To faith and beyond…

     “The root of religion is imagination. We can imagine a world where there is no hunger and death and so we imagine heaven. We can imagine a being that is sensitive and kind and generous and unconditionally loving, and so we imagine God. Take away imagination, and there is no heaven or God. It is a world where there are no possibilities”, states Devdutt Pattanaik, the famous mythologist.

     From the earliest times, humans have looked around and above them and wondered about the world, the universe, and the meaning of life. Unlike animals, humans have a built-in desire to understand how we got here, why we are here, and what happens after we die. In all of history and every culture, people have felt a need to worship what they perceive to be the source of life. From the Latin religio (respect for what is sacred) and religare (to bind, in the sense of an obligation), the term religion describes various systems of belief and practice concerning what people determine to be sacred or spiritual. Throughout history, and in societies across the world, leaders have used religious narratives, symbols, and traditions in an attempt to give more meaning to life and understand the universe. Some form of religion is found in every known culture, and it is usually practiced in a public way by a group. The practice of religion can include feasts and festivals, God or Goddesses, marriage and funeral services, music and art, meditation or initiation, sacrifice or service, and other aspects of culture. 

     Religion is human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of special reverence. It is also commonly regarded as consisting of the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death. In many traditions, this relation and these concerns are expressed in terms of one’s relationship with or attitude toward Gods or spirits; in more humanistic or naturalistic forms of religion, they are expressed in terms of one’s relationship with or attitudes toward the broader human community or the natural world.

     Author Andy Weir, on his website Galactanet, published an article that shows a conversation between God and a human being who has recently died. It reads:

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident.

 Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless.

You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death.

The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail.

Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me.

“What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you God?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said.

“You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination.

 To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man.

Or possibly a woman.

Some vague authority figure, maybe.

More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine.

Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way.

They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you.

Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved.

To be fair, your marriage was falling apart.

If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby.

 So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives.

You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders.

“Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had. You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point in doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh, lots. Lots and lots. An into lots of different lives.” I said.

“This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe.

Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me.

I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little letdown. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a God?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a foetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way.

     In ancient times, most religions served to answer mysteries of the universe, such as the question of creation, the existence of the sun and the moon, the meaning of life, and myriad other phenomena that could not be explained. There has been a prolonged conflict between science and religion, in which science has come out strongly to oppose the authority of the various kinds of religions in the world.

     Religion clearly is relevant in modern society as it has been throughout history, and it is unlikely that people will abandon religion unless modern philosophy and science invent suitable substitutes for all the social, psychological, and emotional benefits of religion. Modernity gives various hues on the definition of religion from different perspectives. Concepts like monotheism, polytheism, agnosticism, atheism, cults, occults, etc., have come into the picture with the globalization of religious resources through technology.

     Psychologically we can affect what we believe in. Therefore, it is very important to be sober in understanding what path we take. One should always remain sound in the search for truth. This is very important as it acts as a guide. We can hear all things but there is that specific part for us that is very uplifting.

     Thus, the idea of religion is rooted in our desire to understand and control the external world, as well as in the human desire for meaning and validation. Religions are nothing but frameworks created for living life to move ahead towards the greater good and to align with the one who is believed to be the creator.

     It is impossible to understand the modern world unless we understand the importance of religious faith. That faith motivates, galvanizes, organizes, and integrates millions upon millions of people. Religion is relevantly important to different people in the world. That is the reason why as much as religion faces so much criticism from disciplines like science and theories such as evolution, it will stand the test of time. Religion deals with the bigger criticism, but some people have proved to stand the test.

-Palak.

(Wordsmith Cilium).