Single intelligence must govern
Posted on March 28th, 2011
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
Dr. Tilak Fernando
Wisdom prompts one not to enter into an argument or debate on a volatile topic such as religion or politics. But a theme that has baffled me since childhood was rejuvenated my thinking faculty after reading a fascinating article by Siripathy Jayamaha in the Daily News some time back. The focus was on the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”existence of GodƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ or a Supreme Power which controls everything – (including nature)!
In the present catastrophe throughout the world, with earthquakes, Japanese Tsunami, the Arab worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s uprising, it prompts one to concentrate on the single intelligence that governs. One has heard about this Supreme Power and every religion has its own label to identify it. Prehistoric man worshipped Stones, Sun and Fire as God. Faith in God spread to much of mankind through borrowings by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Buddhists while denying the existence of a creator tend to worship various kinds of semi gods.
Super power
Whether one is an ardent believer or an absolute atheist all human beings to whatever faith they belong seem to acknowledge the presence of a Super Power by wittingly or unwittingly at times of sorrow or joy, look up even for a second at some unseen force and say, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”My GodƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, Deviyane, Kadaavule! How does this instant reaction affect everyone and why? Food for thought! 
Science teaches us that all matter is made up invisible building blocks known as Protons and Electrons. However, no scientist has so far been able to understand why some electrons and protons become wood and others become human bone etc. This line of questioning has always given room for God even in the material scientistsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ theories about the nature of the phenomenal world.
Earliest Western philosophers believed in two independent fascia, name and mind. Later they questioned themselves as to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-why is everything in nature arranged in a particular way? Why isnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t one manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s arm longer than the other? Why donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t stars and planets collideƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚? They saw evidence of order and harmony in the natural world – the universe – everywhere. Finally they concluded that mind and matter could not be both separate and sovereign and a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Single Intelligence must govern. This conclusion naturally led to the idea that there is a just one God, known to man, by many names and forms, who is both the cause of the matter and intelligence within and beyond.
Encounter with God
Human encounter with God is most scintillating, exceptionally personal and confidential to each individual. Not a billion of words or discourses about the experience of a true believer can have an iota of impact on a third party however hard one may try to be eloquent. It is simply an internal and personal revolution and encounter on a transcendental plane.
God is beyond comprehension by human mind and intellect; powerful as they are, the scope is insufficient towards a conviction. When an individualƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mind becomes incapable of a true conception of God, the question of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Who made God?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ or ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Has God been ever relevant?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ arises because human mind simply cannot comprehend that which has neither the beginning nor end.
This world is only an empty dream. It has purpose and use. It is the means by which one can discover God completely; see Him in the beauty, the grandeur, the order and the majesty of nature. Every one craves for security, peace, joy and happiness but most believe that else can be extracted from nature around. The result is some of us waste years in eating, drinking, playing, resting, earning and spending.
Unholy thoughts
GodƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s grace is the shower of rain as the sunlight. One has to be good, compassionate and humble, put otherƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s situations as in oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s to receive the rain. We need to open the door of our heart so that the sun may illumine it. Like the music that is broadcast over the radio, it is all around us; but we must switch on our receiver and tune into the right wavelengths so that we can hear it and enjoy it.
When one has no faith in God, itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s impossible to gauge the efficacy of grace. If one does not attach to God, itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s not easy to receive Grace. If one starts with cynicism and doubt and strives to criticise and discover faults, the result is deeper ignorance and confusion. Unholy thoughts will then fog oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mind with foul fumes.
Every tick of the clock snips a length off the thread of human life. Money when unspent remains in accounts at the bank, but spent is our life with every moment whether wisely or unwisely.
Earn gratitude
If the tonic of unselfish service is administered to our mind during our transit, then our lifeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mission will be fulfilled, for, the process of sublimation and sanctification will be hastened by this tonic. We should not serve for the sake of reward, attract attention, or earn gratitude from a sense of pride at our own superiority in skill, wealth, status, or authority. We must learn to serve others because we are urged by Love.
When we succeed, we must ascribe the success to the Grace of God, who urged us on, as Love within us. When we fail, we must ascribe the failure to our own inadequacy, insincerity or ignorance.
If our innate wisdom is covered with ignorance, we are deluded and thus stumble through life. When we remove the fog of ignorance, we will find that there exists nothing more sanctifying than wisdom.
The single force that governs is known as GOD in the English Language. If one attempts to decipher these three gracious letters (G.O.D) as Generate, Operate and Destroy, perhaps we can easily assume what we see around us today throughout the world as the last letter coming to effect at a snailƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s pace but certainly, as many seers have prophesised centuries ago.
March 28th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Author seems to confuse some basic beliefs with real Buddhist scriptures..
Quote, “Buddhists while denying the existence of a creator tend to worship various kinds of semi gods.” Unquote.
Where did you find “semi gods” in Buddhism… Try to write facts and not some beliefs since they are quite opposite and hope author goes back to learn real Buddhist teachings.
Ignorance here is quite unacceptable.
March 28th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
“When we succeed, we must ascribe the success to the Grace of God, who urged us on, as Love within us. When we fail, we must ascribe the failure to our own inadequacy, insincerity or ignorance.”
Most stupid statement in the world. are we slaves to hypothetical GOD ? When mother and father work hard and prepare food, one must thank God ( for what ? , giving hunger ?)
Terrorists suceeded in destroying World Trade Centre together with thousands of innocent people and they ascribed to Grace of God – by saying God willing.
This is the most stupid writing on Lanka Web.
March 29th, 2011 at 12:12 am
Well said Sirih and Nanda.
Is there a creator why does he want to put his own creations on judgement?
March 29th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Author Says:
The article does not refer to Buddhism as preaching people to ‘ worship God’ but it touches only on those Buddhists who eternally go to Kovils, Kataragama and other devalas to offer pujas to gods when they are distressed or encounter problems in life seeking ‘ various gods’ help.
Perhaps the writer needs to read with more care and caution rather than deciding in going on a egotistical trip. Author
March 29th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
You are entitled to your own opinion, it’s a free world! “If one starts with cynicism and doubt and strives to criticise and discover faults, the result is deeper ignorance and confusion. Unholy thoughts will then fog one’s mind with foul fumes”
No more comments on the subject – Author
March 29th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Intelligent people question things; don’t blindly believe, but try to understand things. It’s hard to imagine that “educated” people still believe in an all powerful, mighty, omnipresent god. Its a trap our parents set up when we were small to protect us from doing bad things. Psychologically, it is hard to go against this trap as the fear of something bad happening dominates our mind. However, if god is all powerful, why would he allow all these miseries on earth? If he was good, he would prevent these; shouldn’t he? According to believers, one has to ask god to help you! If he is almighty, surely he should be able to see your misery and help you. Please check this website and educate yourself!
http://www.godisimaginary.com/i1.htm
Good luck getting out of this mental trap!
Sam
March 29th, 2011 at 5:58 pm
This writer’s bold assertion that “A single intelligence must govern” is utterly flawed. He seems to have touched on something that is way above his abilities or calling. The shallowness of his line of thinking quoted below is obvious. He certainly needs more education to come out of his muddled thinking before embarking on a bigger tasks such as taking on Buddhism.
“Science teaches us that all matter is made up invisible building blocks known as Protons and Electrons. However, no scientist has so far been able to understand why some electrons and protons become wood and others become human bone etc. This line of questioning has always given room for God even in the material scientists’ theories about the nature of the phenomenal world.
One of the foremost scientists in the world has this to say about this so called Single Intelligence. This renowned physicist ce knows about the electrons and protons and why they behave as they do.
Stephen Hawking in ‘The Grand Design’: God did not create the universe
When it came to the creation of the Universe, God just wasn’t necessary.
“It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the Universe going,” Hawking writes, according to an excerpt featured in London’s The Times.
The Big Bang was a natural event which would have happened without the help or involvement of God, he argues.
“Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing,” Hawking writes.
“Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist,” he says.
The discovery of other planets and solar systems outside of our own, which has increased since the early 1990s, helped shape Hawking’s belief that the earth and it’s neighbors were not divinely developed.
The intelligent reader must be careful of the “God Virus” now prevalent in these columns and elsewhere. When we are off guard worms come out of the woodwork to spread the God Virus!
March 30th, 2011 at 11:55 am
Ratnapala has to be given credit for putting forward a sound argument. Recently many writers have written articles on religion and have gone unchallenged. It is useful to have alternative views to arrive at a balanced view.
There are over 19 religions in the world. The three major ones being. Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Self interested Christians, Muslims and Buddhists all claim their religion to be the fasted growing religion in the world.. What is clear from evidence is that Buddhism has been wiped out for what ever reason from countries in the Silk route, Malaysia, Indonesia and so on. The situation may be similar to Pope giving up Catholism, as the source country of Buddhism has given up Buddhism. Buddhism is no longer a major religion in the world and it is followed by about 6%.
I am a Buddhist and follow the precepts, middle path, meditation and Kalama Sutra etc. However there are certain things in Buddhism that are difficult to follow such as Nirvana, rebirth and sansare, which are common with other ancient religions. Some argue that Buddhism is a way of life and there appear to be many versions of Buddhism. Arguments over which version of Buddhism is the true and correct version can go on for ever, as believers of each version will claim that their version is the correct version.
In order to understand nature, science offers the best hope, certainly better than religions, as science relies on theories, reasoning and evidence. Scientists can accept or reject theories based on evidence and reasoning without having to rely on beliefs
God appears to be common among many religions. If there is an argument for a single creator to justify the existence of the universe, then it is fair to ask who created the creator. There appears to be no evidence for God. It appears to be a man made concept. Buddhism has concepts such as Nirvana, Sansara and rebirth. All these have no evidence either. Nirvana and Rebirth are ancient Hindu Tao concepts. However the Hindu Tao concepts appear to be safer than aiming for extinction. Aiming for extinction is more dangerous than believing in God in a highly competitive world .Seeking extinction may kill off competitive spirit, ambition and the will to survive and extinction seekers may end up being the poorest of the poor. By looking at population distribution, wealth distribution and also the economic power, that the Singhalese appear to have declined in Lanka. Extinction seeking can be very dangerous as it will kill off completion, ambition, leaving the followers of Buddhism, the poorest of the poor, without adequate defence. .Believers of all religions will claim that their religion is telling the truth and is the truth itself. In reality, the believers may be brain washed into believing things. Religion is a mind virus warping the thinking of individuals. Unfortunately, when Challenged, all the believers can do is hurl insult at the challengers, without resorting to reasoning or evidence.
Various scientists have stated that religion is a thing of the past.
The famed science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke, who once denigrated religion as “a necessary evil in the childhood of our particular species,”
Bertrand Russell
ref: http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/russell2.htm
My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race. I cannot, however, deny that it has made some contributions to civilization
Albert Einstein
A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. (Albert Einstein, “Religion and Science”, New York Times Magazine, 9 November 1930
Yet we have Doctors and Professors prescribing medication that has not worked and attempting to trap is in an era 500 years BC. It is far better to tell us how to survive in a highly competitive world.
Religion is a virus that invades a host, the human mind, and as with any virus, it takes over the host and uses that host for the sordid purposes of reproduction of the virus itself and the infection of other hosts. Like other viruses it competes with other parasites, such as other mind-viruses.
ref: http://home.comcast.net/~plutarch/MindVirus.html
March 30th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
OK, lets say the God created the universe (whether it is an intelligent design or not is highly arguable). Now if anyone were to ask who created the God or when he (God himself) was created, the answer to that question is going to be something like ‘There is no creation or a begining for the God. The God existed through all the times’.
Well this answer itself clearly answers the question of the existence of a so called ‘The beginning’.
If you sum it up, the answer is that there was no beginning at all. The very people who believes in a so called creation, unknowingly accept that ‘there is no beginning….’
You could read Brahmajala sutta / Agganna Sutta and understand clearly, why the idea of so called creation came into its existence.
‘There is no reason to suppose that the world had a beginning at all. The idea that things must have a beginning is really due to the poverty of our thoughts.’ ~ Bertrand Russell
Yes, the above statement sums it up elegantly. Its quite similar to someone who says the smallest particle in the universe is the atom. well your argument is only going to be valid till someone finds the sub atomic particles , and those ones statements (ones who claim sub atomic particles are the smallest) would have the similar consequences. The grand statement would have been that there were no particles at all, only the abstraction levels of energy being perceived as different particles at different probing levels.
same goes with the argument of the so called ‘the beginning’.