Is There A God?
All of us have different perceptions and meanings associated with the
word “God”. For some, it would mean the person who sits up high
in the heavens and watches us all over all the time.
Others probably would say that God is someone who has unlimited powers and perform miracles when he wishes. Some would want to think God as an architect of the entire universe.
In this context,
when Carl Sagan, the
famous cosmologist was asked this question about what are his views,
he refuses to use the very word which is ambiguous and would mean
different things to different people.
He emphasizes that even if he answers either yes or no about existence of God, we wouldn’t have learned anything from that answer.
He mentions about
the name God being given to someone relating to the laws of Universe
which Einstein surmised and agrees that God exists in that context.
He beautifully ends his answer by saying that we need to sharpen our
language when discussing such things.
See the below video to get a glimpse of his superior personality and ponder on the question "Is there a God?"
The beginning of time?
Well, there have been many theories of how it all began. The most prominent one is the big bang which propounds that the universe started with a loud big bang and has been expanding ever since. This theory is a cosmological model of the universe. It provides a description of the starting point and then goes on to explain the other phenomena observed.
However, one of the great scientists of our time, Stephen Hawking asked this big question “what happened before the big bang” and came up with different ideas as explanation. Along with another scientist James Hartle, he put forth what is known as “No boundary proposal”.
Hawking and Hartle started with the fact that universe is constantly expanding and came up with the idea to reverse the process to eventually find out the origins of the universe. They acknowledged the complications that appear when the universe reaches to a subatomic level as it gets smaller and smaller.
And then they explained that when it gets to such a tiny level, space becomes separated from time. It could possibly mean that we won’t be able to arrive at any sensible timing measurements before the event itself occurred.
This would sound too complex to the layman and wouldn’t make any practical sense. While the scientists are still engaged in an effort to find the roots of universe let us learn to appreciate the time we spend on earth, a tiny speck in the bigger scheme of things.
Whether or not we reach a conclusion on the beginning of time, let us be judicious in the present time which is the reality for us. Let us not draw boundaries amongst ourselves and strive to help each other to make our world a better place.
Mortality reminder
We human beings have an advantage over other
creatures on the earth. We can perform our activities consciously rather than
compulsively. This dimension brings forth a sense of freedom in our lives.
However, when we start giving it too much attention, a sense of superiority
over others arises.
This turns out to be a major problem. And the problem is
that people start thinking that they are immortals. The fact that one day every
person must die is lost in the daily din of exercising power over other less
privileged section of society.
When we are reminded continuously that our
time here is limited, we tend to perform our actions meaningfully. We also
start looking at life at a different perspective. It is not only our life but
others too.
In this notion, the concept of mock funeral has been introduced in
South Korea. It has been around for a few years now. Click here to read the full article.
During the mock funeral, the participants
will be made to lay down in the casket and the attendants would place the lid
on it after performing necessary rituals. Some of these programs have been
designed to curb suicide rate in the country.
There is a positive feeling
towards leading a fuller life after the program concludes. The participants
would also be able to handle depression gracefully.
People are reminded about the beautiful things
in life that need to be appreciated. More importantly life won’t be taken for
granted and everyone would strive to achieve something worthwhile in this
precious life.
Detention vs Meditation
It is a norm in the school to put students
under detention when they act disobedient & crazy. Detention is a kind of
punishment to the child in order to get him or her follow the rules applicable
in general to everyone. The child must probably stay after school hours,
perform arduous tasks or just stare at walls.
Robert W.
Coleman Elementary school in Baltimore, however changed its approach. It
partnered with Holistic Life Foundation to adopt the Mindful Moment program.
Here, instead of punishing the children, the program teaches them to wind down
and reflect upon themselves. Click here to see the detailed information about the program and its effectiveness.
The staff of Holistic Life Foundation provide
training to children to cope with their fears, anxiety and any other issues
that may be facing. They conduct the sessions in a separate room called mindful
moment room. Other students are also allowed to go through the training.
The school management has acknowledged the
positive environment this change has created. Children who are getting into
this program have been able to deal with stress effectively and thus act
sensibly.
As an evidence to the success of this
program, detention has reduced. Additionally, another nearby school that has utilized
the Mindful Moment program declared that the number of detainees has gone down
since adoption of this program.
Yes, it has worked wonders
on the school children. But it should not just stop there. Every person in the
world must learn to live peacefully.
Untying the knots of slavery
Humans are social beings. We live in a
society, build relationship with other people. Our actions have an impact on
ourselves and our surroundings. Based on the social setup in which we exist, we
modify & tune our performance.
It is good to obtain the feedback that leads
to changes in our behavior for the betterment of individuals and society at
large. However, it is also the trap of our environment which has a say over our
emotions. If our near and dear ones praise our actions, it would bring forth a
soothing feeling and in turn we will be happy. On the other hand, if there is
criticism then it brings misery.
Swami Vivekananda terms this as slavery. He
says that if we require someone else to make us happy, we are nothing but slaves.
He mentions that in order to break from the clutches of slavery, we have to
consciously move away from the way society operates.
We have to perform actions
without any attachment. In his speech on Karma Yoga, he declares that work that
is performed as a free-will offering to humanity does not associate itself with
any binding attachment.
The goal is to isolate the soul from all
objects – physical & mental. When this goal is attained, the soul will
realize that it was all alone and wouldn’t necessitate anyone else’s presence
or absence to make it happy.
If we have reached this state, it would possibly
indicate that we have been able to successfully break free from the bondage of
slavery.
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