FAITH...

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, the Almighty.
He asks one of his new students to stand and.....
Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.
Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then?
(Student is silent.)
Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fellow. Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Is Satan good?
Student: No.
Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From...God...
Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.
Prof: So who created evil?
(Student does not answer.)
Prof: Is there sickness, Immorality, Hatred & Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Prof: So, who created them?
(Student has no answer.)
Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.
Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof: Yes, Faith & that is the problem science has.
Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.
Student: No sir. There isn't.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat, we cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?
Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life; just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)
Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work & cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.) Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain? (The class breaks out into laughter.) Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain sir, with all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.
Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving & alive.
NB: this is a true story, and the student was none other than...........
APJ Abdul Kalam, the former president of India.

karni Mata mandir (rat temple)

Imagine yourself standing in the middle of thouands of rats, out of which some are scampering over your feet and the others are simply dining and playing with you. How would you react? Yes, you said it right it will either run a chill down your spine or absolutely petrify you. But to your surprise, this is not merely a wild imagination but a real life setting of a temple located in a small northwestern city of Rajasthan, Deshnoke. This ornate, isolated Hindu temple is called Karni Mata Temple. The temple was constructed by Maharaja Ganga Singh in the early 1900's as a tribute to the rat goddess, Karni Mata. The rats in the temple are known as Kabas. Though there are Intricate marble panels at the entrance and the floors of the temple, and silver and gold decorations are found throughout, but by far the most intriguing aspect of the interior is the 20,000-odd rats that call this temple home. Many people from all over the world travel great distances to pay their homage to them.

According to a parable, Karni Mata was an incarnation of Durga, once the child of one of her clansmen died. She attempted to restore the dead child back to life from Yama(God of Death) but she was told by him that the child had already been reincarnated. From that point forward, Mata announced that no one from her Tribe would ever fall into Yama's hands again instead they would be reborn as rats until being born back in to the tribe. Since then all her clansmen turned rats seeking shelter in this temple and with the blessings of Karni Mata they get their food, shelter, lodging and their lifestyle continues inside the temple itself. Despite being inumerable in number these kabas never come out of the premises of the temple.
One of the most outstanding facts about these Kabas is that they are completely innocuous and never disturb the devotees who visit the temple rather they silently play with them, eat with them, run around them, and sit on their laps which the devotees consider to be the benediction of the Goddess. There is one rare blessing that draws the most attention, and that is the sight of a white rat. Out of all of the thousands of rats in the temple, there are said to be four or five white rats, which are considered to be the holiest. They are believed be the spiritual manifestations of Karni Mata herself and her kin. Sighting them is a blessing in itself, and visitors put in extensive efforts just to catch a glimpse of these rats by luring them with sweets and milk.
It is astonishing to know that despite the presence of so many rats in the temple, no diseases related to rats have been reported till date. Neither the temple stinks of foul smell nor it is dirty anywhere. Rather the offerings like milk, sweets, and ground nuts are first offered to these kabas and then distributed to the devotees as mata's 'Prasad'. The water that these Kabas drink is considered very holy and auspicious. Another most interesting fact is that there has been no trace of these rats being reproduced. It is believed that all the kabas present in this temple are of same size, weight and body proportion without any change down the ages and there is no sign of baby rats inside the temple.

Though the rats are considered as one of the shyest animals found on earth that are scared of human beings but here in this temple the kabas roam about freely and often play with the devotees and at times dine with them or sit on their shoulders. The most ironic truth is that although we do not consider rats reverent enough and we kill them if ever we see them sharing some space in our homes and yet when we step in to this temple we worship them and even feel blessed eating and drinking their leftovers. Strangely the leftovers would not make us fall sick or catch any deadly disease instead it’s consumed as holy prasad of the temple.

All these incredible and astounding facts about the temple make it one of the most visited places in the Bikaner city of Rajasthan. People from everywhere come to see this temple. Some come out of sheer curiosity, some out of reverence and others simply come to enjoy and experience the feel of this strange, stupendous and one of its kind temple.