prashantnikam

"Every thing is pre-ordained". So the wise men say... Nothing is more frustating and debilitating than this wisdom, but at the same time, nothing provides more solace than this thought. As a child most of us believed that we could control and change our lives and destiny. But as one grows up facing the onslaught of the vagaries and unexpected changes in one's life, we tend to get philosophical. The setbacks in life are the reinforcements of this philosophy, which we most reluctantly accept and invariably this 'wisdom' dawns upon us at a later stage in our lives. At times I feel that it is the philosophy of the losers, underachivers and the vanquished. After all when you are on your victory path, why would you like to dismiss your achievement and give credit to some abstract 'destiny'. But sometimes I wonder, if this philosophy or thought is the gospel truth that most of us end up believing, should we promote and propogate it early in our lives. Will it help if we disseminate this ideology among young children? What would be the impact? Will we have a 'wiser' children in our stock? I have a feeling it will make them completely resile to their 'fate' and make them complacent. Also, I wonder, did the people who changed the course of civilisation or explored to completely unknown areas, ever believed in this ideology. Did Columbus or Neil Armstrong know that they will return alive and make history? Among the contempories, did Bill Gates know that he can afford to leave his education incomplete because he is anyways going to become very rich? Did they act or decide in a particular way because they were aware of their pre-ordained destiny. I don't think so. They couldn't have. For every Columbus coming home alive and succesful there may have been hundreds who never returned home. Why did these people still go ahead on their chosen path. Certainly not because of a 'guarentee of success' as per their destiny, but because they had the power of convictions and self-belief. How much ever solace this ideology may offer, will it help us and the civilisation. Yes maybe it helps handle your sorrow. But it does not promote excellence, self-belief and convictions of one's ideas. It will make us more adept to facing adversity and we would become more 'reactive' in orientation. Thus, this ideology will make the human stock progress on a path of 'moderate risks-moderate returns'. Is it worthwhile to then imbibe this ideology? Is this ideology really 'wise'. Or will it continue to serve the needs of those 'Columbuses' who never came back victorious. The ideology of the vanquished....

I am really intrigued and fascinated by religion because it drives oneself and motivates like nothing else in this world. If an anology with Maslow's need hierarchy is to be established, then Religion would feature even higher than Self-actualisation.Religion has been the determining factor in the course of human civilisation of conversion of a tribal society into a Civil society. Moreover,  religion is one aspect for which, humans have been willing not only to kill but also get killed, for centuries together. But this, I think has been the biggest failure of Religion.

  Religion, especially the world Religions, were born at diffrent times and places. The philosophy, tenets and principles of these world religions, were thus a factor of the prevailing circumstances. What may have been relevant to the society prevailing at that time would not be relevant in the present times. Thus the applicability of the Religion has to be objectively assessed in this new dimension of time and space. Religions in some form or the other have always been existing and will always exists, because of the basic nature of the human being. The human being, unlike other animals, has always questioned and sought reasons for his genesis, his purpose of life and life after death. This is exactly what the religions seek to address. As the human journey in exploring and deciphering the sphere of unknown is progressing, the sphere of unknown is ever expanding. Thus religions will always be relevant. The moot point is is it time to either disband the already established religions and create a new form of religion? After all the youngest world religion is more than 1500 years old and  the present world religions have been existing for at best 2500 years or so. But the known human civilisation is more than 5000 years old and the humans have been existing for more than 50000 years. Thus, it is clear that there is a life cycle of religions also. 

Are we then nearing the end of the life cycle of the established world religions? All over the world, there are internecine wars going on based on Religion, both Inter-religion and Intra-religion. From the state of affairs, one is inclined to believe that something is wrong with what is being practised as religion, today. Something drastic needs to be done. Either the religions and the practices be suitably modified or these Religions be completely jettisoned. Otherwise, the road to perdition seems well laid out......