WHO IS GOD?

Except weekends and holidays I travel by the way to go to office in the morning and return in the evening.

Not only when I go to office and return from it but some other times I walk around for my personal business I see two beggars in particular.

They both are blind and can’t move independently. Probably with the help of someone they used to come early in the morning to the spots they prefer to be for begging.

At the locality I am talking about I have been for four year.

On the very first day of my shifting to the locality I remember I saw these two beggars among many others.

It means they have been there for a few more years before I came four year ago. They are a little bit different from many other beggars especially in the case of their staying in the same area for year after years, preferring the same spots almost everyday for begging and the appeal with same words 'Give me a one or two taka for eating some rice.'

Being attracted by their uniqueness one day I felt an interest to have a brief chat with at least one of them only to know why they beg and are begging for so a long period of time?

What he told in answer to my question is 'Allah (God) does not hear from a beggar like me.' He told this when I asked 'You have been begging for many years. Why don't you tell your Allah (God) to change your luck that you can stop begging?'

I believe what he said in answer is the answer of not only many beggars like him but of many other people of different categories or different professions.

I talked to him a few months ago but still some questions unanswered and follow me constantly are- who is this Allah (God)? Is He different who hates beggars and poor? Is He cruel?

Let me go back to those golden days of college life. I was always restless. I was never able to control especially an impulse of going here and there without any particular or specific purpose but mainly to enjoy the beauty of nature and see the life, life style and livelihood of the people of those places.

Because of my uncontrolled impulse I went several times to that particular place of Dinajpur District where widely known Kantojir Temple is located. Let me make sure one thing that I did not go there to pay my respect or honor or homage to the goddess of the Temple but only to see the place as it has such a natural beauty that attracts the people even from foreign countries.

There I met Santona Roy during one of my visits.

After wxchanging a few words I came to know that she had been coming to the Temple with some gift for last five consecutive years only to make her known to her Bhagawan (God) that she is poor and in need of His blessings. Sometime later I got to know tat she was known to some people who are also known to me.

However, I had no communication with her for many day, even till to date I have no communication. But few months ago while talking to someone known to me I got to know that due to dire poverty she started selling Indian clothes that she somehow used to collect from India illegally. Police arrested her oneday, sent her to Naogoan jail and since then she has been there.

What the thing this happening made clear to me is her Bhagawan really did not know her! 

Apart from Santona Roy, we will find a lot of people like her who have never been known to their Bhagawan (God).

This is time too the same questions revisited my mind same way. Is their God different, dumb, blind or cruel?

I do not know if I shall ever receive answers from them.

But I think I have received answers by observing life and life style and hearing their statement or testimony. They are the followers of Jesus, they are Church-goers, they pray to their God, they cry in prayer to submit all of their supplications. They receive blessings and praise God for every blessing they receive.

The other day while at home on leave I was invited to attend a Thanks Giving Meeting which a pastor and pretty worker of a mission hospital arranged for becoming an MBBS Doctor of his son.

It was beyond the imagination of him and his wife that their only son after two daughters will become an MBBS Doctor from an expensive private Medical College.

In fact, they have no ability to bear expenses for medical study of their son especially in a private medical college. But they know and believe Matthew 11:28 which says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." They also know and believe in what happened in Genesis 22:13-14.

On that day the Pastor stood up with a Bible in hand and started telling the guests, "We were really weary and burdened but we came to Jesus, submitted our burden on His shoulder and Jesus carried it, He gave us rest and provided whatever and whenever we were in need."

What we can understand from his statement is this is the God who loves all, gives all and be with all.