Charge God for negligence?

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Directed by Taika Waititi

Soon after the March 8, 2014, disappearance of MH370, the world went into a prayer frenzy. People from various denominations were in unison in wanting to invoke their respective Gods to give a favourable outcome to the fracas. Despite all the fear of possible eternal surveillance by the powers that be, people soon realised that they could let a magnanimous Boeing plane go missing right under their noses with no recourse to recover it.  

All the penance and the prayers proved futile as we have been made to believe that the vessel just disappeared into thin air. What is the response of the believers? Are you going to move on in life believing that the Divine Forces, in all their wisdom, work in mysterious ways and do what is best for mankind? Are they going to think that they had not prayed hard enough, or would they turn livid, believing that the Gods had let them down?

These thoughts went through my mind as I viewed MCU's latest offering. Not being an avid consumer of comics (I was made to believe in my childhood that comics are a waste of time), the characters introduced in this outing are Greek to me. 

As a devoted theist, Gorr soon discovered that the gods he held in high esteem were haughty, self-indulgent figures who never really cared for their loyal followers. At the height of emotional turmoil, Gorr unearthed a god-killing sword, Necrosword, to become Gorr the God Butcher. Gorr becomes a menace, threatening the existence of God. Thor has to save the day with the help of his ex-girlfriend Dr Jane Foster @ now Mighty Thor, as she can handle the hammer Mjolnir now; Valkyrie, the leader of New Asgard and Korg, an alien warrior.

The film earned temporary notoriety after being banned from being screened in Malaysian cinema halls because of its 'gay elements'. As the story in the movie goes, they is a suggestion that Korg was conceived when two male partners 'held hands over a fire'. And Valkyrie expressed love interest in somebody of the same gender in one of the scenes.

The ban is just viewed as a minor storm in the teacup. Nobody is bothered anymore as those who want to watch it do not have to depend on theatrical screenings. They have creative ideas for accessing it digitally, bypassing local authorities' restrictions. And the rest of the world is actually fed-up that LGBTQI elements are deliberatively inserted everywhere in the name of inclusivity, even though in real life, LGBTQI may only involve 1% of society.

The real issue highlighted here is about expecting 'God' to bail us out from all our follies. Should we accept whatever results come out of our endeavours as the will of God? Should we just pacify ourselves that whatever negative outcome manifest in our actions, we will be judged justly at the end of days? Then, why bother about anything, the discoveries, the legal system, the order and the whole shebang of living if living is for the afterlife? A case in point is the recent sentencing of Najib Razak. Despite all the glaring evidence, he and his lawyers insist they never got justice. His lead counsel even has the cheek to philosophise that only God can dispense true justice. It shows how much he believes in his profession; so much confidence he exudes in Lady Justice! 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Sculpted by devotion?

@PawanDurani This Brahmana is from Melukote. Carries water for abhisheka from the Pushkarani down below to the Yoga Narasimha temple atop a hill. A steep climb of 300 steps, plus added distance from Pushkarani. He has been at it for decades now, 4-5 times every day. Body sculpted by devotion.

https://twitter.com/Tasveer_wala/status/949470952240250881

This is more than a mere photo story. The servant of God takes upon himself his divine duty to carry water up to the temple. In simple terms, he is the modern-day Sisyphus. He carries the heavy load of water up the hill every day without actually having a target. He would never be able to fill up the hill or have a deadline when his repetitive duty would end. He takes the 'job' as his Dharma, his reason for his existence. He carries on this selfless and endless mission with the primary gain of finishing his job. He has to find happiness within the act of completing the job, knowing very well that the monotonous and arduous task needs to be repeated, again and again. Perhaps, it is just better for him to continue the duty at hand subserviently, without asking the meaning of it all. Look at him. He displays the full glory of the beneficial effects of his physical exertion, a well-crafted body and probably pink of health. He may look forward to continuing his job the next day, thinking that there would be no one to continue his legacy.

Would things still be the same if he were to overthink and starts automating? What if he begins outsourcing, delegating or hiring to do the same? What if he devises hydraulics? The physical work may be done,, but the fringe benefits? Perhaps that would explain the meaningless (in our minds), repetitive chanting and rituals associated with religious practices -to stay focused. Whether the physical act of doing the chore has any definitive meaning, that is another question. It is not the action but the effects. Just thinking...

Thanks, AqS and SK for tickling my mind.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Too blind to see?

Two stories got me thinking this week.

A paraplegic found out that humanity had not died. He was surprised to see that people went out of their way to appease his less fortunate self even though the last thing that the paraplegic wanted was self-pity and pittance thrown at him. Still, people obliged. It was much like the blind man who was forever taken over to the other side of the road just because he was standing at the edge of the road, not intending to cross or worse had just crossed the road.

Then, there was another chap who had been taking care of his stroke-stricken mother for the past twenty over the years. In the initial few years, he was so high-spirited to give his mother all that modern technology could provide. Things were looking brighter until she was stricken with another episode of apoplexy, paralysing her so bad snatching away her motor and vocal abilities. What is left of a once robust chatty lady is just a faded rose, responding sluggishly to stimuli. Caring for her has progressively become from bad to worse. Frustration set in both sides. Seeing her suffer proved too much for the son. Sometimes, he wonders what plan the Maker has for her; living each day enduring pain and disappointment that her appointment for the Big Sleep is yet to come. But he dutifully does what is expected of him, his filial duties and a chance to repay his dues for the care that he received in the blurry days of infancy and toddlers.

Are we innately hardwired to show compassion to others? After all the generations enduring calamities and hardship, is selflessness part of our DNA? Is it that our constant societal conditioning of its subject to care for the needy changed our selfish selves which were primally satisfied with self-fulfilling primal needs?

Just when I thought that humanity had not died and the human race had a chance for redemption, in walks my son from 'The Big Bad Wolf' sales. He had purchased a book on Auschwitz just to highlight the banality of evil that still lurks as an undercurrent in all of us.