DVG, A N Murthy Rao, Charlie Brown and a fly in the er....... ointment

(That should be the longest title of any of my blogs so far)

ನಂಬದಿರ್ದನು ತಂದೆ, ನಂಬಿದನು ಪ್ರಹ್ಲಾದ|
ನಂಬಿಯುಂ ನಂಬದಿರುವಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ ನೀನು||
ಕಂಬದಿನೋ ಬಿಂಬದಿನೋ ಮೋಕ್ಷವವರಿಂಗಾಯ್ತು|
ಸಿಂಬಳದಿ ನೊಣ ನೀನು - ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ
ಡಿ. ವಿ. ಜಿ- ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮನ ಕಗ್ಗ




A translation -
The skeptic father*, and devout Prahlada
And you, two - faced between faith and doubt
Salvation, they found, in the **pillar, or in the Icon
And you are stagnant, like a fly stuck in snot - Manku Timma
DV Gundappa - The ramblings of the dull witted Timma.

*Hiranyakashipu, the demon king who did not believe in God, and his devout son Prahlaada **The pillar - Hiranyakashipu, kicks at a pillar in disdain when Prahlaada reiterates "God is everywhere, even in this pillar". The Lord emerges from the pillar as the ferocious Narasimha, and slays him - Hiranyakashipu attains salvation as the Lord feels he sincerely believed in "something" even if he did not concede that "something" was God when he was alive.

Recently, in India, I visited my cousin. It was Janmashtami, and my cousin amazed me by performing the rituals for the festival, complete with reciting the mantras. The last I knew him, he had the same lukewarm interest in religion I currently have. When asked for the reasons for his transformation, he replied with the above excerpt from DVGs "Kagga"
My ears perked up, because this was the exact same verse that my brother - in - law quoted when I asked him about God and his beliefs. Except, his own beliefs are best described as atheist.

This had to be some sort of a sign, from the almighty, asking me to make mind up, was I on his side, or what?

A N Murthy Rao (1900 - 2003)was perhaps one of the keenest intellects to grace Kannada literature. He was an atheist, and outspoken in his views. A N Murthy Rao wrote - "ದೇವರು" (God) when he was in his nineties. In the foreword of this book, he mentions that, the book as being his response to the discussions he had with DVG about God. (DVG was a devout Hindu, and later wrote a book entitled ದೇವರು himself, with detailed descriptions of Hindu rituals). A N Murthy Rao forwards powerful, scholarly arguments on how God, religion and beliefs are unnecessary, illogical and absurd. Very convincing.

What am I to do now?

Both DVG and A N Murthy Rao are equally authoritative and have compelling arguments, so I could never decide. Sitting on the fence is no option - see above. Being stuck in ಸಿಂಬಳ doesn't sound very comfortable or for that matter, hygienic. And you can kiss salvation goodbye, it is simply not for the ditherers.

I turned to my third philosopher, who I relate to, a lot, viz. Charlie Brown from the "Peanuts". Charlie Brown is well known for being wishy washy, and is once berated on this fact by his friends when he yet again fails to make up his mind. He finally decides to be wishy on one day and washy on the other day.

Before I sign off, a story. I remember reading this in a book by Osho Rajneesh.

In a small town, there lived a famous atheist and a theologist. Both were intelligent, scholarly and very skilled debaters. They played havoc with the citizens minds. The priest would talk them over to religion, and before they settled down, the atheist would win them over with a powerful argument and convince them God did not exist. This went on for some time, and the town elders decided to put an end to it. They got both of them together, organised a public debate and announced that the whole town would follow the victor of the debate. The debate started. Both of them amazed the audience with their knowledge and logic. As it went on and on into the night, the audience gradually melted away till eventually only the two debaters were left. The town elders came back in the morning to find both of them silent. The priest sheepishly admitted he was convinced he had been on the wrong track, and now realised God was a figment of his imagination. The elders heaved a sigh of relief and go over to congratulate the atheist. Looking up, the atheist said "Please let me be. I have sinned. I am now off to beg forgiveness from the Lord for doubting his existence".

I really hope every one including the Lord will forgive me for being wishy one day and washy on others, believing in God when I am trouble, and losing interest when things pick up a bit. Fly in ಸಿಂಬಳ but happy anyway.

Good Ol' Charlie Brown, I am getting more like him every day. I am even getting bald like him.