OK, this is something which occurred to me while reading this book by Kiran Desai "The Inheritance of Loss". One of the characters in the book, Harish-Harry, is someone whose trying to live two lives at the same time (my interpretation....might differ from the author's). Trying to please two gods at the same time so that when the time comes of Knocking at Heaven's door, he's allowed to pass irrespective of the god whose assigned to evaluate him.(this conviction "of mine" is based on the fact that since there are so many gods, so many religions, each different god is assigned( through consensus of course) the role of the patriarch of a particular religion).
So i just started wondering, what if one has prayed, idolised one god all his lifetime and when he reaches those coveted doors, he finds someone else standing there waiting to evaluate him.Some one he didn't even know existed. What happens then?Will he be let through?
Well the guy had been plain stupid for having kept faith in just one god!! When the odds were so heavily stacked against him, what with so many of gods to please, he should have at least kept few more of them as his potential bets. He might have lived a very honest and virtuous life, but to what avail? The god he was so very much trying to appease, wasn't even there to welcome him to the heavens above.
So what should one do, to live a peaceful life up above, once he's done living the one here?He can either try and please as many gods as he possibly can thereby increasing his chances of meeting the right or desired god when the time comes. But in the course , losing his peace of mind. Or he can live his life on the following two principles:
(i) Stop living your life as a means to an end.Live it not to please someone but to please only yourself.
(ii) And who cares whether its heaven up there or hell.As long as you are here, make this your heaven.
So i just started wondering, what if one has prayed, idolised one god all his lifetime and when he reaches those coveted doors, he finds someone else standing there waiting to evaluate him.Some one he didn't even know existed. What happens then?Will he be let through?
Well the guy had been plain stupid for having kept faith in just one god!! When the odds were so heavily stacked against him, what with so many of gods to please, he should have at least kept few more of them as his potential bets. He might have lived a very honest and virtuous life, but to what avail? The god he was so very much trying to appease, wasn't even there to welcome him to the heavens above.
So what should one do, to live a peaceful life up above, once he's done living the one here?He can either try and please as many gods as he possibly can thereby increasing his chances of meeting the right or desired god when the time comes. But in the course , losing his peace of mind. Or he can live his life on the following two principles:
(i) Stop living your life as a means to an end.Live it not to please someone but to please only yourself.
(ii) And who cares whether its heaven up there or hell.As long as you are here, make this your heaven.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment