I have a few good friends, who are enamored by extra-ordinary things. Let me give you a few examples.
One friend told me that he had a photo taken of a cave near Rishikesh. When seen with the naked eye, nothing interesting is seen in the cave. But when he took a photo and got it developed, he found there were several chakras clearly visible. Miracle!!! Later when I saw the photo, it was very clear that there had been some dust or water droplets on the lens, which had created those circular patterns. When I told him this, he was obviously disappointed.
Another friend showed me two photos. There are two places of pilgrimage to the east and west of the place from where the photos were taken. It was dusk time. The two photos were taken at that time. However, both showed crimson tinge at the horizon. He said that it was a miracle. How can there be crimson tinge on the horizon at the east and west at the same time? It is only because of the holy places in both the directions. Miracle!!! Upon closer look, it was visible that a cloud on the eastern horizon was reflecting the sun, which was setting on the western horizon. So there was the crimson light in both the directions. Again, the friend was disappointed.
I feel pity when I see the people get disappointed when their “miracles” get explained away as something normal. But I don’t want to give away truth in return for lame sentiments. Similarly, when I saw a few friends enchanted by the snow on a distant mountain in the form of the letter OM, I felt out-of-place. I did not want to disturb their sentiments that time, but I could not share their feeling of awe.
I don’t say that nothing creates that awe and a sense of miracle in me. I see miracles everyday. A couple of months back, I pointed at an object to a one year old child. He saw the object and not my finger. It was a miracle to me!!! How does a one year old child know the difference between the pointer and the object? How did he learn that? Human mind is amazing.
Man can change. It may be for good or for bad. But the very fact that a man can consciously introspect his thoughts and actions, and can consciously and voluntarily change is a wonder. This differentiates him from stones, trees and animals. Isn’t this a wonderful power in man? My head reels and words fail just to think of this great power in man. To be able to introspect and voluntarily change one’s own way of thinking and action!!! What a wonderful power of the mind!!! No development could have been possible without this power. This is a big miracle!!!
I feel pity when people give so much importance to small small pebbles when such big diamonds sit and stare at them. And most of the pebbles vanish into thin air upon inspection. Oh Man!!! You are the greatest miracle. Your mind is the greatest miracle. Look not outside. Look inside.
Neither there was dust nor water droplets on the lense when the photo was taken in Vasishta Guha. It was a Digital Camera, just taken out of its cover in the cave and there was no possibility of falling either dust or water droplets on to the lense as the cave, as you have seen, was dry. Any, I will not denounce your reasoning and, at the same time, I do not approve the fact that such miracles do not occur. Life itself is a miracle, my dear friend. And, I am feeling hurt now that you were hurt by my disappointment.
Neither there was dust nor water droplets on the lense when the photo was taken in Vasishta Guha. It was a Digital Camera, just taken out of its cover in the cave and there was no possibility of falling either dust or water droplets on to the lense as the cave, as you have seen, was dry. Any, I will not denounce your reasoning and, at the same time, I do not approve the fact that such miracles do not occur. Life itself is a miracle, my dear friend. And, I am feeling hurt now that you were hurt by my disappointment.
Personally, I do not believe in miracles. Resorting to miracles, clairvoyance and such mystical stuff is an indication of a weak mind and will. It is not advisable to take seriously anything that is beyond self-effort and reason. I do not say that they don’t exist. But I do not see any necessity to take them into consideration. Often the mind takes these mystical things as an escape route to avoid taking responsibility or putting in self-effort. It is for this reason that even if these things do exist, it is better to steer clear of them. And, I have observed that in most of the cases, it is because of an over-zealous person failing to see some genuine reason. As the tendency to be enamoured by mystical phenomenon is an indication of weakness, it does make me sad to see my close friends showing such traits.
Yesterday night I watched on TV a programme on how in Germany a case of epilepsy was misconstrued as possession by the Devil and the girl faced a tragic death denied of the available medical attention, which could have actually helped her overcome the problem. It is also very common for people to mistake the sound of blood flowing in the ears as some divine sound. It is also common to interpret cases of schizophrenia, epilepsy and such psychosis as religious experiences.
The marks of genuine religion are truth, strength, compassion, freedom, renunciation, etc. They are well defined in the Yama and Niyama of Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Sthitaprajna Lakshana of the Bhagavad Gita and Sadhana Chatushtaya of Vedanta. Religious life should be built on strong reliance on self effort and a sound sense of morality.
Personally, I do not believe in miracles. Resorting to miracles, clairvoyance and such mystical stuff is an indication of a weak mind and will. It is not advisable to take seriously anything that is beyond self-effort and reason. I do not say that they don’t exist. But I do not see any necessity to take them into consideration. Often the mind takes these mystical things as an escape route to avoid taking responsibility or putting in self-effort. It is for this reason that even if these things do exist, it is better to steer clear of them. And, I have observed that in most of the cases, it is because of an over-zealous person failing to see some genuine reason. As the tendency to be enamoured by mystical phenomenon is an indication of weakness, it does make me sad to see my close friends showing such traits.
Yesterday night I watched on TV a programme on how in Germany a case of epilepsy was misconstrued as possession by the Devil and the girl faced a tragic death denied of the available medical attention, which could have actually helped her overcome the problem. It is also very common for people to mistake the sound of blood flowing in the ears as some divine sound. It is also common to interpret cases of schizophrenia, epilepsy and such psychosis as religious experiences.
The marks of genuine religion are truth, strength, compassion, freedom, renunciation, etc. They are well defined in the Yama and Niyama of Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Sthitaprajna Lakshana of the Bhagavad Gita and Sadhana Chatushtaya of Vedanta. Religious life should be built on strong reliance on self effort and a sound sense of morality.
Belief in miracles or not is your personal outlook, but you cannot and should not rub that idea on others, who do not tow to your line of thinking. At the sametime, I am sorry, I totally disagree with you that resorting to miracles, clairvoyance, etc., is an indication of weak mind and will. However, I do subscribe fully to your opinion that, for a sincere sadhaka, there is no necessity to take them into consideration and one should steer clear of them and the marks of genuine religion are truth, compassion, freedom, renunciation, etc., and life should be built on such strong self-effort and a sound sense of morality. And, therefore, there is nothing to feel sad and bad about it. Kindly give value to the opinions of others too, my dear friend, while holding on to your own values.
Belief in miracles or not is your personal outlook, but you cannot and should not rub that idea on others, who do not tow to your line of thinking. At the sametime, I am sorry, I totally disagree with you that resorting to miracles, clairvoyance, etc., is an indication of weak mind and will. However, I do subscribe fully to your opinion that, for a sincere sadhaka, there is no necessity to take them into consideration and one should steer clear of them and the marks of genuine religion are truth, compassion, freedom, renunciation, etc., and life should be built on such strong self-effort and a sound sense of morality. And, therefore, there is nothing to feel sad and bad about it. Kindly give value to the opinions of others too, my dear friend, while holding on to your own values.