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?
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?
Hi Gulshan, pleasant article i could say, some questions within me were answered with this article. Thanks Karthik
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