Beliefs drive our lives. I was born and brought up in a society that has absolute belief in God with many Gods and Goddesses. Everybody chooses the God he likes. Some like the peaceful face of Shiva, some like the affluence of Vishnu, some like the grace and compassion of Durga, some like the wise, naughty, and innocent Ganesha, some like the equanimous Rama, while some pray powerful Hanumana. Whatever the choice, the belief was the same all the Gods and Goddesses would listen to our prayers, give strength, and help us in moments of difficulty. There is a tradition of daily prayers which still continues.
However, I have not met any person so far who can claim to have met or experienced any of these Gods or Goddesses. The gods of one country are not known in the other country. Gods of India become mythological figures in Rome and the Gods of Rome become mythological figures in India. Yet, we have almost 100% belief in the existence of our own Gods.
We have listened to so many stories from people believing in God that God has listened to their prayers. I am not sure whether this was a placebo or a reality. Even if it was a placebo, it worked for that person. If a person is suffering from extreme pain and praying to Krishna gives him strength to bear the pain, what is wrong with that. The science of the day has failed to provide him any relief from the pain. After all the entire concept of pain and pleasure is also individual experience. The experience of pain and pleasure induced by the same event varies significantly from person to person. In that case, every individual may have a very different way of handling his pain. What is wrong in that case if an individual seeks help from God and his prayers are answered, whether we call that placebo or blind belief?
I think there is no problem with individual choices. All the beliefs are individual stories that society has told us. We believe in these stories because the society around us also believes in these stories. As we move away from our home, and get to meet people coming from different cultures, these stories lose their absoluteness and we start examining them from a new perspective. However, as we examine them, we see that they also lose their placebo value. It is like the electron behaving like a wave till we observe and the moment we observe the electron, it starts behaving like a particle.
I feel that the biggest danger of belief is the prevention of growth. Belief is easy and the path of observation, examination, and inquiry is difficult. When we choose the easy path, we may stay happy in our own well like a frog, but we also miss the possibilities of roaming in the open sky. No doubt roaming around in the open sky does not have the comforts of the well, but it does have the freedom and possibilities. Ultimately, it all depends upon the individual choice whether we choose comfort of belief or freedom of truth. Though, I agree that the society, we are born and brought up in, has a severe impact on our mental constitution. We can still handle a part of it that is conscious but most of that lies in the dark chambers of our unconscious mind that is quite difficult to be examined. The ones attracted towards the silent call of the truth, have to dive deep into the depths of the unconscious mind to unravel the deep conditioning and having set free of our own conditioning, inquire, examine, and observe the domain of consciousness. It's not easy especially while living in this world full of restless insecure souls who make not only their lives shallow but the lives of everybody around them full of shallowness, but even the most dangerous waves in the ocean can not stop the firmly determined adventures of Columbus.
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