The need for God

One common question I often hear (implied, if not asked) from people is that being spiritual is fine, but where is the need for God in our daily lives, in our practical routines, in the “real world”?

There is no one simple answer to this of course. Especially since needs vary. Mine are different from yours and someone else’s might be different from ours. So the scope of this question goes beyond need, and into want.

Do you want God?

There is no right answer. It can be a yes or no, depending on your nature. You can even answer, “I don’t care.” That’s okay too.

Having said that, I would like to use a metaphor to paint a picture of this need that many of us do feel.

Think of an ant at work. It heads out in search of food everyday of its life and works for the survival of all its fellows. Together with its friends, it raids sugar supplies, rips up dead or dying animals, and does its best to make sure the ant hill never faces scarcity.

But all this while, the ant is unaware of the greater role it plays in the world. It doesn’t know that it is helping keep the ecological balance. It doesn’t know that the needs of the ant hill are helping keep order in a greater world. Thanks to the ant, dead animals do not lie around unattended and carcasses do not rot on the roadside. But the ant goes on about its daily business, unaware of any of this.

In humans, the urge to seek God stems from the need to find their place in the universe. To see how our lives fit in the great order of things. We do know a number of things about our world, but the number of things we do not know is a far larger one.

About vimoh

Vijayendra Mohanty is a Delhi-based blogger who lives in many worlds, speaks eight languages (five of them imaginary), and reads and writes to survive.
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7 Responses to The need for God

  1. AR Hemant says:

    “Do you want God?” – interesting. Makes one think.

    The idea of god, oversimplified, is the existence of a know-all, be-all, end-all entity which rewards The Good and strikes down upon The Bad.

    But it’s tough to apply this concept to life, where the obliteration of one life is necessary for the survival of another.

    So whose side is god on? What’s good? What’s bad?

    Then, everyone has his own god. Then we’d ask: “Is my god better than yours?”

    To answer your question, no, I don’t think I’d want a god.

  2. AR Hemant says:

    Was this WP theme meant for the visually impaired?

  3. Satya says:

    God is needed :) whatever we perceive he is …
    And to be in one and in commune with this world, as u rightly said..we seek God

  4. Sue Gir says:

    True that there’s no right answer to this question. Personally I have been on both the sides of the spectrum and essentially, everywhere in between. And I do not regret any of my past belief.

  5. Aditya Pratap Moharana says:

    We need God and at the same time we should believe in Him. We should not believe in God to get our things done rather we should seek Him to show us the right path and give us courage to face all the difficulties of our life.

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