Penalty and Pardon

By Ramu Upadhaya

Penalty and Pardon – is a novel that seeks to explore questions of the existence of God, also good and evil. Patrick is a staunch believer in God. Nevertheless, he faces innumerable problems created by Desmond and Baxter, who represent evil in the book.
Though Patrick does not have any proof about the presence of the mysterious entity called God, he devotes his whole life to the service of God. It reveals human life’s positive and negative aspects in activities related to worldly success and failures and Patrick’s dealing with them. He deals with Desmond and Baxter, the principal adversaries, creating roadblocks and hurdles for Patrick as he seeks to lead a spiritual life.
The narrative reflects on the spiritual and the material worlds. Besides, it tells us about what lies between our theoretical and practical lives in society as if the author were interpreting the real spiritual world–a superbly thought-provoking presentation!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zorba Books
• Release date: Nov 16, 2021

Book preview

Prologue

He may not have any proof about the presence of the mysterious entity called God. Still, Patrick devotes his whole life to the services of Providence. So, there can be no outright rejection of God if one is to be humane to him; for, believing in something is the privilege of an individual. Further, it tends to be an act of humiliation if He is present and takes our argumentation otherwise. Nobody should risk offending Him, nor His followers, unnecessarily. Hence, Patrick said: If an individual cannot tickle God’s vanity, why do they undermine His objective by not infringing upon their liberty?

An answer to the ethical question above seems to justify Patrick’s raising the Contempt issue against Desmond and Baxter. They have no right to exercise over his business. The Almighty may or may not tolerate the demons’ interference. Especially, He Who divinely relates to Patrick has every right to exercise over him and his kith and kin: Who follows or prays to Him? Who likes Him to do what? Who wants Him not to do what?

Man’s belief in the Omnipresent provided the latter for exercising control over the former. To Patrick, God’s firing may lead some to give up educational interest; some may lose their lives, job, business, familial relationships, and academic activity. Still, there are no satisfactory answers to the questions: Who is the authority to exercise thy control over whom? How appropriate or deserving are They?

He disagrees with Desmond’s control over the former’s life and career, along with his kith and kin. Providence, according to Patrick, is only visible to those who deserve it in the physical world. And not to the demon or demons (Desmond) in the spirit of man or entity always tends to be the evilest creature in the given society if they get some powers.

For instance, the fiend makes the law on the one hand and breaks it on the other. Hence, Desmond neither refuses to disobey nor obey it. Some activities reflect his dangerous, if not frugal, thinking power.

Secondly, in the spiritual world, Patrick believes Providence must have blessed an individual – who gets – with a higher social position in the given society. But, at the same time, there is no satisfactory answer to whether everybody’s consciousness(assuming it to be a divine gift) helps man mind over their work.

Some said the blessings stand for power and prosperity. But, does everybody with the gift ever act according to what the majority in human society want? Never, because their selfishness, arrogance and ignorance do not allow it to happen!

Patrick thinks the people, from affluent to low, from upper to lower classes of the social milieu who judge the character and antecedents of an individual best suit Providence’s category. The problem is: How to differentiate between godly and demonic creatures they carry out as assignments as aforementioned?

Desmond feels afraid of losing his self-styled authority, suffers from intolerance and acts as the real evil. Unlike Patrick, who believes in Providence’s supremacy and never worries admitting any past, who receives his petition? How does the sinner get punished or pardoned? Likewise, did they who held power ever utilises it scrupulously?

Further, who is the actual authority to grant salvation? Who is the sinner? Man belongs to a society where the need for peace and prosperity leads them to run from pillar to post to fulfil their desires through humans. Now, should those who help them be their Providence? Do they agree to record their gratitude to the helper as a Good Samaritan?

Patrick does not feel it necessary to seek answers to such questions as above. His confidence was deep-rooted; he continuously submitted before the Unseen and Unknown as to if Thou were physically present and getting his prayer granted. It led many to fail in knowing about Patrick’s expectations from the visit to the temporal world. People, who are by his side when alive to chant a holy name even after him? Or God?

Desmond and Baxter feel Patrick is a liar when he could not prove the presence of Almighty. So, they subtly argue: if God does not concern Patrick, how does the latter relate to the former? Where does he get Thy? How was Thine together with his experiment with the Omnipresent? Without satisfactory answers, God’s concept of doing good or evils to humans continues haunting a volley of questions even to the seeker.

Because he feels to have continuously run backing their killer ever since became aware of their delivery to which death entailed. Patrick thinks his assassin is forever running after his life. As to how Nature has given his life, Patrick seems to understand it not to remain in his body forever in honour of the Earth’s visit. Yet, he does not ever question how and where does once out of his body his life go?

Of course, there are millions of tales highlighting the life after death, of which he read none could convince why Desmond and Baxter were after his and kith and kin’s life. But, because everything in the world is temporary, everybody is to die a day. Moreover, none can repeatedly risk contradicting stories about the truth, thinking without a firsthand account of it. So Patrick always felt satisfied in speaking with evidence, though it is a tough job.

On the other hand, Patrick’s understanding blows off the enemy of life as the sickness breaking out into an individual’s life – be it in the mask of love, hatred, infirmity or another ilk. He points out that the moment the man loses their breath from the body, some of these killers subtly claiming responsibility for it. Even in the guise of humans, some inflictions upon the unfortunate cause the fatality, Patrick said, muttering:

"The virus may have differently self-styled – as a living entity may not have been successful sans life.

In this context, the loss of life seems to ensure victory and defeat as well. In the game, the victor frees themselves from the other fight with their enemy or competitor.

Similarly, death guarantees freedom from any embarrassing situation.

Simultaneously, one must admit the definition of death is not easier than birth, for simple copulation between two healthy opposite sexes can produce a new life to play in their laps to clap.

However simple the deal of creation may be, it is not easy to uproot the body’s breath. There involves a lot of mystery in obtaining the declaration of demise, although".

Given the exhibition of our soul’s non-attachment character or breath after death, one thinks Desmond’s acceptance as the Almighty for the man seems not wholly unfounded. Likewise, the entire investment of justice an individual makes upon others seems to swap for God’s blessings.

As long as there is no evidence of His physical presence, any query seems justified for expanding our creative horizons. Accordingly, the seeker seems warranted in shooting a pertinent question: why is prayer or worship to the Almighty necessary when we do not have evidence of His presence? Is the search for knowledge about His company a crime? If so, why a limited human can have access to Him? At the same time, if He is present everywhere amidst us, why everybody has no access to Him?

According to Patrick, to get an instant answer to the last question as above, some say only the pious people can see the presence of God. But it raises some serious questions: Is there any guarantee that the human who has the right to enter into His kingdom is far superior to others? If not, why does Providence remain selective in granting access to one while depriving others of the same privilege?

However, Patrick may reject the truth even if it carries valid arguments, saying those who pray must have got blessed. In the blessing, there is power, position, peace & prosperity. Thus, he concludes that all shortcomings or commissions we commit in our lives originate from the temporary requirement to fulfil desires, greed, and ignorance.

But Desmond feels that none of the entities could commit crimes if the heavenly body called Omnipresent were there on Earth. Contextually, every intelligent mind can cross-question specific issues in the temporal world: How does the blessed one share their privileges to the poor or underfed? What are the punishments for them if they sin or commit crimes? In the offence, may not the inefficiency also come under the stipulation of penalty?

Patrick always upholds the authority of the Almighty, putting questions backwards. What or how leads to the growth of incompetence in a man if they have not sinned? How applicable are the principles for whom? What good can an individual expect from the entity that lacks the skill of services? Likewise, can an inapt tolerate the wise, intelligent and intellectual? If not, what leads them to be intolerant? Is it not fear of the ignorant that tries to intimidate the virtuous? Does the dread not create distrust? Patrick said only the demon could commit wrong, nobody else. The presence of all essential ingredients of character in the believers smacks of the blessings of the Omnipresent.

Traditionally, the showering of care for an individual by God turns into a spontaneous celebration for His follower or believer. Who is the fortunate one, and how?

These rational questions lead Desmond to ask: Are those innocent or weak not the victims if the robust or influential people inflict injustice? How do they count upon their sufferings?

According to Patrick, all kinds of glitch sources are from Providence. So, the sinner suffers from their personal growth and development in the temporal world. One supposes they may be in the form of suffering from diseases, personal losses, humiliations, deprivation, betrayals, failures, curses, ill-luck or whatnot. How do all these get supposedly defined in the practical world?

If blessed, Patrick seems to conclude an individual succeeds in tackling all adversaries one after another without involving physical destruction. In that case, one thinks they stand as a sufferer and forgiver in a better experiment with their life!

Let us taste how the inventive goodness further gets set into the following chapters.

ILL-CONSIDERED BELIEFS

Defining Nature

A man comes empty-handed to the world and goes away alike – Why do they come? If they did not happen, would not the world have been beautiful as we see now? In all modesty, that is not the actual issue that requires examination. Even a child can answer these questions because a man’s birth contributes something worth to the world. Accept it or not, Nature decides the type of contribution an individual requires making to the world, due to which Her plan initially remains beyond their imagination. Moreover, without man, there would have been nobody to comment on how the world looks; it is only humans that better define the beauty of Nature.

Worthy Mortal

The birth or, for that matter, contributions of some extraordinary people made the world more stunning, stocking the beauty of human life to the natural gift of Nature. So, if everybody said the world is not a place to live forever and that it is no use doing anything worth in the mortal life, the world would not have reached the place where it is now.

Today, we can enjoy both good and evil. Of course, it depends on our choice and requirement –from getting up from the bed to eating to sleeping, including loving, reading, bathing, cleaning, and disposing of the dirt. The acquisition of our knowledge in the different spheres of our activities has helped us identify the items in their respective positions in the given society

Essential Acquisition

Of course, we know our visit to the world is without possessing anything material to us. But we go with our experiments in life. As social animals, we acquire many things in both moveable and immovable forms in living in society. To get hold of some of these, we enter into many kinds of troubles, from gaining knowledge, wealth, and properties to entering into conflicts.

Our awareness gets used for both good and bad reasons. The company of good people, as well as the environment, makes life worth living. So, the test of consciousness must go with us as our precious possession. When the breath goes out of our body, we call it demise. Without breath in our body, there is no chance for the growth of awareness in us. The wakefulness comes after the birth of being. It is, therefore, an acquisition in terms of the experiment. But, of course, every soul(or breath) does not seem entitled to privileges.

Who seems fortunate to go with their consciousness? It remains unanswered if we don’t attempt at making ourselves clear. If an individual goes with awareness, they must have ample logic to get their incomplete tasks accomplished. Else, who likes to go to hell if living in the material world means living in Heaven? If Heaven is different, who were they who first saw it and spread the story of its presence? The argument is that some of us believe our soul goes to Heaven after our death, provided we are pious. But practically, no entity seems genuinely religious. Nor the eulogising of any tenets of religions enough if there are no right persons to follow these. At the same time, what is the actual definition of a sinner?

Proposition & Disposition

For that reason, even if an individual commits heinous crimes in the material world, they pretend to be innocent by submitting prayer.

And some of us accept something an individual tells about their right or wrong as their lifetime truth in the material world. They admit their mistakes when death nears them.

Given the premises, an individual’s admission of past mistakes before friends who flock together to bid farewell to them before their death appears to be their payback. However, there is no proof of the divine punishments. Is it when some people resent the dead over their past follies after them? Patrick appropriates it as the curse of Providence. He said any unsettled disputes after death stick out the outstanding liability, speaking it brings about an evitable tension or dissatisfaction even in Heaven. Further, the assumption seems valid if the wrongdoer agrees on indulging in the commission of the wrong. Then, there can be no more mountains out of the small molehill.

Perse, the admittance of crimes by the guilty reflects their societal living by the will of others. Suppose the assertion as above relates to their blood relations. In that case, everybody does not usually like to interfere in a personal matter.

Likewise, a report by the person not associated with them entails no question about universal life by belief in custom and tradition.

If anyone dares to change to suit them, they face stiff opposition – They look bad or mad!

Usually, the people who witness the lifetime achievement, whether material or spiritual, about the person before the death shape their future identity. Of course, what the dead says is beyond one’s comprehension of living conditions. But there may be people who say the Gods and Goddess are responsible for the grant of recognition.

And those who grant the credit in pen and papers seem to feel ashamed of asserting the title of God. Of course, the lack of admittance or acceptance of individual supremacy seems visible. There involves the responsibility, for which everybody passes the buck to the flawed gods and goddesses. It appears that knowing nothing about it saves some from being cornered. Or they do it deliberately.

In this context, one would like to say it is their pretension. But, on the other hand, most of those who believe in God are always leading a life of illusion. Thus, the conclusion of some sages or seers of the Eastern countries about human life being an illusion seems not wholly wrong, contextually.

On the other hand, the seeker never tries to know how the sin gets pardoned but continues submitting and getting their prayer granted before their death. They never ask to whom they admit of their commission of the past. Who is the actual authority? Man, who is by the side of their death bed? Or God? If the former does not concern them, how do they get to relate to the latter? Where do they call Him? How was the individual together with their experiment with the Omnipresent? There are no clear-cut answers to such questions. As such, the purpose of life, along with an individual’s death, remains told by others. If there is longing for knowing about it, life seeks till it frees from the human flesh and bone.

Trepidation

Of course, to control or bring an individual under their terms, some people apply fear psychosis – in which doubt and anxiety go together – as a valuable tool to dominate others. The desire to live forever always carries a bagful of apprehensions about their demise, for no human being wants to die of their own accord. Hence, some use these two words – fear and doubt – as their primary weapons to eradicate an individual’s life.

By the by, any longing for destructing the enemy seems to result from the cause of fear. Secondly, it also deciphers declassifying the secret evidence against the killer. Finally, though the assassin feels safe after killing their enemy, yet they inwardly suffer from trepidation. Hence, the assassin cannot believe in anybody; anyone maybe their opponent in the unforeseeable future. Thus the apprehension stands to have originated from intolerance.

Contextually, the failure to bear an enemy’s presence reflects one of the inherently strange characteristics of some human beings in societal living. With such supposed proofs of fear as above, one can hardly recognise the assassin or wrongdoer as tiger, lion or elephant-hearted. On the contrary, those who find pleasure in killing, trouble-making, harassing, and cheating seem better suited for a coward’s title in the eyes of all conscientious persons.

For instance, if you disagree, meditate on how these two terms (fear and doubt) apply in almost all transactional businesses between or among two or more people. No one can claim they have total control over these words. Even if a killer kills a man, they feel afraid of these two words. Hence, nobody seems safe also if their enemy is nowhere in sight with a defeat.

All courage of man confined to tolerance and assimilation in their day-to-day transactional business indeed substantiates humane evidence.

Sign of slayer

Otherwise, how can an individual who boasts of having defeated their adversary remains scared? If individuals’ crimes are open, they can not go scot-free for a long time; they get booked by the defender of laws. However, the secret killers sometimes elude the police with a haunt of a volley of questions related to fear and suspicion until they get caught up. Most of the time, the secret killers do not feel secured before intelligent or good people. They avoid speaking with everybody or speak curving their heads. Some bent heads may subtly stick out nearing the Pearly Gates, as in the same way, some are shy.

Haunt of fault

The head bent who turns criminal goes into hiding after the commission of crimes. During hiding, they seem to seek answers to some questions as:

Has somebody seen my crime? Can I be safe now? Will the corpse kill me in the guise of a God or Police? Have I done the right thing? What did the victim do that gave vent to my anger?

All the above queries that emerge from an innocent part or layer of the minds and hearts of the assassins seem to interpret the best