The big day arrived. I was ready. I wore the new clothes after bathing. We went to the initiation ceremony.
“Maharaj, please forgive my stubborn son. He has put a condition that he will ask you some questions before initiation.” My mother pleaded.
I glanced at the landlady. She had a constipated look on her face. I asked some of my toughest questions, which I was sure that Ramanujan Maharaj would not be able to answer. He was not perturbed by my questions. His smile remained intact throughout the conversation. He looked at me with lots of care and spoke slowly, “We have very little time at this moment. I would like to give you only one piece of advice at this junction. Do not believe in God till you experience him.”
Then he paused. “But do not write off the possibility of his existence.” Then he turned to my mother and other ladies who were sitting on one side. “Your son is not an atheist. He is trying to understand God with his intellectual capacity and that is positive.”
“Hinduism is probably the only religion in the world that accepts atheism.” Ramanujan Maharaj continued. “At least there are three lines of philosophy that talk about the nonexistence of God. You can find references to atheism in the Rig Veda and our Upanishads. In non-dualistic Advaitya Vedanta and Jnana Yoga, the method of neti-neti is prescribed. Neither this nor that. A seeker is advised that it is probably very difficult to identify Atman or God at first; but probably it is easier to identify all that which is not God. The aim is to reach the ultimate by the method of exclusion. Dayanand Saraswati practiced it, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda practiced it too. Your son is on the right path. Encourage him to have these doubts in his mind.”
“Maharaj, please forgive my stubborn son. He has put a condition that he will ask you some questions before initiation.” My mother pleaded.
I glanced at the landlady. She had a constipated look on her face. I asked some of my toughest questions, which I was sure that Ramanujan Maharaj would not be able to answer. He was not perturbed by my questions. His smile remained intact throughout the conversation. He looked at me with lots of care and spoke slowly, “We have very little time at this moment. I would like to give you only one piece of advice at this junction. Do not believe in God till you experience him.”
Then he paused. “But do not write off the possibility of his existence.” Then he turned to my mother and other ladies who were sitting on one side. “Your son is not an atheist. He is trying to understand God with his intellectual capacity and that is positive.”
“Hinduism is probably the only religion in the world that accepts atheism.” Ramanujan Maharaj continued. “At least there are three lines of philosophy that talk about the nonexistence of God. You can find references to atheism in the Rig Veda and our Upanishads. In non-dualistic Advaitya Vedanta and Jnana Yoga, the method of neti-neti is prescribed. Neither this nor that. A seeker is advised that it is probably very difficult to identify Atman or God at first; but probably it is easier to identify all that which is not God. The aim is to reach the ultimate by the method of exclusion. Dayanand Saraswati practiced it, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda practiced it too. Your son is on the right path. Encourage him to have these doubts in his mind.”
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