Conversations - 1
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| Vagbhatananda Guru (1885 - 1939) |
In his whirlwind lecture
tours, Vagbhatananda Guru has interacted with the sceptics, religious die-hards
and general public with the same vigour. He has compiled his interactions based
on common questions posed to him. A character named Rama is the questioner. The answers are
given by another mythical icon – Krishna. Perhaps the Guru has deliberately
chosen such names to demystify the entire episode. He had published
these imaginary question-answer sessions later for greater clarity.
(The printed matter has been
edited for brevity).
Here it goes.....
Rama : Friend, I am really sad
that you don’t have any faith in God.
Krishna : Who gave you such an
idea, dear?
Rama : Its quite evident. You have been giving
lectures throughout negating the existence of Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma etc. Isn’t
it enough?
Krishna : These idols don’t
deserve to be treated as gods! There is someone else who created all these
forms and I believe in Him So, I am the real believer. You people believe in
secondary objects. In that sense, you aren’t
exactly a devotee.
Rama : Stop that! You mean to
say that visible forms such as Shiva, Vishnu etc. are transient?
Krishna : Buddy, anything
which has a form is transient. Take the example of an earthen pot. It has got a
form. Hence it is perishable.The pot-maker is its creator. Likewise, the Trimurtis too have got distinctive forms and they can’t last forever! And who
is their Creator? None other than the God himself.
Rama : What a nerve! You are
saying that the Lord is subjected to birth and death! This is pure arrogance.
Krishna : Dear friend, if they
are not dead, they ought to be visible to us. Why isn’t this happening?
Rama : You must be imagining
things. Only virtuous souls can have the privilege to behold them. We are
terrible sinners and we can’t even dream of having their darshan.
Krishna : Are we lesser than
demons like Ravana?
Rama: Not that ! We are anyday
better than demons like him. They have done all sorts of sins – homicide,
fratricide, everything! We just cannot go that far !
Krishna : That’s precisely the
point! Sinners like Ravana could see Lord Shiva in person whereas people like
us fail to do so though we are not-so-acute-sinners! You just throw away your
belief in personal gods! Grow beyond forms and believe in an entity who is eternal
and formless. Stop giving sermons till then!
Rama : No..no.. People like
you should be guided properly. Please stop your blasphemy. God is all powerful. He has immense
affections towards his devotees. Though he is formless, he takes certain
methods to bless his devotees. Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu etc. are such devices.
Don’t scoff at them. In fact, you should venerate them in order to get God’s
blessings. Got it?
Krishna : See…All powerful God
needn’t have to take role as an actor to bless his devotees. If he takes the
role of Lord Shiva, he is not as powerful as claimed.
Rama : You see, it is
one of his ‘leelas’!
Krishna : God can bless his
devotees even with a mere wish to that effect. He doesn’t have to enact any
role just to please his devotees. You just said God was all powerful. Then why
assign lesser roles to Him?
Rama : God is entitled to do
whatever he feels like doing. One just can’t impose restrictions.
Krishna : In fact, you’re
delimiting His power. In order to bless his devotees, the omnipotent takes a
transient, less powerful form! What’s the need, may I ask? He can very well
uplift or downgrade the world if he wishes so.
Rama : I told you, that’s just
his “Leela”! If he dons the role of a savior, what’s wrong in it? His greatness
doesn’t get diminished the least bit.
Krishna : He takes the role of
an actor because he is unable to perform his functions on his own. Ideally, he
should be able to do his functions in a state of formlessness.
Rama : Of Course, he is
capable of doing it. However, his devotees want him perform various actions
taking a particular form. He always obliges his devotees. This characteristic
has only endeared him.
Krishna : Sorry to say that
the reverse is true. No real devotee will ever try to humiliate him by limiting
him to lesser forms. A devotee cannot overdo his faith.
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| Sayed haider Raza - "Banares" |
Rama : In fact, you are the
one who doesn’t have faith. Have you heard about the killing of Hiranya Kasipu?
He was all set to kill Prahlada but God took the form of Narasimha, pounded upon
Hiranay Kasipu and finished him off.
Krishna : All that crap! Do
you believe in them? At this rate, you’re inclined to believe all that’s
written in novels.
Rama : What do you mean? You
can’t compare novels with puranas. In any case, I believe in Narasimhavatar.
Krishna : Do you think it is
right to pounce on a living being with
out-stretched claws and nails? Such behavior belongs to animals.
Certainly not godly. As a matter of fact, God cannot take sides. The good as
well as the bad are his creations. He cannot favour one and annihilate the
other.
Rama : He will go to any
extent to serve his devotees. He will
take the avatar of Narasimha it serves his devotee in distress. Your blasphemy
cannot shake my belief the least bit.
Krishna : Fine. Please ask him
to take an avatar right now. Let’s see what happens!
Rama : You think it’s a joke?
An avatar is a serious affair.
Krishna : Cut it short,
brother! Don’t think that God is all too pleased to descend as avatar at the
drop of a hat! Had it been so, he would have taken many more avatars by now.
People are suffering in our country, they are waging a relentless war for
independence. You yourself had participated in the civil disobedience movement.
When the police had beaten you mercilessly, why didn’t you ask your favourite
God to make an appearance? It could have easily vanquished the oppressors.
Rama : Don’t think that you’ve
won the argument. There is no space for argument in Bhakti. I was just trying
to make my point that god will go to any length just to bless his devotees.
Krishna : Don’t say like that!
If he were serious, the time is ripe for yet another avatar. We are all
desperately seeking his intervention. Injustice reigns supreme in the length
and breadth of our country. Even the most die-hard devotees are desperately
seeking his divine intervention. Where is it happening?
Rama : You are getting on my
nerves! I would have handled you properly, had it not been under the British
rule.
Krishna : See, the cat is out
of the bag! You are scared of the British and not exactly worried about the
Gods! The Gods will look the other way if you break the laws but the British
will take you to task! See how very thin your so-called belief in God!
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