Thursday, February 17, 2011

Self Realization of a Software Millennial :)

Somehow I have never felt so good about atheists from child hood. I always thought religious people are only good(as I grew up I knew I was wrong !!). But still I had this little negative feeling about atheists until a couple of weeks back !

I always wondered how an atheist like Kamal Haasan could do a movie like Anbe Sivam which I would acknowledge as one of the best movies in Tamil worth watching. Off late have been coming across and closely observing people who called themselves atheists/agnostics etc. On introspection I found that they do work for social causes, do counseling and overall work for the motto only to help others!!!.....Oh boy ! but they are so similar to so called religious persons too !!!

Being a cusp millennial software engineer that I am, in one of the meetings last week at my office I had to do a presentation (no techie stuff here !) to my leadership team through a video conference. Normally I would go to the rest room just before a meeting and pray and call the divine and say prayers like “ God I should do well and do to my own best satisfaction atleast ”. But on that day I had to rush up to the meeting and did not have the time to go and talk to my own GOD.

Seated there in the video conference I was contemplating “Should I go and quickly come in 5 mins” (since my presentation was only second).Then a thought emerged – "Anyways even if I go to the rest room I will not have a physical God to talk to. Why not try to say the same prayer from where I am – In this meeting room itself". At this my next chain thought rippled “ So what am I doing. Am actually talking to myself". I do not know what an atheist does before a presentation but am sure the person also talks to himself/herself and sends IN positive thoughts just like what I did. So God or No GOD is in fact WITHIN EACH OF US. We are THE DIVINE! (Neeyum Sivan, Naanum Sivan - In Kamal Haasan's words)

Personally for me it was a day of self realization and I am now able to appreciate the positive side of atheists/agonostics too.

Have you also had similar experiences. Would like to hear ..

5 comments:

  1. @kavitha...gud that u realised!!!i was brought up with a family full of atheist(exception my mom)..but we had full individual freedom whether to follow or not..but unknowingly we do follow our parents style..so i did(till my marriage!!)I do accept kamal's dialogue's in Anbe Sivam..and i just love those....Had seen many ardent devotees(they say so..)of god but fail to be a nice human being...Knowing oneself better wud definitely make him mentally strong...

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  2. Thanks for quoting the movie anni coz I am crazily fond of the movie and each time I watch the movie there's definitely a message from it.
    Actually Kamal is not against God but against idol worship and superstitious religious beliefs. He once said "Naan naathigan illai. Pagutharivaalan".
    Two things I have understood from the movie is that:
    1) There can be good people in atheists (Kamal) and bad people in theists (Nazar in the movie). Theists can talk so much about God and still be bad at heart.
    2) The tendency of the world - People are ready to accept when you call them God. But you say you are God too, they don't fail to give a strange look. They think it's gotten to our head.(Conversation between Kamal and Madhavan when the little boy passes away in the ambulanace).
    I am happy that somebody enjoys the movie as much as I do.
    This happened to me once when I was almost fainting without food from 7 a.m to 11.30 a.m (had to fast for sugar test and had given blood extractions thrice). The canteen in-charge who came out of his way to serve me lunch at 12 noon though they start only at 1.30 is "GOD FOR ME" till date. If not for him, we would have been helpless. I can never ever forget him, as he didn't serve just me but also my kid in the tummy.
    So, as you say, to believe someone to be God or not, and to see GOD in the place we want, lies in the eyes of the beholder.

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  3. Kavitha : Nice one, each of us need a reference to anchor our life and looks like you re-discovered yours ...
    I think when I was around 22 when I realized if I had accepted that God was omnipotent then he was going to take care of me and I stopped praying for success/asking for things etc. I started celebrating/thanking God for my success.

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  4. Kavitha - Interesting post. As an atheist, all I can do is do my best. I don't have an anchor that theists have. I can't trust that a super-power will take care of me.

    I realized that I'm ok with failing. Its the trying that matters. If I don't even try, I have impoverished myself.

    Here's a link - a speech by Javed Akhtar, an atheist. I found it very interesting.

    http://palakmathur.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/speech-javed-akhtar-india-today-conclave-session-on-spirituality-halo-or-hoax/

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  5. keep going Kavitha!
    An atheist also goes to restroom .But to put a dab of lipstick on ;) Everyone has their own confidence-booster techniques ..
    --Deepa :)

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