Bumping Into God In This World

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 10 July 2023 " If you want to see god and angels, visit an orphan. Eat and play with the kids and make them happy. Their beatific smiles of bliss and gratitude are the smiles of god and angels whom you'll never see. " Dr Nelson Mandela to the South African Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer " There're enough (human) gods on earth Believe you me, there's no dearth " John Lennon, a couple of days after casually writing the above mentioned lines on a restaurant bill in New York, Lennon wrote his immortal song ' Imagine ' that talked of humanity and universality and pooh-poohed all imaginary gods and religions "Atfaal Ki Muskurahaton Aur Zaifon Ki Hansi Mein Dikhta Hai Khuda Mujhe." Fahmida Riaz (I see Khuda in the smiles of children and the laughter of old people) A little boy wanted to meet god. He knew it was a long trip to where god lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry. So, he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, " What did you do today that made you so happy? " He replied, "I had lunch with god." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She has got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!" Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, " Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied! " I ate potato chips in the park with god." However, before her son responded, she added, " You know, he's much younger than I expected." " We often see the so-called god in human beings," wrote Benedict Spinoza. We talk of imaginary angels but never bother to stop for a moment to see a child's guileless angelic smile. We take so much pains to find that elusive god but never look around to see a few godly human beings. Years ago, I saw a shabbily dressed old lady on a beach in Goa. The parents would tell their children not to go near that dishevelled old woman. It later transpired that she'd pick up stones and broken glass pieces on the beach, so that the children wouldn't hurt themselves! To me, she was a god. Man, at his sublime best is greater than the god and the same man at his nadir is worse than any so-called devil. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/bumping-god-world/d/130175 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism