Mumblings about the existence of God

Thank you for taking out time to think about the philosophy of life. To inquire about the truth is really the purpose of human life because that is what distinguishes us from animals who seem to not have that cognitive capacity. That you're doing so is really encouraging.

Abstract or subjective experiences like love are not quantifiable but their symptoms, such as a couple holding hands, are. On that basis love is real even to the hard-core empiricist. This is indeed the very same argument we can use to conclude that the soul, or jiva, and the Supreme soul, or God, are also real, because while we cannot perceive them with our material senses, we can perceive their symptoms, namely, consciousness in the body & the intelligent workings of nature, respectively. In fact, the entire physical manifestation seems to be endowed with so much intelligent complexity and ultimately design, that it is hard to deny the workings of an intelligence behind nature.

"Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe -- a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive." - Albert Einstein

Another verifiable symptom of the existence of a Supreme being is our own existence. We cannot deny that we exist, for how else would we be pondering our existence? However, we also know that everything that is physical about us is constantly changing, in other words it doesn't last. If we strip ourselves of all our perishable faculties, tags, labels, packaging, et all, then what we are left with is who we are. Upon doing so we find that the only lasting thing about our experience is that we are conscious throughout all the fluctuation of body & mind.This unchanging, conscious character is the symptom of all life -- of spirit -- and is what we are. Now that we have established that we are each a spark of consciousness, and we exist, where do we come from? We are finite and in our experience, all finite things come from something else. So being finite sparks of consciousness, we must come from some ultimate source. Our source however, must also possess consciousness in order to impart it to us. Inherent in this argument is the assumption that the possessor of consciousness or soul is a fundamental (indivisible) unit of existence. And so we can figure that we (the spiritual spark or jiva) come from a reservoir of consciousness. Thus we arrive at an ultimate source of consciousness, that possesses consciousness, as being necessary for our own existence as conscious beings. Thus we have arrived at a purely intellectual understanding of the existence God.

However, reductionists and materialists will tell you that all this order, including our own selves, arose randomly because of some fluctuation in a field of quantum energy that is ever existing.

So here are essentially two paradigms, neither of which can be empirically proven, one points to a conscious source and another to an unconscious material source. We can't empirically prove that the quantum field of our origin, which exists within time & space, is ever existing and doesn't itself have its source in an intelligent consciousness, God. Neither can we empirically prove God, since by definition He is a spiritual being, exists outside of material time & space, and isn’t made of matter which has a beginning & end. In other words God does not possess a material body, so how can we hope to see him with material senses and material instruments? Implied in this argument is that spirit cannot be perceived directly by the material senses that we possess. But the Vedas teach that if we uncover our spiritual senses through spiritual practice, the hypothesis is that we can then truly perceive God; something that sages and saints across time and from all paths have claimed. Are they all lying? In either case, our origin cannot be empirically proven, and so in order to find out our origin we must search out an alternative or non-empirical paradigm that does, at least claim, to provide us the experience of the Absolute Truth, the Fountainhead of existence.

The Vedic or Yogic paradigm is one such paradigm. And what distinguishes the Vedic paradigm from others is that it is inclusive of all genuine religious processes and is non-sectarian. And this is because it has in-built, a system of "peer-review". If a particular practice/book/teaching that claims to deepen our experience of God is presented to the Vedic teachers, they accept or reject it on the basis of its merit (on how effective it is in bringing about God-consciousness) and not on the basis of which religion it springs from. That is why we see a variety of spiritual practices and processes present and encouraged in the Vedic or Bhakti-yoga system (from prayer which is central to the abrahamic faiths, to deity worship which is present in the traditions of the ancient world, to meditation which is found in the religions of the East and spiritual sacrifices which are also found in many ancient traditions, amongst others.)

More on the Vedic paradigm in future posts!

Darkest Before Dawn

Of the browning leaves of a book I'd long left halfway read, 
your picture reminds me;
A desire buried in my head, in some life behind me.
Why do you come to mind again, why remind me?

Gilden moments we must have spent,
together so many comfortable hours of quietude.
Now I wallow to heart's content
in surreptitiously striking solitude.

Oh where are you now, where are you?
Still straddling that bent up guitar, cooing the corners of oblivion,
making faces at the czar, are you still the old bohemian?

Had we not dreamt, together of travel,
of surfing upon the fabric of these worlds?
Had we not held, and in one breathe declared,
that we would conquer and return?

Bitter verity, spare me now,
I shall not look back in regret.
Every man and lady, I look around,
burdens under the very same fret.

What could have been, of these crossed paths had we chosen otherwise;
Was there ever a choice?
Would we have shed our sacred blood and found truth amidst the lies?

Ah, this common destiny toward which all gravitate,
inevitable and deceptive, 'tis but the only fate.
If loss, dear fellows, is the doubtless tale of this life,
it makes you wonder whether love indeed is wise.

I must now find a love that exists,
beyond the frames of now and then.
Having left the battlefields behind,
I seek that realm
where time is conspicuous by its absence.
For in such a place alone can true love shine,
in all it's variegatedness.

Then it was never you, my old friend,
with whom my search was to end.
Our love was like the love of men,
fickle and subject to our selfish ends.

This yearning then must surely be,
fulfilled by The Divinity.
That One God, of gods and men,
who is surely waiting for you and me.

All that now remains to be seen,
is the countenance of that primal cause,
and so I aspire to selfless surrender,
which draws me closer to infinity's shores.

King

There was once a king who asked,

Is there a gift in all the worlds,

that can make me sad when I am happy,

and happy when I am sad?

Then a sage came to the king and in his hands he put a ring,

upon which four words were cast,

that made the king sad when he was happy,

and happy when he was sad.

Smiles they wiped and tears they dried,

the words were wise, but wisdom is bitter-sweet.

'This too shall pass' the ring would read.

This too shall pass indeed.

What is this life, why does it seem,

so laden with strife, no lasting gleam?

No certain future, but endless hopes,

is this all it is - a cruel joke?

Your life may be different,

so feel free to disagree.

But I shall pass and so will you,

then how different will we be?

Is it not my right to search for happiness,

for eternal bliss and timeless life?

Be practical, for no such thing exists they say,

to dreamers and sages alike.

Life it comes and it goes,

and sometimes we're left standing still.

Life becomes a passerby,

whose glimpse we seldom care to steal.

Rare are those who dare to try,

who call out or seek to catch it's eye.

And once they have life by their side,

they sit down and speak for a while.

Then with tears in its eyes,

life says to those who listen,

I have been waiting for so long my friend,

for you to ask this very question.

Death and I are everywhere,

we never began and shall not cease.

But there is Truth beyond us both,

for those who simply seek.

Be gladdened, enlightened soul,

for the Truth yearns to meet with you too.

In loving exchange you shall embrace,

what in your heart, you always knew.

Life grew silent, stood up and said he would leave soon,

the king now had to choose.

Would he follow life and death once again,

or would he choose to seek out the Truth?

Lessons from a Dream

Sweat gushed down my face and chest. My heart pounded so hard, it threatened to pop right onto the dusty road under my bare feet. Mindlessly I ran, trying to put as much distance between me and those horrid men as I could. But they were unrelenting. Like a pack of wolves hunting a baby boar. Soon enough, I could hear their thundering steps closing in on the kill; I dared not look back. Then, all too soon, I stumbled and came crashing to the earth. Dust rose all around me, and tall, grim silhouettes loomed in every direction. The stench of death was overpowering. And just as a cruel hand plunged for my neck, I woke to the soft hum of an air-conditioner  and the moist touch of my pillow.

It was only a dream; but it felt mighty real. So real in fact, that it got me questioning what I considered reality. There are two major differences between the dream world and the "real world". First, that the dream world is short lived. And second, that it is not shared with others in the "real world". But the point is, that dreams feel completely and undeniably real until we wake up.

Dreams may be just a construct of our minds, or even some would say, an alternate dimension of existence. However, that is not what I wish to bring up. I wish to ask myself what truth we can glean from the human experience of dreams?

Although in dreams we never consider a world or existence beyond that present moment, we know after waking up, that such a world beyond that present does exist. Similarly, in the "real world", even though we hardly ever consider the possibility of an existence beyond the "real world", there is all likelihood that such a world beyond the "real world" does exist. This concept of existence beyond the real world, can be likened to life beyond death. And just as the "real world" is a higher dimension of reality in comparison to dreams, similarly, there is all the chance that life beyond death would also then be a higher dimension of life and reality when compared to the "real world".

So in contrast to the notion that there is no life beyond death, which is not backed by any logical inference, it is infinitely more likely that there is indeed life beyond death, just as is seen in the analogy of 

dreams vs. the "real world".

I am not suggesting that life is a dream or an illusion, but I am suggesting that life as we know it, doesn't end with the death of the body. Upon coming to this realization in one's spiritual journey, the next obvious conclusion then is... that we're not this body. Because if life doesn't end with the death of the body then obviously, we are not the body but something that is embodied.

In the words of C.S. Lewis, "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." 

Every day we live our lives as if we're the body, and we 'have a soul'. Thinking thus, we go to the ends of the world trying to satisfy our body. However,  if we 'are a soul' and  'have a body', rationally speaking, we should be trying to satisfy our soul and not our body. Maybe that is the reason why there is no lasting happiness in this world, because we're trying to satisfy something that is not really who we are. 

Endless Toil

Of fair maidens and virtuous kings,

there might indeed, a time have been.

When sunlight laced with golden hymns,

would cast a spell upon the wind.

When men would walk a righteous path,

and teach their sons, the song of truth.

And in a mother's warm embrace,

a child would learn what love could do.

What need for wealth then would there be?

Would then any man be plagued by greed?

If such a time there ever was,

then one must wonder how it was lost.

For now that man has gone astray,

the hour is dire, the sky is gray.

Blood is spilled for peace' sake,

and horror lurks at every place.

Bullets seem to mete an easy end,

as still worse terrors man invents.

Enslaved by the sight of money,

we live in endless toil,

lust keeps our eyes wide open,

but we're blind, so blind.

Let not this sickness,

that has overcome the earth,

numb you into believing,

that all is well.

For ignorance is bliss, 

only for a little while,

till it sneaks up behind you,

and wipes your smile.

How long will it be,

till this madness catches up with me?

As the world spins into disarray,

I wish to rise above the fray.

And  so I search,

for answers absolute.

With a hope that I'll find,

peace beyond the horizon.