Science vs Religion

This is one of the best stories I have read regarding the never ending debate of Science Vs Religion. Personally, I believe that science and religion are the two sides of the same coin - search for the ultimate meaning. However, they approach it in different ways. At times, the interpreter's or preachers of religion might have been wrong, however, that doesn't in any way mean that religion is wrong. While science explains many a phenomenon, it still has not been able to explain things like "Who am I?", "Why am I here?" and many more...

While science helps you get a simple, valid and irrefutable argument on a reality, religion threads a more complicated path. How you enjoy reading the story and gain from it over and above the humour it carries:

Scientific Religion
"Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. "You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"

"Yes, sir."

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I'm evil."

The professor grins knowingly. "Ahh! THE BIBLE!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help them? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good...!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"Why not say that? You would help a sick and maimed person if you could... in fact most of us would if we could... God doesn't.
[No answer.]

"He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"
[No answer]

The elderly man is sympathetic. "No, you can't, can you?" He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. In philosophy, you have to go easy with the new ones.

"Let's start again, young fella."

"Is God good?"

"Er... Yes."

"Is Satan good?"

"No."

"Where does Satan come from?" The student falters.

"From... God..."

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he?" The elderly man runs his bony fingers through his thinning hair and turns to the smirking, student audience."I think we're going to have a lot of fun this semester, ladies and gentlemen." He turns back to the Christian.

"Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"

"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? Did God make everything?"

"Yes."

"Who created evil?
[No answer]

"Is there sickness in this world? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness. All the terrible things - do they exist in this world? "

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"Who created them? "
[No answer] The professor suddenly shouts at his student. "WHO CREATED THEM? TELL ME, PLEASE!" The professor closes in for the kill and climbs into the Christian's face. In a still small voice: "God created all evil, didn't He, son?"
[No answer]

The student tries to hold the steady, experienced gaze and fails.
Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace the front of the classroom like an aging panther. The class is mesmerized. "Tell me," he continues, "How is it that this God is good if He created all evil throughout all time?" The professor swishes his arms around to encompass the wickedness of the world. "All the hatred, the brutality, all the pain, all the torture, all the death and ugliness and all the suffering created by this good God is all over the world, isn't it, young man?"
[No answer]

"Don't you see it all over the place? Huh?"
Pause.

"Don't you?" The professor leans into the student's face again and whispers, "Is God good?"
[No answer]

"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor. I do."

The old man shakes his head sadly. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen him? "

"No, sir. I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"

"No, sir. I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus...in fact, do you have any sensory perception of your God whatsoever?"

[No answer]

"Answer me, please."

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"You're AFRAID... you haven't?"

"No, sir."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"...yes..."

"That takes FAITH!" The professor smiles sagely at the underling."According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?"
[The student doesn't answer]

"Sit down, please."

The Christian sits...Defeated.

Another Christian raises his hand. "Professor, may I address the class?"
The professor turns and smiles. "Ah, another Christian in the vanguard! Come, come, young man. Speak some proper wisdom to the gathering."

The Christian looks around the room. "Some interesting points you are making, sir. Now I've got a question for you. Is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."

"Is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No, sir, there isn't."

The professor's grin freezes. The room suddenly goes very cold.
The second Christian continues. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super- heat, mega-heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold, otherwise we would be able to go colder than 458 -

You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. "Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence. A pin drops somewhere in the classroom.

"Is there such a thing as darkness, professor?"

"That's a dumb question, son. What is night if it isn't darkness? What are you getting at...?"
"So you say there is such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes..."

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something, it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, Darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker and give me a jar of it. Can you...give me a jar of darker darkness, professor?"

Despite himself, the professor smiles at the young effrontery before him. This will indeed be a good semester. "Would you mind telling us what your point is, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with and so your conclusion must be in error...."

The professor goes toxic. "Flawed...? How dare you...!""
"Sir, may I explain what I mean?"

The class is all ears.

"Explain... oh, explain..." The professor makes an admirable effort to regain control. Suddenly he is affability itself. He waves his hand to silence the class, for the student to continue.
"You are working on the premise of duality," the Christian explains. "That for example there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science cannot even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism but has never seen, much less fully understood them. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, merely the absence of it."

The young man holds up a newspaper he takes from the desk of a neighbor who has been reading it. "Here is one of the most disgusting tabloids this country hosts, professor. Is there such a thing as immorality?"

"Of course there is, now look..."

"Wrong again, sir. You see, immorality is merely the absence of morality.
Is there such thing as injustice? No. Injustice is the absence of justice. Is there such a thing as evil?" The Christian pauses. "Isn't evil the absence of good?"
The professor's face has turned an alarming color. He is so angry he is temporarily speechless.
The Christian continues. "If there is evil in the world, professor, and we all agree there is, then God, if he exists, must be accomplishing a work through the agency of evil. What is that work, God is accomplishing? The Bible tells us it is to see if each one of us will, of our own free will, choose good over evil."

The professor bridles. "As a philosophical scientist, I don't view this matter as having anything to do with any choice; as a realist, I absolutely do not recognize the concept of God or any other theological factor as being part of the world equation because God is not observable."
"I would have thought that the absence of God's moral code in this world is probably one of the most observable phenomena going," the Christian replies.

"Newspapers make billions of dollars reporting it every week! Tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor makes a sucking sound with his teeth and gives his student a silent, stony stare.
"Professor. Since no-one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a priest?"

"I'll overlook your impudence in the light of our philosophical discussion. Now, have you quite finished?" the professor hisses.

"So you don't accept God's moral code to do what is righteous?"

"I believe in what is - that's science!"

"Ahh! SCIENCE!" the student's face splits into a grin. "Sir, you rightly state that science is the study of observed phenomena. Science too is a premise which is flawed..."

"SCIENCE IS FLAWED?" the professor splutters.
The class is in uproar.

The Christian remains standing until the commotion has subsided. "To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, may I give you an example of what I mean?" The professor wisely keeps silent.

The Christian looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out in laughter.

The Christian points towards his elderly, crumbling tutor. "Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain... felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain?" No one appears to have done so.

The Christian shakes his head sadly. "It appears no-one here has had any sensory perception of the professor's brain whatsoever. Well, according to the rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science, I DECLARE that the professor has no brain."

The class is in chaos.
The Christian sits down.

A Date with Destiny

Prologue:

"Some day you are the statue and some day you are the pigeon" - And when you are the statue you feel that the whole world has conspired to go against you.

The Story:

The church bells were ringing...love was in air...we had decided to get married...everything was going fine or so I thought as we ran up the stairs hand in hand...suddenly came a sound from heaven..."Stop my children, you are not destined to be together"...the sky darkened....thunder and lightning...and then it started to rain...I still held her hand tight in mine...it was hard to see even a few feet's ahead...I strained hard to see or even move...But in my mind, I was firm...Live together or die together...Finally, after much effort, I was able to reach the doors of the church...I pulled her from the heavy rains into the safety of the church...but she wasn't there...In my hand lay a red rose...The only sign that she existed...but she will remain in my heart forever.........The church bells started ringing incessantly ... clong...clong...Clong...CLong...CLOng...CLONg...CLONG...CLONG...CLONG

The sound grew louder until I realised that I have just been woken up by my 6'o'clock alarm. I shut it down with one stroke of my hands and dove back to complete my dream. Well, something was missing...something was different...yeah, it didn't look like 6'o'clock in the morning....the sunlight was streaming in through my window almost to the point of blinding me...Oh No...Not again...My alarm clock has again cheated me. He has gone off about a couple of hours late. I jumped up and looked around. My roomie has already left for his office. I looked around with utter confusion...am i in the same place I slept yesterday. The dream had thrown me off any sensibility that was left in me.

I looked at the calender...yes, today is a Monday(?)...May be this was the Monday blues...I took out the towel and entered the bathroom. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror...Monday is the day when i do a through make over...well brushed, well shaved...all in all well groomed...GROOMED....Oh my God, how could I forget.....Today was THE MONDAY. The client visit day and I am going to be late for office. My brain sprang into action and I was ready to go to office in about ten minutes...well ten minute twenty two seconds. Though by now I was about half an hour behind schedule.

I took my jacket and helmet and rushed outside the house, closing the door in one go. CLICK. That's when i realised it - I have locked myself out of the house, no roomie to open it again and no Bike keys to help me reach office in half the time. So far, the day was going well <Sarcastic grin>.

Thank God, at least I had my wallet, I ran outside and reached the bus stand, just seeing the bus# 389C, which will leave me at the office, starting to roll. I broke into a trot and was easily able to board the bus. Well, some good thing happening in a day which was all going wrong. Well, God is not all that bad. That's when the conductor came roaming around asking for ticket, with his dirty coat smelling diesel. With an arrogant smirk I said, "One - SEZ Main Gate". The guy gave me a rude look and retorted, "this bus doesn't go till Main gate. Get down at gate three and start walking as fast as your legs take you". "Why wouldn't it", I asked, angry at his insolence. That's when he gave me a lecture on why bus# 389N wouldn't go till the main gate. Bus # 389 N?I thought it was 389C...Oh my God, not again. Well, my mind was in turmoil as i grabbed a seat. Cursing myself for not being vigilant enough, inspite of the days happening, I jumped out of the bus and started running. It would be a 2 KM run which I can be proud of any day, because I finished it in record time. But as i neared the office building, as expected of today, I stepped on a dirty puddle, too late as I realised that it was deeper...completely soaking my shoes.

As i entered the project area, I realised that this is just the start of a bad day. I was late, I was badly dressed and least presentable and on top of that one of my legs were covered in mud. Just as I swiped myself in, I saw my boss chatting away with the client. I stealthy (or so I thought) went over to my place. I logged into my computer just to see a meeting invite in about fifteen precious minutes for which I would be late and least presentable. I started thinking fast. First person who came to my mind was my best friend.I called him and asked him to come over to discuss some important stuff (Urgent was the keyword). He came to my place in about five minutes. I closed his mouth with my hands as i pulled him in to the wash room, making him remove his shoes and soon emerged out more presentable, while he stayed there longer...presumably cleaning up my (now his) shoes. I could make it into the meeting room if i run, so I ran and got into the wrong dressing room, surprising my group leader, who gave me an acid look (cos the clients were there) and asked me to go to the correct meeting room. Finally when i found my meeting room, I was relieved that the meeting didn't involve the client. Hallelujah...

Well, the meeting went pretty decently though my project leader remarked rather curtly that people should maintain professionalism, especially during a client visit. Well, I forgave him for he didn't know what I was going through. Well, after the meeting I didn't venture out much and restricted myself to my cubicle and that was just a brilliant idea. By the end of the day at office, I was pretty sure that the bad luck curse was a thing of the past. I packed my bags and walked to the SEZ main gate only to see the best sight of the day - Bus # 389 C (yeah, this time it was C) just leaving the station...and the bad part was that i was not in it. I decided to wait, the wait turned out to be a long one lasting about 52 minutes and then i decided to walk two KMs to gate# 3 to catch the bus # 389N. I walked and was dead tired by the time I reached the stop. Just then, 389N came and I got in. I thanked my stars. I took out a Rs 50 note and gave it to the conductor announcing - "PanchMahal, Andheri ", he said that it would cost me Rs 70. I was stumped. He then revised the rates to Rs 50. Seeing my reaction, he remarked that this was a Limited stop bus and would thus cost more. I paid up and sat down. Well, I wanted to be back at home and finish the day off...or was it going to continue the whole week?

Till now I have face loss of credibility, loss of patience...and loss of money was the only thing that was left to happen and it happened now.

Just then the conductor came by and asked me how many tickets i had asked for, for which i replied one. He returned me Rs 40 and said that he had heard me say, "Paanch Andheri" (Though i still wonder how he could have misheard this one).Thanking God that atleast my money was saved, I sat there praying. He was my only solace. I reached my house and thankfully my roomie was there. So i didn't have any problem getting in. He had prepared dinner for both of us, which was a surprise and a pleasant one at that. But How was I to know that the day of surprises hadn't ended yet. As soon as i opened the door, I saw a bouquet of red roses, with a note from her saying - "Till Death Do We Part".

Outside, it had started to rain...

Yes, We Can - can we?

American President Elect, Barack Hussain Obama said, "Yes, We Can" and thats when I started having all these wierdo questions on whether we can?

• can we listen to a book?
• can we travel the world without moving an inch?
• can we fall in love at first sight?
• can we speak through our silence?
• can we kiss without loving?
• can we laugh our heart out while in pain?
• can we be sweet while being curt?
• can we smile with our eyes?
• can we touch someone else's soul with our lips?
• can we be nostalgic about a bitter experience?
• can we read between the lines on a blank paper?
• can we still be nice to someone who is rude to us?
• can you listen to silence?
• Can you please smile for me?

and finally,

Can you tolerate all my random thoughts?

Story of Holi

In Hindu mythology, Hiranyakashipu was the king of demons, and he had been granted a boon by Brahma, which made it almost impossible for him to be killed. The boon was due to his long penance, after which he had demanded that he not be killed "during day or night; inside the home or outside; not on earth or on sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra nor by shastra". Consequently, he grew arrogant, and attacked the Heavens and the Earth. He demanded that people stop worshipping gods and start praying to him. But his own son, Prahlad, was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. In spite of several threats from Hiranyakashipu, Prahlad continued offering prayers to Lord Vishnu. He was poisoned but the poison turned to nectar in his mouth. He was ordered to be trampled by elephants yet remained unharmed. He was put in a room with hungry, poisonous snakes and survived. All of Hiranyakashipu's attempts at killing him failed. Ultimately he ordered young Prahlad to sit on a pyre on the lap of his sister Holika, who could not die by fire by virtue of a shawl which would prevent fire affecting the person wearing it. Prahlad readily accepted his father's orders, and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as the shawl flew from Holika, who, then was burnt to death, while Prahlad survived without a scar to show for it, after the shawl moved on to cover him. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi. It is also said that later Lord Vishnu came in the form of a Narasimha (who is half-man and half-lion) and killed Hiranyakashipu at dusk (which was neither day nor night), on the steps of the porch of his house (which was neither inside the house nor outside) by restraining him on his lap (which is neither in the sky nor on the earth) and mauling him with his claws (which are neither astra nor shastra).
In Vrindavan and Mathura, where lord Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated for 16 days (until Rangpanchmi in commemoration of the divine love of Radha for Krishna). Lord Krishna is believed to have popularized the festival by playing pranks on the gopis here. Krishna is believed to be complained about his dark colour and Radha\'s fair colour to his mother and so decided to apply colour to her face. The celebrations officially usher in spring, the celebrated season of love.
There is another story about the origin of holi. The Kamadeva is God of love. Kama\'s body was destroyed when he shot his weapon at Shiva in order to disrupt his penance and help Parvati to marry Shiva. Shiva then opened his third eye, the gaze of which was so powerful that Kama\'s body was reduced to ashes. For the sake of Kama\'s wife Rati (passion), Shiva restored him, but only as a mental image, representing the true emotional and mental state of love rather than physical lust. The Holi bonfire is believed to be celebrated in commeration of this event.

Vande Matharam

This is a SMS i got today from my friend Ajai Karthick...i liked it so much that i decided to publish it.
" 28 States, 7 Union Territories, 1618 Languages, 6400 Castes, 52 Tribes, 6 Religions, 6 Ethnic Groups, 4 Wars, 29 major festivals.........1 country..........My Country ....INDIA........Proud to be an Indian."

This brought back in me the memories of school days, when i used to go to my school in white and white attire to attend the flag hoisting ceremony.......well, i agree...to eat the sweets being distributed.Singing the national anthem was a routine then ....but now i feel the real meaning of what i used to sing.
Today while washing the clothes, i started singin the national anthem...standing in attention, singing it gave me a great sense of pride...i cant express it in words.Yes thats when i felt that this feeling which i get today...is it becoz today is the republic day? yes, its only on these special days that i remember my country,its only at this time that i salute those lakhs of people who fought and sacrificed their lives so that i can enjoy my freedom, its only on these days that i forget my rights and remember my responsibilities...............hope most of you can relate to what iam trying to say......i am no gandhi and can never dream to one even if i do penance for 1000 years...i also dont promise that after writing this i'll go and follow whatever i have written or questioned.....but if at all , after reading this someone is transformed....iam blessed...this is the least i can do for my country.

I pray that the chant Vande Matharam......doesnt turn into Oneday Matharam.
JAI HIND

Dream Run

It happened a week ago, i ran the mumbai marathon 2006! Well, you may ask whats so surprising in it?...ya..it is surprising because iam the laziest guy in town. I grumble at the word exercise.
You know what...I passed my 10th and 12th standard physical test for the main exams by a very small margin...to be truthful I scored an elegant 'D' , why elegant because if it were an 'E', I would still be there in the school. Well now when i think, i miss my school a lot but never the physical education exams, were they used to ask me to throw shotputs weighing tonnes(I still have a doubt whether they gave heavier ones to make me fail), jump onto the harsh sand and run 1500metres. God, I still remember it, while all the other guys had finished running, when i still had 1 more lap to go...I felt so embarassed!
Even after facing this much disgrace, I dont know why I joined up for the marathon... partially maybe because one of my cousins had run the New Orleans Marathon(for your info: He ran the full marathon) and he never has stopped inspiring me or may be because I thought it would be possible for me to run just a small distance and then back out and still tell everyone that I ran the marathon.
I went to the Mumbai World Trade centre to collect the BIB on the day before the race. It was there that I saw a guy... he was the marathon champ previous year( i suppose). Man...he was tall. As for his body he was as thin as me, but a lot taller. My dad was telling me, "boy... its all about stamina and willpower to complete the race. hmmmmmmm...... ".
I had to report to the marathon venue @ 8:30 AM which meant that i had to start from my place at 7 AM. As I was getting ready to got to bed, I thought...lemme decide whether to run in the morning. My dad was reminding me all the time that he did not expect me to run as the last time I had registered for something, I hadn't gone. To say the truth this set a severe challenge for me and I wanted to show him that I too had some will power even though it was very weak!!
I set the alarm to 5 and went to sleep.Getting up @ 5 is hard. Even though during my school and college days I had woken up as early as 3AM, now the habit has been lost. As can be sure i got up at 6 and was ready by 7. Took a rick to the local railstation.there were many people getting ready to run for the marathon.
Lemme share a secret, I had planned to start training in a small way a week earlier but could not get myself to getup and run in the early morning. So without any training, i went for the run.
My train reached the station, I found many friends with whom I later ran. We walked to the Azad maidan, the venue.
Forgot to tell you, i ran for my company and also that I didnt run the full marathon - 42KM(I would not have been alive now to write this had i tried it)...I didnt even try for half marathon (21KM) instead i chose a safe 7KM Dream Run...only because there was no other option with lesser distance...actually my intend was just to run the marathon so that i cud tell my children someday that I was a runner and had run the mumbai marathon!!.
As we reached the venue, some of the company representatives gave us some banners..."Oh God, do we have to run with these". It was real inspiration to see our CEO at the run.
The run started...we started out slowly and then gathered speed...my companions who helped me carry the banners were left behind as I found out that I had better stamina than people who looked "fitter".
All praise to the SPIRT OF MUMBAIKARS either they ran like hell or they encouraged people who ran (like hell). After running 3.5 KM you get that tendency to walk...3.5KM itch but the people were cheering us from both sides of the road and I felt that I should do justice to their cheers...so I tried never to stop and ran slowly and tried never to walk...but sometimes my body took over and i had to walk. After walking some distance, you tend to get a feeling that its better to walk and complete the marathon...but thats where your stamina and will power comes in.. "never give up", i said to my self, "...run run....." .so I ran and finished the race in 48minutes.
Thats impressive 48minutes to cover 7KM...that too after going without exercise for ....hmmmm since school days.
I couldnt believe it when i saw my CEO completing the race, sometime after me...i didnt expect him to even run far less complete the race...i last saw him at the start of the race and here he was @ his old age completing the marathon...that was also inspiring.
You know what you feel when you have achieved something...even though it may not equal what many others have achieved...it gives a sense of pride and exhilaration......and tell you a secret...the exhilaration of success of accomplishment is addictive.....I now know that i will run the mumbai marathon next year also...and the next and the next...

I have to quote the spirt of mumbaikars here again...A physically challenged boy was running and people all around were cheering him...yes...even the marathon runners stopped to applaud and encourage him to go faster...did i see a drop of tear in his mothers eyes...if i saw it, it was surely tears of happiness. It was a great learning experience to run the mumbai marathon.

I have started blogging

Thus after long time contemplating whether to publish a blog ....what the name of the blog should be...i am here to rock the world of blogs.I welcome all of you to my blogs.