Tag: spirituality

  • The case against cosmic justice

    Evolution, as I have already stated sometime back on this blog, is a fascination these days. Fundamentally, I see it as a gigantic A/B testing mechanism operating over large swathes of time, with only one seeming agenda – moving on. A lot of things make immense sense when I accept that as the only framework. Including the idea of God, which has several key roles. e.g. to provide the impetus to move on even when things are not going well (faith), explain the things that science cannot (yet) and so on. If it helps someone, it is a great idea, though as a species we have been consistently been stupid enough to let the practitioners of organised faith take advantage of us for their own needs.

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    But that’s not what this post is about. One of the offshoots of faith (God/Cosmos/insert whatever works for you) is the related idea of cosmic/divine justice. I used to believe in that until very recently, and it was one of the attributes of being what I called myself – a spiritual person. But at this point, I don’t think it exists. There are at least two perspectives that brought me to it. (more…)

  • Religiously following….

    I’ve always maintained that even religion should have a shelf life. This comes from a belief that religions were created at different times, basis the prevalent culture, accommodating the scenarios- natural and human created, and lifestyles in those times. The teachings were aimed at a more meaningful existence for fellow human beings, considering their existence then. Religion is a function of time and times.

    However, we seem to have held on to the words, more than the spirit, and thus perhaps failed to internalise the messages that are built into the texts. That could be the reason for the strife around us.

    Does a new time warrant a new religion? I don’t think so. In times when the mass shrinks and the individual and customisation rises, perhaps the opium of the masses needs to be re-looked at too.  I think spirituality and the connection to a higher force is a deeply personal thing, and should not be subject to the constraints of a religion. It should come from within rather than without, and I think such an understanding might lead to better lessons with a much longer shelf life. These lessons would make us better human beings, with a deeper understanding and compassion for everything around us, and therefore make the world a better place.

    Religion is not the path to salvation. A life lived with a better understanding of the spirit of the messages in it, could be. What say you?

    until next time, keep the faith

  • No more holy days…

    Last week had a very holiday theme to it. Technically, there was only a day off, but the particular day was different for different places..and work places. I had the day off on Wednesday and D had an off on Thursday. Well, a far cry from the good old days, when the Puja holidays was an eagerly awaited annual event.

    Its appeal lay in the fact that school books could be ‘legally’ laid aside for a few days. I still remember treating the occasion with all the seriousness it demanded, and even including comics in the book-ban. As i grew older, non-school books were gently eased out of the process. So were many accessory rituals like the early morning bath and going to the temple.

    Zoom to now, when the single day off is just another holiday to me. D does try her best to retain the last vestiges of an occasion that now exists only in the memory archives. But the link to the original event is all but severed.

    There are two losses that i mourn for. The first is of character – the character that differentiated and defined each of these holidays. The character that made sure each of these holidays created specific memory associations (our memory, i think, used folksonomy long before web 2.0) that would last decades after the holiday was last celebrated in the way it was meant to be. The memories now created are just another multiplex movie and a few ‘upto 50%’ off deals. I think we are celebrating more, only we have forgotten what we’re really celebrating. (pardon the generalisation) The second is of the innocence – individual more than collective. From the child who had oodles of faith and belief in the sanctity of the rituals he undertook, and derived great pleasure from it, to the cynical adult who battles hard to regain his faith, albeit in the form of spirituality.

    until next time, keep the faith

  • Evolution and the Theory of God

    have finished reading a book called ‘Tomorrow’s God’, which got me to relook at my spirituality, thereby adding some twists to my earlier posts on the issue…
    though i wtote of a system, i had God in it. this book eliminated God as we know him (to be fair, the book warns of this at the outset)… it spoke of a system, of which everything is a part and evolution happened because random objects/organisms moved to a higher state of frequency randomly.(this might help)..the book vehemently opposes the present version of God, because it believes that things become far too easy when we can blame it on a God over whom we have no control, our actions,our behaviour etc can be easily attributed to the way God made us… actually, we are all messiahs of ourselves with our own selfish agenda.
    the book advocates a system, with every part of the system being responsible for whatever happens in the system…that is, all that occurs in the system is our responsibility, collectively and directly proportionate to our actions…it means that whenever we do something, anything, we should also think of the effects that action/inaction will have, not just on ourselves, but everything else in the system…good thought, huh??
    but, meanwhile, i also get reminded of mel gibson’s words from ‘signs’…something that meant “there are two kinds of people in this world… group 1 – who believe that nothing happens by chance.. in times of crisis, deep inside them, they believe that someone is watching over them, that gives them hope… and group 2- who believe that everything is a random occurence.. in times of crisis, deep inside, they know, they are all they’ve got, that fills them with fear…
    until next time, have faith in your god…

  • Spiritual Fugitive

    That is inspired by an article i read, the link for which i got from a good find i made, no, that would be credit misplaced, actually it found me… so guys, check out this blog of Deki , it makes very interesting read…..so back to the title, it refers to me at some stage of my life, actually i think, applicable even now, to some extent… the stage when i dont want to explicitly acknowledge the presence, relevance or influence of God in my life, but at the same time will not, rather, dare not denounce his existence completely…..i still experience the phase now, especially when i feel that life isnt fair..and promptly thank god, when the feeling has passed..hehe….
    these phases usually also mean that i spend time staring at the sky, trying to fathom my place in the scheme of things – you know, earth out of billions of planets, india out of hundreds of countries, bangalore out of …..the purpose existence at all, and sometimes i wonder, is the purpose of life, living itself? are we trying to attribute too much to it……hmmmmm
    manuscrypts trivia
    picked this up from the same article i mentioned earlier – ” part of a fast-growing population of global souls who exist in many cultures all at once “and so fall in the cracks between them.”