I think the problem with us is that we pray to God in a language we do not understand. Does he understand. He must. Or else he may take the help of Google translate.
See, all our holy books - we have so many of them, are written in Sanskrit. How many of us can read these books and understand these. To make matters worse many of these are in verse. When our knowledge of Sanskrit does not get beyond gachchati gachchataha gachchanti, how can we read and understand these shlokas? We can not. So we do not read. And tell our swamijis and gurus to tell the gist of the holy books to us. They do tell us. But they tell their own interpretations.
In some religions - their scriptures are translated into their own languages. Any one can read and understand. But do we have Vedas in Kannada? Or Hindi? Apparently we do. So says google baba. But google devotees and religious devotees are two different sets who do not intersect.
So to come back to the problem. We have too many religious books (just like too many gods) which we do not understand. And we ask the interpreters. Some of us believe these interpreters and some are skeptic. Believers have complete 100% faith on the Swamis and what they say, which is very dangerous.
The same thing might have happened in other religions too. Like Islam.
Which is better? Believing in some books we little understand or not believing.
See, all our holy books - we have so many of them, are written in Sanskrit. How many of us can read these books and understand these. To make matters worse many of these are in verse. When our knowledge of Sanskrit does not get beyond gachchati gachchataha gachchanti, how can we read and understand these shlokas? We can not. So we do not read. And tell our swamijis and gurus to tell the gist of the holy books to us. They do tell us. But they tell their own interpretations.
In some religions - their scriptures are translated into their own languages. Any one can read and understand. But do we have Vedas in Kannada? Or Hindi? Apparently we do. So says google baba. But google devotees and religious devotees are two different sets who do not intersect.
So to come back to the problem. We have too many religious books (just like too many gods) which we do not understand. And we ask the interpreters. Some of us believe these interpreters and some are skeptic. Believers have complete 100% faith on the Swamis and what they say, which is very dangerous.
The same thing might have happened in other religions too. Like Islam.
Which is better? Believing in some books we little understand or not believing.
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by
many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your
religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and
elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many
generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees
with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all,
then accept it and live up to it.
-Buddha
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