"Blasphemous!"
That was what we feared would be the reaction of our church to our 8 year old's quiet declaration to his mother that there is no God. Of course, acting as a "dutiful" parent, she made tried to make him "understand" and "realize" that everything had to have a creator and therefore, God, that we could not see him, feel him or hear him (as opposed to Abraham et al) and that the whole point about God was belief. I did my part by giving a solemn lecture of my own, more or less on the same lines - since one does not differ with the wife (old jungle saying). He did not quite concede the point and with a rather doubtful shake of his head refused to discuss the topic again.
All this brought in a surge of nostalgia to yours truly. This was a dilemma that all of us believing types had faced at the threshold of youth - Is there really a God? or Gods? Are the experiences of good and bad times mere threads in the self evolving fabric of time or does the unseen hands of a weaver mold time and space and our experiences to suit his will? So then are the varying patterns of life then chaotic patterns permitted by the creator within a defined framework?
The demanding requirements of earning a living and settling into a married life leave no room for such "useless" questions. But now that our child had made an emphatic declaration that did not augur too well for his status as a believer, I decided to renew the search for an answer (knowing well that I am more likely to meet the Yeti first).
I must first search the usual the sources of wisdom (meaning books, wikipedia, discussions with certain persons after they have been elevated intellectually with the aid of "nectar" etc). In the meanwhile, I am praying for an Epiphany - it would drastically cut the time involved.
Lovely first post!
ReplyDeleteI never knew you wrote so eloquently. I loved the phrasing, the personal touch and that spurt of humour in the last para...
On a serious note, God remains a mystery to all of us and we come to understand Him in different ways.
Perhaps Adi's journey to that understanding is unique and spiritual in it's own way...
Also, get rid of word verification option for commenting. It's distracting!
ReplyDeleteReally nice blog...so now ur officially hit,eh?
ReplyDeleteI dont think you need to go tat far in search for the existence of God. Look back into your life n recall an occasion when He's grabbed u by the collar, slapped u left right and center in the face and thrown u back on the ground. At least u mite remember an aching bum!!!!!!
I dont think there is any other power in this world that can do it with such ease of execution and efficiency combined with a perfect timing - when u'r least expecting it.
Dissect a coincidence that happened n you will see someone/s'thin behind the curtains. Now it depends on what name you give that power.
How much ever you teach an 8 year old kid about God, he will learn it, his way through experience...everyone does it that way. The best thing about late-teenage and early 20s is that one goes mad after the root cause analysis of every event in life....form theories and disprove them..and that is when the actual belief/non-belief is born...that is when things learnt in childhood are thrown down the drain and new learning happens.
Once can either learn from one's life else take the shortcut n blindly follow what religious politicians tell.
Every person has a different experience and hence the belief differs. As long as one keeps the belief to onself, it goes fine with everyone. The rest is just an act that one has to perform to live in today's pseudo-society.
The world's a stage and..............
Good blog ... nectar part could be omitted.
ReplyDeleteWell this is a question I guess most of us get occasionally irrespective of age...and with most it vanishes when something new lighter, funny or something more guelling comes into mind...
ReplyDeleteHope to read more here.... :)
(From Dubai)
@Bullshee: Thanks for the compliments; shall definitely get rid of the Word Verification.
ReplyDelete@rp: The challenge that we face as parents is to explain and translate what's essentially a personal experience into something that an 8 year old can understand. I do agree with you that our child will have to learn the ropes by himself; we can utmost help him do it with least pain. Thanks for the comments & compliements.
@Rekha: :)
@Eldho: Certainly hope to keep writing.
enjoyed reading your post...that makes me wonder what my parents told me about God when i was 8 yrs old.....
ReplyDeleteCurious Cheta - But why does Aditya believe there is no God!
ReplyDelete@Rohini: He was taught evolution in class. It gave him an impression that life evolved by itself and over the eons forms of life changed and humans came to be. "Where is the role of God in that?" was his question.
ReplyDeleteWe explained to him the believer's perspective - that the theory that life came to be by itself is not sustainable as is the theory that Man evolved from lower species through mutations. That the hand of a creator is apparent in the orderliness and purposive nature of all things that we see.
But its too complex for his age and we are working to change his perspective.
Thank you Joby for sharing about Aditya's and your struggles. I think it is good that Aditya is being honest about his doubts and feels free to ask you guys, rather than keep it to yourself.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can answer his question by another question, like...is there any proof that we were created by random processes etc.. I am sure you lawyers are experts in that!