Understanding God – Part 3
It is often found that we try to derive peace from external sources. It seems that these external forces act as catalysts in achieving our objective. However, in due course of time, one would become more dependent on these external forces to derive peace. If our mind is to derive peace from the external sources then the same mind would lose peace by the effect of unfavourable external sources. As has been said earlier, mind is the place where both cause and effect take place. These external sources feed the cause in mind and produce the corresponding effect. It is therefore ideal for one to seek peace through the sources within by way of reasoning with the cause and effect of the mind so that one does not depend on the external forces. This exercise will also help in handling emotions. Again, it is easier said than done.
It is a common query as to why the wrongdoers go unpunished often and the do-gooders’ prayers are not answered. It is first imperative to understand the concept of ‘wrong’. It can be generally said that any deliberate act that violates the rights and peaceful living of another person and causes agony is ‘wrong’. However, before mankind started thinking on the lines of ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’, life was not based on ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’. It was a free for all game where only the mighty and rich survived.
Now coming back to God punishing the wrongdoers and rewarding the ‘do-gooders’, as professed by many spiritual leaders, God is unbiased and He is impartial. And this, I believe, is because that ‘God’ is emotionless and does not have a specific form. It does not respond to one’s needs automatically. I think it is for this reason god does not punish or reward a person for his actions. Most of the times, it is we human beings who are responsible for our own actions. If we radiate positive thought waves, these will come back to us with positive results. Negative energy or negative thoughts will seek the company of similar negative energy, and invariably the one with the negative thoughts will end up as an undesired element in the society.
Every individual can become powerful by realising his/her own potential. The intensity of one’s belief/ faith in himself and the work he does will determine whether a person will succeed in his efforts, irrespective of his intention – good or bad. If the intensity of a criminal’s faith in himself and in the sincere/determined efforts he makes to commit the crimes is far greater than the intensity of police force’s faith, efforts and commitment to catch the criminal, the criminal will always succeed in his efforts. God may not save the hapless victims because the God does not react automatically, and for the same reason the criminal will go unpunished by God. If God were to punish the criminals, then there would not be so many criminal activities or violence in the society and the society would be free of undesired elements. In our age-old mythological stories we have read that gods granted wishes to not only the devotees whose intentions were good but also to the devotees whose intentions were evil. It is always possible that evil forces will become powerful and succeed in their efforts to disturb peace. So, if the evil has to be destroyed, the good has to become powerful than the evil.
Many times we take the support of miracles to prove the existence of God. This universe is abound with miracles and mysteries. ‘Life’ itself is a mystery and, if fact, it can be said that Life is the most mysterious of all the mysteries as without which there would neither be the perception of God nor the miracles which are thought to support the existence of God. But we human beings, being absorbed and diverted by the external factors, easily overlook this fact. It is therefore said in our religious writings that if one has to know the mysteries of ‘life’ and this universe, one should look within.
Whenever the subject of ‘God’ is discussed, an imperative question always rises as to whether we need ‘God’ at all and is there any need to worship ‘God’. I feel that the question is irrelevant given that irrespective of whether we need or we do not need, ‘God’ will always be there, ever existing. As explained earlier, since ‘Life Energy’ or ‘Life Force’ is construed to be ‘God’ or ‘God Power’, one is bound to carry this force and live with this force. It is for the individuals to decide whether to follow the beaten religious track or set their own principles of religion and God.
To surmise:
The reasons for creation of God may be that: (i) It helps break one’s ego. By accepting God, a person is acknowledging that there is someone powerful than him and controlling him, therefore he should not give import to self-esteem (ii) The fear of God will help prevent crimes(sin) being committed and thereby bring about civilized conditions in the society (iii) it helps to discipline our minds and thereby upkeep the moral fabric of the society and (iv) as advocate by the great sages and spiritual leaders, it might help one attain enlightenment.
During the course of life a person may lose directions, get afflicted with agony and may find himself hopeless and totally lost. At this hour of crisis, it is the spiritualism that offers one the much-needed solace. This would be evident from the lifestyle that most of the aged people adopt. These people, especially those who are deserted by their family, demonstrate a steep inclination towards God and spirituality.
Swami Vivekananda says, “thought is the main propelling force within us. So the mind must be filled with the higher thoughts and we must reflect and meditate upon it constantly, so that our mind gets saturated with these high thoughts”. It is for developing these higher thoughts religions were formed and gods have been created. It will not cause any harm to appreciate and follow the God theory as long as it promotes a good value system in the society. The more refined the philosophy is the better it is for the society. The need of the hour is to evolve on a concept of Universal Understanding of God rather than a Universal God.
Finally, whichever path we may choose, we should perform our duties with purity of mind. We should respect and honour human values, and should attempt to make this world a better place to live in.
