GOD REALIZATION
Positivity and Purity
Every Paradise has a Serpent
This world is beautiful. The only problem is that we cannot enjoy it. This
world cannot be enjoyed by any man while in it. There are always some
problems—boredom, troubles, evil, disease and eventually death.
Everyone wants to enjoy life on earth but no one has really been able
to—what is the reason for this?
It is because this world was not meant for a person to enjoy it. It has been made only for a test. Just like a student in an examination hall cannot enjoy his time in it, in the same way we cannot enjoy ourselves in this world. We have to take the test and try to pass it. If we do not attempt it, we will fail. This world is for trial but man wants to relax or indulge in it. Just as the best of foods eaten in excess lead to troubles and pain, the same is the case with our life. Too much of anything in this world, will result in problems—boredom, poor health, tiredness. We must soon realize that we have no other option but to accept the ‘test’ that God has set for us. We must accept the Creation Plan of God.
Scientific Argument
There are two distinct periods in the history of religion—pre-scientific
period and scientific Period. Prior to 18th century, in the pre-scientific
period there was a traditional framework of thinking. From the 18th
century onwards, the framework of thinking is based on science.
We have to come out of all distractions and devote ourselves to the purpose of discovery of God. To realize God, we must purify our souls.
In the pre-scientific period, religion consisted of man’s own ideas—the oceans, mountains, sun, moon and other objects of nature were worshipped and held in veneration. In the scientific or modern world, in which man had set foot on the moon, the god-ship of moon and other natural objects came to an end.
These natural objects and phenomena are now not looked upon as gods. Science has given man an opportunity to come out of the age-old myths and seek the truth. It has brought him out of darkness and into the light. Science made people realize that the things that they used to worship as gods cannot help or harm them in any way.
Earlier people thought that they must accept God as a belief and not as a truth because there was no proof of God. Knowledge was earlier restricted only to the macro world—or things that one could observe directly. So people thought that if they cannot observe God, then He does not exist. Today science has helped humans reach the micro-world of atoms, electrons and quarks. The science of particle physics revealed that even though we are not able to see these micro particles, they do exist as we can determine their effects. This inferential argument is held scientifically valid and acceptable. Another example is that we do see the effects of gravity all around us, however, we cannot observe the force of gravity.
Knowledge of Things and Knowledge of Truths
We are unable to observe the truth directly with our eyes, but we know
and accept it. It is now acknowledged that we have to accept inferential
arguments for the existence of things we cannot see directly. With this
change in reasoning, even Bertrand Russell was compelled to say in his
book Why I am not a Christian, “If there is a design, there is a designer.”
Russell opined that this argument from design was a valid argument. In
the pre-scientific age, God was only a belief,
but in the scientific age, we must accept the
existence of God as a reality, as His existence
can be proved by inferential argument.
By acknowledging the good favours of people and accepting them as good favours of God, reiterating and repeating good things, words and actions and forgetting all negative experiences —this is the way to developing a positive personality.
Another important argument the scientific era has validated is the universality of God. Earlier due to a diversity of beliefs, people thought there could be many gods. Science helped us overcome this myth. It concluded that all things—mountains, man, trees, rocks, etc., at the end, are one and the same, consisting of atoms, which are nothing but a ‘mad dance of electrons’. In essence, when there is no diversity of things, then we have no option but to accept that there are not many gods, rather all have been created by only one Universal God.
Ignorance can be an excuse to do anything. Once you know however, you are compelled to do the right thing. There are only two right ways to arrive at any conclusion—rational knowledge or revealed knowledge. Without recourse to either of these, you do not have a basis to arrive at any solid conclusion. A claim must be backed up by either arguments from rational or experimental knowledge or from revealed knowledge of scriptures. If it cannot be verified by these two forms of knowledge, then it must be considered baseless.
Removal of Barriers between Man and God
Yet another contribution of science is the removal of the barriers
between man and God. Many people all over the world believe that
man needs an intermediary to reach God and they believe that the
saints—both alive and dead are those intermediaries.
In the earlier days, there was no direct method of communication over long distances. Letters had to be sent physically by man or pigeons. Today science and technology have shown man that direct communication is possible—so it is certainly possible for us to contact God also. Thus the concept of ‘wasila’ or ‘referrals’ as a means of communicating with God has been shown to be a superstition. We must realize now that if we call to God, He can listen to us.
In this way, science has overcome all the fallacies that had become barriers for man to reach God. It is now up to man to find God. If he continues to remain blind in spite of the truth around him, then it is his own fault.
The age we are living in today gives us the potential to reach a higher level of God realization
Paradise
Another idea that science has made clear
is the concept of Paradise. Hundreds of
years ago, man could not conceive of the
concept of Paradise. Even the palaces of kings did not have the
facilities and conveniences that a common man today enjoys—
such as modern housing, furniture, access to communication and
information, transportation, and so on. All these things were hidden
in nature and they have been invented or discovered by research and
experimentation. These modern day comforts and conveniences are
the prototypes of Paradise. These amenities give us an introduction to
the far greater comforts that we will enjoy in Paradise.
Science has made religious truths understandable.
Level of God Realization
In the pre-scientific times, when man looked up at the sky, on a clear
night he could observe about 10,000 stars. Nowadays, after the
invention of the telescope, it has been discovered that there are more than a trillion stars and most of them are incredibly big and much
bigger than the sun. Therefore the level of God-realization (marifat)
that people of previous times had was less than the realization of the
present day people. People are now in a better position to appreciate
God’s glory and majesty compared to those of the previous times.
Islam is not based on the quantity of rituals we perform, but on the level of realization of God that we could attain in our lifetime. Thus, the age we are living in today gives us the potential to reach a higher level of God-realization (marifat). We now have far greater knowledge about God’s wisdom and intelligent design in His creations than before.
A Higher Level of God Realization
Every Prophet had a high level of realization of God. This high level
of realization was given to prophets because the ‘unseen’ was made
evident to them. However, the people of later times, using scientific
means have been able to see the unseen world, and they would thus
be able to achieve the same level of realization as the prophets.
For example, the people of yesteryears only knew that we breathe in and breathe out air. People today know that respiration is a process of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is taken in by plants and trees, and they give out oxygen in return. This scientific fact, which has made evident the munificence of God was not known to people in earlier times.
Modern day comforts and conveniences are the prototypes of Paradise. These amenities give us an introduction to the far greater comforts that we will enjoy in Paradise.
Take another example. We know that the Prophet was taken from Makkah to Jerusalem in a very short time in a journey called miraj. This journey was meant to increase his understanding of God’s bounties. But today we can make a similar journey in an airplane and thereby acknowledge God’s blessings upon us. Such observations take our realization of God to a much higher level.
Lure of the Present Day World
The people of yesteryear could make Paradise their goal as they did
not have many distractions from the path of religion. There were no
paradise-like comforts in the world to get enmeshed in—no shopping
centres, luxury homes, cars, airplanes, instant communication, etc.
People used to bury their money as treasure beneath the ground as they had no use of money beyond a certain minimum amount. Paradise
was a dream of the after-life at that time and could not have been
realized in this world.
Today however, people have many other options. Nowadays, it is possible to expend one’s money for various activities. We can buy many things for our pleasure and luxury. With the amount of material comforts, people try making a Paradise for themselves in this very world.
Going after material advancements serves to distract people from the path of religion and spirituality. Thus although the knowledge and discoveries of the present world potentially give us an opportunity to realize God at a higher level, they also cause to distract us in wasting our time and potential in superficial entertainment and enjoyment.
Islam is not based on the quantity of rituals we perform, but on the level of realization of God that we attain in our lifetime.
The path to God Realization
To seek something, we must have sincerity.
Without sincerity, we will not be able to seek
it, find it or accept it. Only with sincerity, can
one find the truth.
Gautama Buddha once went to a milkman. The milkman told Buddha: “I will give you milk in return for knowledge.” Buddha gave him a pot for the milk. He washed it and put fresh milk in it for Gautama who took it and started going away. The milkman said, “Buddha, where are you going, you have still to give me knowledge”. To this Buddha replied: “I have given it to you. I gave you a pot. You first cleaned it and then poured milk in it. You realized that only a clean pot could contain milk. In the same way, only if you become a clean container by cleansing yourself of jealousy, anger, and hatred will I be able to impart knowledge to you. If you are not cleansed, the knowledge that I give you will only be spilled over.”
If one’s inner container is not clean, God will not accept it. If you desire direct communion with God, you must be sincere and cleanse yourself. Without that you cannot be in communion with God. We must first cleanse our heart and mind of all negative thoughts and words. De-conditioning of the mind: As soon as we are born, we start getting conditioned by our environment and the people around us. Upon becoming an adult—we have to start de-conditioning our minds’ conditioning, layer by layer, to reach our true nature.
Get rid of the confusion: Once we have reached our true nature, we must try to rid our minds of the confusion around us. Everything in the physical world is verifiable so there need not be any confusion. Man lives in a jungle of ideas and is overwhelmed everyday by new concepts from people around him and from the media. It is difficult to get rid of this jungle of ideas. It is up to us to get out of this mire of confusion and seek clarity in our thoughts.
We must cultivate and develop positive thoughts by acknowledging the good done by others.
Build a positive personality by banishing all negative thoughts: Every moment, we are confronted with problems or negative experiences. We must kill all such negative thoughts immediately. If this is not done, these negative thoughts will fester in our minds and lead to a negative personality. On the other hand, we must cultivate and develop positive thoughts by acknowledging the good done by others. By acknowledging the good favours of people and accepting them as good favours of God, reiterating and repeating good things, words and actions and forgetting all negative experiences—this is the way to developing a positive personality.
Concentrate on realizing and discovering God: When we focus or concentrate on one thing, it will soon become clear and evident. For example, it is said of Newton that when he was a child, he used to be lost in thoughts all the time. Later, it was realized that he used to be actually concentrating on a specific idea. Only through such focus, was he able to discover and understand the great laws of nature.
Likewise, we have to come out of all distractions and devote ourselves to the purpose of discovery of God. To realize God, we must pay the price and purify our souls.