Reality of God

A painting: God of equality and justice

Have you been conjecturing as me, why there is so much religiously enthused violence in the world? It might seem that religion is the cause of evil in the world, in other words some person might adhere to the aforementioned view. If we go back in time, it is clear that human persons have tried to organise themselves in tribes and communities. They needed to organise such a way that they remain faithful to their tribe, hence an amount of fear had to be instilled in persons. This fear aspect had to come from somewhere or someone higher than himself or herself. It is in this process of finding someone that early people found a way to instil fear among his or her members. All this was done to protect themselves from other tribes and communities. There was a noble cause for doing this. Over the years, the idea that God of punishment takes precedence among the people. A supreme being will make sure that this universe in peace and tranquillity. If anyone goes against this Supreme Being will be punished and condemned. There is a negativity sets into the human life. This negativity is encouraged and nourished to just to merely make God into an object to achieve goals set by some chosen ones. Hence, religion takes an important role in the lives of the people both positively and negatively; positively, people are encouraged to live in harmony and negatively, people are encouraged to protect one’s own clan (religion) by means of destruction of the others. This will be my brief background to my mind thought.

I was impressed by two thrilling news that hit the headlines in the last few days, namely, Nobel peace prize is conferred to child activist Malala Yousafzai and Archbishop of Lahore Joseph Coutts speaking at the Synod on Family on the atrocities done to the women in the name of blasphemy. On the one hand, women are suppressed in the male chauvinistic society. They are being sentenced to death and imprisonment because of blasphemy. For example Asia Bibi was sentenced to death in Pakistan after being accused falsely of blasphemy against Islam. Archbishop at the Synod on Family said that there are many more families like Bibi, which are broken. There are families, which are broken as a result of injustice and intolerance.

On the other hand, Nobel Peace laureate expresses on her winning the prize, that women have to speak up whilst men try to clip their wings. They have to fly high with supporting each other. She expresses that we all belong to one family, a human family. There must not be any discrimination based on religion, colour, language and gender. She says this on winning a shared Nobel Peace prize with children activist Kailash Satyarti from India, who is a Hindu. Hence, whilst working for good cause, one has keep aside his religious and political adherences.

Religiously motivated violence or evil is on the rise in the world as a result animosity is at the door step of most people. Do we not believe that there is One God and we are his people? If we really believe this we would not undertake violence to promote one’s religion. I am reminded of Plato’s allegory of the Cave and I would like to apply it to support my argument that someone has to take initiative to know the reality of God and what would God want us in this world. Like the prisoner in the cave initially is confused and would reject the world because he has just come out of the cave; in other words he would not recognise the people carrying the figures, because he saw only the figures whilst in the cave. Instead he will continue to see the reality of the shadows even whilst in the reality itself. As Plato imagines a step further, the prisoner would slowly, but surely begin to peace together the world around him and realize that shadows in the cave are not in fact reality. Hence, there will be enlightenment and feel the need to return to the cave and enlighten other prisoners to see the reality.

We are prisoners who are imprisoned in the idea that God is exclusive for one religion or one tribe or one community, like people in the cave. In fact reality is, God is transcendental and One. Somehow, human persons have to come out of the cave to see the reality of God and get enlighten by the encounter and God experience; an experience of equality and harmony. Once we have that experience of the reality of God, we have to enter the cave to rescue others to get that reality of the experience of God. We have to break the cave of ignorance and shallow experience of God in order to enlighten the perpetrators to change their attitude towards the reality of God in the world, a reality based on God experience and not based on the whims of the powerful. Every one of us has to dedicate one’s time and energy towards building a real world, a world that is for everyone, a world that God intends for his children.