Check: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/113
A few thousand years ago, on a planet called 'Earth', there were 'animals' called 'humans'.
They were living in groups in different parts of Earth and were usually separated by large distances. As they had no advanced means of transportation, those groups would seldom interact with each other. They were virtually isolated from each other.
Dingku was also living in one of the groups with other fellow humans. He was wiser than others in the group. He loved his group and always cared for everyone. Others knew this and hence accepted him as the leader of the group. He had ability to think clearly and to convince people through his lucid speeches. He told people that it was wrong to kill others, to steal or rob and to lie. He told people to work hard and to be satisfied. People agreed to him. He also resolved conflicts and kept everyone together in Harmony against all odds.
But Dingku was just another mortal human being. One day he died. Some believed he was killed. His ardent follower - Mivak - took over as the leader. Mivak also loved his group and cared for everyone. He also wanted harmony in the group. But Mivak lacked the ability to think and convince people to the extent that Dingku had. But Movak followed his principles. If anyone lied or cheated - Mivak would say - if Dingku was here, he would not have liked it. At times, he would punish the unruly. People would respect and agree to him. There was Harmony in the group.
Three generations after Mivak, Zopin became the leader of the group. Dingku had died long before Zopin was borne. Zopin didn't know how Dingku looked like, or if he ever existed. But if anyone lied or cheated, he would say "if Dingku was here, he would not have liked it. He would have punished you." Even people didn't know how Dingku looked like, or if he ever existed. But they would respect and agree to Zopin. There was harmony in the group.
Around 700 years later, 35 generations had passed. People still believed if they lied or cheated, Dingku would not like it. But they would think that Dingku would come and punish them. There were stories of how Dingku magically helped the poor by creating food out of nowhere and punished the unruly using his supernatural poweres. They believed, he was sitting in the sky watching everyone. He created the rain and the storms, he created the spring and the summer. Dingku had become what they called - 'God'.
1000 kms away from Dingku's group, there was another group of people. These two groups were oblivious of each other's existence. They had no means of transport to go that far and then even come back in a person's lifetime, which was around 40 years. This second group had never heard of Dingku. But they believed in Somu !! Somu was there - God!
Just like Dingku and Somu, there were also - Mirath, Zekor, Wipor and many others - all of them lovely human beings, wise and caring - had become 'Gods' for different groups - over a period of 1,000 - 2,000 years.
Both Dingku's and Somu's groups were now very large. They had even broken down into sub-groups and occupied different territories. And one day, a sub-group of Dingku and Somu ran across each other. They shared the stories of Dingku and Somu with each other. Now, there was a problem. They could not decide who was sitting in the sky watching everyone. Who created the rain and the storms? Dingku? or Somu?
There was a fight. Dingku's group killed Somu's group members who refused to believe in Dingku !!
As the 'human' progressed, there were buildings and cars, there were mobile phones and computers. And there were still - Dingku, Somu, Mirath, Zekor and Wipor !!
Nobody knew that they were just another people - caring, loving, with great thinking abilities and great orators - but yet just mortal human beings who existed long long ago.
People thought they were something called - Gods - and not worshiping 'their god' was a crime. Worshipers of other gods were 'the people who have lost their way' !!
There were riots, violence and terrorism!! There was no harmony in the group!
People like Dingku and Somu who wanted harmony among people had indirectly became cause of violence thousands of years after their death because of incompetent followers.
Your comments on this story are most welcome.
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