I follow ALL / NO religion

I remember quoting my own quote on Facebook a few months ago, to be precise on 11 FEB 2011, 3.52 PM that read,

NEVER try to 'define' GOD.....LOVE....and definitely not ARCHITECTURE!

I still talk this abstract. Manufacturing defect you see.  But enough of it. I have had enough of this eccentric avatar of mine. After a lot of muddled up talks with my clear headed friends and family members, I realised the UGLY TRUTH that most of my beliefs and thoughts are not at all well thought of. There hasn't been enough introspection or contemplation for many of my inferences. It was such a hard hitting reality for me. The 'ego' within me that had been in hibernation mode for years was hesitantly awoken. I finally decided to break down this jargon abstractions to atomic simplicity.

|| GOD was my target ||

I only wanted to understand the concept and not define it. In the quest for researching for my thesis, I bumped into this amazing woman who is unbelievably well read. She happens to be the wife of my father's colleague. He turns out to be my fathers formidable opponent on tennis court. She invited me over to her place to let me borrow a few books on Symbolism and Hinduism amongst a sea of books ranging from management to psychology. I was speechless by her interest in such diverse fields.

It was truly an exhilarating experience rummaging the whole collection for two of the thinnest and smallest of books. When I finally got hold of them, I frantically opened to get enlightened. They were in such simple language and yet I struggled to understand. I loathed myself. It was one of those times again. But I didn't give up. With a heavy frown on my face, I continued reading. After getting rid of her after hours house hold chores, she got back to me. She silently observed me, my posture and finally succeeded in finding me from a world I was lost in. She kept silent even though she knew that there were some loud conversations happening withing my head. I slowly drew a chair besides her focusing somewhere else and mumbled unconsciously, "This is all too heavy and scattered", nodding my head in disapproval. I met her eyes with a disgusted look and what I got in return was a convincing smile. I finally blurted out, "In Hinduism, we never worshiped idols right?"

She got up, fetched a clean notebook and a pen, and sat close besides me with such confidence and passion. In a nano second, she hypnotised all my senses and began to mellifluously impart her knowledge.

 Hinduism is not a religion Akila. It never was. I interrupted, "Yes, right. It is a way of life!" Yes (smiling). That is why it is known as SANATANA DHARMA, 'Sanathana' meaning 'Universal' and 'Dharma' meaning 'Righteousness'. The life lived by people on the banks of the river Sindhu (Indus) is accepted as the best way of livelihood worldwide. In the 
Ddeccan, people had problem pronouncing the word 'Sindhu' and hence altered it into 'Hindu'. Therefore their way of life was termed as 'Hinduism'. 

Mental note no:1 - Hinduism is a way of life.

BRAHMAN or NIRGUNA (formless)- the cosmic spirit. It is not to be confused with 'Brahma' ( the creator) or 'Brahmin' (a caste). Our aim was always to worship this spirit. It is like the air; you cannot see but only feel and live on it. As we breathe it in, a part of this spirit exists within us; all of us. Hence we treated everyone equally considering that every living thing possessed the same cosmic spirit. So we became the ATMAN; the cosmic spirit possessed body. What was subsequently worked on was to establish a balance between the ATMAN and the BRAHMAN viz. the 'body' and the 'environment'. The resultant activities were Yoga, Dharma, Karma etc.

Mental note:2 - Routine and rules formulated for balance in life.

As BRAHMAN is an Omnipresent spirit, it was too abstract a concept for the common man to understand. That led to him giving the spirit 'form', 'name', and 'quality', the summation of which is ISHWARA (the lord). This put a full stop to the abstract concept of 'Nirguna'. For a better understanding, we can classify it into two; 'Absolutist' and 'Theism'.

Absolutist always lead only to worship.

Theism lead to prayers which further lead to rituals, customs, traditions and festivals. These were practiced essentially for the society, in order to establish a symbiotic man to man and man to nature  connection.

Mental note:3 -The social activities never sprang out of religion but out of a wish for a balanced livelihood.

A few seconds of meaningful silence lasted between us. I finally broke it with a 'Wow!'. How can man complicate such a clear concept by simplifying it, I wondered. "I already feel self-realised", I sniggered. She giggled back and wished me luck for my thesis. As I left her place, I stated, "Thank You would be an under-statement." She humbly nodded expressing, "Of course not", and welcomed me again to her place in a very genuine tone. As I walked back home, I decided to share this with the world through the second best medium  known to me. I already feel as if I did a good Karma today!

"Friendship is not always about pulling each others leg and making fun of each other. It is also about the immense respect you have for each others words and way of life and how much you evolve because of his/her presence in your life. Otherwise, its pure company. Not friendship."

This was a recent Facebook status update of mine. Though this is random, it made me realise how capable I am of thinking with clarity. I am looking forward to re-discovering myself and my believes in all possible ways. All of a sudden, my life ahead seems so clear and welcoming.

P.S: I gave my music blog a revamp! care to take a peak? Also, I designed a new header for my photoblog! You know I crave for appraisals!