“Conciliatory Fighting Words” by E. J. Dionne along with “Obama and the Fighting Irish” by Joshua Kucera, published in “The Washington Post” on Monday, May 18, 2009 is, indeed, worth reading.

So long we find US President Mr. Obama is quite justified in all his actions he is supposed to encounter. He is bold enough and humorous which has projected his character as a humanitarian, one among the highest order.

His speeches endowed with power of reasons, facts and figures may sound harsh as depicted from this article: a call for “open hearts,” “open minds,” “fair-minded words” and a search for “common ground.” According to the writer it can easily be made clear the associates thereafter. “They would reduce religious faith to a narrow set of issues. He refused to join them. They often see theological arguments as leading to certainty. He opted for humility.”—No scope for denial.

President Obama “did all this without skirting the abortion question and without flinching from the “controversy surrounding my visit here.” The thunderous and repeated applause that greeted Obama and the Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president who took enormous grief for asking him to appear, stood as a rebuke to those who said the president should not have been invited.”

On the question of abortion he did all this without recoiling from the “controversy surrounding my visit here.” And the consequence was inevitable. He balanced both the most radical and the most conservative. He “combines opposition to abortion with a sharp critique of economic injustice and thus doesn’t squeeze into the round holes of contemporary ideology.”

“Too many of us view life only through the lens of immediate self-interest and crass materialism,” Obama declared. “The strong too often dominate the weak, and too many of those with wealth and with power find all manner of justification for their own privilege in the face of poverty and injustice.” This is how he reacts candidly almost on every issue and makes things clear to us. It is not only his sagacity but good sense collected from worldly life.

Without going into controversy of President Bush and President Obama we should concentrate in this particular line: “the ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily admits doubt.” “This doubt should not push away our faith,” Obama preached. “But it should humble us. It should temper our passions; cause us to be wary of too much self-righteousness.” It was a quietly pointed response to his critics. Yes, I am one in opinion with Mr. Dionne, the enthusiast writer.

What a confession! He admits that his revisions of an earlier Bush executive order on the rights of health professionals would continue to “honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion.” Regarding stem cell research he states publicly in support of the opponents “admirable conviction about the sacredness of life” Discarding his original announcement altering Bush’s policies he proved himself far away from self-aggrandizing. Finally, this is how the things are so clear in the core of every heart.

“As we serve our country, we will be motivated by faith, but we cannot appeal only to faith,” Jenkins said. “We must also engage in a dialogue that appeals to reason that all can accept” and do so “with love and a generous spirit.” –Simply splendid.

“It was hard to square that message with the rage directed toward Obama and Jenkins by their detractors. Yet in raising the stakes entailed in Obama’s visit, the critics did the president a great service.” Excuse me, I can not but quote such paragraphs.

Obama strengthened moderate and liberal forces inside the church itself. Obama’s opponents on the Catholic right placed a large bet on his Notre Dame visit. And they lost.–Yes, there’s none to contest in such issues. And here is something in pursuance of clear understanding and realization. Let me take the privilege to quote from Ma-Mahajnan, a matchless genius.

Fear makes us ponder, Reason conquers: Mother–Fear, ghosts, God–that’s all we are talking about, isn’t it? Ghosts arise from fear. So, too, does God. How? If a mind is submissive, devotional and meek, then that fear resorts to God. And if in course of life it deviates ever so little, immediately a ghost starts up.

When we talk of a ghost, we think of a shadowy shape. God, too, appears in a shadowy shape. If a ’shadowy shape’ stands both for a ghost and God, how are you going to make a distinction between the two? Hence, you can well understand, if you make the least slip in measuring the distance as you go along the road, ghost and God,God and ghost both get mixed up. If you look sharp as you go along the road, this fear will lead you to God.

There isn’t anything like ghosts, or God. There’s nothing in either. However, both are needed for practical purposes. ‘There’s no ghosts’—It’s quite hard to see through this little mystery. It takes a lot of time. One must have that questioning mind. It’s not a matter for ordinary nerves.

What have mummy, granny, papa, grandpa said—“There are ghosts, Oh yes; there is God, Oh sure. Fear of ghost is, indeed, always in mind. And about God? Where are those ears that we should listen with! He is engrossed with himself.

There are many mysteries, extremely arduous to unravel. Either very simple or too difficult. How long a man can live! Where’s time to spare!

Weakness is the root cause of fear: A weak mind is prone to fear. Fear is another name for ghosts. A stout mind has energy. Energy is another name for God.

Fear springs from weakness. The man, who happens to be weak, has a heart which can not but tremble with fear. If a man is free from weakness, why should he be afraid?

Ghosts mean ignorance, and God means Knowledge. It’s needless to labour the point. You should know that weak nerves are the cause of fear. It is furthered by the ignorance of mummy, granny and neighbors.

People bring up a child very much in the way they themselves were brought up. Nobody can curb an impulse which is overwhelmingly strong in a man. A man adjusts the outside influences to the frame of mind he is born with. He will rise up casting off all that’s evil.

One submits to Power because of weakness: [‘We’ve to recognize energy in view of the weakness of our mind.’—This observation of the Mother is startling; how much it makes us think.]

Prosad : What a strange thing to say, Mother! Over the ages, people with remarkable strength of mind have accepted the existence of energy.

Mother : Who has a strong mind? Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad—all these great men. This is what you have to say, isn’t it? I too recognize energy. But take note of one thing. When we fail to find a reason, we’ve to recognize energy.

Once you recognize God, the next step is energy. That’s the last step, too. First, articles of worship, then Form—Form leads to Formless—in the end come up the question of energy. We carry on with reason as far as we can. ‘Proceeding with reason, one may discuss and analyze. In the end, however, one recognizes Energy.’

If there’s somebody like that? Nothing, however, remains unknown to that person. His reason has brought everything within its sweep. His ‘recognition’ simply comes to this humility and modesty.—

“So I set in order one by one. All the things to give it shape,
I create a Form. God art Thou, Energy is Thine. Thou art merciful. Thy slave I would be.”

Reasoning is the path to achievement. Prosad : It’s beyond me to understand all that, Mother. You talk so much about submitting to Power, if reason fails to get round it—why do you say like that?

Mother : When somebody fails to get round it with reason, he has to submit to power. Know this to be true. Power isn’t just itself—it is God, Fate, Divine Picture, Image and so on. When you can not prop it up with reason, you have to resort to God. So far you can reason, no God.

Prosad : Why do you make Power to mean God.
Mother : Some use the word Bhagwan, some the word Iswar, Allah, God—whatever word you use, it all comes to the same thing. Further somebody says–No, there’s something called Power. Now what is this Power of His? Here begins a lifelong struggle.

This time if he can’t win out in the fight, he will have to descend one step lower down. That is, he has to submit. He accepts all as his fate or destiny. Otherwise he turns atheist.

But when with the aid of reason, one interpretation after another is forthcoming; one’s view undergoes a change accordingly. God with Form or Formless, Power—so it goes on. The shadow appears and slips away. But ‘Suddhabhram’—a holy-illusion, is not the last word. Of course, how many can rise above it? Then whose image is this reflected in the mirror of the mind? ‘Paramatman’—the Over soul is realized.

Realization depends upon a person’s purity of conduct. But all the time, body, mind and soul— these three remain the essence of the matter.

My best regards to “The Washington Post” for such invaluable articles. This enhances my spirit of writing something in return.

Asokananda Prosad.
asokananda.prosad@gmail.com