet still connected to The One. One bubble had a thought not in union which out of her came something not as pure as the Light. The mother threw the son down into another realm. The one that came from her was not aware of others and thought he was only one since he was in a realm by himself. To shorten …He replicated according to his nature which was mixed (dark/light) not being of the union. He become a jealous god when he realized there were others. His commands were to keep control on those he thought was his and didn’t rightfully belong to him but the One. The commands were not of pure love. You can see the difference in the words of the bible of who is talking. Jealous God or Loving God. There are other God’s as in we people. “I am in HE and He is in ME. Jesus has had many forms from different religions bringing the same message. We are from the One and we should wake up and realize our origin in Love. We are perfect as coming from the One source but the human flesh interferes and blinds us. The jealous God, does realizes his error. So yes we are Gods just as Jesus preached as well as all living things-animal, flowers, trees etc… We are all related but our original origin is in Him the One without Beginning or End. Infinite. We dropped down from involution to correct our mistake by self will and evolution to find our way back to him so we can be united with him once and for all. (and not be reincarnated over and over)
Rajiv Sahay
Jul 21, 2012 at 03:39 pm
Absolutely fantastic…. what a beautiful way to describe Hinduism and its greatness. Cheers !!!!!!!!!
Kva Kutty
Jul 22, 2012 at 05:17 pm
Brilliant article! I give below 2 quotes from your article
“An ancient scripture says: “Isavasyam idam sarvam” (Isopanisad) …Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is Divine. This entire manifest Universe is enveloped by the Divine, the cosmic power….Hence you can see God in everything – the monkey, donkey, rat, and elephant or even in protozoa….”
“That means you can worship anything in this universe?”
“Yes – Be it Sun or Moon, Be it Hanuman or Ganapathi – whoever you worship, you are worshipping the cosmic power. My favorite God is Hanuman (Monkey-God). My traditional village God is Narasimha (Lion-God)….”
1. “Asatoma Ma Sadgamaya tamaso ma jyotirgamaya mrtyorma amrtam gamaya Om santhi, santhi santhihi” (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad). Take us from darkness to light’; from ignorance to awareness; from incompleteness to totality. Let there be peace everywhere. This is not a personal prayer.
2.”Loka samastha sukhino bhavanthu.” May happiness be unto the entire world. Not just me. I should not pray for any selfish gain, my ancestors taught me. If your neighbor is starving and I am binging, where is the happiness? The entire world should be happy.
3. “Om Bhur Buvaha Suvaha Thath Savithur VarenyamBhargo Devasya Dheemahi Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayath” (Gayatri). We contemplate the glory of Light illuminating the three worlds: gross, subtle, and causal. I am that vivifying power, love, radiant illumination, and divine grace of universal intelligence. We pray for the divine light to illumine our minds.
If people care to think deeply about ideas like these ones , a lot of confused thinking will disappear
Your presentation is marvelous. Congrats
Adarsh Nair
Jul 30, 2012 at 07:49 pm
Just mind blowing stuff!
“Asatoma Ma Sadgamaya tamaso ma jyotirgamaya mrtyorma amrtam gamaya Om santhi, santhi santhihi”
“Loka samastha sukhino bhavanthu.”
“Om Bhur Buvaha Suvaha Thath Savithur VarenyamBhargo Devasya Dheemahi Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayath””
Thanks a ton!
Thomas M Easley
Aug 03, 2012 at 03:57 am
Evening greetings from the US Eastland dear Dr. Pai,
First—Please pardon this bit of repetition (I am pasting below writ previously posted) but time is short and I did wish to respond, however inadequately, to your very interesting articles
To my mind, the concept of God may well be man’s most creative concept. However, whether or not God does, or does not, exist, when faced with the obvious relevance of our need to gain greater self-awareness in the present, is a mute point. We can believe what we want, but if that belief does not awaken us to the pace at which our life is passing through the present, and our urgent need to be in the present, it matters not.
Kind regards
Doubtingtom Thomas
Aug 11, 2012 at 08:41 am
Absolute truth is inexpressible. Truth is not what is written in the blog it is only half truth.To know the full truth, even within the physical world, we have to think for ourselves. So far only one person has said so but not yet explained. Everyone else has accepted bliindly.
Sunita Gupta
Aug 11, 2012 at 01:26 pm
Great discussion which could reach a conclusion beyond any doubt.by the way even the plants do bend in the direction so that they can receive maximum sun light and even with the upper side of the leaves facing sun purposely.—-thanx for an interesting interaction
Ramesh Shenoy
Aug 11, 2012 at 06:33 pm
Superb – I have never read such article. So simple but so in-depth. You have divine blessings. Ordinary and popular writers cannot write like this
You are axing down the very basic root of Semitic concepts of god.
I admire your intellectual courage.
Thank you so very much Sir.
This is another eye-opener
Those poor Hindus who are not able to reply to aggressive questions for other religious marketing executives should by-heart this article.
A collectors item.
Life-long shelf value.
Thank you sir.
Ashok Sinha
Aug 21, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Sir, I am overwhelmed. I have made a summary of your blog which, if you permit, I will use in my learning process. Your posts help me to shape my vision.
Adnan Yousuf
Jul 02, 2012 at 06:16 am
God is not mine or yours, swedish or Indian. What you may call defending the other may think it explaining. Instead of playing with words we should focus on seeking the truth. Truth is truth not pertained to any social, religious or geographical boundary. Truth is universal.
Vishnu Prasad
Jun 28, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Sir, This blog gave me goose bump….the way you pooh-poohs the GOD’s concepts in the west unparallelled….can’t stop saying WOW…just thrashing the fundamentals of religions. Everybody should read it. I am re-posting the links where-ever possible…
BTW, all your articles in http://www.speakingtree.in/udaypai/blog are superb and best in the ST. Thanks for sharing your ideas and time….
Courtesy: http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/god-and-i/why-should-a-god-be-so-insecure (Please visit)