God, Biochemistry and my Brain

GOD KNOWS NO RELIGION

When I was a child, about five years old, my grand mother would always tell me stories which were related to God in some way or the other. Sometimes, the stories used to be straight out from any of the religious texts; other times, it used to be stories about various people, villages or the whole universe, where God’s intervention was most evident. I also couldn’t help but notice that these beautiful narrations by my Grand ma were most often just before I went to bed. Well, at five, I never chose to question my own self and seek to learn why she was so very keen on reciting these stories to me before bed time.

 

Today, fifteen years later, I woke up all alone at home, and for the first time, I was missing my grand mothers beautiful bed time stories; as always, when I miss people, this time too, I let myself embark on a journey of nostalgia. I went back in time and tried recollecting as many incidents as I could which involved three elements – Sleep, God and Stories. The first word which appeared in my mind thereafter was the word ‘Dream’. Every single time my grand ma would narrate these stories, I would have the deepest sleep with the sweetest of Dreams; I still remember how ecstatic I would feel by the end of my sleep when I used to be showered with these tales of magic. Eventually, as I grew up, I adopted one habit, reading a book before I slept, and the book I read again always had an element of God to it; to this day, I still feel I have been blessed with a wonderful piece of good fortune in the form of my sleep.

 

The love for God has always been a part of my family in fact, I hail from a very God fearing family where each day begins and ends with a prayer. My mother ever since I was a young child constantly messed about with me saying that one day I would become a very austere person; I see today where her words have led me. When I was a ninth grader, I was deeply impressed with Christianity and Jesus Christ; in fact, being a Hindu, I even refused to attend on my religious functions. I used to be prompt and punctual for Sunday Mass and would never miss out on any of the Jesus Youth Manipal Retreats. I had wonderful friends from the prayer group and had also developed a liking towards the preaching of the Bible. I completely lost myself in the ecstasy it provided me and was ready to convert myself the day I turned a major. My mother was surprisingly very supportive and always mentioned to me that God is what each of us assumes. God is not bound by the limit of any religion; she also mentioned that God is not how religion defines it; but, it is how we take it to be. Eventually, I began reading the Bhagavad Gita, and from it I learnt everything I learnt through the Gospels of the New Testament. When lord Krishna mentioned in the Gita, “Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani", urging us to do our duty without worrying about its fruit; Jesus Christ has mentioned in the Gospel of the Psalm that work is the inevitable component of our lives and that it is unavoidable. Therefore, at this point I came to terms with the biochemistry of MY average human brain. Religion was merely a cue, an indication towards what my brain wants to hear. I turned to Christianity, when I needed answers about the reasons for my low grades and how God could perhaps reveal to me an answer to improve the same. The Bhagavad Gita through Hinduism was again an indication, a cue to which I turned to when I needed an answer for my double mindedness. As I mentioned earlier, my family is a very God fearing family where each day began and ended with a prayer. God and faith has and will always be a part of my genetics. Our DNA doesn’t just carry forward our physical features but also brings along with it from generation to generation all mental components. The whole concept of God, and my linking towards him has been brought down to me by my ancestors. My genetics are the ones which have given me love for GOD and not love for RELIGION. That is precisely what made my thoughts deviate from time to time and there on from religion to religion. Religion is just a medium to crystallize human thoughts. God is one; and will always continue to be one; perpetual, everlasting and eternal.

P.S.: Thank You Trishma for posting that Status Update on Facebook today. Made me want to complete this finally.