Lately, there has been no end to the bad news making the rounds so much that watching the news has become depressing. Nepal suffered an earthquake that killed thousands with many entombed in their own houses, hotels and museums. More than half a million people have been rendered homeless. The earthquake also triggered an avalanche that hit Mount Everest leaving many seriously injured and some dead.
One cannot even begin to imagine the terror those people must have felt in their dying hour. It is heartwrenching to see the pains on the faces of the victims’ families as they confront the galling reality that their loved ones are buried underneath all that rubble and their bodies might never be recovered for proper burials.
The pains etched on the faces of survivors tell stories of horrors and gratitude. It seems, in the midst of the sorrows, pains, deaths, and survival; we still must celebrate life. Every life saved amidst these ruins is a cause for celebration. Every dead body pulled out is a cause for sorrow.
To die in such horrific and agonising manner is painful to imagine. In most cases, death really is not as much the problem as the manner and cause of it.
I just wish people would stop invoking the name of God in all these disasters. It is perplexing when I hear people calling for prayers to find more survivors or offer thanks to a supposedly all-powerful God for sparing the lives of these who survived these fatal natural disasters.
If ever there were a reason to doubt the existence of an omnipotent, omnipresence, omniscient being, aka God, such instances as we have now would be the time. At the least, this should call for questioning the morality of such allegedly powerful being.
A super-powerful being, real or imagined, who had the power to stop earthquakes or avalanches but chose to concentrate his power on saving just a handful of people and animals, after the death of thousands is not really that much of a hero and certainly does not deserve any gratitude. Even if convinced that there is a God watching over their families, and that this God chose to save them while thousand others perished, it is no time to thank God for sparing a few lives. Thanking God in the aftermath of a fatal tragedy is selfish.
If any human being had the power to stop such calamities but chose not to, we would without hesitation, demand that such person be tried for crime against humanity. It is therefore disgusting that believers find it so difficult to hold their precious Skydaddy to such moral code.
It is not even about suddenly realising that there is no God, it is just that step of holding responsible and accountable this Supreme Being you regard as an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and all loving God. This should not be an incomprehensible step to take. The pains, tears and sorrows are real. These might later prove too much for some survivors or those who have lost loved ones to bear, therefore leading to cases of suicides.
Many believers claim those bad happenings are instances God use to test believers’ faith. No, horrible events are not happening to test your faith in God. No one deserves to have their faith tested in such awful circumstances just to massage the ego of God. Any human being who designed such horrific ways of testing loyalty would be totally condemned by decent people, so why excuse God from such condemnation?
Even if there was a God, the fact that he could not prevent or chose not to prevent such horrendous natural disasters, shows just how callous or weak he is. When we stop focusing on the supernatural, we might actually start making giant strides in saving our lives and environments.
Life is for the living. It is something to be cherished. In all the disasters, we celebrate our resilient humanity, our will to survive and rise above calamities.
Pains and pleasures are life’s twin fountains. With our pain, we appreciate more our pleasures and learn to treasure every moment. It is a rude reminder not to sweat the small stuff because in the end, it is the quality and not quantity of our lives that matter.
My deepest condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in these past few days, this too shall pass.
Here is a link to 10 Things You Should Know Before You Donate To Nepal. Please, if you can, give generously to the charity of your choice. We are our own saviours.
Related link-
Indian politicians are saying the earthquake happened because Rahul Gandhi ate some beef:
“Rahul Gandhi eats beef, and goes to the holy shrine without purifying himself. The earthquake was bound to happen,“ Sakshi Maharaj said in Haridwar.
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=India-sending-UAVs-to-map-destruction-27042015008036
Sadhvi Prachi also made a similar remark saying, ‘Whenever Rahul Gandhi visits a place, he brings along destruction. During his Uttarakhand visit earlier, there was devastation. Now he has caused an earthquake’
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Rahul-the-Reason-for-Quake-in-Nepal-Sakshi-Maharaj-Sadhvi-Prachi/2015/04/28/article2787530.ece
@grumpyoldfart- If the gods would punish innocent bystanders as retribution for one man’s dietary habits, they are cruel indeed.
Let’s hope that any new infrastructure installed in Nepal is made to an earthquake-resistant standard, so we never see this again.