First the cyclone in Burma, then the quake in China and now abomb blast in our own Jaipur, loss of life all around. The former two due to nature's quirks and the last due to human folly. Faces of innocent victims of disaster staring at us from the newspapers. At first there is dispair, and horror and then one beings to ask why? What is the reason for all this suffering? Is there really a God that looks over us? If so does he take the day off during such occurences. Hundreds of children buried in their school. One is reminded of the Gujarat quake where children participating in a republic day parade were buried in the sudden quake. Are we then merely the product of a coincidence, is there no guardian angel looking over us. I have been raised on the notion of an omnipresent God and I do believe that some force is guiding me through my life, but this theory cannot explain the loss of innocent lifes due to the vagaries of nature that has been created presumably by this superior force. Truely, it will be difficult to imagine our existence without conceptualizing such a force. I think atheists are extremely courageous as they function without this anchorage, in our darkest times we find solace in the fact that there is someone who knows everything and is giving us brownie points for being good. However such natural disasters conjures up the rationalist within us. The earth and the whole universe is on its own expanding into eternity and no one is controlling it, the very thought sends shivers down the spine.However be that as it may I revert back to my believer self (as there is nothing I can do) and pray fervently for the survivors, may God give them strength to overcome the grief and the loss. May God never put me through this test, ever, I pray for my loved ones strewn all over this country and out of it. I hope nature is kind to us, and I thank this force for sparing us.
Next to the senseless killing of innocents by some young men who think that they have undertaking God's work. Well, destruction of God's creatures cannot be God's work, so it is clear that they are working for the worldly ambitions of a group of people who use religion to bring themselves power. A dose of atheism would work here, what if there is no God, fellows, leave alone two or three of them, who would you fight for then? There is absolutely no excuse for killing people when all religions preach love and harmony. The Prophet Mohammad's Islam brought order in the chaotic world of the Arab Tribes engaged in blood feuds. Islam is the only religion which unequivocally announces the equality of allmen and equality among the sexes, it urges its followers to seek knowledge and also encourages sacrifice through the donation of wealth and charity. How this simple religion was twisted and convoluted to start and end with the term 'jehad' is beyond my comprehension. However there is doubtless an economic and cultural cause for this. Of equal concern is the new militant form of Hinduism, senseless.... My heart goes out to the innocents who lost their lives in this senseless manner. Jaipur was unprotected as all the red alert stuff happens in Delhi. It is a signal that we must now remain alert everywhere. How can we prevent the growth of these incidents. How can we condition the minds of our youth. Here the negative forces are more powerfull than the force of reason. How much can you kill? Can the Hindus finish off the Muslims or can the muslims murder all unbelievers? Hitler tried to eradicate a whole race, was he successful? We are in this together and we have to live with each other and the only way of resolving issues is through proper dialogue. Alas, inspite of the boom in the communication sector there has been no opening of minds and we still propogate our rigid and often erroneous ideas to others instead of learning more about each other and understanding each other. Dispair yet again, amidst this hopelessness the cries of the victims remain.
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