Sunday, September 26, 2010

Two Extremes of Indian Life

I have seen the two extremes of the Indian life in 2 days. While going from Jamshedpur to Ranchi, I saw the poverty of the state of Jharkhand. And today in PVR Saket, I saw the opulence of Delhi. After the scenes of yesterday, today there was a slight guilt at the way money flows around. The latter India seemed unaware about the existence of the former one. The latter one gives the foundation for the illusion that India is shining, literally too with all the lightings in the mall against the absence of the electric poles in the former.

By the way, tomorrow is the first day of my job. A new phase of life starts now. At the end of the thesis, I took some resolutions regarding this phase. And I hope that this time, against the norm, I wont break them.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Who is God ?

Who is God ? Some energy. Or some spirit. Or some superhuman of distant past. No one knows. In fact the question that I would rather ask is what is God ?

God is the belief in the goodness of the world. He is the wish that comes true. He is the lucky escape from an accident. He is the last hope when everything else falls apart. He is that chance that comes unexpectedly. He is the closure that comforts us. He is the reason for the unexplainable.

One might say that in the end it is all a game of probability. Then he is the one rolling the dice.

Why do we need God ?

"Whatever may be the position of philosophy, whatever may be the position of metaphysics, so long as there is such a thing as death in the world, so long as there is such a thing as weakness in the human heart, so long as there is a cry going out of the heart of man in his very weakness, there shall be a faith in God." - Swami Vivekananda

Why do we need God ? The chance factor in life is mind boggling. To think of it, there are so many things which are beyond our control.  The uncertainties of life are beyond our grasp. So much so that we don't even think about them. And the biggest uncertainty of all is how it will all end? And what after that? It is for these very reasons that we need God. We need him not as an answer to the uncertainties but as an assurance that the answers will be sought. And we need him most when we became aware of these uncertainties. And when we feel helpless in the circumstances  around us, in our moments of weakness.

I myself remember God from exams to exams. And sometimes before an important presentation or a meeting. And sometimes when I am anxious. To think of it, its hypocritical. But I guess, hypocrisy is as inherent a trait of human beings as is selfishness.