Book(s) that changed the way I think - Religion

Disclaimer : This article has no intention to comment on the merits/ demerits of any particular religion.

The first book that changed the way I think is "Jesus Lived In India"- by Holger Kristen.I read this book 8-9 years ago. The book is a step by step investigation into the life of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection. Holger Kristen ( hence forth -HK) takes you through a series of "proofs" , scientific explanation, and great logical reasoning to prove that Jesus Christ did not die on the cross , as is popularly believed, but escaped with the help of his disciples and went on to live the rest of his life in Kashmir, India.

Now, Christianity ,as a religion, is based on the foundation of "the Crucifixion"- the concept of Jesus dying for to absolve others' of their sins . So where does it leave Christianity if it is proved that Jesus did not die on the crucifix at all??

Behold !! Guardians of Religious Sovereignty !! Don't draw your swords yet ! I did not say I endorse the view nor that all that is written in the book is the "gospel" truth. What the book did to me was much better and liberating..

Flashback : I am a Hindu and am brought up on a healthy diet of religion, beliefs and customs. Nothing too harsh,just in the right doses. It is very hilarious to think now that when I was 9 or10 years old , when asked if I knew about the 2 World Wars ; I replied "ofcourse, WW1 is thewar in  Ramayana and WW2 is that in Mahabharatha" !!!! The great Amar Chitra Katha's and books in local languages added colourful stories from Mythology. So I believed in Krishnas, Ramas and the other innumerable gods, we Hindus are generously blessed with, and their divinity and miracles.I went to temples,believed in divine powers of obscure gods, believed in Pujas,believed to an extent in traditions related to religion.

 After I finished the book " Jesus Lived In India" I was consumed by the thought - what if the book is right? What if Jesus did not die on the cross? What if he had lived the remainder of his life in India??? Then the whole foundation of Christianity would be shaken; in fact, there would be no foundation. That's when it struck me with a violent force that perhaps the gods did not exist...at least not as the gods we are taught to know. They might have lived and roamed the earth in those times, but as mortal beings. They may perhaps have been exceptional leaders , with fantastic following. They would have been "different" from the normal people of those times. 

This thought was further ingrained into me when I read "The Bible"- the 2nd book that changed the way I think.It was an abridged version, told in a story book fashion, and with illustrations. To me, a person with out preconceived notions regarding Christianity, "The Bible" was a fantastic tale , which happened 2000 odd years ago, about the fight of a group of disadvantaged people against the tyrannical ruling class. They had great leaders , great vision, and great strength to achieve the vision.

Shorn of the "divine aura" ; the Bible was just an epic , a tale, maybe, a historical log to me - albeit a fantastic one. Then I went on to remove the divinity angle from the gods in the countless Hindu stories I was exposed to. Rama could have been a good king of the yore, lucky to have a chronicler by the name of Valmiki. So would Krishna be. If the exaggerations are tempered down with rational explanations ( and that is quite possible) then the miracle stories become simple and beautiful tales of the olden times.

That was when religion disassociated with spirituality and GOD for me.  Customs and traditions (Parampara and Reeti Rivaz- as our great Big B keeps saying in the great patriarchal roles he plays ) related to religion became meaningless. Castes became absurd. Every thing that human beings do in the name of religion became sham.

 That was when I came across the horrible truth called " Organised religion" ( very akin to organised crime eh?) and the way a select privileged set of people exploit other set of gullible people with religion. 

Having already transformed with the help of these two books - the third one drove the final nail in the coffin. It is " The DaVinci code" ! One of the most brilliantly written book in recent times, the book is erudite and is a perfect blend of mystery, religion, history and thrills. And with yet another possibility of shaking the foundation of a prominent Religion.

I am free now. I am not bound by unreasonable beliefs; unnecessary customs or misplaced faith. I can think clearly, at least as far as religion is concerned. 

I am free.

My son teaches me a lesson!!!

No, I am not talking about the 7 year old; I am talking about the 9 month old.

The story goes like this :

Buoyed by the exhilaration I felt and the little positive responses I received from the blogs I wrote so far, I had ,suddenly, a lot of topics to stamp my authoritative knowledge on. And one of them was parenting. The premise was that, I absolutely, thoroughly , enjoy being a Father. And the smaller the offspring , the more enjoyable it is.

So it goes that, I was superbly confident of my capabilities of understanding and responding to the multitude of sign and sound language which my 9 month old son resorts to. I was confident that I could take care of his requirements anytime, understand his needs and put him to sleep decently. That is.. until yesterday.


I put him to sleep at about 11 PM after playing with him and am working on the laptop lying in the bed, when he wakes up,with a smile. And it is just 12:15 AM !!Though I am a lil surprised at the short sleep he had , I am supremely confident of putting him back to sleep with all the god gifted special parenting skills I possess. How wrong I could be !!

He happily crawls over to me and lie face down on my torso with his head nestling on my chest- his favourite position. I try to work on the laptop as I hum a lullaby and pat his back rhythmically. The glow from the lap top screen keep distracting him till it reaches a point when I have to shut the system and shove it under the cot and earnestly devote time to the business of putting him to sleep.

I try putting him though all his normal sleeping positions, then get up and walk around the house rocking him, put him a cradle ... all to no avail. And then he starts crying!!! and that becomes a marathon performance I have never experienced hitherto. After about 1.5 hours, Saila ( for those who are uninitiated / late comers, she is my better half - (but I being a Male Chauvinist Pig contest the "better half" stuff vehemently)) woke up and joined the party. We do all the routines- breast feeding, bottle feeding, water feeding, cajoling, rocking- with no impact

I am fast tiring . My eyes are burning and my patience ( of which I am proud of -to some extent) is wearing faster. I am getting pushed to the brink but there are no signs of my dear son intending to stop his wailing. He would drop off to a troubled sleep for about 5 minutes giving us the hope and vision of a good sleep only to see him twitch around and commence wailing.

All my ego is down the drain. I have never been so helpless. i cant communicate , i cant understand what is going on, i dont know if he is in some pain. I am just plain helpless.

My son was having a tough time through the week on account of an irritating and persistant cold, running / blocked nose, and slight fever ; but was on a fast recovery track. In fact just before he slept at 11 PM ; he was in his usual element.

I have no idea what time he slept- time had no meaning by then. I woke up to his wailing again...

Took him to a doc who said it could be a case of blocked Eustechian Canal and is not a cause to worry.Currently he is at home sleeping....

Lesson I learnt? Thats quite apparent, isnt it?

Obviously there are a lot of things that I have no control about.
Even a nine month old toddler can kick your butt and you cant do a damn about it.
There are a lot of things , I know nothing about.
Dont put one's foot in one's mouth or Head.

Bike ride -07th Sept.

Despite the enthusiasm for a good clean cycle ride , I overslept.

I could blame it on my 9 month old toddler son for waking me up at 4:30 AM to take care of his sudden demand for attention and coochi-coo and then making me oversleep because of the effort I had to dispense at such unearthly hours; but then there is no point in pointing fingers -especially to a person who cant point back. Indeed !! the buck stops here!!

My friend , Sundar, who was supposed to join me, first send an sms and alarmed at my no replies rang me up. All in all we were on the road at about 8 AM when we should have been at 7 AM. Me on the desi Hero octane and he on a more fashionable Trek.

We were supposed to join a group of regular riders from whitefield. And we were late !!! They did hang around for a while waiting for us , but then their patience ran out. I am normally a guy who would stick to the timings but then.... you know whom to blame , right? If there are members of that ride reading this - do accept my ( our) apologies.

Our route till rendezvous was Basavanagar- Airport Road - Marathalli-Whitefield road- Shell petrol bunk. Here we tried to follow the track of the Whitefield Riders,who had left 20 odd minutes before us, but gave up and returned to the main road due to doubts on the direction they took. Since the incentive of meeting them was now in doubt we decided to take a path of our own .Hence pushed forward along the whitefield road and turned into Varthur road. Nice roads , great views and pleasant climate. The undulating road skirting Varthur lake was a treat.

The lake is beautiful and serene. But then, on closer look you realise that the water is green-a dark green. And every time it gathers speed, or hit an obstacle you could see it foaming and then you realise the extent to which the water is polluted. So much for the beauty!! Cant understand why we ( read Indians. If the problem is universal, read Human Beings) screw up ( cant think of another word) the surroundings we live. Killing the mother who gives us birth!!! But then, that discussion is for another day, another time.

After the obligatory snaps ,we moved on and turned right just before the varthur police station to hit a dirt road that would eventually take us to Outer Ring Road. The road was slushy but not treacherous ( next time we need to take a more slushy road , I guess ) , and we did deviate once to get a closer look at the varathur lake and the paddy fields. Hmmm the ambience was divine. The ride brought back memories of childhood where there were rivers, lush green hills, trekking, climbing trees, earthy smell ,dirt and slush and carefreeness ( is there such a word?). Hope I will increase my life expectancy as Dr.Dean Ornish says it will, when one goes back in time and enjoy.

We hit the over head rail cross near the Belandur station, proceeded underneath , to reach the ORR. Turned right and negotiated the slight incline to reach the tender coconut guy in front of Innovative Multiplex. 3 fantastic tender coconuts later we were ready for the home run. We merged with the saturday morning traffic at Marathally - Thats one place which is perennially jammed!!! From peace to reality , from breeze to smoke , cattle to cars- we were back!! After jostling for space and right- of- way on the mean streets of Bangalore , we ducked right into the HAL colony. Another incline and One kilometer and I was back at home, with Sundar having to negotiate another 2 Kms.

My lower back side - you know, the soft portion which has no backbone and has two cheeks- was numb and on fire ,simultanously! . Sundar, with a larger "lower back side" might have been better off , I guess .

I would most definitely want to repeat this and make it regular. Next time around , I hope I can catch up with the riders we promised to meet; and have fun riding in a group.

The photos are at http://picasaweb.google.com/menon.jayaraj/BikeRide07thSept2008#