FAITH

Reading a book can really take u to different worlds….and make u examine ur own heart n mind and soul and faith… n really think about what it all means ….
Ive been reading books that have really forced me to try n figure out what this means to me- soul, faith, god, life, time, love…….. it began really with a bunch of books by Richard Bach that I read… Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, One, bridge across forever…. N then I stumbled upon Paolo Coelho- the alchemist, eleven minutes….. then came the DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons by Dan brown…. N now I’m reading this book by Orhan Pamuk.. Called Snow…

Life, faith, religion, god, love, hope, despair…. What is it really???? What is it that pours into every corner of my heart but try as I may, I cant ever even begin to explain…
God n religion….. Self and soul… does belief in god really need belief in religion??? No… but then what name do u give ur god??? How do u pray???
I’m most comfortable when in my own heart I pray for something… it feels best when I’m not asking god for help but plain courage to help me face all odds…. But then to go to a temple… or chapel n feel that other people are praying with the same faith as you.. gives me a sense of hope… of strength in my own faith… in myself, in the people around me… in god…

I was talking to Ankit bout this…. Bout life n faith n how religion n faith n ur outlook towards life influence u at the oddest moments…he said that he Didn’t quite know if god existed but he believed in his existence.. in the existence of a natural order of things.. he mentioned that whenever he is agitated or worried or restless n can’t sleep.. He chants a mantra…. a prayer a simple prayer bout giving respect to life.. among other things…… and that calms him down… I do that too… chant a simple prayer over and over again… n that soothes me.. makes my mind still enough to focus on what I am doing or have to do…
N then I thought bout what we discussed in Sanskrit class.. While analyzing the 12th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita… it says that there is no one way of worship… god loves all his devotees alike… even atheists, who believe in doing their duty and in compassion towards all..

I went to a temple after a looooooong time… last I went to a temple was last year.. right after I got my 12th board results.. I went to Tirupati with my family.... I dropped in to the college chapel once in a while…I’ve somehow always believed in solitary prayer… a personal god.. god that pervades everything, every living or nonliving soul… what connects everything to each other…. Like the story of Gaia.. the planet Gaia in the Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov… Gaia… where the planet itself has a soul that’s connected to every being on the planet… it is one… n that’s my idea of God…

To quote Vittoria Vetra in Angels & Demons..: “Science tells me, God must exist, my mind tells me I will never understand God…… And my heart tells me I am not meant to….”