"Scientists were rated as great heretics by the church, but they were truly religious men because of their faith in the orderliness of the universe." - Albert Einstein
These pictures are from my archive of many pictures that I had taken of the very same church that I had talked about in my previous post. I hope you would like them and feel good. 'Faith', I believe is an important thing that determines most of the things that happen to us. Our beliefs tell a lot about us.
"This is what I believe:
That I am I.
That my soul is a dark forest.
That my known self will never be more than a little clearing in the forest.
That gods, strange gods, come forth from the forest into the clearing of my known self, and then go back.
That I must have the courage to let them come and go.
That I will never let mankind put anything over me, but that I will try always to recognize and submit to the gods in me and the gods in other men and women.
There is my creed." - D. H. Lawrence
11 comments:
Your blog seems to be doing well.
www.thomaschurchwell.com
True belief, like true disbelief, is much tougher than most of us imagine. Almost all of us stumble and grope through life with neither much belief nor true unbelief!... and a great many use belief as a crutch simply to drown out the insistent inner demand to think and find things out for oneself. In general, it is this latter (very common) type who are conventionally and mistakenly called 'religious'.
Sir
Very true words indeed, Sir. As I had said in my previous post, to be 'religious' means to be 'dharmic', which, according to the Dharmashastras means not to be ritualistic but to be of good conduct. And the most important part of the entire thing is that to believe in ones disbelief is a universe in itself. Sri Ramakrishna said that one will attain salvation if one believes that one does not believe in God. My disbelief should be such that if today my leg bone snaps while running down the stairs I must not scream and utter the name of God. If I can do so, that is a deep spirituality in itself. I have seen many disbeliever praying God in times of trouble. Some may argue that it comes reflexly because man has been doing it for centuries. But they forget that if God does not exist, it is necessary to invent Him.
A favourite physics teacher once told me that the true believer believes nothing! I think that rhymes with what you and Sir have said in your respective comments.
At a personal level, I think even I stumble and grope through life without much belief or unbelief! I am not much of a religious person, I am pretty sure of that. As an example, I just can't fold my hands in front of a deity and always keep a safe distance from ritualistic practices. It simply doesn't come from within. And yet I don't completely disapprove and dismiss those others who can as fools.
And when I am asked whether I believe or disbelieve my response usually is - hell! I don't know! I don't have the first damn clue!
The believer or the disbeliever is always sure whether he believes or disbelieves and I am not.
The crux, I think, as you say Subhanjan, is that I must be faced with a terrible circumstance to even know whether I believe or disbelieve and in what measure.
Sayan Datta
Very nice blog.
Beautiful pictures.
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Keep blogging.
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Good luck.
the picture of hte glass paiinting is good!
hey btw, the discussion on religion n belief,me would agree with ur points...//believe in ones disbelief is a universe in itself//
its really that by sayin tht they do not believe in God, non-believers acknowledge the precense of God, but are not willing to put thier trust on him!they should be able to hold on to tht truth even at times of trouble.thats when they truly believe in their own beliefs/disbeliefs!
The crux Sayan da is not even that, but the belief in oneself. You see that is what makes the entire difference. When one believes in oneself, one either believes in the existence of something beyond our understanding and constantly controlling us, or believes in nothing but the chalking out of one's destiny entirely in one's own hands. In the former case they attribute their successes to God. The latter ones attribute their successes to themselves and chances and coincidences if they are believe in themselves. In either cases they are believers. But those who are non-believers neither believe in God properly nor discard Him as a wild concept. In times of danger and trouble, the real face comes out. Non-believers curse God or call God as the situations demand. Believers do either of the two with the deepest faith in heart.
These are beautiful photographs with intense colours. I am following the discussion with interest as I have never thought about disbelief in a positive way before. I don't think belief should be used as a crutch or a substitute for thinking.
Belief is only a part of thinking. It is a way of life and it determines everything. And what I am talking here is self-belief. Belief in oneself is the only driving factor that determines almost everything in life.
Self-realization is important.
Reply to your comment on my blog: Subhanjan- You are very right. I do impose alot of taxation on my brain, but like u said I do it deliberatly. I do it with the intention that I might understand more of where my thoughts and feelings lay. Its very easy get absorbed in societies thoughts and make them yours. At times I dont think we realize how much of an influence the outside world is. I'm a firm believer that we must always questions ourselves, esp. our thoughts and feelings. With that said I can honestly tell you that amist all the turmoil in my mind I am still very calm and peaceful in my heart. Its a good practice of patience...Thinking and analyzing all things that are unresolved in our mind,life, and the world and still being able to find peace is something that doesnt happen easily, it requires pratice and that is why I choose to impose such thoughts on my mind and in my heart. I also wanted to thank you so much for reading my blog and taking the time to reply.
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