Living In A State Of False Hopes, Amounts To Self-Deception

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 7 February 2024 "Perhaps it is typical, and indeed inevitable, that people who do not believe in the Creator or are indifferent to the Creator will sooner or later become cynical and will lose hope in the face of what they regard as bad things happening in the world. Perhaps the only way one can remain sane and hopeful in the midst of the misery in the world is by knowing that there is a God who is in charge of all things and who, in the end, will ensure for there to be perfect justice for all. Only by having faith in such a God can one be saved from becoming a prey to cynicism and despair in the face of the troubles in the world." Mary "I never needed an imagined god to remain hopeful. I cannot be foolishly happy in this (wretched) world expecting that a blessed existence shall begin after this life. My concern is about this world and life. My so-called cynicism is an outcome of my intellectual rigour and existence. My thoughts are impacted by what I see and feel. I don't care for what I cannot relate to......" Mexican Nobel laureate Octavio Paz in his celebrated book-length essay, ' The Labyrinth of Solitude ' (1950) I hope Mary has understood the point. Octavio Paz was a nominal Christian whose faith in Jesus bordered on doubts and reservations and he discarded Trinity as pure theological drivel. That said, living in a perpetual state of false hopes and imaginary benefits of an unseen future amounts to self-deception, nay, delusion. You can jolly well believe in some Creator. Call it god or Allah. That's fine. But don't delude yourself by thinking that the miseries in this world have deeper 'spiritual' meanings and ramifications. A person who has no belief in any supernatural power is more deeply and positively involved in this world. He or she believes that only humans can ameliorate the lives of other humans. We cannot resign ourselves to the miseries we face in life as the ways of god and handiworks of providence. That will make all of us fatalists. We must meditate upon the problems and predicaments and find their solutions. Does that make one a cynic or naysayer? Certainly not. There's a profound shloka in the Gita in which Krishna tells Arjuna,"You've every right to deny what you don't experience. You can deny godhood. You can deny even me. But you cannot deny your moral responsibility towards your fellow humans. because you're a human." A non-believer is moved by the pain and plight of his fellow humans despite having no faith in an imaginary being called god. That's not cynicism. Read Friedrich Nietzsche's ' Beyond Good And Evil: Prelude To A Philosophy Of The Future ' and Roman emperor-philosopher (what a bizarre combination!) Marcus Aurelius' ' Meditations.' Though branded as cynical, both the books urge you to be humane humans, sans any god-realization. To quote, Yahya Mujeeb, "Duniya Mein Hai Toh Kar Duniya Ki Fikra/ Kisi Ne Maut Ke Baad Ki Duniya Nahin Dekhi" (If you live in this world, be involved in it/ No one has ever seen that 'world' after death). ---- 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/false-hopes-self-deception/d/131669 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