Struggling to find something to watch on the TV last night I finally watched a documentary entitled "A long weekend with the son of god". It tells the tale of a man who, like a long line of others before him, claims to be the second coming, Christ reborn. That immediately set off alarm bells for me. As I watched on I could see a familiar pattern emerging. Someone claims to be Christ, gathers a flock, they all go off into seclusion and then something very bad happens. These cults are synonymous with the likes of Jim Jones and more recently David Koresh.
Will Sergey Torop be added to that list? He is an ex-Traffic Policeman from Russia who now goes by the moniker of Vissarion and claims to be the reincarnation of Christ. With his thousands of followers they live in a remote place they have named Sun City, in Siberia. Fake, that was the overriding thought as I watched it. That preconceived idea was further cemented when I saw this man wondering about looking like the Western idea of Jesus we have seen many times on TV. The documentary had interviews with a lot of his followers and they were not irrational people. A lot of them were very intelligent coming from all walks of life, varying professions and different countries. I couldn't understand why people would believe in this man in their droves enough to upsticks and move to this array of villages. It didn't seem logical to me but its happened countless times in history. Who really understands what drove others to places like the ranch in Waco and Jonestown? Do people really believe or do they just want to believe?
Something else though happened while watching the documentary. It was obvious why the documentary was set up in the first place- to show him as a fraud. And that was my judgement too. But as I watched longer I noticed that the judgement I made was all that I could see. It was the only question I was asking- is this man a fraud? It got me wondering why we, or I, make these judgements. It could be we don't like to see people being conned or maybe even that compassionate side that does not want to see people being hurt further down the line. Another possibility is we just like to be right and want others to know. Whatever the reason we all judge based on our own experiences and ideals.
There was another question to be asked though which was probably more important: Are these people happy? That is the question that surfaced as I watched on. And it was clear they were very happy. They seemed to believe he was the son of god but really it didn't matter whether they did or not. They believed in being where they were and were happy for it. I looked at one couple. They lived together in a little cabin which I presume they, or others there, built. It had a beautiful view over a lake in a very idyllic spot. They were completely self sufficient growing there own food. They were happy and to be honest given the chance to swap places with them I think I would be a lot happier too. But don't worry I'm not about to disappear off to Siberia! Does it really matter what the truth is when it makes so many people happy?
The train of thought left Siberia and pulled up at Lourdes. Is this really a special place where the afflicted are healed? Again it doesn't matter. What matters is that the people who go there believe and tend to come away happier. There are lots of places like that. Comfort can be found in all religions, in all beliefs. There are many stories of people overcoming the odds by the power of prayer. Does it matter who they pray too? Only for that person. I don't think it matters whether their god is really listening to them or its just their own subconscious lending an ear. Whatever it is it works for them and we don't need to know why for it to be effective. Again I think the main ingredient has to be belief. It is easy to see that through time as a people we have been more interested in enforcing our views on others as opposed to being at peace with them ourselves which has led to many a war from global to personal.
In times of trouble that is why I find myself mentally running about with nowhere to run to. Its like frantically searching in a void. I think we all need to believe in something and only there will we find peace in problematic periods. Without something or someone to hold on to you can become groundless, at least that is the way I see myself. Religion I'm afraid is not for me but maybe something else is. It could even be just finding belief in myself.
