I was again forced to think when I came across a conversation wherein a Brahmin boy was debating and forcefully asserting that Quran is the most sacred text as he has read it. When asked if he has read any of the Shrutis (Veda/Upanishad), he drew a blank. When further quizzed on what it is about Islam that he finds worthy enough to declare the finality of spiritual/Human quest. He said, Quran is unequivocal about how the god is and has a hierarchy (Only through Mohd) and Personally sits on the day of judgement to deliver justice to the deprived.. I was left speechless - Did someone think of North Korea (Supreme leader), Stalin, Idi Amin. If that is the idea of God that people get out of Holy books then rightfully islam is in danger, not from anyone else but the deranged, holier than thou, secularists & assorted commies.
And then I saw a video of Arun shourie at the launch of his book Does He know a mother’s heart – How Suffering Refutes Religions. Arun Shourie declared his agnosticism to the world in
2011 with the publication of the profoundly moving, book. I must admit I have not read the book but only excerpts. The book is a result of experiences he has gnu through with the pain and suffering of his spastic son,
Aditya, and his wife, Anita, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease.
Shourie raised deeply philosophical issues related to suffering in human life and finds the ‘answers’ popularly found in
the world’s major religions to be inadequate, cruel(Sometimes), as the
explanations, he says, seem to mock at pain and suffering.
I could no longer hold back putting my own thoughts down to the benefit of people who care to read about our own ethos. Arun Shourie has been at the forefront of defending Hinusim/Indic thought against Abrahamic faiths & assorted atheist/Commies & his thoughts deeply moved me.
The trouble with Sanatan today is that there is hardly any opportunity for learning understanding our shastras. The traditional ways were 1. Grand parents 2. Gurukulam & both are in a terminal decline..
With the onset of nuclear families, grand parents live separate and most of them rarely got chance to look beyond livelihood. Instead, we pick up bits and pieces as we grow up, through
the media, books and articles, which only confound us further, given the vast
scope of the subject matter involved. Hence, the faith of the common English
educated Hindu rests on shaky ground. One develops an emotional value for
religion without clarity of understanding. An unexpected setback in life is
often sufficient to topple this emotional faith.
This is the reason why we find even highly educated
Hindus like that IIM graduated Brahmin boy or Shourie taking recourse to agnosticism, unable to resolve their
doubts or come to terms with pain and suffering. Even at the ceremonies where we are exposed to Shloka/Mantras i.e. Birth, Yagyopveet, Marriage etc we go through rituals mechanically because we do not understand the
Sanskrit mantras uttered by the priest, nor does the priest make any effort to explain & even if the poor guy tries, we want to hurry up.
and then I read beautiful peace by Vijayvani more or less focussed on Shourie's tirade against Ishwara for which he used the word, 'God'
Rehman/IIM Grad/Shourie's God against Ishwara
प्रहलाद ने जब नरसिंह भगवान् की उपासना की थी तब उन्होंने कहा था। "ये सारा ब्रह्मांड आपका शरीर है. इशके आदि मै आप ही कारण रूप से थे. सारा जगत आप ही हैं। अंत में आप ही अवधी के रूप में रहेंगे और बीच मैं इशकी प्रतीति के रूप में केवल आप ही हैं।
संपूर्ण जगत पृथ्वी, जल, आकाश, सगुन निर्गुण जो दिखाई दे रहा और जो नहीं भी दिखाई दे रहा है वोह इश्वर ही है। परन्तु मन कि बड़ी व्यथा है। यह कामना के लिए आतुर रहता है।
प्रहलाद ने जब नरसिंह भगवान् की उपासना की थी तब उन्होंने कहा था। "ये सारा ब्रह्मांड आपका शरीर है. इशके आदि मै आप ही कारण रूप से थे. सारा जगत आप ही हैं। अंत में आप ही अवधी के रूप में रहेंगे और बीच मैं इशकी प्रतीति के रूप में केवल आप ही हैं।
संपूर्ण जगत पृथ्वी, जल, आकाश, सगुन निर्गुण जो दिखाई दे रहा और जो नहीं भी दिखाई दे रहा है वोह इश्वर ही है। परन्तु मन कि बड़ी व्यथा है। यह कामना के लिए आतुर रहता है।
That gent went on and on arguing furiously that why should he believe a God who is declared to be
all-compassionate and almighty, but watches on mutely as human beings suffer
or, worse, brings down calamities on people as punishments of Karma. Why he doesn't step in to salvage the situation like a X'tian god or Islamic god who is ever eager to overlook all your moral laxities in lieu of something you do for the cause elf islam. When I enquired on these specific activities he went nuts abusing.. for benefit of all they are i.e. Convert kuffar to the true path by hook or crook, Do good to Muslims & slay slay the unbelievers in case they don't accept Allah & Mohd.
Clearly, this is the intolerant, judgmental Abrahamic God who sits in heaven and rules with an iron hand over his tribe of believers. Karma is very simple, You must accept responsibility of your actions & subsequent responsibility of it. It teaches self control & responsibility unlike abrahamic memes wherein you can continue to do what you as there is a Jesus/Allah/Mohd who will take care of your"sins" in lieu of converting the non believers.
Clearly, this is the intolerant, judgmental Abrahamic God who sits in heaven and rules with an iron hand over his tribe of believers. Karma is very simple, You must accept responsibility of your actions & subsequent responsibility of it. It teaches self control & responsibility unlike abrahamic memes wherein you can continue to do what you as there is a Jesus/Allah/Mohd who will take care of your"sins" in lieu of converting the non believers.
A creator who creates the universe while remaining outside of it
is a logical fallacy which Hinduism never subscribed to. If the creator is not
located outside the universe and if he cannot be inside the universe, then
where is the creator located? The third and only possibility left is that the
creator and the created are not two different entities. The Isha Upanishad
declares, “Isavasyam Idam sarvam” (the whole universe is
pervaded by Isha).
Every object which is created presupposes a material and an
intelligent cause. For example, a pot. The potter is the intelligent cause who
has the knowledge of the pot and the clay is the material cause. If the object
to be created is the whole universe itself, then the intelligent cause is Isvara
who has the perfect knowledge of what is to be created. But what is the
material cause of the universe? Since everything is yet to be created, Isvara
could not have borrowed this material from anywhere. Thus, the only logical
possibility is that Isvara is not only the intelligent cause but also the
material cause of the universe. Just as the clay pervades the whole pot, Isvara
pervades the whole universe as its material cause.
The Upanishads give us two beautiful metaphors to comprehend this
stunning conclusion. The first is the example of a spider and its web: Yathornanabhihi
srujate gruhnate cha – just as a spider weaves its web out of its own body
and swallows it back when it desires, the creation is born of, is sustained by
and dissolved back into Isvara. (Mundaka Upanishad: 1/1/7)
The second example is that of a dreamer and his dream: “The dream
is an even better example: you are the creator of the dream as you have the
power and the intelligence to create the dream world, based on your own
experiences, memories, etc. in the waking. You are also the material from which
the space/time and all the objects such as rivers, mountains, road etc. and
people, yourself and everyone around you in the dream are created. As the
material cause of the dream creation, you pervade the whole dream world. You
are the lord of the dream world, both efficient and material cause of the dream
world. Similarly, Isvara is both the efficient and material cause of the entire
universe”
"The Vedic concept of Ishvara is thus the logical finale of the
vexing problem of creation and its creator. Thus, Isvara pervades you and me
also! So, when the question of suffering comes, we cannot create a bogeyman
called God to blame Him for our suffering, for He pervades the one who is
suffering too!"
यदि यह जीव और जगत ईश्वर ही है तो जीव, जगत और ईश्वर में अंतर क्या है ? तत्त्व दृष्टि से उपनिषद् कहते हैं , "एकमेवा अद्वितीय ब्र्हम " (छान्दोग्य उपनिषद् ६.२. १ ) for the benefit of english readers, it proclaims, " There is no existence aprt from Brahamam". It means Jeev, jagat and Ishwara is same, not two. When you suffer b'cos go your karma in earlier births, he is the one suffering through you.. its the cosmic balance of Give & take.
Educated indians' (English speaking largely) ideas about ‘God’ and his idea of the universe are static to the point of stagnation with no scope for evolution, improvement or growth at all. Taking this argument to its logical conclusion, one will end up with the final question: “If ‘God’ was to create a world perfect in all aspects, then why create the world at all?”
यदि यह जीव और जगत ईश्वर ही है तो जीव, जगत और ईश्वर में अंतर क्या है ? तत्त्व दृष्टि से उपनिषद् कहते हैं , "एकमेवा अद्वितीय ब्र्हम " (छान्दोग्य उपनिषद् ६.२. १ ) for the benefit of english readers, it proclaims, " There is no existence aprt from Brahamam". It means Jeev, jagat and Ishwara is same, not two. When you suffer b'cos go your karma in earlier births, he is the one suffering through you.. its the cosmic balance of Give & take.
Educated indians' (English speaking largely) ideas about ‘God’ and his idea of the universe are static to the point of stagnation with no scope for evolution, improvement or growth at all. Taking this argument to its logical conclusion, one will end up with the final question: “If ‘God’ was to create a world perfect in all aspects, then why create the world at all?”
To be concluded in second part on Karma ..
Quotes from blog by Vijay vani
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