Are we religious? (concluding...)

I don’t know about others, whether they are or not. But as far as I am concerned, I am not a religious person. I think rather than being calling myself a religious man, I should use a different term like communal, sectarian, follower (blind follower), believer (irrational), self-deception grouper, one among the herd of sheep. I am not religious because I am still unable to accept one God. Because if I says my type of God is the only God, then what about the others. What about the god whom millions other are following.

I am not religious because I still believe in heaven and hell. Where heaven is something good and hell is bad. Two opposite poles for two different deeds. I often think if animals had a brain like us and had they been thinking over this heaven and hell stuff, I am sure all the carnivorous (flesh eaters) would go in major depression and become schizophrenic and hysterical that they killed all their lives and they ought to go to the HELL.

I am not religious because I don’t speak what I think, and I don’t think what I do, and I don’t do what I speak. There is complete lack of coordination between thinking, acting, and communicating.

Gandhiji’s three monkeys. Yes, at least we followed Gandhiji to the point where we could think ourselves as monkeys and no further. It takes great courage to be like his three monkeys. I don’t have that courage.

The religion talks of union, unity with others; on the other hand, when I introspect and look in my deepest corners, I find myself divided into so many parts that I forget to remember which part means me. From the time I wake up to the time I sleep, I meet with different people and I adjust myself according to them. To the commuters I am different, to the office boy I am different, to colleagues, I am different, to boss I am different. And I am different when I am with friends and different when I am with my family. Living so many lives but still unable to tell myself which is my true self. My life is controlled by others. My how to speak, how to act, how to behave all depends on my surrounding. I am not religious because I differentiate not only in others but in my own self.

I think I am not religious in any sense from any corner and in any dimension. Then I think of the old saying about a tree. It is said that even if you throw a stone at a tree, it would not retaliate by throwing the stone back, it will give you sweet, juicy fruits. The same fruits for which the tree is doing all the hard work of existing, and dividing, and growing and everything. And it does not mind whether you are good or bad, follower of which section, or what. I think that is its nature - To give fruits. To give air to breathe, even when you kill it and cut it. You can use it for so many things. Because it is the religion of a tree to give, to help, to be useful for others.

I am not religious because the tree knows its religion and behaves accordingly but I don’t. I don’t know my nature or religion. I don’t know how to behave and therefore I always change masks and dresses and acts in mediocrity.

(the art is taken from Osho Art)

Are We Religious? (part one)

I often think when I see people in queue visiting a temple or any religious place, Am I Religious? Because I never go there. In fact I never liked to go there. I tried a lot, went a couple of times, but could not make it a habit. I think I am not religious if it is a prerequisite to be called religious. Every one else in my family, friends, relatives are just religious. Some do fasting once a week, some chants morning mantras, and others pay offerings to the God and the priest. They do all the rituals required and that too "religiously." They even make plans for such happenings in advance. I have friends who do not use onions and garlic in their homes. They are so pure, veggie, and religious. I can have an omelet on any day of the year. I wouldn’t take a bath if I am sleepy even on the "biggest" day of the year. And my parents would call me a "sinner." To the point they have stopped calling such words. They are so used to my "every day is the same day" attitude. I have no good habits. I never applied "early to bed and early...." My "to bed" and "to rise" depends on -"it depends on the day, how the night is going to be and it depends on the night, how the morning would be." Regarding meals, I eat only when I am hungry whether it is 4 in the morning or 5 in the evening. Some of my close friends who have been with me for quite long calls me a "junglee" beast.

One day I was reading a magazine. There was an article 'how good and how bad are you? And I scored 1 out of 100. 1 being the most in badness and 100 being the least in badness. I was shocked at it.

(The art work has been taken from Osho Art)

The Inner God

When we say that we are a consciousness which can recognize God's existence and love God back that would mean the infinity let the consciousness evolve into humans and the humans love him back. Why would the omnipotent or infinite require our love and for what?

To worship and to praise him! And whatever term we use, like love and hatred, life and death, these are relative terms. Infinite is above life and death, creation and destruction. Nothing gets formed from nothingness to somethingness nor ends into nothingness.

The problems arises when we think from the way we are made to think. Why should we assume if there is a creation there has to be a creator, because we are programed to think like that from our births. But here we are dealing with infinite I do not see a way to think anything about infinite with this mind.

This is something above and beyond this restraints of mind and when i say this i mean when God is present, we are not; and when we think ourselves as something very intelligent, God is unthinkable. Only one way we can realize him, and this, by being him. When we realize we are part of him and we always were a part.

We for ages have assumed that we and God are ‘two’ Is there any basis for such assumption. By God, we mean ‘omnipotent, omnipresent, and above time, space, and reason”

Having said that, God is everywhere. If he is everywhere than we must be taking birth, live, and die in God himself.

Whatever is there, is dwelling in God. Where ever there is creation (galaxies, stars, planets), where ever there is destruction and where ever there is nothing, its all happening in God. God has always been there and it will for ever and we are so small, helpless with a few grams of brain in our head, we cannot say that god and us are different.

Like a wave forms in an ocean, it takes shape and size, it rises up, and then it falls and vanishes. The wave was a part of ocean, it got created in ocean, it tried to rise (that is its life), then it died and become part of ocean. Same is we and god.

When Jesus said “forgive them as they don't know what they are doing”

He meant (could have) they don't know that they cannot kill me as I am not body,they can destroy my body but they cant my soul and they are so innocent that they even don't know that it is the same energy (light) that makes them breathe and live as myself and they cannot destroy this energy. So whom they are trying to kill - my body or the same source of energy.

No they don't know.

Have you ever gave a thought that when you produce fire where it comes from and when you extinguish it where it goes. And the same fire will burn in anything and everything every time you try to create fire. The soul is like this only. It never takes birth nor dies. It is there, everywhere and it expresses and takes forms of life.

GOD of the World or The World of GODS (concluding....)

T he primitive man worshipped forces of nature, to say - fire, lightening and thunder, rains; certain animals like elephant, snakes, certain birds; trees; and other things which he could think in a way helped his course and to pacify them.

Some Gods were invented out of good luck, well being, and prosperity. They even exist now in some old cultures and tribes.

Then man began to think logically and the old Gods were discarded and came the new ones which were more powerful and sounded real.

‘Sanatan dharma’ which means from the time immemorial was prevalent in Indian subcontinent for ages. Hindus considered Sanatan dharma not as religion but as a way of life. Their holy book 'Vedas' give the concept of ‘Tatvamasi’ means ‘He is I’. I stands for everything, matter as well as energy. Then came Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and other religions. The other ideologies like Zen, Confucius, Sufis, etc., followed.

It is strange to note that 3000 years back, there were hardly any religious battles fought. But within the past 3000 years, man came up with so many religions and more than 15,000 religious battles were fought just to prove the supremacy of one religion over the other.

No religion or God practice violence, but history is full of such incidents.

Later, the primary religions were further divided into sects due to difference of opinions; and it happened in every religion. Following this, came up small sects and a large number of self-acclaimed Gods everywhere in the world adding to the list of Gods.

A baby grows up watching his parents worshiping God and thinks that it is a world created by ‘that’ God which they worship. But as he grows up, he finds he was wrong. It is not like this as ‘one God of the world’ but it is like ‘My God of the world.’

I always wonder that among the millions of galaxies scattered in the universe, we know about Gods of only our galaxy that is Milky Way and that too of only our solar system and our planet earth. What if there is life like us in other planets and stars of our galaxy. Which religion would they be following? And this is only about our galaxy. There are millions of galaxies in the universe and there are innumerable solar systems, stars, planets. And if there is life out there and people believe like we in some form of God; which God would that be? Will it be Hindus, Buddhists, Christians or what? But when we have difference of opinion in our planet and therefore too many religions won’t there be millions of religions and billions of Gods in other parts of the universe. That would count around more than the total population of our planet.

It’s very difficult to understand that we fight in the name of God. Can you imagine a person kills other person only because his religion is different from his own religion. While committing this crime don’t he think that the man he is killing in the name of God is also a creation of God. You make the God happy by killing God’s creation. Contrasting!

The prophets and the messengers sacrificed themselves for us for what? To fight over their names or what? They sacrificed because they wanted to prove by their sacrifice that their life was for others, to spread the message of love. They never killed anyone; instead they got killed for others. Why cannot we understand their sacrifice?


The concept of 'The God Within'

The definition of God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and who is free from the constraints of dimensions of time, space, etc. If we follow the above definition then we will come to know that it is all God and nothing else.

All the planets, stars, galaxies, the indefinite expanding universe, everything is in God. That means all living and nonliving things are part of God. We are born, we breathe, and we die in God. There is God outside us and inside us. The air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, the rains, the nature, the matter, energy, the creation, the destruction. Every cell of our body is God.

That is why we cannot see him. If we want to see him then we must stand as a separate entity from God which is not possible because where we will we stand separate; anywhere we move, we move in God. When we consider ourselves as separate from God, we can’t see him and when we accept God as omnipresent, then we cease to exist because we are in him only.

So, if we are part of him, what do not we feel like him, what are we full of miseries? Because of our ignorance!

We just have to be aware, aware that we are dwelling in God; God is within us and everywhere. The awareness will make us to see things in clarity. That there is no such thing like miseries or pains, good or bad, birth and death. It is all but one single entity as God.

Only a person who is aware that there is no pain or pleasure, birth or death can sacrifice his life for others with a smile on his face.

Where comes this awareness from?

It is here in our heart. God is not far away. Is very close, closest to us! More closer than anything! Just be aware of him and do nothing else. And the only way to do that is to stop, be silent, sit quiet with closed eyes and start the journey within.

It is very difficult to start within because we have learnt for ages that journey is meant to be outside away our body.

But this is a different journey, spiritual journey, journey to the innermost core of our soul.

(Since we all love and worship God in our own ways, I request you all to please read this post and leave their sincere comments, criticisms, views, and suggestions for this post. All comments are highly respected. Your sincere comment is my reward for this post!)
Mirror Image

GOD of the World or The World of GODS

When and how did humans start thinking in terms that there has to be a creator for all the stuff?

Basically it just started with time management. Previously, when we were like any other animal on the planet, more than 70% of our daytime, we used to spent in search of food.

Then came the age when man learnt to hunt animals for food. This saved time for him. Further more, when man started living in groups, owning lands, and doing farming and raising cattle, then he had more time when he had nothing to do.

The time saved from hunting and searching food was devoted in socializing, recreating, learning how to speak in a particular way (language), and things other than food, shelter, and clothing.

Man could now defend himself from higher animals (lions, bears, elephants) and other things. A group of 10-15 men with spears and beating drums can fear the bunch of lions away. He became the master of all.

But there were things which he had can’t control. Like storms, rains, lightening, shaking of earth, diseases, and the most frightening DEATH. Since he could somehow protect himself from all the above things but when he was confronted with death he was helpless.

There was no way to avoid death.

He learnt the first bitter truth of this world. "The one which has a beginning has to have an end too.' When he became helpless with these forces of nature he got an idea, to trick with these forces.

Dog has been the oldest friend and pet of man even before he started raising cattle and chickens and keeping horses.

The dog was the first animal that had a very smart understanding of man's psychology. He knew that man needs to feed his ego every time. So he tricked him with his tail. Whenever he sees him he waves his tail and show his love in its language that "Oh master! I am your servant, I am to guard you and when I am doing so much for your well being wont you provide me, the poor fellow, a little food and your company (for ever! until you die first or unfortunately I).

The master had developed, in his subconscious, the dog’s virtue.

He started pleasing the nature's forces. He started worshipping them, offerings in the form of flowers, animal killings, etc. He understood that if he keeps them happy and contended, they will not do any harm to him, instead they would protect him and his belongings.

Here started superstitions and other customs, some good and a lot of bad ones. But as the time gone by, and with his experience, he understood that these rains and lightening and storms are not big deal. They are not doing it on their own. (When he learnt about the cycle of winter, rains, summer, he can predict storms by looking at the color of the sky.) But ruling out these forces did not stop him from worrying because still there was 'death' and he had no answer to that.

Then he came up with the concept of God.

( to be continued...)

Mirror Image

I can buy your body for money:(concluding part)

(cont.. from previous post.....)

The old man said - “Look son! I am a mystic and we have a community which performs rituals during this month of the year every year. We need human body/parts.

Not dead man’s body, but alive and fresh. We make offerings to our God.

“Rubbish!”

“Then you know nothing about this world! These are secrete communities which never go public. We live in dark, away from population. Our ways are totally different than you ‘poor’ humans.

“I was watching you coming everyday here and I decided that you are going to be the offering this year.

“And what will I get for my body?”

“My good wishes for the next world and next life.”

“No way! Who has seen the other world? You cannot fool me old man. There is no such thing as other world or other life. Whatever is there, it is here in this world. No heaven, no hell. And life is hell for me for the time being!”

The strange old man continued - “OK, here is the deal. Whatever parts I will take, in return I will pay cash to your family. Will this be okay with you?” Here is the deal. He took out a slip of paper and started reading.-

“1 eye - 1 million”
“2 eyes - 10 million”
“1 kidney - 1 million”
“2 kidneys – 2 million.”

“Then there is liver, pancreas, spleen, intestine, vocal cord, spine, pelvic bone. “We don’t buy scrotum! You can keep it.” Hahaha!

“Then smaller items include nose, eyelids, and other things. That is written in the miscellaneous section, you can read if you want.”

“All fixed rates, no bargaining!”

There is one option for you. If you want to sell only single body part, there can also be a deal.

“1 eye and we will give you 1 million.”

“Oh young man! why are you ending your life? Give me one of your eyes and one kidney, you will get 2 millions.”

Old man paused for a second and said - OK! For you, I can give 3 million bucks. Then you go back home, buy a house, a car, get marry and enjoy life. But please don’t forget to invite me, hahaha!”

“Are you sure old man what you are saying?” The old man gestured him to peek in his bag. It was full of cash. Hundreds of packets of thousand-dollar bills.

“OK! let me think. Can you give me some time?”

No! I told you in the beginning. Tomorrow is the day and if you are not a deal then I will go and find someone else for this job. So, hurry up son!”

“OK five minutes?” DJ asked politely.

“Given!”

“Can you tell me my total value?” DJ asked in hesitation.

“Total value???? -- 2 eyes… 2 kidneys….. liver, lungs….. a a a…. It is round about 100 million+ bugs.”

“So here is the deal. Get me the account number of your Dad. I will get the money transferred in his account and you confirm with him. But before tomorrow noon. It’s urgent. Then I will take you to my place.”

DJ thought - “I am 100 millions’ worth and holy **** I was ending my life for nothing. When I am dead I am 100 millions worth. What if, I’m alive? This old man is trying to fool me with money.” “No way I don’t trust him. I am more than 100 millions worth.”

Drop the idea, he thought. He said “no I don’t think so. I have postponed my plan.”

The mystic said “as you wish” “Now I will have to find someone else. You wasted my time for nothing.” The old man disappeared in the dark.

A few seconds later, he thought he should have taken the old man’s address. He turned around and ran in the darkness where he was gone. There was no one except a gush of wind with rich fragrance of flowers.

He came back to his room and sat down with his eyes closed.

Hmmn…… But old man’s bag was full of cash, it must be at least more than a 50 million. Huhhhhhhhhhh……………. and he slept that night so well like he had not in the past many years.

(next blog title: "a God's world or a world of Gods?"
Mirror image

I can buy your body for money:

He lost everything! Well, he had nothing to lose in terms of possessions and material things, but what was most disturbing was his shattered confidence and his low self-esteem.

He did not get a nice job, in fact any job. His family waiting back in village was dreaming about their better future. When he gets a good job, a rented house, he will take them with him to the city.

His thoughts raced like hell. He got crushed and bashed and rundown and spread all over into bits and pieces, he could not gather himself. He was so lonely; he could not even share this with any body. This is one of the worst moments in an individual’s life, when hope dies.

The new bridge was recently inaugurated, so the old one was abandoned and usually without any traffic. He looked at the violent flow of Ganga (river). The turbulent waters took the **** out of him.

He gathered courage and stood on the iron bars of the bridge wall. He was about to take a jump; he suddenly heard someone call his name –
“DJ.”

He pulled back himself and turned his head in the direction of the voice. There was a strange old man standing there. He was awfully dressed. There was dirt all over his body.

DJ asked – “what?” “Can’t you see what I am going through!”

“What!” - asked the old man.

“I am ending my life or what!”

‘Why?”

“None of your ‘damn’ business!”

“OK. I won’t ask. I have no time to hear your rubbish. I am in a hurry. You drown yourself or do whatever you want. I have nothing to do with that.”

“Then why the hell you stopped me from jumping?” And Hey! How you come to know my name? Who are you?” Tell me, else I will take you with me. He got a little harsh on him.

“Calm down young man! Calm down! “ Just tell me a few things and I will vanish from your sight.

“Shoot!”

“Do you want proper disposal of your body?

“No!” he replied

“-that means you don’t care about your funeral?”

“No!”

“Okay! Then, would you like to do me a favor?”

“what!!!””

“Look son! _________ to be continued....

Dedicated to New Friends in Blogspot

[This post is dedicated to all those whom I have replied within the last few days, who are those blogger which I have started with and learnt a lot about blogging and friendship.]

I have not written any posts for a few days. I have decided I will read as many new blogs as possible, and give honest comments on that and then I will restart new posts.

Actually I feel that we expect everybody else to regularly visit our blogs, read it patiently, give you a couple of clicks and hits, and in the end leave a nice comment. Whats' this! Be a grown up!

To develop that kind of attitude in your readers you will have to :

First behave in that manner that you love reading stuffs from others. You wait for their new posts to read.

You feel happy if they have written a nice post and you comment with your heart.

Then you will find you won't have to ask in Google groups for comments or visits.

In fact you can ask directly with your readers "Hey! what's the matter . Why are you not visiting my blog?"

Try to create an atmosphere of affection and attachment with your readers, that you care about them, you care about their thoughts and writings, you care to read and reply.

If you do this on a routine basis, you will find within a few months you will have a great family of people who are like you - all nice, caring and sharing.

Don't run after traffic and AdSense and clicks and hits (it will come invariably) unless you are a professional and have started the blog only to earn money. This way even if you don't earn a single penny, I bet you folks, you will earn love and affection of lots of lots of friends with the medium of this blog concept and that love and affection cannot be calculated or compared in terms of money . It is far more precious. It's what which goes with us till the end or who knows even after the end when the new 'beginning' starts.

Please do tell me if you have an opinion any different from this. I will wait.

Bye for now.

Mirror Image

Online relations

It is okay to have friends through chat, emails, and blogs but one should set a limit to the extent of that relationship. Internet relationship, when goes beyond a certain point it turns into an illusive hangover. The person starts believing without seeing. He/she is so much involved with the imaginative world that it works like a sedative on the brain. It is very difficult to get off such hangover. Recently, an Indian lady (separated), with one girl child, met someone in Australia through chat. She went there with her kid with all the jewelry and money. She and her girl were found murdered there. It hurts but it is true. Not necessarily every person is a cheater, but we need to be careful, open our eyes, ears, mind, and intellect before committing to such a relationship.

Blogging With Honesty

I was on top when I published my first article. I thought it was too easy to get recognition. In high spirits, I completed 7 articles in less than 10 days. Then, I waited and waited and kept on - neither did I receive a ‘comment’ nor did a ‘hit.’

I did almost everything; AdSense, Reader, Feeds, Links, SEO and still nothing worked. Then one fine day on the weekend, I sat down with a pen and paper and started ruling out what was wrong with my blog. And I came up with a solution that itself was written in one of the articles on blogging tips:--

It was – Google likes CONTENT; lots of quality content.

I was doing everything except content and lots of quality content. I thought I was not being honest with my blog. When I asked that - if the reader does not like my blog or if my blog is not worth search engines likings’ and then I asked myself ‘do I myself like my blog and - am I satisfied with my blog content’s potential to attract crawling by se’s. The answer was NO. I must be honest with my blog as I used to be with my graduation.

Publicizing and monetizing works only if a blog or site has quality content.

Write with authority on whatever you publish as a reader will come to you after putting aside millions of sites only when you supply him what he needs and what he cannot get anywhere except your place.

THUMB RULE:

1. Be simple, simpler, simplest.

2. Quality content.

3. Authoritative writing.

4. Easy to read and understand and easy to surf within your site.

5. Links to nice and well-doing sites.

6. Cross-linking.

7. To the point.

8. Write “not for yourself, but for reader.”

9. Honest blogging takes time.

10. It is like the white money, “difficult to earn, but ones earned then gets going.”

11. It can take a few months to years if you patiently and passionately work with your blog.

12. Keep in mind that you are serving some need for the needful. It will not go in vain.

13. Add value to your article with authenticity. The reader should have full faith in what you have served him and that information should not be crosschecked.

14. Information is what people are googling about.

15. Social networking: emails, forums, feeds, reader, making friends. Exchanging and sharing is what the blog is all about.

16. Write summary, review, abstracts, notes, DIY’s, do’s and don’s, how to’s that is what people out there are looking for.

17. While doing this, side by side publicize and campaign for your stuff. Then only you can think of earning and not before.

18. In the end – answer to the ‘comments’ honestly.

19. Ask for feedbacks, tips, suggestions from the readers.Promise your reader with something new and interesting every time.