A Fact Of Life.
Posted by Anandhan Subbiah on Oct 5, 2006 in Deep into My Mind • 4 commentsLife is a story of survival of the fittest, to understand that it’s a dog eats dog world and yet tomorrow’s another day. Disappointments, shortcomings, betrayal, humiliation’s etc will always be a day to day affair but one must find ways of being happy in life in spite of everything. And when one comes across someone who is unable to cope with the rigors of living, all we can do is at least extend a hand of compassion. And that’s what makes us superior as compared with animals.
The rule of the animal kingdom is different, the weakest will be destroyed. If a mistake is made, sometimes it is so costly that death would be the end result. Humans make mistakes and use a concept called God to justify it. Every religion has a book written by a human, I wish the book dealt more about how to live a decent live rather than focussing on pleasing the higher power which no human being has ever seen or heard ( I think God should at least start making tapes like the terrorists do).
Heaven and Hell are good concepts. Man has always been selfish . The guy who created these concepts clearly knew that most humans are a rotten bunch incapable of kindness unless there is a reward . Heaven was the bait to atleast try and make humans do good things in life (I don’t think that he would have thought that some crazy paranoid bastards will fly an airplane into a building believing that they will go to heaven) .The concept of heaven and hell has failed so miserably there it is time the world wakes up to the fact that religion is a horribly messed up concept . Somebody should really come up with something new before it is too late . How about ignoring the fantasy guy called God and reward every good act by acknowledging and appreciating it no matter which creed/religion they belong to
It is funny that we get so impatient when a train comes 5 minutes late but Mr. God has never taken time to show up but then Man needs someone to cover his ass if things go wrong so he is ready for that infinite wait. The belief that something out there can make life better for you has tremendous market value. I remember when i was in school i used to go to exams unprepared with a belief that God will help me. I should have been taught to prepare well for my exams rather than having to believe that somehow a higher power will make things easier for me.
Accountability is the key and religion is a convenient excuse for humans to make mistakes in the name of the non-existent God. The most horrendous crimes are committed in the name of God and one such incident happened in September 11 and in places like India and Israel it happens everyday. We have so many crimes committed in life just the way it is, shame on us that we have added religion to the list.
I like the idea of religion as a rulebook which explains how to live a moral life. But interpretations by foolish men resulted in it being looked upon as a larger than life concept which can solve all humanities problems. Our problems will be solved if we stop creating them in the first place or at least if we realize that there is a penaly for every mistake we make.
It is a great shame that we believe that some humans are capable of more knowledge than the rest of us. In the animal kingdom the most powerful creature will be the king but only in the human world do we allow all these ordinary humans who pretend or believe that they are the messengers of God to have such a major role to play even in our families. I strongly believe that parents are responsible to teach their children to lead a decent life. We do not need a third person or a place where they have to learn the art of life, parents should be able to inspire children to lead a moral and good life.
Shit happens to people irrespective of whether they are good or bad. There is no divine intervention at any point. I feel better when I perform an act of kindness i feel good about myself and I think that is the secret. Every human being should feel proud when they perform an act of kindness. The day Good values such as hard work and kindness are respected and honored humans will not need God or any of his messengers to make the world a better place.
For people like me love is God but for the rest God is love. I will be able to realize the concept called God when I do something good . For people who believe in God it is a different story they will be willing to do something good hoping that god will reward them . I honestly believe that the act of kindness is the God part and not the approval or the reward part. I will accept and follow the latter group when God makes a special appearance in CNN and orders people like me to shut up!
Nice site. Great work.
Keep up the great work!
Food for thought: Pascal’s Wager
The Wager posits that it is a better “bet” to believe that God exists than not to believe, because the expected value of believing (which Pascal assessed as infinite) is always greater than the expected value of not believing. In Pascal’s assessment, it is inexcusable not to investigate this issue:
Variations of this argument may be found in other religious philosophies, such as Islam, Hinduism, and even Buddhism.
I quote from the great philosopher’s Book, ‘Pensées’
Let us now speak according to natural lights…Let us then examine this point, and say, “God is, or He is not.” But to which side shall we incline? Reason can decide nothing here. There is an infinite chaos which separated us. A game is being played at the extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up… Which will you choose then? Let us see. Since you must choose, let us see which interests you least. You have two things to lose, the true and the good; and two things to stake, your reason and your will, your knowledge and your happiness; and your nature has two things to shun, error and misery. Your reason is no more shocked in choosing one rather than the other, since you must of necessity choose. This is one point settled. But your happiness? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.
In his Wager, Pascal provides an analytical process for a person to evaluate options in regarding belief in God. As Pascal sets it out, the options are two: believe or not believe. There is no third possibility.
Therefore, we are faced with the following possibilities:
You believe in God.
If God exists, you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
If God does not exist, your loss (the investment in your mistaken belief) is finite and therefore negligible.
You do not believe in God.
If God exists, you go to hell: your loss is infinite.
If God does not exist, your gain is finite and therefore negligible.
With these possibilities, and the principles of statistics, Pascal hoped to have demonstrated that the only prudent course of action is to believe in God. It is a simple application of game theory.
As a speculator and risk-taker, the sheer advantages of making this so-called “bet” has potential upside than downside from a personal stand-point.
However you can take the point of the Atheist’s Wager, which is an atheistic response to Pascal’s Wager. While Pascal suggested that it is better to take the chance of believing in a God that might not exist rather than to risk losing infinite happiness by disbelieving in a god that does, the Atheist’s Wager suggests that:
You should live your life and try to make the world a better place for your being in it, whether or not you believe in God. If there is no God, you have lost nothing and will be remembered fondly by those you left behind. If there is a benevolent God, he will judge you on your merits and not just on whether or not you believed in him.
I believe that the human mind is an incredible force. Its human nature to think about good vs evil. All religions boil down to one thing – a common desire for good and to bring out the best in man, despite the fact that man, not God, messed it up. For some people it is inherent, for others they need to be gently reminded – which is why man goes to mosques, temples, churches and synogogues.
And if man cannot go to such institutions… of course lets not forget the Quran, Vedas, The Bible and Torah and lets include Dale Carnegie’s “How to win Friends and Influence people” just for Fun. All with underlying themes of basic human values and how to bring out the best in man, – written by man(some having a disclaimer of intervetion of the Divine). The secret here is that if one reads these books -they actually focus on how to lead a better life and improve your life in their own respective ways – some through guidelines, some through setting stories as examples etc….not actually pleasing a higher power.
Almost all religious books say “Do not use God’s name in vain”
What does that mean? I think that it can mean a number of things. It sets the foundation and discipline for not using your parents name in vain or your elders and trickles on down…. a common theme of respect. No one is perfect. I myself, far from it, but it is these “reminders” that keep us humans to improve and be better, and again some need it… others don’t.
There was once a student that did not study for a test. He went to take the exam and was the first to turn the paper in. The boy wrote “God knows all the answers to the questions on this test”
When the professor gave back the exams the next day. The boy got his paper back and on the test, the professor wrote… “God gets 100, You get a 0″…the point being a higher power does nothing for you… if you put zero effort yourself.
It is indeed the responsibility of parents to teach their children morals and values, but I have learned equally if not more from a variety of other people… teachers, uncles and aunts, grandparents, cousins, friends of all religions, work associates, priests, rabbis, even beggars and the list goes on. Thus it is short-sighted to say that one does not need a third person or place to learn the art of life. Parents are part of the equation but just one part of it.
Things… good or bad, will indeed continue to happen… just like it has since the beginning of time and hard work and kindness will be valued and respected…just like they have since the beginning of time, but just as before…a higher power does nothing for you… if you put zero effort yourself…as is with all things in life.
hmmm ..I don’t agree with a lot of the comments but i am going to approve it since every opinion counts and also let me sneak in another important rule – everybody has a perspective which needs to be respected even if we don’t accept it and I am going to use a phrase my friend Perry Corda (it is about work ) always uses “It’s about all of us working together, respecting each other as human beings, their opinions, views and desires ….. and simply working through it”.