They say that only the good die young; that isn't true, is it? Maybe one dies at a young numerical age, but by the time they are finally struck down they've seen so much, done so much, that they've aged internally. they die young of body, but old of soul and mind. Life sure has some quirks. What Vishnu does for His followers...
George laughs bitterly. I can hear the cynicism in his voice even as I type his words...the tones hover by my antennae for whole moments after they are uttered. It would be beautiful if it weren't so sharp at my thoughts, like a sculpting tool at the malleable clay of myself.
"Vishnu? The preserver? Preserver of what, Olo? Hate? Fear? Injustice? What gods would let their followers suffer and die, or continue to punish their comrades who don't follow them? Face it, you've been following a shadow."
Shadow. The shadow of evil? I don't knowingly believe in a deity that causes pain and preserves the negative way of things...but that is what Vishnu does: preserve the world until Shiva comes and brings the cycle back to Brahman...
No. Not that kind of shadow. A reflection, a fleeting ghost. That's what I've been following; not a flesh-and-blood being but a concept, an idea. One that doesn't act on its own to begin, preserve, or end, but exists to drive others to do just those things. How many wars were fought for Shiva? How many good deeds for Brahman? How many--oh dear--how many ideas struck down in order to keep the norm, to preserve and please Vishnu? This wasn't what I wanted, I didn't expect--
"Expect what? Somebody to save us all and end MNU? Nothing will ever do that; only those who walk this earth can ever change things here. You are alone here, and there is nothing else."
Nothing else? But wait--by simply believing in these gods and acting either in their stead or to please them, we make them real to us. Vishnu doesn't exist in the flesh anyway, except for when avatars manefest. that's the point of a god, is it not? Having a being that exists in some way that is better then mortals, higher then physical existance. that way we have something more reliable that we can trust in, something that won't fail even when we do.
What about the afterlife? Everyone that's died knows what happens after death, too. They just haven't gotten back here and spoken with the living about it. In that respect we are alone; we must guess about what we don't know and we won't find out if we're right until it's too late.
I guess it doesn't matter anyway. Even if Vishnu doesn't exist, I still think that he does, in some way, which is great for me. But does that prove the existance of a god for any other world but mine? Can a god exist subjectively?
I need to think this one over.