Do I believe in God?
OSHO
I do not believe in believing!
In the modern world, we face three broad kinds of issues with the way we perceive God, religions and spirituality.
The problem with
believers or theists
This section propagates old, misinterpreted understanding of religious concepts, including the word “God”, and refuses to open their mind to see the limits they bind themselves in.
The problem with
non-believers or atheists
This section refuses the old, misinterpreted understanding of religious concepts, including the word “God”, but then also refuses to do the work to actually try and understand them correctly and teach others the same.
The problem with people
“who don’t care”
This section simply doesn’t care enough about “this stuff” to even have a foot in the game. The human race misses out on your capabilities if you belong here. You can do better.
Maybe all in good time, eh?
If the above classification turns you off because you think it’s not very non-dual of me to be boxing people into categories, I concede to that.
I did so, only to layer it into what’s coming next.
Stay with me.
Is there a better way to go about it?
Of course there is. The better way is one of Understanding and not just believing.
For a long time now, we have misinterpreted some of the most important understandings we humans have come up with,
the word “God” being one of them.
And now we are at a point where it’s basically just incomplete people talking about incomplete misinterpretations of incomplete words to other incomplete people.
We really need to step out of this cycle.
If not you, who?
If not now, when?
The following is a collection, or rather a playlist of episodes of The Unlearning Playground Podcast, where I have tried to distill true religion and true spirituality into easily digestible and understandable content. Give it an honest try or two.
The episodes themselves are only a few minutes long individually, but hours of reading sessions and meditations have gone into them. If you’re interested in reading the books I have loved, check out this Instagram guide I created for the same.
Dive into the playlist now!
Persistent and important questions about God, religion & spirituality
Why is it important to understand God?
Few of the most important questions humans have ever come up with have been centred around God, the understanding of this creation and the creative principle within it. If understanding that isn’t important, what is?
How can I get close and understand God?
The first step towards a true understanding of anything really, and especially of something as potent as God, should start with questioning what you think to be already true about it. Unlearning all what you’ve been taught about God is a necessary precursor.
Isn’t “To each his own” a valid answer to “Is there a God?”?
If all of us have “opinions” about God, that is ALL we have – opinions. However, something as universal as God must be an objective truth, not subject to opinions, both of individuals as well as of organised religious groups.
Are the atheists wrong?
The atheists rightly disprove the misinterpreted ideas of God, but they stop there. Just because you proved a misinterpretation to be wrong, doesn’t mean you now know the truth about the original thing. There is some work left to be done.
What is the best quote you’ve ever heard about God?
“If we ever hope to glimpse the true nature of the divine, we must unlearn everything we have been taught about god.”
It is from the 14th century Christian mystical treatise, ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’