Religion and belief in supernatural powers. I never realised how much these were essential for us humans, until recently, when my great grandmother was in her 90s suffering from all the afflictions of old age, finding it hard to articulate words, and even forgetting some of her family’s names. however, the one thing that stayed the same, the one thing she would respond to no matter how much in pain she was, was the name of god, one thing she could speak clearly, was the name of god, one thing she remembered till her last breath, was the name of god.
to be honest, it’s quite magical, and yet quite predictable, how the prosaic and materialistic world no longer interests a person who’s risen above these things, a person who’s about to set foot in heaven.
i never questioned the existence of god, because for me, there does exist a power greater than all of us, a power who created this world, who created an atom, who invented science. science is no less than magic, and to create magic you need a wizard. i believe, god is that wizard. like all the different folk tales that take various routes, there are various stories of how he came to be, what we like to call religion. a vague term that connects us to the world beyond our understanding.
today i understood why we need religion, belief; because if there’s anything about being a human, that differentiates us from animals, is that we have hopes, promises, beliefs, love; and when you reach a certain age, you are bereft of all the hopes, the promises no longer interest you, but the only thing that keeps you going, is belief. the only thing in those last moments that make us human then, become belief and love. and at that point you drain your capacity to love, you’ve given everything you could to your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and now it’s their time to give it all back to you, give you the love that you so deserve. so what’s in your hands, belief. belief in a religion. belief in god. maybe this belief is the magic that keeps you sane, that keeps you human.
so at the end of the day, whether you believe in any religion or god, has nothing to do with your sense of magic, but take a note to find something to believe in, to find something to keep you connected to a world beyond your understanding.
find your magic.
for my great grandmother, it was her god.
for me, it’s her.
Nebula 