The Philosopher Who Wanted to Argue With God

Yo Bros, I Am Back… The Philosopher Who Wanted to Argue With God, Metaphysics, and Play in the Sand

Really, this last year of philosophy is becoming worse. Not because of studies, not because of assignments, and definitely not because of exams, but because of the language itself. The metaphysical language is enough to make a person question not God, but his own existence. Sometimes I genuinely feel that these subjects were created by people who woke up one morning and asked themselves, “How can we make simple things so complicated that students will begin seeing essence, existence and Being even in their morning tea?”

Mission accomplished. I am suffering.

We study metaphysics because apparently we want to change our perspectives and understand Being itself. Now tell me honestly, God has existed peacefully for eternity. Who asked us to disturb Him? We are sitting in classrooms saying, “Essence… existence… participation… substance… accident…” while God is probably looking at us and saying, “Brother, first drink water and sleep properly.”

The funny thing is that whenever we bring God into every discussion, I feel we begin limiting Him. The moment we say “God”, we think we have understood everything. But maybe we have simply put an infinite Being inside a very tiny human word. Sometimes I genuinely think Abraham had it easier. He did not overcomplicate things. He simply believed. His faith was immense because he could think of that mysterious Being without trying to control Him through definitions. Sometimes definitions are dangerous. Sometimes naming things kills their mystery. Please forgive these professors as early as possible before I say something worse.

Recently, three philosophers have completely gripped my mind: Friedrich Nietzsche, Marcus Aurelius and Niccolò Machiavelli. What a dangerous combination this is. One says God is dead, one says stop talking and become good, and one says understand power. If these three sat together for tea, humanity itself would become a research paper.

Marcus Aurelius said something that is honestly a slap to humanity: “Do not define a good man. Be a good man.” Finished. End of debate. It is a direct slap to all those who spend their entire lives judging others. Human beings are extraordinary creatures. We have become experts in analysing everybody else's life while forgetting our own. We know who is lazy, who is selfish, who is holy, who is arrogant, who is spiritual, who is going to heaven and who is not. But when somebody asks us, “How are you?”, we suddenly stop functioning.

Then comes Franz Kafka, the official ambassador of human suffering. In Metamorphosis, he painfully reminds us that as long as you are healthy, useful and productive, people surround you. The moment you become weak, silence slowly enters your life. People disappear. Then only the people who genuinely love you remain. Those few people. Those rare people. Those people are heaven itself.

And this makes me ask a very important question. Why do philosophers sometimes forget that we are all connected? Why? Why? Why? Why must philosophy become so rational all the time? Why can it not focus more on the world that is alive? Why must we endlessly understand Being? Why understand existence? Why understand essence? Are our relationships not enough? Do our connections not define us? Can we not make Being alive here and now? Sometimes I think philosophy forgets humanity while trying to understand humanity. That irony itself deserves another philosophy.

Nietzsche said, “God is dead.” People misunderstand him. He did not kill God. He killed our excuses. Human beings blame God for everything. If life goes wrong, God. If exams are difficult, God. If the WiFi stops working, God. Poor God. One day Nietzsche said, “Fine. God is dead. Now what will you do?” Suddenly there was nowhere to hide. Then he said something beautiful: “Live dangerously.”

Honestly, I love that idea. I do not want to become reckless; I want to become fearless. There is a difference.

Then Albert Camus enters like a poet of sadness. He says human beings are crying out for a cosmic response from the Creator, but the universe remains silent. And in that silence, we continue falling. Religion then becomes like a mattress. Not a prison. Not a weapon. A mattress. It comforts us. It gives language to our suffering. Maybe religion is not perfect. Maybe nothing is. But it gives us a way to carry our pain without collapsing.

Then comes Nietzsche's Superman, not the fellow wearing red underwear outside his clothes, but the Übermensch – the human being who goes beyond himself. The human who refuses mediocrity. The human who continuously evolves. And suddenly I realised that perhaps all philosophy is asking one simple question: “How much more human can you become?”

Then Aristotle decided to return to my life again. Honestly, brother, I studied you already. Why are you back? I thought our relationship had ended. But no. He came back with metaphysics, and suddenly we are discussing form, matter, potentiality, actuality and participation all over again. At this point, I am participating only in my own confusion. Indian contemporary philosophy is also chasing me these days. Hopefully, by my next life I will understand it completely.

I think we need to talk more openly about suffering. Why do we hide it? Why do we suffer alone? Why are we ashamed of pain? Heidegger spoke about anxiety. Schopenhauer openly spoke about suffering. Kierkegaard spoke about despair. Today, everyone is depressed quietly. We suffer privately and smile publicly. That is dangerous. Speak. Share. Cry. Laugh. Human beings are not machines.

Amidst all this impossible philosophy, I have also started exercising. And I genuinely believe that everyone should exercise. Early philosophers were not weak people. They walked. They observed nature. They moved their bodies. Today, we have become professional sitters. We sit and think, then sit and eat, then sit and think again and wonder why our brains are tired. Please move.

Recently, I was reflecting on education. Education is extremely important, but another question arises: who is educating us? Who checks whether the traditions being passed down are right or wrong? Sometimes the right becomes wrong, and sometimes the wrong becomes right. That is the complexity of human life.

Fr Vally once said something that frightened me deeply. He said, “Some of you will lose the faith that you do not have.” At first, I laughed. Then I reflected. Then I panicked. Then I realised he was right. Metaphysics questions everything, even the work of God in our lives. Questioning is painful, but sometimes it is necessary.

Recently, my ministry changed from parish ministry to Ashaniketan, a place where sick and old people live. And there, I discovered philosophy. Not inside books. Not inside classrooms. Not inside metaphysics. Inside people.

One thing struck me very hard. Though they could not think for themselves in the ways society expects, they were enjoying life much more than us. Then I asked myself: who was actually sick – them or us?

Three of us took them to the beach. They simply sat there in silence, looking at the sea. That image still has not left my eyes. I felt like crying loudly. I felt like embracing the entire world. Looking at those waters, I could see that they felt they belonged somewhere. They felt loved. They were in deep reflection. They had forgotten all their problems for a moment.

Then we began playing with them. We disturbed them playfully. We played with the sand like little children. And suddenly, I became a child myself. I could be my true self because they would not judge me. They would simply accept me. They would simply love me innocently.

At that exact moment, I realised that this was the experiential philosophy I had been searching for all these years.

I hope all of you get such experiences someday. Actually, I think everyone gets them. We are simply not aware enough to notice them. Life has become very slow these days. I do not know why. Maybe life is asking me to breathe. Maybe life is asking me to stop running for a while.

One request before I end. Please pray for Evan, my friend, who is discerning his vocation. I hope he finds his way. Everyone wants Nietzsche's Will to Power, but perhaps what we need more today is a Will to Live – a powerful desire to be fully alive.

After studying essence, existence, matter, form, God, consciousness, morality and all these grand theories, I have reached a strange conclusion. I am tired, not physically but existentially. And yet, the people at Ashaniketan taught me more in one evening than hundreds of pages of metaphysics ever could.

Maybe philosophy is not about understanding God. Maybe it is about becoming more human. Maybe Being is not somewhere above us; maybe Being is between us. Maybe salvation is not after death; maybe salvation is sitting silently beside someone at the beach. Maybe faith is not certainty; maybe faith is staying. Maybe God is not waiting to be understood. Maybe He is waiting to be experienced.

So I leave you with a few questions.

Are we trying too hard to understand God while forgetting each other?

Are we trying to define life instead of living it?

Are we trying to become extraordinary while forgetting how to be human?

What if the greatest philosophy was never hidden in books but hidden in ordinary people all along?

And if that is true, then perhaps all this studying is simply leading us back to the same place – ourselves.

And trust me, bros, that journey is far more difficult than metaphysics itself. N Haa don't forget to watch "Spider Man - Brand New Day", also there are impactful movies which are released recently for the youth which are "Me Wapis Aunga" and "Cocktail 2". I Hope that I will get to watch all these movies.............

– Student of Philosophy: Rohan Brahmane SJ