Did we ever think of asking the question “Is there a God?” Either we were handed down the belief by our fiercely religious ancestors and willingly accepted it; have lived with the atheist belief as long as we have known ourselves; or, consciously taken the route to be either a believer/non-believer. But have we gone beyond and asked ‘the question’? Do we know we have the option to question?
Have we ever questioned our religious or cultural identity? Reflecting on the existence of God is a much farther concern, one I will ponder over in my subsequent posts. It requires tremendous clarity in thought and I am not sure I am quite ready yet, to put it all down, though I do know where I stand on the issue.
I’ll tell you just where all this is coming from. I have been in the middle of some sort of a personal battle. (I prefer the word battle over crisis because the former gives me the hope that it can be fought, as against the dim, discouraging nature of the word ‘crisis’).
Now, at what I thought would be the defining day, I saw myself faced with a critical situation that would pretty much set the tone for my future – immediate if not permanent. Through all this, I was counselled by my well-wishers to keep my faith in God and ‘leave it to Him’. Well I couldn’t. Believer or non-believer, I am sure what is least expected of us is to manage our own businesses. Even God would tell us that. I did take help though. Spoke to people whose words comforted me and readied myself. When friends were busy, I did other things. Music. It is almost like a religion to me. If religion is meant to give us strength, show us the way, and keep us grounded - music it is for me.
Anyway, coming back to the point. The moot question here is of identity. A lot of what we are, how we are and most importantly, how we face tough situations in life, flows out of a certain distinctive quality we are made of. It IS convenient (I am not suggesting wrong, just convenient) to hold on to God as a crutch, but it can never replace the role of consciousness. God is a part of my life, but in a very different way. He is someone I sit before in a temple because the experience is healing; He is someone I sing songs in praise of, because there is so much philosophy in them. It’s a humbling feeling to know there is a force out of our control that is operating. He is an experience that is part of my everyday being.
These beautiful lines from the book I am currently reading – The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins, are worth mentioning at this point.
In this, the author quotes Einstein:
“To sense that behind anything that can be experienced, there is something that our mind cannot grasp and whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly and as a feeble reflection, this is religiousness. In this sense I am religious.”
It’s beautiful and so true isn’t it?
So it is not about religion really. Unless, you will grant me that religion is an amalgam of experiences that we acquire as we move along in life. In that sense religion is a growing phenomenon. It is of course based on firm grounding and roots, which widen and grow as we grow & age with time. This is why my argument for a cultural identity is important. It gives us all a starting point. Have an identity is all I am saying. Our parents’ beliefs need not be ours. I remember wanting to be different - not knowing if I had the choice to change, tossing the thought in my mind and rebelling against norms. Finally, I found my peace. Now, I like my Tamil roots and metropolitan upbringing. The rituals have different meaning for me; devotion has an almost liberating effect on me!
Have we ever questioned our religious or cultural identity? Reflecting on the existence of God is a much farther concern, one I will ponder over in my subsequent posts. It requires tremendous clarity in thought and I am not sure I am quite ready yet, to put it all down, though I do know where I stand on the issue.
I’ll tell you just where all this is coming from. I have been in the middle of some sort of a personal battle. (I prefer the word battle over crisis because the former gives me the hope that it can be fought, as against the dim, discouraging nature of the word ‘crisis’).
Now, at what I thought would be the defining day, I saw myself faced with a critical situation that would pretty much set the tone for my future – immediate if not permanent. Through all this, I was counselled by my well-wishers to keep my faith in God and ‘leave it to Him’. Well I couldn’t. Believer or non-believer, I am sure what is least expected of us is to manage our own businesses. Even God would tell us that. I did take help though. Spoke to people whose words comforted me and readied myself. When friends were busy, I did other things. Music. It is almost like a religion to me. If religion is meant to give us strength, show us the way, and keep us grounded - music it is for me.
Anyway, coming back to the point. The moot question here is of identity. A lot of what we are, how we are and most importantly, how we face tough situations in life, flows out of a certain distinctive quality we are made of. It IS convenient (I am not suggesting wrong, just convenient) to hold on to God as a crutch, but it can never replace the role of consciousness. God is a part of my life, but in a very different way. He is someone I sit before in a temple because the experience is healing; He is someone I sing songs in praise of, because there is so much philosophy in them. It’s a humbling feeling to know there is a force out of our control that is operating. He is an experience that is part of my everyday being.
These beautiful lines from the book I am currently reading – The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins, are worth mentioning at this point.
In this, the author quotes Einstein:
“To sense that behind anything that can be experienced, there is something that our mind cannot grasp and whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly and as a feeble reflection, this is religiousness. In this sense I am religious.”
It’s beautiful and so true isn’t it?
So it is not about religion really. Unless, you will grant me that religion is an amalgam of experiences that we acquire as we move along in life. In that sense religion is a growing phenomenon. It is of course based on firm grounding and roots, which widen and grow as we grow & age with time. This is why my argument for a cultural identity is important. It gives us all a starting point. Have an identity is all I am saying. Our parents’ beliefs need not be ours. I remember wanting to be different - not knowing if I had the choice to change, tossing the thought in my mind and rebelling against norms. Finally, I found my peace. Now, I like my Tamil roots and metropolitan upbringing. The rituals have different meaning for me; devotion has an almost liberating effect on me!
Music currently listeing to - Old recording of all cousins singing bhajans
Current frame - Deeply philosophical
5 comments:
Religion and a belief in God are really two separate things. We can have one without the other. I am all for keeping religion for cultural and anthropological purposes in so far as it does not intrude on the rational running of lives and nations. Anyway, there is too much to put in a comment, so all i will say now is that keep writing - its interesting ;-)
I couldn't agree more. You said all I of what I wanted to say in pretty much that one line!
I have to say that I am a bit confused about how the terms god relegion and cultural identity seem involved in what you've written, but i don't think investigating those thoughts make for a good comment. So just this- first time I'm here and I am extremely impressed with your writing style(and skill) :)
PS- why do people hate allowing anonymous comments!!!
Yes, like I said. It IS a confusing thought to put together. Anyway..enough of the heavy stuff. My next blog is going to be about some swell movies!
There's much fur to lose if I take a stand here, but I know that the one thing people cannot slight me for is to think that religion has perhaps become essential for sustaining a social structure which renders mutual benefit. Religion forms the tenets of social interaction in a society where nothing much else apart from a person's fear can be structured, and religion works to structure this fear, thereby driving cultural identity. The fact that God is made part of religions is perhaps the subject of a separate inquiry, a set of very epistemological questions that seek answers from hypothesis and deductions. All lofty ancient philosophies, including the Talmud and the Vedas and the Quran seem to echo the vastness of imagination that is required for basic questions, from predetermined cultural situations. This is not to say that culture didn't exist before religion existed. Perhaps religion was not recognized as a faith (as in Sanskrit, where the closest word to "religion" is "dharma" or "a path of righteousness") before language was able to comprehend philosophical contexts deep enough to drill down the tenets and ethics essential to a society driven by fear, which also prospers in the light of the cultural support between individuals of similar beliefs.
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