I AM ..........................???

Who Am I?

One day a professor went to see Ramana Maharshi and asked him, "Can you help me to see GOD?"

Ramana asked the professor, "who are you, why do you want to see GOD?"

"I am Devadutt Sharma", exclaimed the professor.

"That is your name, but who are you?" asked Ramana.

"I am an Anthanan," said the professor.

"That is your hereditary, but who are you?" Ramana asked again.

"I am a college professor," proudly said the professor.

"That is your profession, but who are you?" Ramana went on further.

"I am a man," said the professor, getting a little frustrated.

"That is your gender by birth, so who are you anyway?" nudged Ramana.

The professor finally said, "I really do not know who I am then."

Ramana replied, " You don't even know who you are to begin with, and how do you think you will ever know GOD."

"Self-discovery is the first step in the journey towards attaining higher level of consciousness of spiritual realization."

Unfortunately for many, the search is for quick fixes to their worldly problems. A miracle is what everyone wants. Divinity has been hijacked by giving it a generic term called GOD and have been given multiple brand names via RELIGION. As human life becomes more intertwined, so have complexities in leading our lives. Brand religion became popular by providing convenient solutions to the UNKNOWN.

FAITH and HOPE have become the buzz words in selling GOD. So GOD became the granter of wishes to mortal souls. But we have been taught to believe that nothing is free in this world.  I guess that applies to GOD as well. So how would GOD grant our wishes? Well we have to give something to GOD in return for HIS/HER blessings. By the way by now Divinity has also been given a gender. Convenient isn't it? Thereupon a dogma is constructed around this concept to provide for a structure to attain GOD's blessings. So goes the practice of undivided conformity to rituals and prayers. But often in a hurried world today, even that is found to be a little tedious and time consuming.

Enter the Places of Worship or Godmen or Holyman or Evangelist or Shaman who becomes GOD's agent and who can connect one directly to GOD. But of course there is a price to be paid - often large material contributions to the coffers of these places of worship or middleman, all  in the name of donation.

An example to quote, the world’s richest place of worship would be the Thirupathi Venkateshwara Temple. It is said that the temple is estimated at a worth of USD8billion, with a daily collection of donations amounting to about USD700K. That is just a glimpse of the level of desperation people have in hoping for that 'miracle' which would change their entire life. Of course this temple runs multiple charitable activities which includes schools, colleges, hospitals etc. However it can't be said that all places of worship have similar agendas. Interestingly it is also reported that there are places of worship in Pakistan that not only harbor, but also promote undesirable anti-social activities.

From a Godmen perspective, TeleEvengelist Chris Oyakhilome of the Christ Embassy, is estimated to be worth USD50million. He was implicated in USD35million money laundering activities which he was later cleared of. Or for that matter the infamous Swami Nithyananda of India who was implicated in a sex tape scandal. Regardless, the irony is that the faithful are unperturbed by all these, as they merely treat these as minor distractions in their quest for higher callings i.e. 'miracles'.

Desperation and faith are a powerful concoction that has potent results. Militants preparing to be martyrs, are often found to be individuals who come from disadvantaged or even a psychological scarred strata of society. Martyrdom promises paradise in afterlife. For some it could be a way out from a wretched life that they are already living.

Whether one is sitting for an examination, going for an interview, in financial difficulty or facing any other life challenge, everyone seeks a 'miracle'. Even a glimmer of hope of a quick fix from GOD or Godmen would entice human imagination.

Funnily enough, in all these desperate attempts, humans seem to externalize their search for satisfaction or redemption, never once looking inward in search of the answer.

Instead of looking for the elusive GOD in the heavens, perhaps people should start looking within oneself to find the answer.

"Brahman is supreme; he is self-luminous, he is beyond all thought. Subtler than the subtlest is he, farther than the farthest, nearer than the nearest. He resides in the lotus of the heart of every being." Mudaka Upanishad 3:1:7.

"What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own." Corinthians 6:19-20

Both the above have been quoted from the respective holy books, and both belief systems prescribe to the same philosophy, but where did they fail?

The failure was human GREED. Greed commoditized everything, including DIVINITY. In a world filled with the expectation for instant gratification, spirituality has lost its relevance. Spirituality is often confused with the act of devotion and prayer, for it is only a precursor towards a journey of self -realization and it is not the end itself.

But first we have to find the humanity within us. We should stop the attitude of "expecting to be a receiver" and start becoming a "giver without expectations".

OM TAT SAT.   

ravivarmman21082014