Chapter 1: God as Suspense Account
Yes, God is like Suspense account.
Suspense Account: (n) a temporary account in which entries of credits or charges are made until their proper disposition can be determined.
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
In the beginning, all creation and phenomena were attributed, so as to speak, credited to Him.
Over the years, slowly, science opened our eyes to the ‘truth’. It’s only human to buy valid explanations.
We think its His creation till science provides a perfectly reasonable explanation to every other phenomenon, an explanation that satisfies our rational thinking mind. Soon, we take the credit for that creation and attribute it to science.
There were a million things which could not be explained even before Christ came into this world and was given credit for all of it. And then science came around and took its rightful share from Him. Now there are just a few hundred more of the unexplained phenomena left with Him.
I am a believer, just that I don’t believe God = Jesus Christ, faith = Christanity. So I guess it’s safest and most accurate to say I’m agnostic. Not athiest.
Random quote from the movie ‘Contact’:
When Ellie challenges Palmer to prove the existence of God
Palmer Joss: Did you love your father?
Ellie Arroway: What?
Palmer Joss: Your dad. Did you love him?
Ellie Arroway: Yes, very much.
Palmer Joss: Prove it.
JUST like I cannot scientifically prove that God, like love, does NOT exist.
Chapter 2: Religion as fast food for thought
Religion, I guess, is overrated.
To me, it’s only as essential as junk food.
I would take a sprinkling of Hindu ideals and values (I think Gita is a great work of inspiring fiction), discard it off the violent undertones and the jingoistic importance of “fighting” evil, borrow a little tolerance, peace and love for nature from Buddhism and Jainism, and just a little conviction and faith in the Supreme from Islam and Christanity and family values from the Sikhs.
Fusion religion to me is a lifestyle by itself. Food for the soul. A few values and principles to hold on to, a few guidelines to live a happy life. That is religion to me.
I think our President said something like this: “Religions are like islands. Unless bridges are built between each other, the people will continue to live in their own little worlds, oblivious to the civilisation outside their worlds.”
That is exactly what I see happening today.
Every Christian claims that God=Jesus Christ… Oh, sorry, Son of God = Jesus Christ. Every Muslim wants to save the world from evil (western read American influences). Every Hindu wants to save his world from religions with aggressive designs (Christanity and Islam). Any one who believes his God is the only one is a fanatic. Anyone not willing to accept a person from another faith into their life is a fanatic too.
There is so much to learn from every religion, if only you were a little more open minded. There is a science involved even in religion and spirituality. You can’t leave rational thinking out of religion. Faith should not be blind. It should not involve shutting your eyes to everything else.
Prayer is only for those who are insecure. Meditation is altogether another thing. It’s just to relax your body, mind and give yourself a break. In many ways, for a lot of people, prayer is meditation cuz they aren’t thinking about anything else.
God, if there is one and is really that noble, cannot be so full of Himself to demand your attention. He does not need your attention. He, if he does exist, just wants you to be nice to yourself, nice to people around you and nice to the natural elements that share the space with you in this world.
That’s the underlying philosophy in every religion. If only you followed these simple tenets, you don’t need your Gita, your Bible or your Koran or your trips to the temple, church or mosque.
Chapter 3: So does God exist?
Ellie Arroway: So what’s more likely? That an all-powerful, mysterious God created the Universe, and decided not to give any proof of his existence? Or, that He simply doesn’t exist at all, and that we created Him, so that we wouldn’t have to feel so small and alone?
Me and V, my soul brother, buddy and editor, talked into a rainy stormy night discussing science and religion.
So I thought it necessary to dig into an old secret blog I had and re-visit my thoughts on the subject today. They haven’t changed much.
In fact, they’ve just grown stronger.
Palmer Ross: As a person of faith… I am bound by a different covenant than Dr. Arroway — but I believe our goal is one and the same: the pursuit of the truth. I think today Dr. Arroway continued that pursuit under the most trying of conditions.
Yes, Science and religion are in pursuit of truth.
How was the earth and this galaxy and many others created? Who are we humans in the entire scheme of things?
How do we know who we are, what we’ve been created for and what is the truth behind all life and phenomena, explained and unexplained?
Here’s my take of it.
We can only try to find out. Scientifically. Because science is not just about explanations, it is about the attempts to find the truth and the explanations. It is simply about asking questions and finding or trying to find answers in the limited period available to us: life to death.
So, at a very basic level, life as we know it before death intervenes, consists of three main elements (I’m sure everyone have their own classifications, but this is about my theory). Three elements: Time, Space and People/things that occupy this time and space we spend between birth and death.
Time is limited.
Quotes from Fight Club: Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You’re the same decaying organic matter as everything else ... On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
So, we spend the limited time we have discovering space and people/things that occupy the space. I’m based here in Madras and my idea of truth is limited to the sum of my collective experiences of my life.
Time:
I’ve spent 28 years in this world. And don’t know how much more I have, I cannot control it. So I have to skip planning the rest of my life and keep exploring one moment at a time.
So what do I know after 28 years of life? Let me break down what I know into the other two elements Space and Time.
Space:
I can claim I know some streets, roads around office and work and a few hangouts. I know a (very) few places around Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Singapore, South Korea and South East Australia.
It is not even one percent of the space we as humans inhabit. How much can I explore and discover in the limited time frame of life? That will hold the key.
People, things, matter:
I can claim I know some people, but again, can’t claim to know them well enough. I can claim I know how to ride my bike, write, blog, watch movies and sleep. There are over eight billion people and at least that many things, forms of matter out there that I’m yet to understand or discover. So I haven’t even explored one decimal point of this element.
Chapter 4: So how do I get to the bottom of truth?
Option 1 is to give up and say the answer, the truth is God. And be at peace, believing that you already know it’s all because of Him. A readymade solution, a ready reckoner and answer to everything: God. This is perfect for those who want answers before they die. The only truth for these people is that there is God.
Option 2 is to never say die and keep going in pursuit of truth, keep exploring time, space and people. This is for people who realise that they may not be able to find the whole truth but have a choice to find out as much of truth as possible. And the way to find that truth is by exploring space and people. Keep travelling, keep meeting people, explore for you are the sum total of your collective experiences. The more you experience, the more you can claim to know the truth. And know that truth changes from person to person. You might find out that truth lies in the eye of the explorer. Every bit of the journey gives you satisfaction, every little discovery brings you happiness and every bit of your restless mind is at peace. For you know you are on your way.
You find answers to some questions, keep going in search of the others you have and the day you die, you die happy, knowing you did your best to find the truth. You would have had an adventure of a life. A total blast. Without believing blindly that you kept going and explored howmuchever space and people you could possibly meet out of the limited time.
Quotes from Vanilla Sky:
“Every passing minute is a another chance to turn it all around.”
“Its been a brilliant journey of self-awakening, now you simply have to ask yourself this… What is happiness to you David?”
“Most of us live our whole lives… without any real adventure to call our own.”
“What is any life without the pursuit of a dream?”
There is only one truth.
That there is no ONE truth.
That there is no ONE God.
So you need to have faith on just this: That there is life ahead, waiting to be explored. Enjoy the journey. It’s destination death after all.
MADRAS INK. 