FAITH AND RELIGION

When Jesus Christ lived, preached and worked miracles no one was prepared to believe HIM. HE was badly scourged, mercilessly beaten up and crucified.

The disciples who lived with HIM, walked with HIM, heard HIM preaching, saw HIM working miracles, witnessed HIS crucifixion, and HIS ascension to Heaven started preaching the message of Christ no one believed them. They were mercilessly put to death. St.Thomas came all the way to India to be martyred.

So if Jesus is to come back again in human form and start preaching, no one will believe HIM and HE will be shot to death.

If we can’t believe in the existence of God by looking around us and expect a miracle to happen in front of our eyes, we are going to be disappointed.

Faith is above science and proof. It is something which we feel deep within our heart and we don’t need proof. Besides we can’t convince some one against his or her will. And it is pointless to prove the existence of God to someone who refuses to believe.

Here are two interesting comments to test your faith. If you have a strong faith, it will become stronger. If you have a weak faith, it will become weaker. I assure you my faith has become stronger.

Bindhu Unny said...
Since I am not a Christian and raised by parents who believed in God, but not religion, I feel this man would not have given up religion because his prayers were not answered. He didn't convert and join another religion in the hope of gaining something - material or spiritual. Instead, he is finding solace in the nature itself.
Is there any point in calling oneself a Christian, if the mind is full of greed, hatred, and such negative feelings? Wouldn't world be a better place if there are more people who believe in good deeds than religion?
I am not against Christianity, but I am not for any religion. I prefer to believe in the goodness of human beings. :)

nikgee said...
Religion is a man made creation, not Divine. Not to glorify God, but to exalt man and justify their actions. Look down through the ages at how many people have been killed in the name of religion. I debated long with myself in using the word killed in the above statement. At first I was going to use the word died, but to me it weaken my point. The other word I considered which is closer to my thoughts on the matter is murdered. So for the sake of diplomacy all these people where killed. It sounds so much nicer than murdered in the name of religion

So what am I saying, I don't believe in God... Nothing could ssbe further from the truth. For the lack of a better word to define the existence of an undefinable entity, GOD is my closest choice

Please feel free to write your frank opinions and comments. Your comments need not necessarily conform to mine.

WILLY, THE GERMAN

I was going to the Lalit Kala Academi’s reference library located in the Durbar Hall grounds. At the entrance of the ground there is a small stall selling ginger tea. I bought a cup of ginger tea which they serve in a disposable cup and walked towards a stone bench to sit for a while and sip the tea slowly.

As a walked I saw tourist sitting on a stone bench and looking at the ground with a vacant look on his face. I immediately felt an urge to take a photo of him. So I walked up to him and asked his permission. He willingly agreed. Then I picked up a conversation with him. I offered to buy him tea but he refused politely.

He was from Frankfurt in Germany. He is 69 years old. His wife is 60 and she is still working. So she could not join him in this trip. He has two children. Both are married and living independently. This is the seventh time he is coming to India. He will be here for 15 days.

When he said that he was from Germany, I immediately pointed out to him the present Catholic Pope was from Germany. He laughed and said that when Pope Benedict was chosen all the news papers in Germany screamed in their headlines,”POPE!POPE!POPE!” Then I naturally wanted to know if he was a Christian. He told me that he used to be Christian but not any more. Then I wanted to know what he will do when he has problems, difficulties, disappointments, unhappiness, trials and tribulations. He showed me the trees around and said he will pray to them. Then he showed me the sky and said that sometimes he will pray to the heavens. I was surprised.

Suddenly he got up like a recoiled spring, started walking with the agility of a deer saying that the sun was too hot. I wanted to know his name. So I shouted after him,”What's your name?” He shouted back and said.”WILLY, WILLY, WILLY!” and disappeared through the gate.



I sat on the stone bench he vacated and started thinking:
This man is 69 years old and why did he give up his religion?
Did he have a strong foundation in his faith and belief in Christ?
Did he leave the religion because he was looking for a miracle to happen in his life?
Has he given up the religion because his prayers were not answered?

Perhaps you will be able to throw some light on this?

WORLDS AT WAR

From time immemorial there has always been a clash of ideas between the East and the West. While the East draws inspiration from things like obedience, loyalty and devotion , the West based its wisdom on the freedom of the individual, independence and rule of law. I am reproducing below the comments by Sana in India and Rhapsody in Canada in my previous post and you can see the clash of thoughts. Of course you will have your own ideas after reading these comments and I will be delighted if you can generously share them without any restraint.

A New Beginning said...
Parents are like a precious emrald, they are like a candle in a dark room, they are like an umbrella in the storms of life and like a cool breeze in summers...parents are whom we all love but still cannot love the amount they do...they are the varied hues of our life..the ones that soothe our spirits and love us like no one can ever do.
Those who respect them are the ones, who are blessed with everything in life, but those who fail to do so are like a barren land, not made to survive.
Coz love touches those who know what it means, it teaches you to respect those who helped you walk on your infant knees ...

Rhapsody B. said...
The simple truth is, "you make your children, however you don't make their minds" hence their reasoning is out of your control. Though you may teach them the way of nurturing, the importance of family, honesty, and charity they may choose to take a path different to the way they were thought and you believe. It is why as parents we must not only provide for children we must provide for ourselves for our old age, setting into motion provisions for health care insurance etc., and not build our future golden years on the premise that because we provided for our children they then will return the favor and will provide for us. Perhaps in the ideal world this is a guaranteed must carved into their DNA interwoven with the ethics of family/honor/integrity/loyalty however chances are things may not happen that way and in the real world you may be viewed as a bother and a burden from which they must relieve their selves.

As parents our responsibility is not only to our children it is to us as well. All we can do is love them as they are for who they are and pray that if you are blessed to live a long life we can live it with grace and dignity and be happy.

LONG LIVE THE EAST,
LONG LIVE THE WEST,
AND I HOPE THEY WILL SOMEDAY MEET!

IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS(continued)

This is a comment made by me in Yvonne's post ACCEPTANCE wherein she give gives wonderful advice for coping with a situation in which grown up children ignore their parents.
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I greatly admire the way you take things whether good or bad. You have the right attitude. When children are grown up they are expected to be kind and considerate to their parents. But normally the opposite happens. We have taken so much trouble to bring them up, show them the right path, provide for them, educate them, care for them and so on. They have to be grateful to us and understand us when we are old and help us when we need. They are living in their own world, forgetting the roots without understanding this will happen to them also and there will be no one for them because their own children will learn all bad habits and behavior from them.

As far as we are concerned we have done our duty. We should be happy that God gave us the strength and courage to see that our children are standing on their own legs.

You have done a fantastic job for your children and it is their turn to reciprocate. We cannot sit and worry all our lives about things over which we have no control. We have to live our lives the way we choose in the best possible manner which will give us satisfaction, delight, joy, peace and comfort. God is our judge and our conscience is clear. Ultimately this is what that matters.

All through this poem you have conveyed a powerful message and words of wisdom which is of inestimable value in tackling our own life's problems. And I can assure you all of us have either real problems or imagined problems that continue to haunt us day after day.

What a wonderful life to walk on the beach listening to roar of the waves, feet sinking in the wet sand, breathing in the fresh breeze, watching the vast expanse of blue water and perhaps sea gulls flying all over you. A beautiful life indeed. ENJOY:)
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Some of you are not married, some of you are married with children and some of you have grown up children living away from you. Each one you will have something different to say depending on your situation in life. Well, lets share your views:)

IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS

This is a comment made by me in one of Rain MacSweeney’s posts. I am sure you will have plenty to write about the subject.
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I agree some people or rather most people would dwell on misery and make their lives intolerable and spread gloom all around. They should be avoided at all costs. They make a mountain out of a mole hill although most of the fears never come true.

It is our responsibility to find freedom and happiness in this short life. We owe it to ourselves to be happy and contented and striving for the best, always trying to break some records, do something new which will give us thrill and satisfaction. We had this quality is us when we were young but somewhere along the line as we grew up we lost this gay abandon, joy of life and became like robots and machines unable to appreciate the beauty all around us. The sun is still rising and setting but we refuse to see. The rose is always beautiful but we are blind. The birds still sing but we don't hear. What are we doing to ourselves? We wallow in self pity, negative thoughts, assumed difficulties and problems.

You have opened my eyes,ears and mind. I have to do a lot of things to match up to your advice although I am striving to change, to do my best, to do something new. The only problem with me is the ability to persist in what I do, to put in that extra effort to achieve what I want, to go beyond my limit, to strain my brain and brawn. Compounded with all these handicaps I also also have a lethargic attitude. So I am neither here nor there. Willing to do but incapable of doing since I do not posses the grit and determination. And life goes on, Rain:)
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I will be thrilled to hear your opinions on my comment. After all it is a matter of learning from each other.

THE TONGUE CAN BE YOUR WORSE ENEMY!

If you keep saying you can't trust a man or trust a woman, you will always find someone in your life to hurt and betray you.

Your words, your dreams, and your thoughts have power to create conditions in your life. What you speak about, you can bring about.

If you keep saying you can't stand your job, you might lose your job.

If you keep saying you can't stand your body, your body can become sick.

If you keep saying you can't stand your car, your car could be stolen or just stop operating.

If you keep saying you're broke, guess what? You'll always be broke.

If you keep saying you can't find a job, you will remain unemployed.

If you keep saying you can't find someone to love you or believe in you, your very thought will attract more experiences to confirm your beliefs.

If you keep talking about a divorce or break up in a relationship, then you might end up with it.

Turn your thoughts and conversations around to be more positive and power packed with faith, hope, love and action.

Don't be afraid to believe that you can have what you want and deserve.


Watch your Thoughts, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions

Watch your actions, they become habits.

Watch your Habits, they become character.

Watch your Character, for it becomes your Destiny


The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settle for.


Thought I would share this with you.

"In the search for me, I discovered truth.
In the search for truth,I discovered love.
In the search for love,I discovered God.
And in God, I have found everything."

(I received this from my friend Ravi Pillai in Ahmedabad)

SOUL OF MUSA

His name is Masood. He is a Muslim. Both his hands and legs are crippled and he cannot bend his elbows and knees. He is nicely shaved with a neat hair cut. He is wearing clean clothes. He is an artist. His sailor father passed away. His mother is working as a servant. His one sister is married. He is living in Thoppumpady and comes to Fort Kochi by auto since he can’t walk and sit in a bus.

The one most remarkable feature about this man is his love for life. He talks very interestingly, he laughs easily, comfortable with himself, he is very friendly, he knows some English, Spanish and Italian and he has a gift for drawing.

This is how he draws.


These are his lovely drawings.

He told me very cheerfully that he is not begging like many other handicapped people. He sells his drawings to people and they pay him generously. He says he is better than many other handicapped people who don’t even have hands and feet. He has seen such people drawing with their teeth. He thanks God profusely for giving him hands and legs although he can’t use them like normal people.

He has acted in bit roles in Malayalam movies like Hollywood and Big B. He laughs and says that he was not paid much for acting.

I did not buy his drawing but gave him RS.50 which he accepted with a big smile and thanked me.

This is how he holds the Rs.50 note.

Here we are, completely normal people, moaning and groaning about small things in life. If it rains now he will not be able to run for cover since he needs someone to help him. Yet he is cheerful, not complaining, grateful to God, self supporting and taking pride in his appearance. I was completely bowled over. I sweat over small stuff and this terribly handicapped man is full of life and bubbling with enthusiasm.

His friends call him SOUL OF MUSA which means according to him SOUL OF FRIENDSHIP. From my own experience, I can confidently say that he has the wonderful capacity to put some cheer and happiness in to the most disheartened, dispirited, down cast, disappointed, dull person.