No escape from God

IN his article, "There’s no escape from God", the writer denies that he believes in the existence of God and admits that he has never found Him and wonders why God is so elusive. Perhaps, the writer has been searching for Him in the wrong dimension, otherwise he would not have denied his glaring presence all around us. Because, only he is; all else is his reflection. Only when we are not in accord with him, not in harmony with the existence, he seems to be elusive. Only by striking the right note of divinity, are we able to hear his whisper, able to feel his presence, his silence. He cannot be stumbled upon like an accident. He can come to us as an inner growth. The day we start ascending towards him he starts descending towards us.

CHAND SINGH YADAV
Rewari

God is not elusive. He is within us. The Bhagavadgita says, "I dwell in those who worship me in pure devotion even as they, too, dwell in me."

As to his form, undoubtedly he is infinite, his divine manifestations are unlimited.

SURINDER MARWAHA
New Delhi

The stand taken by the writer is easy to understand. Francis Thompson may have fervent faith in God but that is no reason why the writer must necessarily hold the same view. He might be, and indeed is, in a microscopic minority in this matter but the question is not of overwhelming numbers against him but of what appears to him to be correct view to take on the subject. Obviously he has his reasons which make it impossible for him to subscribe to faith and be a believer. Very few will agree with him but he is well within his rights in refusing to be ‘converted’. Basically that is what the much vaunted freedom of thought is all about.

SAROOP KRISHEN
Chandigarh

Grey area gets larger

One feels beholden to Alok Verma for his analytical and well-reasoned article "Grey area gets larger" (August 24), supported with adequate statistical information, espousing the cause of persons in their twilight years. Due to better health care system, the number of older people, say above 60 years of age, is becoming larger.

Ageing, in fact, is a global phenomenon and it is natural to have some portion of older people in any society but it should not be disproportionate to the whole. Its impact is not felt much in developed countries due to their affluence and existing safeguards but in the developing and underdeveloped countries where a large percentage lives below the poverty line, this aged portion of the population is felt to be burden.

As a result of the emergence of the nuclear family system the old are often neglected. Steps should be taken to ensure that this does not happen.

CHANDER SHEKHAR,
Palampur

Institutionalised care is needed for destitute and neglected elderly persons. Parents who have spent their entire lives trying to ensure good lives for their children deserve to live with dignity in their old age. Unfortunately this does not happen often. Reasonable monetary aid by children should be made mandatory.

AMRIK SINGH,
S.A.S. Nagar

Apropos Reeta Sharma’s article "A supreme social reformer" (August 31), I read the article with interest.

In the article writer says that Guru Ram Singh died in Rangoon in 1885. But, according to the historical evidence of the Kukas, he either disappeared from the prison or was transferred to a ‘more remote spot’.

ARIF QURESHI,
Sundernagar