tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-459759060211433221.post7258636931576000931..comments2024-03-05T06:12:18.739+05:30Comments on Sublimation: SPIRITUALITY 3 – MY FAVOURITE GOD – RESPONSES TO OBSERVATIONSSublimationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04561426211416097425noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-459759060211433221.post-25530174327159922552013-02-13T06:42:12.303+05:302013-02-13T06:42:12.303+05:30"...all religions offer ‘hope’ in the form of..."...all religions offer ‘hope’ in the form of God. That is not bad at all for that is what has bound the social fabric through the centuries." - Yes, it did, for the lack of anything better. By the same logic, we could say Ayurveda worked in curing diseases for centuries too; but this is not an argument against its near ineffectiveness in the present world, in comparison to Allopathy. In the past, we have had religions to 'explain' (not really anyway!) the unexplainable, but now, when we have science explaining so much more in a mere 4-5 centuries, so what need do we have for them anymore? <br /><br />And when I say 'false hope' I mean that it is a hope that is unlikely to help in a tangible way. Would you prefer that a person suffering from disease rest their hope in God and prayer? We know that this does not help, which is why we consult a doctor first and not a deity, when we are sick. Is it not right that I wish my fellows do the same too, that they choose an option that is most likely to help them? (And if you say, it's not <i>necessarily</i> a choice between one and the other, that a person can consult a doctor <i>and</i> pray, well, where do we draw the line then? I am not trying to make the Slippery slope argument here; all I am saying is, at what point do we say, 'X belief is okay' or 'Y belief is detrimental to a person or society'? The only consistent way to approach this is using the scientific method: Is there evidence to justify belief X or Y? If yes, we take the belief as fact, and if not, we take it as falsehood for all practical purposes.) Ultimately, we all have to strive for a more rational world because reason and logic (as embodied in science) are the only principles that have succeeded in explaining how the world works and therefore helped in bettering the human condition. Religion on the other hand, personal or otherwise, is an antithesis to scientific thought by its very nature, and consequently detrimental to humanity. <br /><br />And lastly, I agree in general with your contention that <i>we</i> label God. (Although I would go further and say that we <i>create</i> God!) But I think your definition of God, as someone within all of us, renders the whole concept of a deity so inconsequential as to make both of our positions indistinguishable for all practical purposes. I will accept your definition and say, what need do we have of a concept of God then, when all we need is respect and love for fellow humans!Raonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-459759060211433221.post-77540886980850876742013-02-12T17:58:18.361+05:302013-02-12T17:58:18.361+05:30I especially like the concluding statement. Beg to...I especially like the concluding statement. Beg to differ slightly. Just as the child in the womb is without any accumulation of karma (that is what we would like to believe, even though, by the beliefs it is being born to work out the karma accumulated from previous births), God is everything that is pure and infinite. Self realization is just removing the cobwebs of Maya and dig deeper into that pure self. <br />On Varsha's comments, there is no cause to be disturbed, they ae just accumulating their karma and those of the other Jiva's in the world. The sum total should net out at some point, and that time, the world as we know it will cease to exist.<br />VasanthiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-459759060211433221.post-60613841804765297912013-02-12T12:14:32.953+05:302013-02-12T12:14:32.953+05:30Very well explained leaving no doubts in the mind....Very well explained leaving no doubts in the mind.<br />I agree, most people need the name of God, as it gives rise to hope. Hope is what makes all of us move on from one day to another.<br />Yet what happens in the name of God is what makes me feel disturbed.<br />All the rituals, the dogma, the superstitions, the fundamentalism, the false hopes given and money exchanged for the same, fooling all the people all the time, makes me feel distressed.Varsha Uke Nagpalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08728878466770147072noreply@blogger.com