A giant leap for hanu-mankind...
My piety is merely pseudo-renaissance in nature. I had my phase of atheism (when I was in 9th class). Soon after, I downgraded myself to being an agnostic as I could not prove the absence of God. Later, during 12th class, there was a surge of religious fervor. Afterall, if divinity could improve my marks, why would I refuse? And it naturally declined after the exams.
I love ancient temples and visit them regularly. I feel perpetually amazed by the stunning human efforts that go into building temples, the wonderfully skilled hands of the architects and the resources that Kings were able to amass to build such enduring monuments.
Curiously enough, inspite of my agnostic beliefs, I feel happy when I visit temples. Tiruvannamalai is one of my favorite places not only for the temple but for the huge mountain and the sweet smelling fresh air that breezes across the hill early in the morning. Kumbakonam is another. Every visit to Patteeswaram is a day to cherish. My heart starts beating faster and there is palpable excitement in the air (Yes-even I find that hard to believe but such is the nature of truth)
And Hanuman is my favorite God. I suppose his antics endear him to many a teenager. And quite often, this love extends to adulthood too. And then, he is partly a monkey. Who would not want to be friends with a non-human? His strength, humility and devotion is the stuff of legend. He is a man that inspires, that one can look up to.
I woke up this morning and on my bed wondering "why do mornings travel quickly across darkness while dawn seems to slow them down". It was one of those days when laziness drives a fantasy. My fantasy revolves around conversations (Ahem. we are only talking about decent printworthy fantasies here fellows. So rest your imagination). Sometimes, its a girl; sometimes an plant; sometimes Hanuman. I was thinking about Hanuman and as usual, I felt a wake of affection. I remembered him as he is seen in the temple-tall, brave and majestic-and wondered how nice it would be to talk to him. I was pleasantly thinking of walking with him in a forest, plucking fruits and eating them, reaching a cliff and looking at the spectacular views. And thought that I neither have a picture of him nor a statue in my room. Then I thought, I have the most vivid image of him in my heart and was amused and content with this precious gift (All from a 26 year old who is confused about religious beliefs and thinks he is an agnostic. Sometimes, I find myself really messed up in my head but I am quite happy with that-so I guess its ok. Hmm...)
R had returned from India and I reaped my share of gifts from this trip. One of the two was an old cardboard box. I opened it and there was a bunch of crumpled newspapers. I was touched by her gesture and thanked her for bringing me a set of multi-lingual newspapers. While I contemplated rambling about national unity and patriotism (which I, thankfully, avoided), she grew irritated.
A was watching all this but decided to focus on the food in his plate, his primary interest.
Meanwhile, I did go past "Indian Express", "Loksatta", "Eenadu" and "DinaTHandi" and unearthed a beatiful statue of who else... Hanuman! It was a great coincidence and it made my day. Now, he has been promptly installed on my desk.
My life seems to be filled with coincidences. But as Michael Shermer (of Skeptic fame in Scientific American) says, humans keep looking for coincidences and only seem to record them. We are very good at finding patterns and we keep trying to fit our lives to such patterns-possibly to improve predictability. And that is the reason why everyone's life seems "blessed" with such events. We think about a friend and they call. We see two crows and our days become happier. We visit temples and our success rate improves. In other words, he says we look at conditional averages instead of plain averages. And obviously, there is bias.
He could be right and magic could dissappear from this world of rational events. On then other hand, what if he is wrong...
I love ancient temples and visit them regularly. I feel perpetually amazed by the stunning human efforts that go into building temples, the wonderfully skilled hands of the architects and the resources that Kings were able to amass to build such enduring monuments.
Curiously enough, inspite of my agnostic beliefs, I feel happy when I visit temples. Tiruvannamalai is one of my favorite places not only for the temple but for the huge mountain and the sweet smelling fresh air that breezes across the hill early in the morning. Kumbakonam is another. Every visit to Patteeswaram is a day to cherish. My heart starts beating faster and there is palpable excitement in the air (Yes-even I find that hard to believe but such is the nature of truth)
And Hanuman is my favorite God. I suppose his antics endear him to many a teenager. And quite often, this love extends to adulthood too. And then, he is partly a monkey. Who would not want to be friends with a non-human? His strength, humility and devotion is the stuff of legend. He is a man that inspires, that one can look up to.
I woke up this morning and on my bed wondering "why do mornings travel quickly across darkness while dawn seems to slow them down". It was one of those days when laziness drives a fantasy. My fantasy revolves around conversations (Ahem. we are only talking about decent printworthy fantasies here fellows. So rest your imagination). Sometimes, its a girl; sometimes an plant; sometimes Hanuman. I was thinking about Hanuman and as usual, I felt a wake of affection. I remembered him as he is seen in the temple-tall, brave and majestic-and wondered how nice it would be to talk to him. I was pleasantly thinking of walking with him in a forest, plucking fruits and eating them, reaching a cliff and looking at the spectacular views. And thought that I neither have a picture of him nor a statue in my room. Then I thought, I have the most vivid image of him in my heart and was amused and content with this precious gift (All from a 26 year old who is confused about religious beliefs and thinks he is an agnostic. Sometimes, I find myself really messed up in my head but I am quite happy with that-so I guess its ok. Hmm...)
R had returned from India and I reaped my share of gifts from this trip. One of the two was an old cardboard box. I opened it and there was a bunch of crumpled newspapers. I was touched by her gesture and thanked her for bringing me a set of multi-lingual newspapers. While I contemplated rambling about national unity and patriotism (which I, thankfully, avoided), she grew irritated.
A was watching all this but decided to focus on the food in his plate, his primary interest.
Meanwhile, I did go past "Indian Express", "Loksatta", "Eenadu" and "DinaTHandi" and unearthed a beatiful statue of who else... Hanuman! It was a great coincidence and it made my day. Now, he has been promptly installed on my desk.
My life seems to be filled with coincidences. But as Michael Shermer (of Skeptic fame in Scientific American) says, humans keep looking for coincidences and only seem to record them. We are very good at finding patterns and we keep trying to fit our lives to such patterns-possibly to improve predictability. And that is the reason why everyone's life seems "blessed" with such events. We think about a friend and they call. We see two crows and our days become happier. We visit temples and our success rate improves. In other words, he says we look at conditional averages instead of plain averages. And obviously, there is bias.
He could be right and magic could dissappear from this world of rational events. On then other hand, what if he is wrong...
posted by littlecow at
12:59 PM
7 Comments:
You know Hanuman is pretty famous for something else too - being a bachelor! :-)
Ahem... I knew someone would point this out sooner or later. But then, I've got my mind made up on such matters. :P
My favorite, for reasons I cannot clearly elucidate, has always been Vaidheshwaran Koil. I feel a sense of amazing oneness when I walk along the praharam there, its amazing. But right now, going through this crisis of faith, I don't quite want to go there. Not yet, atleast.
~a~: Yes! It is possible that the size of these buildings is so imposing that it cannot but be stunning. And yes, I like the sound of bells too! :)
If the respect for deities is imbibed, then so is a belief in the deity. So how can you repect deities without believing in them? :)
@vigvg: Hmm.. thats where I was given my first "mottai". :D
Who knows, one day, we will walk past each other, both with veshtis flapping in the wind, vibhudhis smeared across the foreheads and hopefully, we will recognize the fellow blogger in the praharam!
@A: So does reason let you believe in deities? As for the highs and lows, I am confused about most things. :)
And if one were to evolve (in terms of beliefs and ideas), one has to experience. So, pack your bags, wear your shoe(both) and travel away! :-) This whole stuff is quite confusing. I am completely lost when I think about how everyone else seems to have got it all nailed right!
@~a~: quite random i suppose. who knows how many brilliant minds have been lost begging on the streets of chennai, sniffing glue in the gutters of rio de janiero or toting guns in an obscure african war? surprisingly from what little i understand of philosophy, the hindu way of looking at things using ideas of Brahman, Karma, Atman... looks the most appealing to me. there is clear recognition of confusion and an attempt to clarify it without overtly pushing the point. afterall, everyone perceives the surroundings in a different light. i am surprised and amazed at people who 'believe' in things with absolute faith. i question them, argue with them and fight to understand their point of view. but i never do. but no worries, some day i will get it nailed!
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