My creed

[This article is a draft and will be modified in the future]

God is what you believe it to be. It could be fate or destiny, the supernatural set of variables that decide what happens in your life. God could be a supernatural identity who you turn to for emotional support or courage when you face difficulties in your life. God could be your invisible source of infinite love that keeps you going through life, even when you find yourself alone on the road to nowhere.

Below, I define my creed. Or at least try real hard to. This is what I believe. For a person who does not believe in the creed he was born into, society is a rude opponent that does not think. I am not Christian, nor am I Hindu. I am a raw human being, a clean sheet of paper ready to receive the dark blue inkblots of experience.

1. God is a real entity. Abstract, existent, but incomprehensible.

I believe that if God wanted me to know who it really was, it would have embedded its identity in my instinct with all the other knowledge already there. God wants us to contemplate and theorize about it. Maybe it has an identity crisis itself.

2. There is just one God. None but. Monotheists are headed in the right direction at least on this front.

3. All organized religions are farces. Any given religion which endorses or supports a hierarchy of power among its promoters (priests/preachers/teachers/Gurus/GodMen) is a system that exploits its followers for financial or authoritarian advancement.

4. “Aham brahmasmi” (says the Rg Veda). I am a part of the universe. The universe is the Brahm, the wholeness of existence, the ultimate top-level entity, the creator and creation itself. I believe in the absolute randomness that governs the transitions of the universe (Shiv Thandav). I believe in my complete autonomy. I believe that my life and history is what I make of it.

5. I believe that what I believe is the truth for me. I believe that truth is relative.

6. I believe that the temples and churches I have visited provide me (through their architecture and ambience) a space to contemplate, and a moment of peace and nothing but that. I believe that stone and wood statues do not contain Gods or any representation thereof.

7. I believe that priests and prophets know naught better than me (I know this sounds egoistic) for the simple reason that they are, after all, mere mortal humans like me. I believe that any inference I churn out is as good as theirs.

8. I believe that words are susceptible to misinterpretation. I believe in the existence of the higher language of thought which we can only express (as of now) in words of a defined human language that defines the syntax and semantics of vocal and inscriptive representations and is inherently limited. And thus I believe that “Holy” literature is vague in an absolute sense, and is open to a multitude of interpretations different from the original stream of thought that inspired it.

9. I believe that God do not talk to the gifted or the blessed overtly. Anyone who hears the voice of God in their heads needs to consult a certified psychologist rather than write an authoritative book on theology or compile their own compendium of prophesies.

10. I do not know anything about God for sure, nobody does. Your guess is as good as mine. I don’t push my creed on you, and so shouldn’t you.

This is what I believe. And if you feel that I am a heretic blasphemer, it’s your problem and not mine.

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The part below was inspired by my online conversations with Srividya Pillai. I have no idea how this happened, but the following piece of irrelevant  literary ejaculation is sitting on the web page that should contain my creed.  But not for long,  the Oracle saith.

Sometimes, sometimes i do wish that I met someone who would reaffirm my belief in the existence of Love. You know.

Its one of the most useful concepts that I lost belief in. you know, ranking right after God. There are some illusions that you have to believe to make your life livable, the most important being the existance of God and all those romantic notions of love.

I used to believe that love exists. I also believed in an abstract yet sharp definition of God and his existance. Check out http://theraventalks.wordpress.com/my-creed/

But, the experiences that life dished out to me made me lose all my illusions. And now I believe that even truth is relative. That there is no absolutes in the world, not even the truth is absolute. Truth just happens to be the opinion the most people believe.

its rare, but a rebel does take birth every few centuries that defies the confines of conventional thought and relies on his gut instinct to find his own way. That is what I believe I am. I might be wrong, but my immense ego suggests otherwise.

I am a normal man. I am a human like you. I cant live with myself either. I cant deal with who I am. I have issues. I know that I am not perfect. The only difference between you and me seems to me that I think long and hard enough to figure this out, and that you are caught up in the latest episode of ’sex and the city’ to find out how deep in shit you really are.

I know you dont want a guilt trip at the end of a hard day at work, but let me tell you this - if you come out with reasons to blame yourself for who you are now and here, you have issues that crave resolution. If you are NOT satisfied with what you are, then you need help. And yes, it does mean that you are susceptible to the influence of the diverse cults (including catholicism and Scientology) that claims to relieve you of your emotional baggage, (and your financial reserve, consequently).

The first thing that you need to realize is that you don’t have to depend on anybody else but yourself (and your God, if you are still naive enough to believe in the boogyman, Santa and the tooth-fairy, along with the gang of imaginary friends you had when you were a child). You don’t need someone to tell you what to do and what not to do, just follow this simple principle that I have followed for the last few years.

This ought to be simple and fair…
1. Do not do unto others what you do not want to be done unto yourself. (Lifted from the bible, somebody tell me where exactly Mr. Jesus H Christ says these words)
2. Love. Everyone. Everyone, including your worst enemy, Atleast love him enough to not kill him.
3. If someone does not believe in what you believe, DO NOT try to convert him. DO NOT preach. He will learn, FROM YOU. If he does not, either you are wrong, or you are not practicing what you intend to preach.

There is but one fatal error that you could commit, and that is as follows…
1. If you do try to monetize your beliefs. If you try, or accidentally succeed in making money - or sustainance otherwise - out of your ideas of what God is, YOU ARE A FUCKING HYPOCRITE.

PS: I do wish that someone would come around and restore my beliefs on Love (with a capital L). Its hard to live knowing (or believing that) Love between a man and a woman is not eternal, and that it depends on factors as trivial as financial security and spending capacity. As my article above addresses the crucial topic that we call Theology from a very naive and amateur viewpoint, I would like to insist that you read up on a more authoritative opinion in case you are in search of “THE TRUTH”, whatever that is supposed to be. I do believe that we would have found it by now if it was absolutely true, but then - who the fuck am I to decide on these things.

One Prayer: SMITE ME, oh almighty God, If I did blaspheme. I couldn’t simply decide which one to believe (since you sponsored and allegedly co-wrote as many holy books as hairs on my scalp). Or else, here is a simple solution, TEACH ME, so that I may realise the truth and teach others. There aint no fuckin absolute truth, is there? There is nobody listening to this prayer, right? Helloooo… I dont even hear the ring tone!!!

PS2: if you think I am bad catholic after reading my creed, YOU ARE RIGHT. But I am a good human being, albeit a bit under the weather (for now). Cheers are in order for all the people at Bangalore that helped me survive my age of pain by living with me and guiding me (Willoo, Abhilash, Miky, JaZ and ofcourse Femy Antony)