Logic & Beliefs

Some situations can be really annoying, like the one I was in. Returning back from a function, I was in a car with a person thrice my age and ‘The Bhagvad Geeta’ by Anup Jalota playing in the background with my cell’s battery almost dead. What added to the pain was the length of the journey; three hours on a typical Madhya Pradesh road. Halfway through this drive, I was almost about to sleep when my Uncle started talking about what Jalota was singing, and what it really meant. I started listening carefully. That conversation and a few others in the past few days have made me think about God.

As stated by Wikipedia, God is conceived as a Supreme Being and an object of faith. Now, is there an object of faith? Of course there is, anything can be an object of faith. It can be a rock, a cloth or even a human. But for it to be considered as god, it needs to be a Supreme Being; a higher being with powers. Now that is something which cannot be proven and has been extensively debated upon it. The evidences of the miracles which happened or rather ‘ were made to happen’ on one hand and the hollowness of these on the other.

But that is not important, the beliefs of the people on both sides is what matters. Maybe that is what the problem is.

My uncle is one of the strongest believers I know. He talked a lot about God and how he frames your destiny, punishes and rewards you. The car had a spiritual atmosphere and he was really very convincing about what he said; maybe Jalota was also assisting him. It was alright up to the point when he told me about the story of the origin of man, as after that, contradictions began to intrigue me.

The story is that Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh gave birth to Manu and Sraddha (like Adam and Eve) and thus the human race originated. I bluntly asked, “Tauji, Charles Darwin ki evolution theory ki kya?”.”Arre, voh sab kya pata, shuruaat toh yahi se hui thi!” I was shocked to hear such a response from a doctor. “Ye toh blind faith ho gaya na?” On asking this, he replied in anger that our mere existence is a proof of the existence of god. Our success, our failure – it is all because of him, and thus the faith is not blind. And those who do not believe in this learn it at some point of time through the course of their lives. Be it car accidents, financial problems or anything, God saves them and truth dawns upon them.

He finally said, “You must learn from his sayings at least… if you do not believe in him.” This reminded me of a Vaishnav saying which prohibits the consumption of drugs. Now, Lord Shiva was also a Vaishnav, but he is known as The Lord of Bhang and it is said that he consumes weed. On inquiring upon this, a pandit replied, “He is Bholenath, wants you to learn from his mistakes.  Besides, one who can drink the entire ocean without being harmed is allowed to consume anything.”

Okay! So apparently God gives power to the doctors and accountants to save these people. Moreover, the rules and sayings do not apply on everyone

The problem with this entire thing was that people have no solid reasons. They have replies which do not seem logical to some like me while they completely make sense to another section of people. Maybe because their reason is blocked by the curtain of faith. The faith which makes them believe that all good that is happening to them is because of ‘Him’.

The examples in the article are nowhere near to what the beliefs of extremists are; but these are an example of where it starts. There is no real problem with it as it makes them happy, it gives them hope, determination and support. But it becomes a problem when their beliefs go too far. Women, children and animals are sacrificed. Wars are waged, man slays man; and some sections of society are considered superiors than the others, some fight back, and more people die.

All because of faith?

Maybe.

© Keshav Sharma

(B. Com. Programme 1st Year)

The Not So Common Man

I am tired of it. Probably the biggest fad of the 21st century, ‘THE COMMON MAN’ has driven me mad. It is in every conceivable corner of my environment and leaves no room for imagination. Right from films to books to party manifestos to random metro conversations, everybody seems to have caught the infection. And going by its popularity, second only to the NaMo fad, it looks like it is here to stay.

So what is it that makes the Common Man flu worse than Swine flu? Unlike the latter, the former seems to have no cure and has condemned the country to a comatose shadow of itself with histrionics for company. The expression has been floating around in India’s conscience since 1951 with R.K Narayan coming up with the cartoon for his ‘Just Like That’ column. The cartoon strip was supposed to reflect the dreams, aspirations and sometimes the dire conditions of the people and was a satire against those in power.  But since then, the phrase has caught on with the seriously creatively challenged politicos here, making it the go-to phrase for any leader who forgets his lines midway through his speech.

Cometh election season, the common man is characterized as the answer to every problem but soon disappears in cold storage to be used in the next election cycle. It really does make me wonder, who is this common man who has so gallantly been proclaimed as the answer to all my problems. Cutting through the rhetoric, I come to a moment of self –realisation that I am the common man who has the answer to all the country’s problems. I am wooed passionately and promised that I will be empowered to be the superhero I have always wanted to be. But seeing the same cycle repeat every election season, I am just tired of waiting for my super-powers that I never receive.

That brings me to the conclusion that I am probably just a figment of political rhetoric, nothing more. A rhetoric which has spawned senseless interpretations, to name a few -a movie where the protagonist…err… Salman Khan is a ‘common man’ (with a six pack, how common is that!) who goes around, well, you know where this is going; a party led by the ever-curious about your assets, Arvind Kejriwal, etc. the list of factors that have made this the fad it is, never cease to exist. Coupled with the traction it gets on the media, selfies and trolls have a long way to go to beat this social fad. The Common Man is here to stay. Meanwhile, I am one more ‘common man’ reference away from hanging myself. May God bless us with a new phrase to throw around because I am tired of this one for sure.

© Siddhant Datta

(English Hons 1st Year)

गंगा हूँ मैं

गंगा हूँ मैं

 

भागीरथ के तप का फल हूँ मैं ,

शिव की जटाओं से बहने वाला जल हूँ मैं ,

अटूट प्रतिज्ञा लेने वाले, कालजयी भीष्म की जननी हूँ मैं |

माँ की ममता की पराकाष्ठा हूँ मैं,

पापों का प्रायश्चित करने का माध्यम हूँ मैं ,

देवभूमि भारत को अमर करनेवाला अमृत हूँ मैं |

अल्हड मौजों के रत्नाकर की रचनाकार हूँ मैं ,

शत्-शत् आघातों को सह कर , आर्यों को पैदा करने वाली माँ हूँ मैं |

शरीर मलिन हुआ तो क्या , सदैव निर्मल रहने वाली आत्मा हूँ मैं |

 

विश्व की महानतम सभ्यता की धरोहर हूँ मैं ,

शिवा के सतीत्व का प्रमाण हूँ मैं ,

मानव के स्वार्थ का प्रत्यक्ष उदाहरण हूँ मैं |

 

लेकिन , अपना अस्तित्व खोकर , तुम्हारा सृजन करने वाली  गंगा हू मैं |

 

© Raghav Singh

(Chemistry Hons 3rd Year)

Green and Beautiful

(image: Gogh- Wheatfield with Crows)

 

Into an abyss I was,

The flesh felt hollow underneath,

Colourful wings swirling in air

The buzz and peck thumping too

The jag of stone felt beneath

Rush of water revelled my mind.

Into a dream I woke

A gust of breeze caressing the world

Sunshine glimmered pale and warm

Making jots of golden pearls on the water

A beauty it was to breath

A luminosity it is to be with the nature

Beauty, beauty everywhere

A world so perfect cannot occur

For vile butchers they were

To cut the throat of a raw world.

 

© Sunakshi Shankar

(B Com Hons 2nd Year)