Aftab Shivdasani आफ़ताब शिवदसì

A personal reflection on God by Aftab Shivdasani.

By Aftab Shivdasani

God occupies a very important place in my life. He is my friend because I don't pray to Him. I talk to Him everyday. I just ask God to give me the strength and the courage to go on with my life, to overcome all the hurdles, to achieve my goals, to keep my near and dear ones happy and most of all, I ask Him to make me a good human being.

I believe religious festivals are ways and means of showing respect to God and showing one's appreciation towards the Almighty. To some, it's a way of showing one's belief in God. But I believe there is only one God whom people worship in different forms. Having said that, I don't believe in religious festivals because God knows whether you believe in Him or not. You don't have to prove it to Him. He is inside our minds and He can read all our thoughts whether we express them or not. Of course, it is people's prerogative of showing how they feel and I respect their feelings.

I do believe in destiny. I believe destiny gives you an opportunity somewhere in your life and you got to be smart enough to pick up the clues and grab that chance. If you are smart enough to read those clues then you'll go places. The way I see it, some amount of destiny and a great amount of hard work will definitely result in success. I don't believe in rebirth because frankly speaking, I don't know what it is all about.

I also dont believe in going on pilgrimages and religious places don't mean much to me. Nor do I go all the way to a holy place simply to ask God to bestow His special blessings on me. You can do that anywhere and anytime of your life. I have been to Shirdi just once in my life. I went there simply out of curiosity. It's really surprising because so many people believe that's the best way of showing your belief in God. To me, it didn't mean much. It was the same old feeling. The feeling that I have of Him whether I'm in my room or in my bed.