Our God — Page 9
Introduction 9 feeble human frame, that for the sake of the beloved he challenges the mountains, roams the deserts, takes on the beasts of the jun- gle, jumps into fires and faces the raging tempests of the sea, but never gives up. He keeps vigil during the nights, wanders about during the day like one possessed and his life ebbs from his eyes, but never wearies. Is there anyone who can deny the existence of this force, even though no one has ever seen, heard, smelled, tasted or touched it? Time, age, power, sense, lust, anger, mercy— to mention but a few—are examples of things which we believe in but they have never been directly perceived by our physical senses. It is, therefore, childish to insist that unless we obtain knowl- edge of something by a particular means, we will not believe in its existence. The point is to gain knowledge from whichever direc- tion it comes. Once the purpose is attained all else is resolved. If someone says that he will only believe that he has seen inside a room if he is led into it by breaking the roof and not if he simply enters through the door, I would suspect that he wishes to blow off the roof rather than see the room. Once he has entered the room, it matters not whether he entered through the roof or through the door. After all you can only enter through the passage specified for it. To demand a passage of one’s own choice is sheer insanity. And if we were to fulfil such a demand, oth- ers would start making similar demands. In other words, peo- ple want God to become a toy for their imagination, and keep changing His attributes like an impersonator (God forbid) so that everyone’s fancy should be satisfied.