The ramifications of the Original Sin!

I am not given to making any sweeping statements on any subject unless I am in full possession of facts and figures. I may permit myself a bit of latitude here and there provided I have the basics right. But when it comes to saying anything on matters of which I am clueless, mum is the word! And so it happened at the club the other day. We were all sprawled in our favourite chairs in total agreement with the sagacious statement of Browning that ‘God’s in His heaven and all’s well with the world’. If you imagine that talking sweet nothings is the prerogative of youth, let me tell you that a motley group of sixties like us can make it even sweeter and more of nothing! That was what we were doing that day, when the topic veered around to the Original Sin. Don’t ask me why and how. You may perhaps blame it on the spirit of yuletide.

We were generally having a cozy chat about the terrorism in the country and the general depression in the economy. Suddenly a friend flared up like a Chinese dragon and blamed Adam squarely for the mess we were in. It was his considered opinion that despite all the stern warnings from none other than God Himself, this chap allowed himself to be tempted by some serpent and took a bite of the Forbidden Fruit. That single act of indiscretion has resulted in all the successive men and women having to toil it out for a living till date. This friend warmed to his subject so much that he even sought to establish a direct link between the Original Sin and the recent Mumbai bombings!

Sensing an urgent need to restrain this friend before he phoned up and tipped the Police about the involvement of Adam in the recent bombings, another friend tried to divert his attention by addressing a question to him regarding the possible cause for Adam losing his head over an innocuous fruit when the Garden of Eden abounded in far more exotic but less sinful fruits. I should say that this question had the desired effect on my friend who threatened to run amok with his incrimination of Adam in all terrorist acts. No one was able to answer this question. Someone made a suggestion that it was possible that Adam had some extraordinary taste buds that required to be fed with something out of the world. Everyone looked at me for my take on the subject knowing that I am rather well informed about taste buds. This was the precise moment when I had to confide in you about myself as I did in the opening para of this narration.

All I knew was that an average human being had some 10000 taste buds on his tongue which figure had remained more or less constant since the days of Homo sapiens. I have read the Book of Genesis a few times but I could not recollect any abnormality being mentioned about Adam’s taste buds. It was my view that it was not any abnormality in Adam’s taste buds that made him take a bite of The Forbidden Fruit but it was possibly due to an abnormality in his mind that he allowed himself to be manipulated by the serpent. But I decided to keep my views to myself, the subject being one in which I could not claim authentic knowledge.

Though we successfully side tracked the guy who was up in arms against Adam for the predicament he has caused us through his act of indiscretion, we could see the justice in his tirade against Adam’s Original Sin. It was with a heavy heart that we took leave of each other. As we got into our limousines, we stroked our Adam’s Apple plaintively!

Dear Cheeniya Sir

Let me make the men feel less guilty about the Original Sin" by quoting from the King James version of the Bible that it was Eve who bit the apple first and also enticed Adam to partake of the same.

Genesis chapter 3 verse 6:

"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."

This infamous act resulted in their expulsion from Eden which in turn led to us mere mortals carrying the burden,till date, of that first moral trespass

Regards.

Dear Dolorcosta
Thanks for this further input about the Original Sin.
In the light of this, the famous statement that 'behind every successful man, there is a woman' must be rephrased as
'Behind every hard working man, there is a woman who made him do it!'
Sri

Dear Cheeniya sir,

That's a good one !

I know I am digressing from the main thread but I have to state ,with due respect to all men, one of my favourite sayings is :

" Behind every successful man stands a surprised woman ! "

Regards.

Originally Posted by Cheeniya

Dear Dolorcosta
Thanks for this further input about the Original Sin.
In the light of this, the famous statement that 'behind every successful man, there is a woman' must be rephrased as
'Behind every hard working man, there is a woman who made him do it!'
Sri

Dear SIR,


So Adam is wanted eh?? Guess your friends would have him in shredds if he had the opportunity too. But on second thoughts your frinds would agree that the taste of the forbidden fruit is always sweet.
No I would never say that talking sweet nothings is the prerogative of the youth. This is definitely enjoyed by sexagenarians and the elders in order.

Well I guess somewhere this is all a blame game . What if ....... is a big question always ruling our life.

Like for every action there is someone responsible. Adam responsible for the current sins!??! My hubby responsible for the slightest probs I face , me responsible if my hubby misses a flight.

Well coming back to apples , wonder if this is such a tale , why is it that the fruit is still in great demand and almost the most expensive too. Guess that proves the interest in the forbidden fruit!!

Great blog, Sir!! Your usual humour, interesting topic et al. The Sir package.

Love,
Your MOL

Dear Cheeniyasir,

What a profound question bordering on a theological discourse have you opened up on Christmas! Really happy to see your blog, it makes my Christmas.

Unlike you, I am quite loquacious when it comes to giving my 'expert' opinion on matters on which I don't have the foggiest idea. So here, goes:

Originally Posted by Cheeniya

another friend tried to divert his attention by addressing a question to him regarding the possible cause for Adam losing his head over an innocuous fruit when the Garden of Eden abounded in far more exotic but less sinful fruits. -------- It was my view that it was not any abnormality in Adam’s taste buds that made him take a bite of The Forbidden Fruit but it was possibly due to an abnormality in his mind that he allowed himself to be manipulated by the serpent.

You hit it on the pip(I am trying to be clever here- apple- pip ) when you say that it was an abnormality in Adam's mind that made him eat the apple. Very true! One Holy version says that the one reason He wanted to eat the apple was because it was the only fruit that was forbidden. As you say, the Garden of Eden abounded in more exotic, less sinful fruit- but none of them had the luster and lure of the Forbidden Fruit. And none of them were Forbidden. Eve says, "It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we must not eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it. If we do, we will die." "That's a lie" the serpent hissed. "You'll not die! God knows very well that as soon as you eat it you will become like him. Your eyes will be opened. You will be able to know good from evil!" The woman was convinced. How lovely and fresh-looking it was! And it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit and gave some to her husband. He ate it too. (Genesis 3:1-6)

You know, how I often say men don't grow up. Well, they did not evolve much either, whether you stick to Darwin or Intelligent design. Like the modern, metrosexual male of 25-12-2008, Adam too succumbed to the temptation of what was forbidden to him, left to his free will to eat or not eat. In eating the apple, Adam was setting a trend that generations of men would follow blindly, lithely. Exercise their free will to choose an option that is not optimal, ideal, or permitted. Tell me honestly, how many men dream of their wives when there are more luscious, dangerous and forbidden sweet nothing options from Namita to Anjelina Jolie??

But all this apart, it is sad that the original Sin continues to make us pay. And like Cain and Abel, we fight and kill our own brothers. We may be Indian, we may be Pakistani, we may be Jew or Muslim- but we can all relate to the peace and innocence that once ruled in the Garden of Eden which I assume also symbolises a clear mind with nothing but faith in a Supreme Father.

Well, there is no law that does not have a loop hole. There is no Sin that has no absolution. And in the spirit of Christmas, I pray that we will all be forgiven for the Original Sin and its ramifications! And pray that we be delivered soon.May His Kingdom Come! And Come soon!

Merry Christmas! Great, great piece. You make us think and type.

regards
Vidya

Dear Sri,
You write

It was my view that it was not any abnormality in Adam’s taste buds that made him take a bite of The Forbidden Fruit but it was possibly due to an abnormality in his mind that he allowed himself to be ..........

Yes, you are right. It is the mind which causes havoc allowing us to form our own prejudice!! Your statement about your favourite dishes in your profile says it all!!

Yes, talking sweet nothings takes large proportions when we reach 60+, because they are more meaningful, borne out of personal experiences!
When young, nothing is sweet enough. But at 60+, suddenly everything is sweet because we look at things in the right perspective.

Now, DC, I hope Sri won't interpret your line

" Behind every successful man stands a surprised woman ! "

to his advantage as
The woman is surprised how her man could succeed inspite of her!

I would put it thus:
Behind every successful man, there is a great woman.

Love,
Chithra.

My dear Mole
In retrospect, I should say that I am happy that Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation and ate the Forbidden Fruit. If they had not done so, a lot of us would find it difficult to explain several of our lapses! Now we can say that it is in our blood!
Incidentally, what is surprising about apples being in great demand and being so expensive? You have stated yourself that forbidden things do always enjoy a premium!
All said and done, look at all the snowballing effect of the Original Sin! We all continue to sin without a care in the world, my sweet nothings included!
Long live the Original Sin!
Sri

My dear Vidya
I once conducted a workshop for SBI employees about what to say when they had nothing to say! This workshop was a sequel to a survey that I conducted which showed beyond doubt that the employees had a tendency to shoot their mouths when they had nothing to say. The Management Consultant who we approached for designing the programme gave it some fancy name and charged his fat fees! So loquacity of the nature that you profess to be blessed with is in tune with the general human behaviour!

When I was reading the Book of Genesis, it occurred to me that the creation of Eve out of the rib of Adam could have made both succumbing to the temptation of eating the Forbidden Fruit. Had she been of a different stock, they would still be arguing if they should eat the fruit or not!

That’s a very tricky question that you have raised. It reminds me of the riddles that Vikramaditya was asked to answer by the Vethal! Honestly I do not see any reason for a man to dream of someone who is always with him. Still, if he is forced to dream, he would perhaps dream of Angelina Jolie or Namita just for the heck of it. When one gets such a wide choice, why crib and make it some non-entity?!

What has happened at Eden is irreversible. Your words ‘There is no Sin that has no absolution. And in the spirit of Christmas, I pray that we will all be forgiven for the Original Sin and its ramifications!’ bring me a lot of cheer. What more can I say than ‘Amen’?
Sri

Dear Chithra
The definition of 'sweet nothings' keeps undergoing a change at every stage of our life. For a sexagenarian, it is 'Nothing can be sweeter than when you have nothing to say!'
Your caution to DC about how I might twist the statement to my advantage reminds me of a dedication of one of his novels by PG Wodehouse. He wrote 'To my dear wife but for whom I would have finished this novel long back!'

I am always intrigued by all these women standing behind successful men. Why are not these women referred to as their 'wives'? Why they are called just women? Why don't people say things like, 'Behind every successful man, there is a wife or a surprised wife or great wife or whatever? Does it mean that she has to step out of her wife's shoes and play a more dominant role to make her husband more successful?
Sri