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December 2007 
A time to Remember
If we were not gifted with Intelligence and Memory, our life would not have
been any better than the animals around us. The pain of our
existence on earth is directly linked to our ability to
remember. The part played by Intelligence is to control this
memory and use it for our life's benefit. Thus experiences of
ancestors have been stored in the memory of those specialized in Medical things
and we have our own Ayurveda which is a store house of these recollections and
used by experts in their field to help mankind.
The Intelligent component of Man and woman have given rise to the concept of
Spirituality. This field too is filled with experts who have studied
the subject and given us exposition of their thoughts in systems of Faith called
Religion. Thus Religion is supposed to be a system of thought
for the guidance of Humans in their journey through life on
earth. Religion has also contemplated on the Origin of the
Universe and Life itself and in different times the Human Mind has evolved
explanations to this phenomenon, we call the Universe around
us. Our basic intelligence informs us that nothing can be made
by itself. Thus Evolution theory trying to debunk the Creator is a
fantasy, in which people trust, as much as the medieval and primitive man
trusted the exponents of explanations in those times. However,
there are atheists who for reasons of their own, deny the existence of an external
cause responsible for the existence of this Universe. Just because
they see an evolutionary pattern in the various creatures, they conclude it has
taken place by itself. They come to the conclusion that things
happened a "million" years ago, and are quite confident that their
conclusion is correct. Richard Dawkins was on BBC with his
theories. However, these intelligent people have no qualms to say,
that in this case there is no need of a Cause, even though the effects are
many. I wonder if the acceptance of a God forces them to also accept
a moral code. Capitalism requires a free hand to create their
wealth, and in doing so, they need to be free of all
constraints. But we have been told, that one can gauge a tree
from the fruits it brings. In the past atheism has not brought good
tidings but unbridled capitalism. These Atheists, who want to debunk
our beliefs, can not foretell for sure what the fate of this world will be in
the next fifty years. They prevent treaties to stop global warming
and a melt down. The Capitalists would rather find a haven on
Mars. This is what their evolutionary theories have brought
the world to. If Religion has brought
pain, it is because of a faulty interpretation of its tenets, or by subverting
them
At every stage, packed with new found 'evidence' man tries to debunk the
beliefs of his ancestors as 'old fashioned' and moves the goal post of
belief. He does not try to think for himself, but trusts some one
else whom he considers to be knowing more than himself. Thus
you can see how easily people take to new ideas not because they are true in
themselves, but they seem to give them an escape route from the restrictions
placed by their previous 'beliefs'.
The Greatest Story Teller, Jesus Christ.
His followers called him Master, and others called him
Rabbi. He was a simple carpenter whom God endowed with great
gifts and those who may look at him casually, and without the eyes of Faith, may
find that his actions showed enormous mystery. Those who find
themselves trapped by the expectations of his teachings, may find it more
convenient to dismiss him, and consign him to the realms of the simple
minded. In fact his contemporaries too found it hard to accept
the ideals that he stood for. It went at cross purpose with their
plans and ambitions. It was easier to get rid of him, as they said
"it is better to sacrifice one man, rather than a whole
people". They were the powerful elite, the intelligentsia
of his time. They rubbished his teachings and called him a
fake. The irony is that he foretold their doom, and yet they
did not understand what he stood for.
His followers went all the way to prove to their fellow men, that He was the
True Messiah they were waiting for and wrote four Gospels giving their
evidence. This was read at their meetings and those who were
simple minded, did not find difficulty in trusting this
information. Those who had to lose a lot by following him,
opted to persist in their own ways. This schism in the community,
went on and on. The traditionalists mocked the new breed as
"Christians", the "Nazarenes" and called them
simpletons and peasant folks, too dumb to understand their lofty arguments.
Again the paradox of history is that people were drawn to this simple man from
Nazareth, more than to all the Intellectuals of his day.
Jesus was a story teller, because his people were too simple minded and could
not understand the lofty things he was talking about. He said that
his 'kingdom' was not of this earth, as the Jews of his time were banking on a
Messiah who would get them back their lost Kingdom, which was brought about by
their Great King David and his son, Solomon. He told them the
vision of his Father, who was God himself, according to his
sayings. In this vision, all people were God's children and
thus his 'kingdom' would be open to all.
Since this Kingdom is of a Super Natural order, what happens in the heart of
an individual is only known to God himself and so he said to his followers,
"do not judge others, lest you be judged
yourselves". The 2000 years that have elapsed since his
coming, bear an abundant evidence of how God has worked in Mankind. The haughty
and the mighty have been brushed aside and the simple have inherited the lost
ground and thus the meaning of his Sermon on the Mount becomes evident.
In the name of God, people have taken up the sword and inflicted destruction,
but he said "the one who lives by the sword, will perish by the sword"
and how true this too has come about. All the mighty ones of different nations who tried to subjugate others either in the name of religion or commerce, have all been vanquished and yet new ones come in their place, doing the same mistakes.
A time to Remember
As 25th December comes closer, we should remember this Man from Galilee, and
try and live up to the ideals he stood for. Bring hope where
there is despair. In small steps, start doing it first within
one's own family, then with the neighbor who lives next door.
Finally go beyond and embrace the whole world, without distinction of caste or
creed and love everyone for the good things the Creator has given us. Let
us share them with others, and pray that all will be happy and the sufferings of
humanity will decrease to a great extent.
A sincere wish to you and your Family
Please click here, to watch a small presentation of my wishes to you and your
family at this time of the year. I share my belief in the greater things we are
capable of.
Walter. Please Click Here
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