No, I am not
an atheist or communist or Maoist. It is not a complicated question. A simple
one: Does God really exist? I am not talking about the origins of the universe
or the never-ending battle between science and religion. But a rather simpler
version of the question which may be a vague spot on our consciousness. Like
oil floating on water. Every question has two ways of looking at it: A
complicated one and a simple one. For instance, when one asks How was Gandhi killed,
you could either say by a bullet shot or say that as the result of the well-entrenched
ignorance of men to understand his ideologies towards religion and politics.
But for this question I want to answer it in the former method. I do not want
to unleash the Pandora’s box containing the complexities about religion.
When I talk
about God, I am neither talking about a particular religion nor do I have a
specific image in my mind. In this context, God is a separate entity taking any
form you like with distinct qualities, characteristics and an own AADHAR
number. If God really does exist, then why are there poverty, death and cruelty
in the world? Why was there a Hitler, a Mussolini, a Saddam Hussein? I read a
book where the character speaks about a plot device called ‘deus ex machina’.
In short, it is a device where Gods come in the end to resolve a tragic
situation and give a happy ending to the play. If ‘deus ex machina’ existed in
real life, I am sure there would be no World War, no epidemic, and no
starvation. What a wonderful world it would be! But I am sure we humans would
twist that too. We would keep doing more wrongs and wait for God to come and
fix them all.
What gender does God belong to? Is God a
male, female or transgender? Do they also have gender inequality? Oh God! Let
the Gods at least be spared from inequalities. Let us keep God gender neutral
for now. Is there only one God or many Gods? Do they get along with each other
and share a cup of tea in the evening? Or do they dislike each other secretly
but pretend to like each other? How does God look like? Do Gods dress up in shining
ornaments and silky garments? Do the goddesses have raven black hair flowing
till their waist, crowns glittering with gems of all colours, face filled with
such grace and beauty making any flower bow with shame? Poet saints have
described Gods in such detail. The way their hair curls, the way their eyes
glitter. Is all of this imagination or just simple description? If a God walks
down the street would we realize it? We have always wondered about the three
wishes we would ask God if we saw him or her. Would he or she listen to us?
Would he or she be able to understand us? What language would they be speaking?
Ancient languages untainted by humans? Or would they speak like a God out of a
Rick Riordan book? What would
God eat? In so many houses and places of worship people offer a wide assortment
of food. Does he or she eat all of them? Many go to God with their demands and
sorrows. Where does God go? So many questions yet so little answers.
Many believe
in Karma. What if God lives in a little spaceship with buttons all around to
control the world? What if he or she keeps a register of all the bad things
done by people so that they do not go scot-free? That might be a far shot.
There are many people who have done blood chilling deeds in the world living happy lives. What does God think about religious conflicts? So many people claim
that they have been ordained by God to wage wars, hate and harm certain people.
Would he or she be shaking his or her head thinking how stupid his or her
creations have been? Or would he or she be saddened wondering whether he or she
were the cause of it all? Well I am sure
in this case even God wants ‘deus ex machina’ to put an end to the horrors of
religious conflict.
