A thought on God

*Hang your gods*

Does God exist or not? Man has been posing this question for thousands
of years. The question itself is the child of a confrontation: between
those who believe and others who don't. But, what's the truth? Before
answering this question, one needs to understand how the concept called
God has come to play such a dominant role in man's life.
Let us begin with understanding our gods, the Hindu God, the Muslim God,
the Christian God to mention a few. Every one of these gods is omnipotent.

They're supposed to have performed miracles and saved huma-nity from
crises in the distant past. Believers who look up to them will tell you
their gods still have the capacity to perform such feats. So,
psychologically speaking, it seems man is ready to bestow anyone with
the status of a god if He can save him from trouble.

Hence, it wouldn't be wrong to assume gods are the children of misery.
For, a happy man who celebrates every moment of his life would hardly
require any god.

He needs God only when life metes out a raw deal. So, ironically, it
won't be an exaggeration to say, gods and Maoists thrive on the same
soil: the soil from which the plants of poverty, famine, pestilence
greed and war sprout. Gods can profit from their business because
everything is in a state of flux.

The angry gods - pagan by nature - stand testimony to this fact. Take
the case of the Hindu gods. Most of them are decorated with an array of
glittering weapons.

They've multiple heads and arms to tackle hydra-headed enemies who work
incessantly for the destruction of humanity. Some of them are even seen
in dancing postures wearing garlands made from human skulls. Would these
gods have come into being if man had lived a life of benediction?

It goes to prove our popular gods are not only the children of misery,
but they're also the children of corrupt ruling classes. It's when the
ruling classes fail to deliver justice that men start looking up to
their Super Saviours. It's not surprising that individuals who shunned
politics in favour of spirituality became the alternate leaders of the
masses - shepherds like Krishna, Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed who brought
along divine messages.

How does one express his gratitude to the super heroes? Certainly, by
worshipping them, by creating scriptures about what they preached, and
creating cults designed to attract more people to sign up. People get
lured into becoming believers primarily because they are led to think
that there's always going to be a saviour who will shoulder their
responsibilities. Unfortunately, they don't realise that freedom comes
from assuming responsibility, not shirking it. Followers, in reality,
are slaves.

However, those who believe in God and those who don't are equally
foolish. The believers must understand that all their gods who existed
in human forms earlier have met their end over time. A dead god is not
likely to revisit now and save them from their troubles. Even the old
scriptures won't be of much help in the current circumstances. As for
non-believers, needless to say, through their denial, they only keep God
alive.

Instead of debating whether God exists or not, it's time man met the
dormant God within. He can aspire to achieve this only when he stops
searching for an out-of-the-world saviour. He should understand that a
saviour is similar to a big banyan tree. No rosebush can grow under its
expansive shadow. So, if man wants to achieve Godhood, it's time he
threw his gods into the fire.

Jesus, Krishna, Mohammed and Buddha went against conventions. They're
the ones who dared to move out of the banyan tree's shadow to find their
own existence. Now, it's for you to decide. Do you want to believe in an
outside God or in the God that you already are? It's also up to you to
decide whether to follow a farcical religion or wake up to the religion
of your consciousness.