Here is the mail I just wrote to one of my friends when the friend politely refused to donate :-)
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Anyways, I understand. Not all are fortunate enough to understand the significance of this event. Thats why we are building this temple. So that we can propogate the "Science of God" to a large number of people and thus help the whole humanity.
But not all understand this. Most people think that they will become happy if they have a good bank balance, a good education, a good spouse, a good house, good children, good car, and so on.. But any intelligent person can understand that no one is completely satisfied for long with any of these.. everyone is always aiming for something which he has not got or lamenting for something he has just lost.. Carrying on all life in this constant state of anxiety for the future or lamentation for the past, the person one day dies and all that was dear to him/her cannot save him/her from death. So foolish are people that they overlook this stark reality and carry on their day-to-day activities without taking a moment off and contemplating on all these truths.
It is to take people out of this slumber of ignorance that we are coming up with this grand temple. Because people do not accept the truth that God exists, they are sufering and they will ocntinue to suffer unless they accept it. One cannot expect happiness if one totally ignores facts.
We pride ourselves as being scientific minded people but do not try to ask the most fundamental questions and seek their answers.. Who am I? Who is God? Does God exist? What is my relationship with Him? Why is there suferring in this world?
But those who are intelligent ask these questions and for their benefit we are coming up with this temple. But the temple will be such a place that those who just visit will also get inspired and start thinking about these fundamental questions.
Because of this fund raising exercise, I have found out that almost all my close friends are atheists. It is quite unfortunate. Those who say they accept the existence of God do not really do so because they do not act in that consciousness. They do not really try to understand Him and His teachings.. then what is the use of accepting Him?
Why are we more interested in the Scinece of 0s and 1s than in the Science of God? Just saying "I do not believe in God" wont prove His non-existence. And isnt it worth the trouble to try and understand Him and find out whether He exists or not? People take all kinds of trouble to scale the Mount Everest and some die in the process. Then what is the logical reason for not taking the trouble for understanding God? Is scaling Mount Everest more important than understaning God? Is a Ph.D. more important than understanding God? Is anything else more important than understanding God?
Whether you believe or not believe, the truth remains. As the saying goes, "Truth comes as a conqueror for those who know not the art of receiving it as a friend". For those who do not accept the truth of the existence of God, God conquers them in the form of death.
Take care,
Abhijit.
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