Can we Animals realize the concept of GOD?

When it came to myths and legends surrounding Guruvayoor and its legendary temple, my father always had his favourite story to tell. The story, nay saga of Guruvayoor Kesavan. The elephant par extraordinaire. For people who haven't heard about him please visit this link here: Guruvayoor Kesavan

As a child it was a story about how devotion and piety is a part of our lives. As I grew older and peeled away the layers of sanctimonious BS that accompanies these stories a question persisted in me . When Kesavan decided to prostrate in front of Guruvayoorappan did he know he was doing that in front of GOD? In other words did an "animal" of apparent lesser intelligence grasp the meaning of GOD, something that religion claims to be uniquely 'human'. (There are a lot of things that are uniquely human - all of which require a seperate discussion. Genocide comes to mind!!)

Coming back to the point, I realize that there could be a couple of answers one can come up with - all of which i consider feasible depending upon the audience that you talk to.

One. The elephant was truly pious. He had realized that the diety held some sort of power and surrendered to it. ( I can almost feel my intellect shaking its head at me as I write this one)

Two. The elephant was merely mimicking human behavior. Kesavan must have seen innumerable humans come in front of the idol and fall down prostrate while in distress or pain. His instincts told him to do just the same.

Three. He was a creature of habit. When in trouble he was always brought to the temple and tied up there. He just did that when he felt his heart go weak.

Four. He just wandered into the temple by accident. This is highly unlikely as eye-witnesses attest to it as a deliberate act. But a possibility nonethesame as eye-wtinesses are impaired by what they 'see' or what they 'want to see'.

What all these questions lead me to ask is my own sense of GOD. Is he an entity that I believe to exist and not understand ever.(Agnostic) or is he merely an amalgamation of ideas that exist as a result of continued ignorance of inherited customs and non-examined beliefs (Supestitious) or is God someone who is out there waiting for us to figure it all out for ourselves (Gnostic).

Either way I'd like to remember Kesavan and Guruvayoorappan with the following Malayalam saying that I shall transliterate below.

"Aanaye pedikkaam, aana pinndatheyo???"

(One should fear the elephant, but elephant shit???)

Just food for thought to all those charlatans who interpret God for me, be it in the Temple, Mosque, Church or Gurudwara.

In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti.

And all other Beings that matter--- I warn thus.

We must always fear the wicked. But there is another kind of evil that we must fear the most, and that is the indifference of good men.

Read this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7445570.stm

Better standards for sportscasting in the blogoshpere.

I have just completed watching an HBO show called Costas Now. I just saw a heated discussion between a respected sports writer and a sports blogger. The writer was complaining about the deceitful and derogatory tones of blogs. The writer cited certain particular posts which identified a respectable sportscaster as a "Fuckface" and "rat's ass". Braylon Edwards of the Cleveland Browns also cited the blog posting pictures, send by an "independent reporter", of Matt Lienhart shooting bong at a house party. The blogger defended his website with the opinion that the old guard should ligten up and take some of the low brow material with better humor.

My opinion in the whole thing is thus. If the old guard and respectable journalists who have busted their backs through journalism school and the back offices of traditional broadcasting media needs a better standard from the still nascent blogosphere, then get in and change the media yourself. Its easy to play the blame game from the outside but here's a thought. How about the respected journalists trade a type-writer for a keyboard, a newspaper for a weblog, traditional media for the internet.

Maybe we will see better standards.

Always be the change you wish to see in this world --------- Mahatma Gandhi.

My own interpretation of political philosophies

Democracy is 51% of the people deciding that the remaining 49% are wrong 100% of the time.

Socialism is 1% of intellectuals deciding that 100% of the population are like them 100% of the time.

Communism is 5% of the people deciding that the remaining 95% should think like them 100% of the time.

Fascism is less than 1% of the people thinking that the remaining 99% of the population doesn't matter 100% of the time.

So in conclusion democracy isn't the final solution to all the world's problems. Its just the best we have come up with so far.
Anoop Sivasankaran

There are 2 types of fools - ones who thing that Old is Gold and the others who think that New is Platinum. Then there is only one type of smart person - the one who thinks that both old and new needs constant improvement at the jeweller.
Anoop Sivasankaran

Politicians should be changed as often as diapers and for the same reasons.
Anonymous
(I'd love to meet this person)

Silence gives consent.
-- Canon Law

Because silence means consent anyone can have their way with the mute.
--Anoop Sivasankaran's corollary to Canon Law

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.
-- Latin proverb

In my neighbourhood a kind word with a gun always got more done than merely a kind word.
--Al Capone

Democracy maintains that you should exercise your right to vote for the candidate you approve. Reality only lets me to vote for the candidate I loathe the least.
--Anoop Sivasankaran

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" Abraham Lincoln
--(I guess John Wilkes Booth didn't read that one..:) )

"Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Chinese Proverb

"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." Napoleon Bonaparte
--(an uncommon man's toast to his common brethren)

"No poor bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making other bastards die for their country." George Smith Patton
--(My quote to all those who joined the army)

A soldier is not one who lays down his life for his country, but one who assasinates on a publicly sanctioned legal commission. --(My interpretation of Patton's previous statement)

and finally

''Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.'' Plato

Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned
- Anonymous; quoted in Dennett, Daniel C. (2006). Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

If "pro" is the opposite of "con", is "progress" the opposite of "congress"? (Stand-up comic Gallagher from 1985 "The Bookkeeper"

Gems From Vivekanada

When I Asked God for Strength
He Gave Me Difficult Situations to Face
When I asked God for intelligence
He Gave Me Puzzles to Solve.
When I Asked God for Happiness
He Showed Me Some Unhappy People
When I Asked God for Wealth
He Showed Me How to Work Hard
When I Asked God for Favors
He Showed Me Opportunities to Work Hard
When I Asked God for Peace
He Showed Me How to Help Others
God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
He Gave Me Everything I Needed