Does God Exist?

Richard Dawkins is challenging the idea that a Deistic God created the universe and set it in motion and then keeps aloof. In other words, according to him we believe in an absentee God who seems to be indifferent to what is happening in the world. But if He in fact does create individual souls ‘off and on’, then he should face the problem of evil that exists in the created universe in the form of sorrows and sufferings, injustice, exploitation, birth-based deformities. Why should there be any birth-based differences that make some more privileged than others?

Besides, aggressive atheists who deny the existence of God do so because believers have been committing horrible acts of commission and omission in the name of religious creeds and God. Despite this, it is said that the so-called all-powerful, all-good, and all knowing God remains silent. Therefore, God’s silence is equated with God’s non-existence by materialists and atheists.

Howeveer, the wonderful structure of the universe and of the things and beings in the universe does seem to suggest the existence of a Grand Design, which needs explanation. Can it be due to matter and motion? Though human reason is capable of understanding a lot, it points to the existence of Universal Consciousness or Cosmic Intelligence, and this, say nay-sayers, is more faith than fact.

The theistic world view gives cosmic support to the believers. After all, the question of all questions is whether the universe is friendly or inimical to life in general and human life in particular. Long before the ‘Sun’ in the solar system was seen as the friend of humans. So the believer bowed before the Sun and said, “Aum Mitrya Namah” – O Lord, I bow to you, our friend. Darwin’s theory of biological evolution is a grand hypothesis to explain the origin of species on this planet. He never claimed that he could explain the ‘arrival of life to evolve in favour of the fittest’ in the world. How did the rudimentary amoebas evolve; out of nothing? Biologists aver the principle ‘life begets life’. Can they reduce biology to physics? Can they accept biology as a branch of physics? The usual and answer to this is ‘no’. Moreover, physics itself is becoming a science of the minute following the discovery that atoms can be split! The concept of God is not a stupid idea. It cannot be done away with so cursorily. It was the agnostic H Spencer who applied the concept of evolution to the evolution of the cosmos. Later philosophers formulated different ideas of evolution, as did S Alexander in the idea of Emergent Evolution, H Bergson in the concept of Creative Evolution.

The tiny logic and intellect of man should not be elevated to the status of God or the Cosmic Intelligence; perhaps its role in human affairs ought not to be dismissed or underestimated. Such a stand has its own limitations.   German philosopher Kant refuted the traditional rational argument addressed in support of belief in God. Yet he formulated the Moral Argument. For belief in the existence of God – and morality are special to human beings. Unless we accept the moral in the universe it is very difficult to make the universe morally intelligible. The discussion cannot be left in the hands of priests and pundits. Education in humanities will help believers liberate religion from the clutches of the priestly class. For aren’t modern liberation theologians willing to learn from Karl Marx to solve the issue of hunger and injustice?

Courtesy: Speaking Tree

Who does God talk to?

Who actually travels/dreams? The body or the soul? Or is there is a “third” entity? Then, when was this other entity created?
Think, what If a new-born child is not given a name?
Because a name is given, the foundation of an identity is created. Then, this identity starts thinking and choosing – “this is mine”, “that is yours”. The world starts appearing as “me” and the “others”. This “I” strengthens as we grow up.
Thus, anything that this identity (which we think is “me” or “I”) does, is an illusion. God has nothing to do with it. Even if we assume, think, who will God talk to? An identity that itself does not know what it is? How silly.
One must first identify and come out of these false perceptions – in effect, one had to come out of oneself – “I” has to rise above “I”. And when that happens, no heaven or hell are required – none exist, for the one that is supposed to go to them does not exists.
If there is a God, this is what he would want to – He did not take the trouble of creating this complex human life just to create “thought-based” objects to pray to him. NO. This human life was created because it had the potential to “know” – to “realize”. This is what nature wants.
“I” only thinks about itself – it wants to go to heaven, it wants to see the God. These are ego-based and selfish perceptions.

Compassion

Courtesy: Complete Well-Being

 

When we experience physical pain, we reach out for painkillers. But when it comes to emotional pain, there seems to be no reliable way to find relief.

As a result, many turn to anti-depressants, alcohol and other self-destructive options.

The culprit behind all emotional pain is our own thought process. When we experience emotional pain, we tend to become entangled in self-defeating thoughts. Then, all we think about is our suffering, our pain.

We wallow in self-pity. Sure enough, we find ourselves in a quicksand of pessimism and hopelessness until the pain becomes unbearable.

I have discovered that there is an effective and safe remedy to relieve emotional pain without resorting to pills, or abusing substances. Best of all, this remedy is available to everyone for free. It’s called compassion.

The word compassion comes from the Latin compati meaning “to suffer together”. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines compassion as “the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” So, compassion shifts your focus from self to another. When we’re compassionate, we get involved in another’s pain and, in the process, our own sense of misery diminishes.

Thus, compassion works by making us forget our problems as we help others deal with theirs. If you’re in the middle of an emotional turmoil, turn on your compassionate side and notice the difference—it works wonders.

Compassion can be likened to a painkiller, except that physical painkillers offer temporary relief whereas compassion has long-term effects. Scientific research endorses the therapeutic power of compassion.

According to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, those who demonstrated high levels of compassion for others were more receptive to social support, enabling them to better handle acute psychological stress and maintain overall wellbeing.

Although compassion is an inherent aspect of all human beings, in most people, it remains a dormant virtue. If you wish to activate or augment your compassionate side, try compassion meditation, which involves focusing on a loved one and wishing for that person to be relieved of pain and sorrow, and then extending this to strangers, adversaries, and even the entire sentient world.[1]

What makes compassion really worth the shot is that not only does it help alleviate our own pain but it also helps lessen another person’s agony. Two, for the price of one!

How should one define success?

Richness, wealth, treasure is there, and you have not claimed it yet – and, it is yours, just for the asking. You need not spread your hands anywhere before anybody. The treasure is hidden within your own heart.

People go on searching everywhere else except in the heart. They can go to the Moon and to Mars; and, that journey seems to be easy. Man seems somehow to be very stubborn about going into his own heart. May be, he is afraid that he may find it there!

Psychologists say that there is a very deep-rooted fear of success in the human mind. It looks absurd when you hear for the first time that man is afraid of success, but when you ponder over it, slowly, it dawns slowly on you that it has some deep relevance.

Man is afraid of success, because if he succeeds, then what? That is the fear: then what? So, in a subtle way he tries to succeed and yet creates such obstacles that he cannot succeed.

On one hand he tries to succeed; on the other hand; he disturbs his own success so the game can go on. Just think of a day when you have succeeded and all that you desired has been attained, all that you always longed for is in your hands. Then what? – that is the fear. Then, what will you do? – because, all doing is searching, all doing is desiring, all doing is possible, because there are goals which we have not attained yet. One is occupied, happily busy.

It’s deep-seated

Just think of it a moment and even in thinking you will start trembling inside: if all is fulfilled, then what? Would you like to succeed to that point? And, when you think about that you will see the point of what psychologists mean when they say there is a deep-rooted fear of success.

And, it does not happen only as far as inner success is concerned; it happens with outer success too. It almost always happens that when a person is at the last rung of succeeding, something goes wrong. And, he thinks something has gone wrong from the outside, no. He does something – he takes a wrong step, he moves in an opposite direction. He blames God and he blames fate and he blames society and others, but if you search deep down you will find that people fail only when they were just going to succeed.

There seems to be that deep fear which, at the last moment, says to them, “What are you doing? Avoid it.” It is very unconscious. They fail, and then they are busy again. That’s how people keep themselves busy; life-in and life-out they keep themselves busy. This is called the wheel, the samsara, in the East; this is the world. That’s why people don’t go into the heart, which is the closest point to go to. They go on great journeys and pilgrimages, but they don’t search within.

It is a condition

Success is a by-product; one need not think about it. And, if you think about it, you will not get it — that is a condition. Don’t think about success, because if you start thinking about success you become divided. Then, you are not totally in the work; your real mind is in the future: “How to succeed?” You have already started dreaming how you will be when you have succeeded, how you will be when you have become a Buddha – what beauties, what benedictions, what blessings will be yours. Your mind has started playing the game of greed, ambition, ego. Never think of success. Success is a natural by-product.

If you work really sincerely upon yourself, success will follow you just as your shadow follows you. Success has not to be the goal. That’s why Lu-tsu says, “Work quietly, silently, untroubled by any idea of success or failure.”

And, remember, if you think too much of success you will constantly be thinking of failure too. They come together, they come in one package. Success and failure cannot be divided from each other. If you think of success, somewhere deep down there will be a fear also. Who knows whether you are going to make it or not? You may fail. Success takes you into the future, gives you a greed game, an ego projection, ambition, and the fear also gives you a shaking, a trembling – you may fail. The possibility of failure makes you waver. And, with this wavering, with this greed, with this ambition, your work will not be quiet. Your work will become a turmoil; you will be working here and looking there. You will be walking on this road and looking somewhere far away in the sky.

Starry slip

I have heard about a Greek astrologer who was studying stars, and one night, a very starry night, he fell into a well. Because, he was watching the stars and moving about – and, he was so concerned with the stars that he forgot where he was – he moved closer and closer to a well and fell into it.

Some woman, an old woman, who used to live nearby, rushed up, hearing the sound. She looked inside the well, brought a rope, and pulled the great astrologer out. The astrologer was very thankful.

He said to the old woman, “You don’t know me but I am the royal astrologer, specially appointed by the king. My fee is very large – only very rich people can afford to enquire about their future. But, you have saved my life. You can come tomorrow to me and I will show you: I will read your hand, I will look into your birth-chart and I will interpret your stars, and your whole future will be plainly clear to you.”

The old woman started laughing. She said, “Forget all about it. You cannot see even one step ahead, that there is a well, how can you predict my future? All bullshit!”

Don’t look ahead too much; otherwise, you will miss the immediate step. Success comes, Lu-tsu says, of its own accord. Leave it to itself. This existence is a very rewarding existence, nothing goes unrewarded.

Peace of Mind: The Truth beyond Success and Failure

It does not matter to a man of awareness whether he is successful or unsuccessful, well-known or absolutely unknown, powerful or just a nobody. To a man of awareness, these dualities don’t matter at all, because awareness is the greatest treasure. When you have it, you don’t want anything else. You don’t want to become the president or prime minister of a country.

Those who pursue power suffer even in success – they live in the eternal fear that they might lose it. At first they suffered because they were not successful; now after being successful, too, they are suffering because of a feeling of insecurity. Moreover, they have no private space; everyone wants to meet with them and there are some who are engaged in the task of “overthrowing” them. The life of a successful man is not a life of peace. But in failure, too, there is no peace. For an aware person, it is all the same. Success comes and goes, and so does failure. He remains untouched and aloof.

Love or Ego

Living in future keeps you unhappy (Censored)

7 Types of Love You Might Experience in Your Life

Although many people associate love with a romantic feeling, there are a few types of love you might experience in your life. The classical vision of love includes the unity of two people who fall in love, create a family and have kids. You may have already experienced some feelings similar to love, but you cannot understand without realizing what type of love it was.

1. Unrequited love

Unrequited love is going to be the most challenging one that makes you suffer and feel terrific pain. Many people you love just don’t feel the same about you that is quite heartbreaking. This love makes you stronger and more reasonable. You should learn to control your obsessive and emotional desire to get pure love with the person who doesn’t love you. Try to handle this pain and avoid focusing on this problematic feeling. Just go forward and you will have more chances to find your destiny.

2. Platonic love

This type of love doesn’t require you to feel sexual or romantic attachment to the person you adore. Platonic love can occur between friends. It’s the most common type of love because you work and cooperate with a great number of people every day. You can fall in platonic love with some beautiful and lovely person that inspires your mind, soul, and directs your attention to spiritual things.

3. Self-love

Do you find yourself a wonderful person? If not, then you might have problems with self-esteem and it’s necessary to do something about that fact. First of all, fall in love with yourself and you will have an opportunity to love another person. If you still hesitate, then take a list of paper and write down all positive and negative qualities and traits of your character. You will admit how awesome you are. Don’t be afraid to become a smug egotist. You should realize that you love yourself and deserve to be loved by someone else.

4. Lustful love

You may fall in love with a handsome man you meet every day on the way to work. You feel nothing much but passion and desire to taste those plump lips. You have just created the image for him in your mind and you don’t know any information about him and that is good enough. Do you know at least his name? I think you don’t care.

5. Pure love

You might have seen this love in films. This powerful kind of love makes you adore the person’s heart, body and soul. It’s when two lovely people lose control and feel emotional burst. Those who have experienced true love are considered the happiest people in the world. There is a belief that true love is given only once.

6. Puppy love

Everyone has experienced this love, because it usually occurs when you are a kid. This love is full of innocence. If you treat the person like a little lovely doggie, your love can be called “Puppy Love.”

7. Unattainable love

Have you ever been in love with Johny Depp? I am sure that everyone faced the crisis of this fantastic love. No matter how old is your unattainable love, you continue daydreaming about him. You realize that it’s theoretically and practically impossible to live together with your beloved star, but your rich fantasy can do nothing about your obsessive thoughts. Many actors are so perfect that you really cannot help falling in love with them.

The older you become the more types of love you experience. What kind of love have you ever experienced? What type of love is the strongest?

Learn to Die

The body has its own ways of accumulating anger. When you feel angry you gnash your teeth, you clench your fists. Why?

Your repressed anger, sexuality, greed and all kinds of poisons accumulate in the body, in the muscles. By deep massage those poisons can be released. Deep massage of the body can make you aware that your body is carrying many things. Your body drives you into things which you may not have gone into if the body was not driving you there.

Learn to be dead

Buddha says master the body. How? The first thing is to learn relaxation. You lie down on the ground as if you are dead. Let the body slowly, slowly die. Start from the feet. In fact, communicate with your body; say to the feet, “Die, please die.” And then go on upwards. Buddha does not say to go to sleep. He says, “Feel dead. Let the body die for the moment, as if you are just a corpse.” You cannot do anything. An ant starts crawling on you; you can’t do anything.

And it is really a great experience, to feel like a corpse, and the ant crawling on your face or a mosquito biting—but you can’t do anything, you are simply a watcher. It is a rare experience to go through it. Slowly, slowly, you become a master by relaxing your body. The more tense your body is, the more it is a master of you.

Distance the body and mind

If you can watch the body, the mind and all the functioning, you will become so separate from them that you can master them. You can master something only when you have a distance from it. If you are identified with it you cannot master it. And Buddha says one who is master of his own self is the master of the whole existence; he has entered into a different plane of life. You are slaves, he is a master. You are machines, he is a real man. You function unconsciously, he functions consciously. And to function consciously is to go beyond all sorrow, beyond all misery, beyond all anguish; it is to go into the beyond. Other religions call that beyond god; Buddha calls it simply the beyond. Prepare for the beyond… Become masters of your own beings.

Stop being a robot

Watch what you do, what you say, what you think and you will be surprised; without taking any alcoholic beverages, without taking any drugs, you are in a mess. Just look at what you have been doing to yourself, to your life. What have you made of yourself? What have you gained? What meaning have you attained? What significance have you experienced? People don’t ask such embarrassing questions because then they feel very depressed. But these questions have to be asked. Unless you ask these questions you are not going to change.

Man goes on living like a robot, functioning well, efficiently. In fact, the more like a robot you are, the better you function, the better the society feels with you–because it is a society of robots. To be awakened, alert, and conscious is dangerous. It is a society of blind people; to have eyes is to invite danger. If you become alert to at least one thing–that you are not alert–that’s a great beginning. To be aware that “I am ignorant” creates the possibility of seeking, searching in your own interiority for the truth–for your truth. Once your illusions are dropped, your dreams shattered, a great awakening is waiting for you.

Love has no Barriers

Hi friends,
I was just looking out to write something realistic about Love. I found a beautiful love story of a Dumb Beggar falling in love with a Prostitute who works for a cruel Pimp. Believe me, Love can win battles and Love is the final answer for all the possible questions. Please watch the below video at YouTube.

Please do watch and share it.

Here is the Vimeo link for the same Video

https://vimeo.com/93721878