Every person is influenced by a spiritual thought from a spiritual master at some point of time. It can be a religious thought, ritual, mantra or practice. All of it comes from the heart, so it doesnt matter who choses what. Can’t help recalling William Blake’s famous verse in “Auguries of Innocence” as it reads: “He who shall hurt the little wren, shall never be belov’d by Men.”
Hey, before you think this is some dotty religious scrap, let me assure you that I am from the glorious state of Communists (dont read China or Russia, its Kerala,ok) where every person has had a brief love affair with the idea of Communism and all that it entails, like the utopian dream that the rich will join the poor to end poverty, that all capitalists are demons, and so on.
But ultimately, most of us do manage to emerge unscathed, sane, secular persons, so take it easy, okay?
For me, God isnt a glorified accountant who keeps strict tabs on the number of times I invoke his name or do prayers or fasts or weave flower garlands. God is the indweller of the heart, whom you connect with simply through love, whom you see in others around you, even those who irritate you to the point of driving you nuts.
You dont need to learn a new language or culture to connect with the people you love, right? You can just be yourself, try to change into a better person if you think there is room for improvement and maybe do whats best for the world if you can think that generously. Its the same with God, you dont have to pretend to be something you are not. I dont believe in a God who tells you to worship one form, one name or one specific ritual to get grace. That god isnt Love. Not to me.
For me, the most compelling spiritual thought that guides me all the time is “Contemplate on God as Love.” I cant think of a better way to connect with the world and with the conflicts you face in the world.
When you put this into practice in small areas of your life, it pays off rich dividends in strengthening the person that you are, the values that you hold dear and sometimes makes you see things from a different perspective. In its own way, this love is what leads you from darkness to light.
Wednesday, 15. October 2008
heartfelt thoughts is all i can say, well said or well felt?
Wednesday, 15. October 2008
hmmm…so now i know whom to irritate the most…lol
well, this is wat the karma theory is…rit?
universe is, supposedly, one family. n the global language is action. If we fill the feelin of love in each one of these actions, we r connecting to the creator of the Universe.
So, hail IBM: stop thinkin start DOING
Wednesday, 15. October 2008
well, Karma theory is a totally different ball game i think….i definitely wouldnt know the ABC of it! Come to think of it, I havent read the Gita yet, which is the treatise on karma theory!
Wednesday, 15. October 2008
even i havent read Geeta. n i don think that it is Geeta alone that gives the theory. i mean lik u gave it a different name, other faiths too talk of it, callin it by a different name.
it’s just a belief, a philosophy that every one interprets in different ways. doesn matter unless we follow it the same way - with love.
Wednesday, 15. October 2008
What you say is interesting and a relevant point but I choose to disagree coz the karma theory is not just any other philosophy, it is something that is a source of continuous study by researchers worldwide.
Several path breaking studies on the Gita’s Karma principles have been published by researchers who break down the concepts one by one to explain why it works in today’s world.
Better still, let me explain why I believe so. Firstly because contemplating God as love is more in tune with the Bhakti cult of Hinduism more than the Karma theory, which focuses on positive and affirmative action to the society. Its even more interesting that the Gita explains both theories and says both lead to the same source, God.
Muslims do not accept the Karma theory. Christians are opposed to the karma theory even though the Bible says, “As you sow, you reap.” Judaism does accept it to a certain extent but not to the level that Hinduism does. The Communists obviously rubbish it as nonsense. So do the atheists.
Hinduism itself has factions about the karma theory. Proponents of the karma theory include Shankaracharya, Ramakrisha Paramanhansa and Swami Vivekananda who believed it was more relevant than the cult of Bhakti. They based their logic on the Gita. Gandhiji, as we all know, strongly favored the Gita’s theory on Karma. Not all leaders of Hindu spirituality accept the superior claim of the Karma theory.
Wednesday, 15. October 2008
i m deeply interested in your comment on the communist view of the theory and the basis of that comment.
i think communism should be one of the strongest supporters of the theory…after all, work is wat they blv in.. wat say?
Wednesday, 15. October 2008
Communism doesnt endorse religion in anyway. Ankit, its interesting to talk about religion and Communism so forgive me for this long dialogue, the once enthusiast socialist in me longs to share some thoughts on this.
This gives me the perfect opportunity to talk about the famous EMS (the pioneer of Communist thinking in Kerala, a man who is believed to be a legend by die hard Communists and even the cynics) belonged to one of the finest famillies in Kerala several decades ago, a family that owned acres of land, had great prestige with the people and wielded considerable authority as feudal lords.
Living in the lap of social luxury, EMS was a youth when he read Karl Marx works on Communism. He was so influenced by it and appalled by the way religion (according to the Communist perception) was corrupting the human mind, EMS is believed to have thrown off the sacred thread that he wore as a Brahmin, renounced his home and its ways, spend years with the ordinary laborers who were of different castes.
This was at a time when caste related issues were at an all time high in conservative Kerala.
Ordinary workers had believed for years that they were destined to be poor, at the mercy of others, not allowed to enter temples, etc.
EMS questioned, debated and taught hundreds of such people that it is their right to live with dignity, that there is no God who can condemn people to live the way they did and if there was such a God, it was imagination and not real. He objected to the Brahmin practice of not permitting young widows to remarry as they would bring bad luck. What he did is he married a poor young widow and said now lets see what the Gods will do to condemn this poor woman for choosing to live in a better way.
Simply put, EMS became God and is still a god like figure in Kerala because he sacrificed all that he had to create a better social system in Kerala. The police tortures he faced for condemning the caste system and religious practices will go down in Kerala’s history as ‘black incidents. EMS lives on as an immortal hero, Interestingly, his family disowned him from the day he left home to pursue godforsaken idea.
In his last years just before he died, they requested him to visit the ancestral home. It was the kind of meeting that made nearly every one cry because he left the home as a young rebel and returned as a hero in his last days.
We need young people to make change happen in this country, not necessarily by rebelling but by changing the way society has false perceptions and practices about religion.
The sad thing is across the country we are still grappling with the same issues of inequality, communal riots and casteism even after so many years, even after men like EMS sacrificed every possible comfort to change it. Where is the ray of hope, i wonder.
Wednesday, 15. October 2008
Okay there,
Swapna i love to read every aspect of your intriguing thought process. Having said that, its hard to accept that your ignorantly subduing the fact that it was EMS who voiced out anti-Indian or Pro Chinese agenda’s during the despicable invasion of 1962. He was clearly a hero for the reason that he took anti-establishment stands, as a matter of fact anyone who goes anti-establishment does become a hero. It could be Fidel castro, Vladimir Lenin or even Joseph Stalin but these communist leaders or so to say are nothing less than the establishments they once famously overthrew for gross injustice and high levels of corruptions, which now they willingly endorse.
p.s- Funny thing, you talked of God, love and communism. Would make a good movie, i hate to say!
Thursday, 16. October 2008
U r right…i really didnt know about EMS voicing anti-Indian agenda for the 1962 invasion. I am shocked to know he did.
But I dont agree that EMS is who he is simply because he chose the anti-establishment approach. In that way, so many of the people we as Indians look up to in the political and religious sphere are mostly anti-establishment people, arent they?
EMS had the guts to challenge a rigid social system at a time when the best option for him would have been to enjoy what he had rather than sweat it out the way he did.
Whether EMS did become corrupt or not,yes, you r right, I dont know anything about it.
But if he did, even then, can we take away what he had managed to achieve, the winds of social change in Kerala, particularly among the upper caste Hindus of Kerala of that time (now its vice-versa, of course) who lived in glass houses that were far above the ordinary man’s glimpse?
U’ve given me an interesting novel idea to think about, God, Love and Communism!
Thursday, 16. October 2008
Hey folks, just want to reinforce, I am not a Communist (I swear!) coz I believe strongly in God as Love.
Thursday, 16. October 2008
I certainly believe that there are many men in our country who challenged the caste system, including B.R Ambedhkar, Swami Vivekanada, Mahatma Gandhi to name a few. But I sincerely doubt if any of them went against their country for any of their agenda’s.
And the dreadful fact that we really treat men who voice out anti indian agenda’s at a time of war as hero’s, is really heart rending. What different is he from individuals waiting to rip open Kashmir?
Thursday, 16. October 2008
I dont have a clue about what EMS actually stated on the 1962 invasion but u r right…if EMS or other Communists endorsed an anti Indian agenda, it is no different from those who unleashed terrorism in Kashmir and demanding a separate state of Kashmir. There can be no heroism attached to such an act because yes, it is anti-Indian.
Friday, 17. October 2008
God, Love and Communism….this one is already gone too far to really add value to the thought - but it is too tempting to let go.
I like Swapna’s Idea of god and i think the most important thing about god is to give everyone the right to find his/her own.
Love is important - whether it is god or not
Communism is a theory which never worked in practice.