the Thinker

People who are atheists might laugh at this particular post considering it to be a sham but since, I am not one therefore this question has intrigued me over many years now. I remember when I was young, or for that matter, why me, when all of us are young, sometime or the other you might have heard from your parents, that God answers our prayers, if its done with full devotion.

I must agree till date God has answered most of my prayers in a fruitful manner. The thing that intrigued me, and does so till now is a question. My question might sound funny...but then it is thought provoking, at least according to me. I certainly knew when for the first time I prayed, that I am not the only one praying at that minute, millions of people all over the world must be offering their prayers.

Some might be thanking Him for his kindness, whereas the majority might be complaining about their shortages or maybe, asking for some wish fulfillment. No offence meant. I too, generally fall in the category that stands in the queue for wish fulfillment. So with such a long queue of wishes, how does He decide which one to grant and which one to deny, how to fulfill it, and most importantly how does he manage to hear all those prayers.

There are people who believe that He is present within all of us, so when we pray he listens to all the individual prayers from within our souls. Well, maybe a plausible theory, but then isn't it too much of pressure. A mass of people praying together, It's silly to think like that but doesn't it cause confusion!

"Come on! HE is God after all, no mortal," that's the answer I am bound to get from my grandparents. So how does the entire system of divine telecommunication work? I know I am thinking on extremely materialistic terms, but then it bewilders me. Well, on normal days its still ok, but imagine the kind of overload that HE must be facing on days when religious festivals are held! India is the finest example any day; you have large number of Hindu festivals each dedicated to a certain deity. People pray more rigorously on those days. So I wonder what must God be doing on such days. However, non-idol worshippers will definitely differ in their views.

I have a funny feeling that most of the communities who adhere to idol worship, believe that each idol is a representative of God in miniature and in their house it is responsible for bringing happiness and peace. So, in shortcut, it is a designation of duties, is it?

Recently I saw this movie (though in parts) called 'Bruce Almighty,' where Jim Carrey takes over as God and receives all the prayers through a laptop! A whiz kid God I must say.

What about those who want their wishes to fulfill quickly than others? Have you heard people in temples saying, "Please get my husband promoted to the post of General Manager in the company, I will offer 10 coconuts at your feet, Oh Lord!" Hmm! 'Bribing All Mighty?'

Hi Amrita,
I'm an atheist and no, don't worry, I'm not laughing... ;)

Far from personal religious beliefs (or disbeliefs, for all it matters), your reflection is an interesting one...

I don't believe in God(s), but I do think that if we consider the nature of human beings, pantheism should make a lot more sense than monotheism, given the fact that those in the search of God are usually searching or acknowledging a superior spiritual figure that best fits their own needs...

As for how does the All Mighty find the time to reply so many prayings... Umm... Well, the atheist in me would tell you that if you have faith in a superior being you will always carry that faith within yourself... It's just a matter of knowing how to reach your inner self and bring it out when your existential struggle requires it. Therefore, if you have faith, you probably carry all the answers with you, all the time.  

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why do I have this feeling we have discussed about faith before?????

ha, ha, ha!!!...

Just kidding!
:)  

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Yes, I used to ask these questions as a child. But now, I dont think there is any divine communication :) It's faith, a mental security blanket that the mind needs in order to function smoothly.

When we goto a forest, our mind is filled with fear, a rational one at that, thinking about the tigers and the lions. But when we goto a zoo, we aren't as afraid and we act more rationally, because the same animals are behind cages. Faith is like the cage to our minds, we all need that security in order to function rationally :)

As for God, I dont think it is out there, somewhere. Its God everywhere, the only explanation of God (the Hindu explanation) that I find logical. Idols are symbols and since everything is God, why not the idols ?! :)  

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maybe God actually exist(ed)s....check this out !!

Following are the dates of few events from the Ramayana:


Rama's Birth Date 4th December 7323 B.C


Rama-Seeta Married 7th April 7307 B.C


Rama Exiled 29th November 7306 B.C.


Hanuman enters Lanka 1st September 7292 B.C


Hanuman meets Seeta 2nd September 7292 B.C.


Seetu (Bridge) built 26-30th Oct. 7292 B.C
on the ocean


The War begins 3rd November 7292 B.C


Kumbhakarna is killed 7th November 7292 B.C.


Ravana is killed by Rama 15th November 7292 B.C.


Rama returns to Ayodhya 6th December 7272 B.C.


from :

http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/ramayan/rama_vartak.html  

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There may be some philosophical answers for this. Let me try and explain it to u. But let me give u a simple thought in a funniest way as Jim Carey.
God created u and He knows ur destiny. So he is very much aware of the fact that at what age or what day u'll ask for any wish to fulfill. So he programmed everything even before ur birth. So it is easy for him to answer everyone's prayers. He don't need to listen to all as he knows ur prayers before hand itself. Howz it.  

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So He knows Amrita will ask such Question in his blog, so he gave some intelligence to Reflex to answer Amrita's question.
Similarly, He knows what will be ur need and He might hav send someone to help Amrita, but because Amrita prayed that day, she thinks it is God who helped her.  

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So you have switched to Flickr? A smart move for snaps here and there. For collages, you can also check out - www.fotoflix.com  

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God can mean simple confidence.

For instance, if you want to travel safely on the road, all that you can do is dont speed, follow traffic rules, switch lanes properly, etc, etc. But how can you be sure that the others would follow it too. Leave that part to God!

Confidence that if I do my bit properly, things will be taken care of is God!  

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Why should God be a he or she?

Why can't it be a concept?
I subscribe to the theory of Universal Intelligence that operates the oceans, skies, earth, sun, the formation of a child in the mothers'womb,in the flowers.

Why should such an intelligence listen to you and me?

Regarding answers.i think we get the right answers when we find ourselves attuned to that universal intelligence and i don't think there is a prescribed method to do that.

We just do sometimes.

Sometimes we can see the future clearly. We know whats gonna happen.Sometimes we falter.
try reading 'Conversations with' God by Neale Donald Walsch.  

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Foolish blogger! You make a prayer. Not do a prayer. Refer to first para.  

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I refuse to be drawn into this argument. But interesting post nevertheless. Digression. Regarding your comment in my blog, the 'poem' was written by Eunice DeSouza and isn't mine. But I connected with it alright :)
Thank you for coming by.  

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nice template...  

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HI Gonsings, I was so busy with my new job that did not have the time to sit and comment peacefully. Life in Mumbai is hectic...I definitely agree with you when you talk about faith and yes I remember our famous debate on faith...but then I might not be the only person who is reaching out to him with my entire faith, right at that moment there could be others who are doing so with the same amount of devotion..so it just amuses me to think that if the divine chord between us and the creator is established then it must be such a confusion for him to hear so many devoted prayers all together. As far as pantheism/monotheism is concerned, that's also a distinct outlook at acknowledging the presence of a superior being than yourself..I also acknowledge the presence and power of nature over man..but then i see the influence of nature over us all as a collective lot..not as an answer to individual prayers!


hi ranj,interesting to know your concept..i would call it more of a psychoanalytical view about the spiritual being..you seem to believe that god is everywhere..infact you even stated it, but then aren't you kind of contradicting yourself when you end by saying why not more idols? if he is everywhere why do we need idols to acknowledge his presence?

Aha! Phobiac, you have catalogued the entire Ramayana, yes many people in india believe that Lord Ram actually fought with Ravana to rescue his wife, Sita. But then ther are also many people who refute this entire story thinking that it was a mere mythological tale..some modern thinkers also hold that these mythological lores were circulated among people so as to instill moral values in their minds...I don't know whether Lord Ram really came on earth or not...but it is very effective on staunch hindus. Thanks for dropping by!

Hi reflex, haha! a very innovativeway of solving the problem, quite possible...hope the messenger of God, Mr.Reflex can fulfil all my prayers...jokes apart, you have pointed towards something relevant..an idea that many ofus seem to propagate..that God comes to us in some form or the other..(that definitely doesnot mean i am saying he has come to me in your form! haha, should I be giving you so much of credit?)

Hi baejaar! thanks for the info.


Hi gayatri, thanks for dropping by! i guess your ideaissomewhat familiar to what Gonsings said abouthaving faith..Iabsolutely agree with you..i guess its very complex to interpret how HE manages to take care that everyone crosses the road safely when there is an entire lot of people...or say someone is being attacked simultaneously at the same time when someone is getting attacked!

Hello Prabhu, your theory of the universal lord is quite interesting...but my concern does not surround around the question that whether god is a male or a female but the question that how he manages to hear so many prayers all together...how do we communicate with him, and how he receives it....

Mohanty! caught you, you came once before but I could not recognise you then..but one thing is similar, your kinds of comments have a similar tone all the time! they are all as Anu says 'cryptic'!!!

Hi ammani! whoever has written that poem it is an interesting one! Good match with your general theme in the quick tales!

Thanks chakra!i was inspired from you and Anu!  

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Amrita, Who knows God might hav answered ur question thru me or thru some one. May be not now, in future too, when he feels that u r matured to understnad his answers :). But as usual, u don't realize that it is God's play.  

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haha! reflex, I hope you are not getting too serious about the topic..of course your comments do hold some amount of water as far as explaining destiny and God goes.  

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haha! reflex, I hope you are not getting too serious about the topic..of course your comments do hold some amount of water as far as explaining destiny and God goes.  

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No buddy. I am just cool as my comments.  

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Might sound strange.....but what if God never answered or considered prayers.

Perhaps god merely creates circumstances.......he does not decide your fate.....but offers you a chance to do what you want with your life.

How you deal with your circumstances I guess is what finally decides your fate.

Perhaps that is the reason why 2 people emerging from similar circumstances find themselves sometimes on totally different paths in life.  

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Oops I forgot to mention....you have an awesome layout....will drop by again to read more.

Till then have a great weekend  

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GOD programmed everyone before birth??
Destiny is predecided??
GOD knew Amrita is going to ask this question and he sent ... to answer it on HIS behalf??Howz that??

Such devine intelligence!!

Here is another on http://imbecileacuity.blogspot.com
Obviously its my blog! Any takers??  

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