“When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself” - Peter O'Toole
Like everybody else, right from the start of my conscious life I was disturbed by numerous rubbish questions about silly things like Pain, Death, God, Birth, Dream and the Space!! I used to enjoy being amazed by the unknown & fascinated by the mysteries & myths surrounding my life. But as I grew up, gradually those mysteries started to loose their value….getting used to (in fact trained to) ignore questions which doesn’t have any direct relation to my social, academic or professional life. And now that I am a fully grown selfish human being…..I miss those days of wonders & amazement….no matter what I encounter nothing amazes me these days….even if I try hard….as if I am ignorant towards anything outside my immediate circle!! But still there are few questions which bother me (and those poor people whom I annoy with the same :P)….such as “Does God exist”? This is a universal question which everyone must have asked at least once in their lifetime!!
Sometimes I wonder why this question is so important to us?? Does the “religion” or “searching for some universal power to rely on, while in crisis” are the only reasons for this question?? Or there is really something called “The God”?? One thing I realized after all these years is that what we call GOD is somehow related to the “Ultimate source of all energy flowing in the universe”….the exact source of this energy is an everlasting mystery….yet its presence is a unanimous truth. Each & every particle in the universe is merged in that energy thus they all posses a portion of GOD.
Human beings are born to ask questions…..that’s why they are different from other organisms….they learned to ask “WHY”….which no other organism bother to (or might be they are too slow in there thinking process)….which in technical term we say “higher intelligence level”. We are always in a search for one ultimate question.... the very purpose of our life…the ultimate truth (MOKSHA)….and this is the only activity all of us are indulged in…all the so called activities we do are just a confused version of that search. This is the reason why that question is so important to us…..!!
Standing in a busy city square or mall, watching all those people running all time makes you think what are they all running for?? Why are they so busy?? Will they stop after reaching there destination or goal? According to Swami Vivekananda….No…they won’t stop until they die….because the goals they are setting are only temporary goals….thinking this will fulfill their needs….but once they achieve it they realize that it was not the final destination….they start searching for another temporary goal to satisfy there inbuilt “searching” nature….unaware of their ultimate goal!! This final goal is defined as Moksha (freedom) or Salvation in most of the religions.
One of the most scientific books I have ever read is the GITA….not because I am from a Hindu family….I personally don’t like many Hindu rituals and also believe that the so called need of RELIGION in a modern society have already lost its importance …in fact it’s a burden now!!! People are enough educated to think freely….they no more need religious books to tell what is right & what is wrong!! But still I loved reading GITA (not in Sanskrit though)….it changed my way of thinking….it answered most of my queries about right & wrong….about God… about coping with the complexities of life. No wonder it’s taught in many management institutions & foreign universities. For example, an American University has made study of Gita compulsory for all its students by including it in its “core course.” The Seton Hall University (
http://www.shu.edu/) has taken this decision observing the importance of Gita in life….!!
One of the theories written in this book is the existence of MAYA…..build to keep us away from Moksha….This “Maya” controls us through our 5 sense organs…vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch…..but somehow the Humans posses a sixth sense too…..which helps them break this shell of Maya buy refusing to respond to the other 5 senses. The confused ones like us responds to those 5 senses & sets temporary goals to satisfy their search in the outside world…..but the wise one respond to that sixth sense & look inside his own self….which possesses all the answers!! That’s where the concept of meditation (Dhyan) came from….shutting those 5 distracting senses & opening your sixth sense….that alone can provide you of all knowledge you need….no need to search it outside….humans are born with all the knowledge….just need to search for them. Scientifically speaking when we learn something new….does anything adds up in our brain?? No….just some internal arrangement changes…so we are just modifying what we already have inbuilt….that we can do without living in that shell of MAYA too.
Seems similar to the movie MATRIX?? Should be….the whole concept of Maya (the matrix) is taken from Gita….the first time when I saw Matrix I was mesmerized by the similarities….but when I told my friends about it…they laughed at me…..later they were shocked when they found those Gita Shloka-s recited at the end of MATRIX REVOLUTION….The whole matrix trilogy was an attempt to bridge the gap between religion (more correctly philosophy) & Science. Like in Matrix in Gita too we find the concept of “belief”….it says that we can change the world of maya as we like to….just need to have an equivalent strength in our belief ….we can fly if we believe we can, we can break through walls (resembles the Shaolin kung fu concept of “Chi”…the hidden energy)!!
Now those who are strong believer of science will laugh at such theories….but we must always remember that science is just a tiny portion of philosophy….which helps us to survive…. Science never asks questions….the only purpose of science is to observe our surrounding & note it down for future use….its not allowed to ask “Why”…. When Newton saw the apple falling he wondered why did it fall down? That was a philosophical question…but as soon as he converted it into a rule with some formula, it was converted into science. Those formulas are only observations….does they ask “Why”??
Another proof of that “ultimate source of energy” is life itself. I used to have a weird query when I was in school….I named this query as “Who am I”?? Every human being (in fact all animals & plats) is made up of tiny building blocks…say cells…which according to science itself is an unique living organism. So we are made of numerous living organisms working together in an unimaginable “order”. And we only die when that order break!! Then the question is “Who am I”….who is the decision maker?? Who is the commander of that army of cells?? The answer could not be BRAIN….its made up of individual cells (neurons) too…..so we are just an organization….not an individual….then why can’t we make “Frankenstein” in real life??…cloning or making test tube babies don’t make us god….we can never create life indigenously…..That’s because there is something called “soul”…which is a complex connection between us & God (I mean that source of energy)…which once broken cant be fixed…never…even though science will try to do that continuously…will never succeed!! Once I had a whole night debate on this topic with one of my colleague….where he stated the theories of evolution. Then I asked him about our “Moral Values”….if we are an organization of selfish cells…then from where came our moral values of right or wrong?? He suggested it might be the survival tactic (with a lots of future planning) which came from evolution….our social right & wrongs are actually long term selfish goals…..outside a social environment (say an isolated island) those values have no importance!! I agreed to that somewhat…but still confused.
Finally I must say this is still one of my favorite questions to irritate people with. I know there can never be a satisfactory answer to such questions….but our purpose is to ask question & trying hard to find the answer….that’s what we are destined for….!!
