DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD?

This one could be quite a topic of contention… I implore the reader to keep an open mind, since these views are entirely a personal opinion and thus justifiable. Of course, any criticism is always welcome.

 

I have often been asked this question: “Do you believe in God?” and my answer has always been “No”. It’s not surprising for those who ask to look at me in surprise then. I’m another atheist for them

 

But I need to clarify. I am no atheist. An atheist is one who believes that no God exists, whereas I do not hold that view. I’m certain that God exists; he exists for all those who believe in him. But I am not one of them.

 

Confusing, I’m sure. In order to clarify my point I want to know firstly, who exactly is God? He’s the Supreme Being, the creator of the universe; the creator of all living things…is that what your answer is? More or less like that? But hey! The last time I heard, all living things were the result of a biological process.

 

Okay….I’m not mocking anyone. You sure can challenge me by asking what I think of the creation of the universe. Who did that? That’s not a biological process. You got me there…I don’t know how the universe came into being. Maybe it was indeed God who created it. But that was millions of years ago. No human saw it. So how do we know for certain? And even if God made humans later….what is he doing now? Is the universe complete in itself? Or is he out making other universes? Or was creation only to be done then, and no more now?

 

Creation is not just the handiwork of God. Even man creates. Even animals do. Even chemical reactions do. So creation is not just in the hands of God.

 

In the ancient ages, in the Stone Age for instance, the forces of nature were worshipped. They were Gods then…the sun, moon, wind, water etc. So God was just a force then. Later as civilizations advanced, kings were worshipped. So Gods assumed a human form. And now as I know, Gods are Supreme Beings who rule the world, rule the universe.

 

I’m not challenging anybody’s faith in God. As I said before, I believe he exists, but I only want to point out the many definitions people offer are not complete in themselves. I don’t claim to know any better or be correct but what I believe is God I state next.

 

Often, man finds himself, trapped in situations which offer him nothing but negativity. They could be worries, troubles, problems or simply helplessness. We often fight with feelings of sadness, depressions, pain, hurt and a lot more. These are the times when a person has to fight against himself and emerge as a victor. Before I let you know where this is leading let me tell you: No feeling is born outside the heart of the man himself; it is we, ourselves, who create every feeling we feel, inside us. Situations occur outside, but the feelings we go through are a product of our own thought and soul.

 

Now when we are trapped, it is a web of our own feelings. It is we ourselves who create that web, unknowingly, unintentionally. And then to pull us out we need something, we need someone. Don’t be surprised when I tell you it is our own selves in the end that pulls us out. There could be help from others, but ultimately what pulls you out is your own self.

 

Now when we are trapped, it isn’t easy to keep a straight mind to be able to think of a way out. It is a contradiction in itself; to trap oneself and at the same time save your own self. It is here that God comes into picture.

 

When we lie in trouble, we think of God. We believe in him, and we know he will help us out. We pray, ask for help, plead, beg, and hope for miracles. We make promises, we ask for strength. Now in whatever manner you think of it; as God giving you the strength or as God himself taking you out in his arms, it is your faith that actually pulls you out. You know that there is someone, out there, who will help you, and you begin to hope, you begin to think positive, you begin to drive your negativity away. As the intensity of the negativity decreases, you can think straight and you find a way out. And in the end, you thank God.

 

Now that seems to be an almost flawless discussion. Then why do I still not believe in God? Because for me, as for everyone else, it is a matter of faith. When I lay trapped, I pray not, I ask not. I think; I think for my own self, of a way to get out. It is my soul, my conscience, my mind, my heart; it is me who helps then. I derive my strength not from anything else but from inside. If I can call that inner strength as God, then indeed, I do believe in God.

 

You could further debate by saying “What about the times when we ask not, but thank him?” Indeed we thank God, but when exactly? When he supposedly gives you something? Sure? Or is it when we know that we don’t have something in particular and we get it, then we thank him? Does everyone who believe in God thank him? For a new day? For the life you have? For every working limb of yours? For everyone you love? For everything that is yours? No you don’t thank him always….. You only do it when you realize not having something and then get it. You rarely thank him for what you already have (or maybe you really do thank him, and it is merely my ignorance that hasn’t seen much of it).

 

What about all those things that happen in the name of God? Bloodshed, torture, mass murders…how do you justify those? Indeed you say its for the God…but which God demands that? I thought if there is a God, he will not ask anything of you, He’s supposed to be God!

 

I am not disclaiming the existence of God. He is certainly there, only that the definitions, the theories are flawed. As long as there is no justifiable and valid theory in my view, I prefer not to believe in God that others define. I certainly don’t believe in idol worship. I certainly don’t think of him as possessing a human form. I don’t imagine him residing in any place of worship or of any of his words engraved in the holy books. I don’t think of him as restricted by the boundaries of a religion. I don’t see him having his followers following a strict code of conduct.

 

I simply don’t believe in the God that you believe in. It is thus that I say that I don’t believe in God. All the definitions you give me as “God doing this” and “God doing that”, I can very well contradict them. For me it is entirely a matter of faith as I see it today. And my faith is invested entirely in my soul….nothing else.

AS THEY SAY…

Some of the best ones… too bad I didn’t come up with them on my own, earlier…

 

• Gossip isn’t scandal and it’s not merely malicious.
  

  It’s chatter about the human race by lovers of the same.
  

  —Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978), U.S. poet and author
  

   

• Keep your own secret, and get out other people’s
  

  —Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773),
  

  British statesman
  

   

• Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, ‘This is going to take more than one night.’”
  

  Charles M. Schulz
  

   

• I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you”
  

  Friedrich Nietzsche
  

   

• I have done that,” says my memory. “I cannot have done that” — says my pride, and remains adamant. At last — memory yields.”
  

  Friedrich Nietzsche
  

   

• Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option”
  

   

• To make the individual uncomfortable, that is my task”
  

  Friedrich Nietzsche
  

   

• Is man one of God’s blunders? Or is God one of man’s blunders?”
  

  Friedrich Nietzsche
  

   

• If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.
  

   

• Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
  

   

• I don’t suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
  

   

• I’m not sure what’s wrong… But it’s probably your fault.
  

   

• If you’re one in a million, there are six thousand people exactly like you.
  

   

• You were looking good from afar.. now you’re far from looking good.
  

   

• Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until they speak.
  

   

• Stop searching forever, happiness is right next to you
  

   

• Smile, it’s the second best thing you can do with your lips.
  

   

• I was an atheist till I realized that I was god
  

   

• Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; it was here first
  

   

• Reality continues to ruin my life
  

   

• If you cant say something good about someone, sit right here by me
  

  ~ Alice Roosevelt Longworth
  

   

• No reason is wrong for a good cause
  

   
   

   
   

   
   

FEELING THE FANGS WITHIN…

This was written in connection with something I do not wish to elaborate… but it’s the first sign of my defiance attitude…or shall I say… ‘I don’t care if I end up in the drain, as long as I’m smug and my mind is at peace.’ Its something only those with rebel instincts would understand…

 

The day, as most days, was NORMAL. I was doing something for certain, for that’s what you do anyways, but something insignificant enough for me to not remember. But it hardly matters what preceded the sequence of events. What matters is that I discovered a new alley down the lane, the astonishing part being that, I didn’t even know that it existed.

 

They was some clicking, in an irritating, persistent manner, somewhere within. I wanted to shut it out, there was no time to explore, much less to attend to it. But the mind rarely wishes to spare anything that’s new. Either pick it up by its hairs and kick it out, flush it down the drain, or else lay a red carpet and prepare an extravagant feast in the honor of the new arrival.

 

So I had to shut whatever it was I was doing and go down into the Alleyway. The noise was unlike anything I’d ever heard and I was just as anxious as excited. What was I going to stumble across?

 

I didn’t have to search too deep down. The Beast was in fact purring right beyond the entrance. It wasn’t pretty but was certainly docile. Just like a pet. And I was in love with it, although something was certainly clicking in my mind, it’s fangs. I could have it kicked out but I didn’t, and that was the first sign that the fangs were already scratching against my soul. That’s how I left it there, for good or bad, I refuse to comment.

 

And I felt its first taste this morning. (why it tasted like honey!). I didn’t want to go (you know where)… so there was this beast trying to turn me round. Why, I even gave it a shot and tried to dodge (my daring!) but then luck prevailed…no not senses, senses were deceiving, but my luck pushed me forward and now at the end of the day, I’m secretly glad for the way things turned out for the day was as smooth as a slice of cake sliding across my tongue.

 

Not that I’m concerned…in fact I’m secretly glad to have the beast down there, but knowing what it can do to my mind, I wonder if it’ll make me a rebel. Whether I’ll be glad or not is for me to wait and watch but right now, I need to feed it and ensure it stays healthy.

WHEN YOU STOP BEING COMFY…

 

Sometimes it can be extremely unnerving to be around some people (friends as they are called). I realize that you don’t necessarily have to be in disagreement with someone in order to understand that you dislike the person’s attitude. For instance, the unyielding, or shall I say, stubborn refusal to compromise and to go along with others. Ok, I completely understand that you don’t have to give in to others nor do you have to indulge in that which doesn’t catch your interest. But to put your foot down so firmly that its solely your way and only your way is unfair. Ok read again: In my case its either my way or no way, but never my way and only my way. At least with me there’s always scope for the other to stand where they are if not go ahead.

 

Since I cant speak from another head, I deem it wise to put an abrupt end to such thoughts. But of course, an observant and analytical mind is rarely spared of such minute intricacies of human behavior and attitude.

A TIME OF A LIFETIME…

 

In reference to my last 4 years (shall I be specific and say, my Engineering times)… those who’ve known me on the better side…esp in recent times…will know the significance of every word quoted

 

Whence comes this time?

 

Where I have learned & lost,

Labored, pained, cried,

Laughed, smiled, loved,

Hated, detested, bitched

Been an angel & decayed

 
 

I will dig up this time

Never to recall it, perhaps,

But there is no denying,

These have been the most memorable years

Of what I’ve lived thus far

THOSE GIRLS…!!

Oh how they oversubscribe

To punctilious behavior sometimes

So mechanical, so artificial

Yet people gape at them with awe

 
 

What is attractiveness without some flair?

Not that well-rehearsed movement of hands

Or the highly accented voice escaping their lips

That also give perfunctory kisses in the air

 
 

On every street corner you’ll find them now

Those chattering, twittering little birds

But well, beauty isn’t their forte

It belongs to the broad feathered ones

 
 

Beauty does not come with practice

It is an inherent attribute

It takes as little as a smile to define itself

Or the twinkling of an eye