Understanding Faith (some examples):-

1. Faith with no hard proof or evidence

• The Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar houses the true hair of the Prophet.
• The rock of the Dome in Jerusalem has the real imprint of the hoof of the horse on which the Prophet ascended to heaven.
• The meteorite in the ‘Kaba’ is an actual aspect of divinity.
• The Church of Nativity at Bethlehem is built on the exact spot where Jesus was said to have been born.
• The Turin shroud is the actual shroud in which Jesus was wrapped after his crucifixion.
• The temple at Anuradhapura holds an actual tooth of Gautama Buddha.
• The Quran is the actual and exact record of the word of God through the Prophet.
• The Bible is the actual and exact record of the word of God through the Apostles and the earlier Prophets.
• The Torah is the actual and exact record of the word of God through Moses and the earlier Prophets.

2. Faith with astronomical and other evidence that Lord Rama existed and that the Ram Ravana War was fought in 12,209 BCE (ref. Nilesh N. Oak).

• That Ayodhya is the Birth place of Lord Rama of Indian Mythology and the disputed site is this very site. Could this be probable? Consider –

1. A Kings palace would usually be on the high point of the area – The site is the high point. Tradition says that a birthing place would be a place built in a special location, perhaps not within the palace building but in its grounds.
2. The Prince, later Lord Rama, would expectedly be born in that place, part of the palace grounds.
3. If a Temple is built, even years later, for Lord Rama, it is logical that it would be built on this site.
4. In the old days the Temple would perhaps have been built of timber and other biodegradable materials and would have been re-built and expanded over the centuries with larger stone construction.
5. Some references and descriptions in the Vedic / ancient literature that add credence to such a belief.

• History tells us that Temples were the centre of wealth and that all over North India, Mongol / Islamic invaders razed Temples to the ground as part of their conquests and pillaged such wealth and took it away from India.
• History and Archaeology also, tell us that many of the Mosques were built up on the sites of such razed Temples, using much of the Temple stones as conveniently available building material. This is also, true of many Religious buildings and Churches all over the world built on the ruins of earlier places of worship. We need to be Cognizant of the difference between places of worship T(Temples and few Churches) and Houses/Places of Prayer. (All Mosques and most Churches).
• Common sense leads us to accept that all such historic wrongs cannot really be corrected today and that such wrongs are as much a part of our history as the strains of common DNA in all of us, even as calls for restoration at a few other sites which are extremely revered may also be considered. However, recognizing the occurrence of such wrongs and accepting them as having been done, allows for better and more harmonious and social relationships.
• Churches and Mosques have been built and demolished as deemed necessary quite often all over the world without any great hesitation. Perhaps because they are rightly viewed only as houses for prayer built by man to suit the convenience of his Tribe or Community.
• Ancient Hindu Temples on the other hand are viewed as the ‘Abode of the God’ concerned, or a particular aspect of the one God, (See-”Temples and Earth’s Energy Grids”) and are built on places where the God is perceived as having distinguished the site, where such divinity is recognized as having manifested itself by the birth of an ‘Avatar’ of God there or, by emanation of a visible and tangible token or form. It is for this reason that such Ancient Temples cannot be shifted. That is why the Deity of such a Temple is considered in Hindu custom and Indian Law as a juristic person, represented by a human, recognizing the Deity as a ward who can not represent him / herself. This is similar to the recognition internationally of Corporations /Companies as juristic persons. The difference being that Corporations / Companies have economic and social obligations while the Deities’ obligations are spiritual and Meta – spiritual in nature and generally only to those who believe or have faith in them. Many businesses and ventures have such deities as Partners or Shareholders.
• Immanent/Transient manifestations of divinity, as recognized by a particular religion, in the shape of the seeds in a Aubergine / Brinjal, or the shape of the mark on a wall or on a toast etc., have many times, even in these days, been widely recognized as mani-festations of divinity for that duration of that manifestation, by the followers of that religion.

Many of today’s Temples, built as convenient to the devotees, may not carry this element of inherent divinity and hence, such Temples, like most Churches and Mosques, can be considered only as places for prayer and can thus be shifted or demolished as the need arises. Of course, in some cases even such Temples, Churches or Mosques acquire aspects of holiness due to many years of prayer there in and may thus bear greater sentiment and attachment in the minds of the respective devotees or worshipers. Though such sentiment cannot be equated with bonds arising from ancient and historic belief in a Divine manifestation, or Installation of a Deity (with Prana Prathista) at a site, it must still be considered and dealt with seriously.

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