How many Gods do you have?

I was recently talking to a friend who is not Indian. Somehow the topic got diverted to religion and here's what my friend said - "I never understand your religion, it looks like you guys have more gods in India than you have people... and you guys are over a billion and counting. What do you do with so many Gods? Don't you feel like consolidating??"

Well, what do you think my answer was... I know, your first guess is that it was another long lecture of Moral Science.
Well... for a change I kept it simple and just replied - "Well... thats India"

But today, I have a question to ask of you...
You agree that God is infinite... You also agree that as Humans, we are finite... The finite has been created by the infinite. Then how can the finite with its finite knowledge ever define the infinite into one single form?
What are we trying to achieve by saying that God is an entity with a form and a name?

We all agree that as kids (very little kids), we do whatever our elders say, we look up to them, we try to emulate them, we treat them as elders.
Don't you agree that not all elders are the same to us when we are kids. Some boys are closer to their moms and relate better with their moms. Some girls are closer to their dads. I was very close to my grandma, but whenever I wanted something, I would get close to my grandpa.

Can we create a rule that all the kids in the world should always only listen to their dads? No...
Kids will always relate to elders like whom they want to be. They try to copy the elders they look up to. Kids try really hard not to disappoint their favourite elders.

I know what you are thinking...What does this have to do with a billion gods?

It does.

As humans, we are unique independent characters. We have different preferences, we like different things, we love different people, we fear different things. On the same basis, each one of us could feel connected to a different symbol of faith.
For example, my grandma was very interested in scriptures, she used to read Bhagavat Gita very regularly, so obviously, she felt more connected to Krishna, so she used to Worship Krishna. A friend of mine is a very timid guy, doesn't want to hurt others, somehow he can connect better with Lord Mahaveera. My mom looks up to Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and fortune. I'm a simple guy and trust people very easily, I used to feel especially connected to Lord Shiva, so I grew up worshiping Lord Shiva.

How I wish that every one of us including I could transcend these forms. If only we could realise the fact that the God is a Force. Indescribable, Indestructible, Infinite... how could we even try to describe this Force into a single form?

When we worship these different forms, we are only worshipping an extension of something within us. When we worship the 9 forms of the Goddess, we are just looking up to the various aspects of ourselves. When we worship Goddess Lakshmi, we are just looking up to our desire for prosperity. When we worship Lord Shani, we are looking up to our own desire to be disciplined and so on.

My friend had no idea how correct he was when he made that statement. Just one correction. The number of Gods in India is not more than the people in India, its exactly the same. We have exactly the same number of Gods as the number of people in India.
We identify ourselves with one of the forms of that Force and each one of us is capable of eventually transcending that form to embrace the formless. I know that in this lifetime, that day will come. A day when numbers and names of God won't matter. A day when that Force will be a reason for unity among people. That day, no one will ask the question about god.

Have you identified your God yet?

Jo Dikhta hai...

I recently saw an advertisement on TV where people are buying stuff online and one of them doesn't trust it. So, one of the characters says "xxxx pe jo dikhta hai, wohi bikta hai". It means what is displayed is exactly what is sold to you.
All the credit for this sharing goes to the person who created this quote...

The amazing thing about language is that this same statement can be interpreted in a very different way...
Jo dikhta hai... wohi bikta hai...
What is displayed... is what is sold...
What is displayed....
Thats is what is sold...

So, if it is not displayed, it is not sold...

I used to work in a retail shop and the boss used to place very high importance on the display of the store...
He would pick out the best pieces himself and guide us to create the shop display... Interestingly, those would turn out the hottest selling items

Have you noticed one thing common across all the movie trailers... whether english or hindi movies... one thing is common across all trailers --- 90% of the best shots in the movie are shown in the trailers.

Even when you go for an interview, you wear your best shirt and tie...

One thing common across all this is to make sure that the best is at display...

What is displayed... is what is sold...
That which is displayed is sold...

Do you think it will make sense that I get the best merchandise in my shop but don't keep it on display???

Will it make sense that you have a strength but don't display it in the interview???

Now, once you have cracked the interview and got the job, do you still do it???

I have a friend who is a bit weak in accounts, so he went all the distance, did all the extra research just before the job interview and prepared his accounting knowledge as much as possible. Obviously, he got the job because he was able to display a strength in accounts on that day...
My question to him is - Now that you have the job, are you still putting the same effort???

Even in office, your boss will see the strengths which you display...
The work you get will be based on the strengths which you display...
You will get the next promotion... the next project... the next client.... based on the strengths which you have displayed....

I'm a complete show off.... But right now I'm not talking about showing off...
Showing off is different from displaying the strengths...

You have been in a job for the last 1 / 2 / 5 / 10 / 15 years... are you displaying your strengths in the same way as you did on day 1??? Are you demonstrating capabilities... leadership... ownership???

Tomorrow is the start of a new week for most of us...
Lets start the week with this mantra...
That which is displayed... is sold...
Jo dikhta hai... wohi bikta hai...

"L" Board

I learnt to drive a car quite a few years ago. Last year, we bought a car in the family and I was expected to drive it. There was just this one small issue - I had not driven a car in 6 years, and never driven one on the main roads by myself.
In India, we have a concept of placing a big red "L" on the front and rear windshields. This is to let the people around know that the driver is still learning and should be given more space.
People on the road tend to be a little less rude to "L" board drivers.
At first I pasted the "L" board for the benefit of surrounding traffic. It's been close to 5000 kilometres and I still have the "L" board on.
Somehow, I don't feel like removing it. There's so many things I need to learn about driving.

I just realised, that's the case with almost everything in my life.
Till yesterday evening, I was one of the best in my office. Today morning I walked into a classroom as a student and woke up to a fact that there were 83 better than me sitting inside that classroom alone (I'm not even talking about the whole world... just inside that class)
I just realised how much more there is to learn... and how ridiculously less I know.

Thankfully, I'm taking steps necessary to move towards better knowledge levels.

Problem is - I took the steps after an idle time of almost 8 years.

My question to you is - Are you continuously learning???
Have you kept the student alive in you???
Is you ego feeding you with an illusion that you know everything???
Forget about big things...
What is a new thing you learnt today?
What was a new thing you learnt this week?
What was something new you learnt this month?
Heck... Have you learnt anything new in the last one year???
When was the last time you learnt anything new and useful???

These were the questions haunting me and I have made a conscious decision to keep the "L" board up for a long long time... not just on my car but in my life as well.

Is your "L" board up???