Oh My God!

That god is omnipresent is widely believed.  No one has seen or heard him; yet in god we trust.  Even those who don't, grudgingly though, dub him the super power that controls the universe. 

Over 200 years ago, Voltaire said: ''If God does not exist, invent him''. That was the time when sages in India were on relentless search of god. They sacrificed every single need and comfort, and pursued him with devotion.  

The irony of that selflessness is, the god who no one could realise then, is now available 'on demand'!  Thanks to self-styled godmen.  Equating god's presence with 'fragrance in flowers, oil in sesame, ghee in milk, or jaggery in sugarcane', they say though not visible, he certainly exists.  In the name of that latent divinity, they offer to liberate us from failures, poverty, and terminal illnesses.  For every god-given problem, they claim to have solutions using deft and devious blends of Magic, Astrology, Yoga, and Ayurveda.  Their concocted tales of miracles make us believe that solace and succour are easy and instant.  We prostrate before them as if they are incarnations of god, failing to notice the ungodly activities some of them pursue.

Why do we do this?  Are we superstitious, obsessed, or gullible?  What has happened to our god-given common sense and confidence?  Where has our innate ability to see, think and analyse vanished?  Wasn't Harry Emerson Fosdick addressing this state of mind when he said: 

'God is not a cosmic bellboy for whom we can press a button to get things done..' 

                                                                                                                                                               - Harry Emerson Fosdick

A Matter Of Faith

'Faith' to me, is a hard nut to crack! The following two narratives from 'Aithihyamala' will bear me out. Incidentally this collection of true stories by Kottarathil Sankunni, exemplifies Kerala's gifts to humanity like Ayurveda, Astrology, Magic, Martial Arts, Temple architecture etc.

In one story, a servant asks his master, a Brahmin: ''Who does God look like?'' Pointing to a buffalo, the master quips: ''Like him. Worship as I do, and you will see Him''. The servant does so. And God appears before him in the form of a buffalo. The Brahmin refuses to believe, but when convinced, realises how powerful true faith is.

The second narrative is about Alathur Nambi, a descendant of one of the eight families, Dhanwanthari the god of medicine blessed with knowledge of Ayurveda. Nambi's prescription of snake oil offends a Brahmin suffering from a severe skin disease: ''How could you ask a chaste Brahmin to drink snake oil?'' Disgusted, he walks away to a nearby temple, and falls asleep. That night, he dreams of a remedy in 'Sandhya vandanam', the ritual of chanting mantras and sipping water at dawn, noon, and dusk. He starts performing it in the river behind the temple. Within days, he is cured. When told about this miracle, Nambi accompanies the Brahmin to the temple. There, he spots the carcass of a python entangled on a fallen tree, and fat from it dripping into the river. By sipping this water, the Brahmin was unknowingly consuming the medicine that Nambi had prescribed!

Be it science or faith (Click here to read more), here are two great quotes to mull over: 

'Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.' 

- Martin Luther King Jr.

Have faith in the Lord but use sulphur for the itch. 

- Anonymous

3 Easy Steps To Free E-Books

Two challenges a book lover often faces are, 'What to read next?', and 'Where to get it from?' Those familiar with online searching / shopping may not find it so daunting as it sounds. Click here to read more.

In contrast, the world of E-books differs in many aspects. But that is no reason to keep anyone away.  Once the changes in traditional book publishing and selling consequent to digitization are understood, the haze and hesitation begin to lift.  A reader can migrate from P-Books to E-Books, just as effortlessly as how a talented writer self-publishes his/her works these days. Thousands of titles in every imaginable genre are available here, often for a fraction of a Dollar or even free of cost.  Many among them could satisfy the reader in you, and at least a few would make it to bestseller lists eventually. Check it out here.

If you wish to enter this new world, the first thing to know is about E-Readers and E-Book formats. Generally any Tablet, Smartphone or PC (Desktop/Laptop) can double up as an E-Reader, so long as it has the ability to read common E-Book formats like Kindle, EPub, Mobi, PDF, RTF etc.  But dedicated E-Readers like Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite or Fire, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo E-Reader, Sony eReader and iPad have a clear edge in making reading far more comfortable and pleasurable.  

With its ever-growing collection of E-Books and excellent range of E-Readers, Amazon is the market leader.  Yet, its vast publishing platform could confuse a new entrant.  The easy way out is to signup at websites that send out mail alerts of Amazon's offers everyday.  These bring you the titles of your preferred genre, and live links to take you to the corresponding webpage at Amazon, where you can choose to download the book and read it at your convenience. Three of my favourites are:

1)  BookBub    
2)  Booksends     
3)  ManyBooks    

They are not affiliated with Amazon. To my knowledge, they also do not spam you.  Signing up is easy.  You can also update your preferences any time.

Another site that I frequent is Smashwords. Unlike the above, Smashwords is a global distributor of E-Books.  Your choice is not limited to Amazon. You can search for E-Books, read them online by creating a private library, download them in various formats, or even mail them in MOBI formats to your Kindle email address.

Go ahead. Try them.  Happy reading  

'No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time 
for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.'
                                                                                                             - Confucius