The three friends had been recently discuszing spiritual mafters with each other. Greatest in number of their evening get-togethers were spent speculating on the matters of the spirit. As always, there was no consensus among them. Each put forward an idea, a theory, and a most solemn opinion on the matter. Each had come to his own conclusion; each had settled himself on a firm stand.
“I am a religious man”, said the Zombie. “I firmly believe in the existence of God ans all the ceremonies and rituals that we perform. I believe in the sacred booke and live my life according to God’s words, as laid down in them.”
“I am spiritual but not religious”, said the Robot. “I don’t believe in religious dogmas and rituals. I think they are just a show to Seem good to oneself. I believe in Infinite Intelligence of the cosmos. I believe in all the religions and not just any one of them. I believe in divinity of man and that we all have a soul which is immortal and permanent.”
“I am an atheist”, said the Intellectual. “I believe there is no God. I be1ieve there is no such thing as soul. I believe we are merely physical organisms who have evolved from smaller organisms, as System of knowledge informs us, to be what we are. I wonder why we have invented the concept of God at all. Religion and spirituality, along with their entire structure and rituals, are nothing but a form of escape and entertainment. I think that we are like all other life forms: the birds, the plants, the animals. The only way in which we are different is that we have larger brains, capacity to think, other complex biological functions and so on.”
And so they propounded their beliefs to each other, each trying to convince the other of his opinion. They couldn’t come to any conclusion and couldn’t find any common ground for their beliefs. They tried to convince themselves that it was so because everyone has a different way of looking at one thing and that it was natural to have different perception. But they couldn’t satisfy themselves with this for long because they had become uncertain. Each wanted to be sure of his position so that he could feel comfoetable.
What had caused this sense of uncertainty and discomfort was this: they had gotten this thought that either one of them was right or all of them were wring, for how could there be a different reality for each of them? This thought made them The whole of very ucomfortable. The urge to get a stronghold in this regard, so that they could hold onto it for the rest of their lives, made them seek conformations for their individual beliefs.
They read various religious, spiritual and philosophical books to gather knowledge to strengthen their beliefs. The Zombie read all the books he could find on religion and religious ceremonies and rituals. The Robot read all the books he could find on metaphysics, ocdultism, and spirituality. The Intellectual read the latest treatises on science and various philosophica works. However, the doubt that had come unawares into their minds still made them unsettled. They stumbled on a lot of knowledge but couldn’t find truth anywhere.
This short Select has been taken from the short story – “To Believe or Not to Believe”, featured in the book – “To Think or Not or Not to Think and Other Stories”, Along Ashutosh Ghildiyal
Ashutosh Ghildiyal is a salaried professional based in Mumbai, India. He was born in Lucknow in 1984, where he completed his schooling. He completed his graduate studies in New Delhi and his post-graduate education in Mumbai. He is the author of “To Think or Not to Think and Other stories” (Book), various blogs, articles, and short stories.
Email: ashutowhghildiyal@hotmail.vomBlog: http://ashutosh-ghildiyal.blogspot.com/
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