CAUSE, EFFECT AND GOD

P. V. GAJAPATI RAJU

Rajkumar of Vizianagaram

“Truth lies within ourselves; it takes no rise

From outward things, What’er you may believe,

There is an inmost centre in us all

Where truth abides in fullness; and to Know

Rather consists in opening out a way

Whence the imprisoned splendour may escape,

Than in effecting entry for a light

Supposed to be without.”

(From Paracelsus by Robert Browning)

There was not the slightest doubt in his mind that he was an “Intellectual”. He made this very clear in his demeanour and ways. Above every thing else he felt that he had a great gift, the ability to oust anyone in a discussion. His technique was very interesting to observe. If he felt that his case was strong he would wax eloquent on the subject and would lead and draw his adversary to further discussion, into what he felt was deep waters. Then he would despatch the victim and this would please him and further convince him of his “Intellection”. If his grounds were weak and he felt that he reallly could not prevail, score a home run, then he had a very interesting technique, a ruse that almost never failed. He would pick on some insignificant point, not really connected with the main issue and would steer the conversation to it. By his dogged determination and bulldog tenacity, he would hold the conversation on to this unimportant issue and never permit the main issue to be discussed. By this means he would avail having to accept, on that occasion at least, that his adversary was right and he, wrong. Much later he would modify his position to a reasonable stand and take the wind out of the sails of the opponent, for he definitely was head and shoulders above the common run. He was a lovable, kind, helpful, generous man but whenever the smell of an argument was in the air, he could not help snorting like an old war-horse and from then onwards, whoever happened to be opposing his stand was always “The Opponent”. He did not mean ill, he just could not help being himself, just like all of us in our own manners and ways.

He was fond of ritual and loved the atmosphere of “Holy Places.” He loved the chanting of prayers, the ringing of bells, the incense and all the rest of it. He was regular in his visit to his place of worship and in his way of worship. He was quite proud of this deep down inside himself and he also felt that this created a better image of him in the public eye. Oh yes, to him the opinion others held of him was of extreme importance. To most it is so, and this is one of the important reasons for the filling of the various places of worship. It looks good.

When he was confronted with the concept of the law of cause and effect his reaction was very interesting. In phenomenal existence, everything is governed by the immutable, inexorable law of cause and elect. That which we sow we reap. This theory called by the Hindus, the theory of Karma, of action and reaction is a basic natural law. It has nothing to do with the idea of justice or reward or punishment. Every act has inherent and concurrent with it, its results. The results are there whether wanted or not, whether pleasant or otherwise. For the acceptance of the reasonableness of this concept, great intellect is not really needed, only just sound common sense. He did not try to refute this concept at all. The rub really came when the following line of reasoning was put before him. If one accepts the concept of the cause effect relationship, then the entire pattern of our lives comes within its ambit. The pattern is determined by our behaviour in which truly it can be said ignorance is no excuse, for the results follow from the acts regardless of whether we are able or otherwise to trace, recognize, understand and demonstrate this relationship. The only wise course left for us is to think and act with the greatest of care and understanding. If this is reasonable, then where does God, ritual, prayers, and all the rest of it fit in? Who need! God, what part had He to play at all in ones life? Why, and for whose benefit is all the mumbo jumbo? What are the expected cause effect relationships of the visits to places of worship and the recitation of prayers and all the rest? He had no real answer, for there obviously is none. He had ingenious counter questions though. “What harm is there in worship, in prayers in visiting shrines, etc? Whom am I hurting? Its my life after all, and so I wish to live it in this way.” He is quite right about the fact that it is his life and he has the right to live it as he chooses within the framework of normal society rules. However, the rest of his arguments are worthy of serious consideration. As long as an individual really and truly has not understood and accepted the concept of the cause effect relationship in its entirety, obviously so long, he cannot translate this into the warp and woof, the fabric of his life. He can pay lip service as many do, but secretly and sometimes not so secretly, he does believe in the existence of “Miracles” of phenomenal events outside of cause effect relationships, of accidents. He will cite you many many cases of unexplained and inexplicable phenomena to justify this belief. Deep down inside, he fondly hopes that some such “Miracle” will take place in his life and bring him that which he longs and hopes for. Often, the individual does not wish to improve and change his pattern of life, yet he fondly hopes that the results will not catch up. Most prayers are supplications and run in effect if not in fact like this–“Oh God, I have not studied hard yet. I want to pass my exams. I smoke, drink and eat unthinkingly. I love over-eating, but I don’t want to be fat and unhealthy, I don’t like to exercise but I want to be strong and fit. I can’t help but be rude, but I want everyone to like me. My relatives need help of various kinds and I am putting in a plea on their behalf (these examples can go on endlessly), and so my God, I will worship you in ever, possible manner and in return please, please, work miracles and give me my desires. I will recite your name over and over, I will glorify your memory with magnificent edifices (and incidentally my own), and completely surrender to you (whatever that means), now you do your stuff and fulfil our unwritten contract, fulfil my desires.” It is this hope, expressed in many diverse manners, that fills all the various places of worship throughout all these years, and also fills the bellies of the various so-called ambassadors of the good Lord who capitalise on this sorry hope. The greatest tragedy of this is the fact that the person does not recognise the need as Buddha put it, “To stop doing evil and start doing good.” The immediate question that will arise is, “What is evil and what is good”? The answer is simple, there are no fixed or absolute standards. Each individual has to decide in the light of his own experience, what for him at that given moment is “Wrong” and is “Right.” The standards vary from individual to individual and in the individual from time to time. To illustrate, a boy can be raised in a family eating meat and not think evil of it. The day may dawn when he understands that there is no need to kill or be responsible for killing, in order to live. From that day onwards, eating meat is “Evil” for that person. Let us take the case of a man who is brought up in a tradition where widow remarriage is “Wrong”, is “Evil.” It is possible that he can change his outlook at sometime and cease to frown upon this practice. From then on, what was “Evil” has become “Good”. From the above, all one can say is that there are no absolute standards and that the only true and valid criterion is that the individual is as honest and objective with himself as is possible. This is enough and will surely ensure growth. The lack of understanding in its totality in all of this, shows that the individual is really full of superstition. He is doomed to disappointment and helps in spreading beliefs and attitudes that will doom all others who choose to think similarly, to a similar fate. If this could happen to an “Intellectual”, and it happens to too many, what about all the average and below average ordinary people? They are really and truly exploited in every possible manner.

All life, all that is, is sacred, is divine. There is no creator who stands apart from creation, who is omnipotent, omniscient, who is God. Who then created the Creator? No, creation is, and creation alone is divine. Treat creation, all of it, with the respect that is due to it, not forgetting to respect onself–this is the only prayer that is needed, it is a 24-hour, a whole lifetime prayer. The whole universe, and especially the world we live in, is the only temple. The road to fulfilment, happiness and peace is a narrow but sure road. It is simply, “Stop doing evil, start doing good.” Nothing more, nothing less.

21st December, 1973

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