The recent passing of the Hindu guru Sathya Sai Baba brought up an interesting discussion recently, and I want to share my views here. For those unfamiliar with the name, this man was considered by many to be an ascetic with healing powers - some even go to the extent of calling him a reincarnation of god.
On the one hand, if you were to presume that the quality of a man's life is judged by the tears shed when he is gone, then one can only conclude, by the thousands that wept at the Sai Baba's funeral, that he was a leader and shepherd of men. Superficially, this seems like a reasonable conclusion to draw from a reasonable presumption.
But, all this is just that - on the surface. There is this basic human need for fulfillment and belonging that is met somewhere in the process, but we are prepared to endure so much pain, just for those few moments of happiness. Why else would people lead their entire lives believing in "gods" and ideas that have no basis in reality and fact? When viewed objectively, these are just blatant lies, aren't they? They are a jigsaw of all the little pieces of fiction created along the way to make our lies seem like a intangible truths backed by the conviction of faith. Take the time to think about this.
When someone says, "I don't know that God exists, but I believe", it is tantamount to an admission of pure ignorance. Ignorance isn't bliss. Ignorance is painful. The reason our lives are filled with so much pain and internal turmoil is simply because we refuse to acknowledge the fact that most of the groundwork we lay for our lives is not based on anything real! Things that go wrong because of our lapse in judgement or action become "the mysterious ways in which the lord works". Think about how easy it is to pass the buck to this fantastic character : God - your perfect personal life insurance policy! All the important aspects of our lives are in our control, but just in case, just in case we screw up, we need coverage from the divine insurance policy. And in case we don't, what do we do? Why, we do what any rightly indignant customer would do - complain.
There is a distinctly satiating clarity that comes from accepting the Unknown as what it simply is - unknown. A clarity that we will never achieve by being shepherded by anyone other than yourself. Simply doing this gives us something we unconsciously spend our whole lives searching for - a sense of purpose. It is this sense of purpose that will pave the path to true knowledge of ourselves and of the universe, of which each of our lives is a microcosm.
On the one hand, if you were to presume that the quality of a man's life is judged by the tears shed when he is gone, then one can only conclude, by the thousands that wept at the Sai Baba's funeral, that he was a leader and shepherd of men. Superficially, this seems like a reasonable conclusion to draw from a reasonable presumption.
But, all this is just that - on the surface. There is this basic human need for fulfillment and belonging that is met somewhere in the process, but we are prepared to endure so much pain, just for those few moments of happiness. Why else would people lead their entire lives believing in "gods" and ideas that have no basis in reality and fact? When viewed objectively, these are just blatant lies, aren't they? They are a jigsaw of all the little pieces of fiction created along the way to make our lies seem like a intangible truths backed by the conviction of faith. Take the time to think about this.
When someone says, "I don't know that God exists, but I believe", it is tantamount to an admission of pure ignorance. Ignorance isn't bliss. Ignorance is painful. The reason our lives are filled with so much pain and internal turmoil is simply because we refuse to acknowledge the fact that most of the groundwork we lay for our lives is not based on anything real! Things that go wrong because of our lapse in judgement or action become "the mysterious ways in which the lord works". Think about how easy it is to pass the buck to this fantastic character : God - your perfect personal life insurance policy! All the important aspects of our lives are in our control, but just in case, just in case we screw up, we need coverage from the divine insurance policy. And in case we don't, what do we do? Why, we do what any rightly indignant customer would do - complain.
There is a distinctly satiating clarity that comes from accepting the Unknown as what it simply is - unknown. A clarity that we will never achieve by being shepherded by anyone other than yourself. Simply doing this gives us something we unconsciously spend our whole lives searching for - a sense of purpose. It is this sense of purpose that will pave the path to true knowledge of ourselves and of the universe, of which each of our lives is a microcosm.
