Reality and Religion: Meditations on God, Man and Nature

1. WHETHER we like it or no, we cannot escape the cross. If we do not bear the cross of Christ, we would have to bear the cross of the world. At first the cross of Christ may seem heavy and the cross of the world light; but experience shows that, as a matter of fact, the cross of the world is heavy and the outcome of taking it up is the death of a slave, as in the days of the Roman Empire. But Christ has changed His cross into glory. Formerly the cross was a symbol of disgrace and death; now it denotes victory and life. Those who bear the cross know from experience that the cross bears them and takes them safely to their destiny. But the cross of this world drags us down and leads us to destruction. Which cross have you taken up? Pause and consider.

2. The cross is different with different people, according to their work and spiritual condition. Outwardly it may appear full of nails, but in its nature it is sweet and peaceful. The honey bee has a sting, yet it produces sweet honey. For fear of the outward difficulties of the cross, we must not lose its great spiritual blessings.

3. An ignorant traveller, tired of walking up and down mountains, might think that God had made a mistake in creating mountains and that it would have been much better if He had made only the plains. This means that he is not aware of the many uses of mountains and of the riches stored in them. For one thing, the mountains keep the water in circulation, and the circulation of water in the world is just as necessary as the circulation of blood in the body. In the same manner, the ups and downs of life and the hardships of bearing the cross keep our spiritual life in circulation, prevent it from stagnation, and bring to the soul countless blessings.

4. During the Great War, trenches were dug in a fertile spot and fields were destroyed. In these trenches beautiful flowers and fruits began to appear after a time. It was discovered that the soil was fertile, under the soil there was earth which was still more fertile. So when we bear the cross and suffer, the hidden riches of our soul come to light. We must not despair of what appears to be a destructive process, for it sets the hidden, unused powers of our soul to work.

5. In Switzerland, a shepherd broke the leg of asheep. When asked why he had done so, he said that she had the bad habit of leading other sheep astray and taking them to dangerous heights and precipices. The sheep was so angry that when the shepherd came to feed her she sometimes tried to bite him. But after a time she became friendly and would lick his hands. Just so, through sorrow and suffering, God leads those who have been disobedient and rebellious to the path of safety and eternal life.

6. When cold, every gas absorbs some rays of light, when hot it emits them. Just so, when we are spiritually cold, we live in darkness, although the Sun of Righteousness is perpetually shining around us. But when the fire of the Holy Spirit is kindled in us by the friction of the cross and warmth is produced, then by His rays we are first enlightened ourselves and we carry the light to others.

7. Diamonds do not dazzle with beauty unless they are cut. When cut, the rays of the Sun fall on them and make them shine with wonderful colours. So when we are cut into shape by the cross we shall shine as jewels in the Kingdom of God.

1. We have the capacity to discern the difference between good and evil, and to choose either. That means, we are free to act according to the limits of our being. Otherwise the power which we have of discerning between good and evil would have no meaning. The sense of taste tells us what is bitter and what is sweet. If we were not free to eat what we choose, this sense of taste would have no meaning. Weare free, not because we might have acted otherwise, but simply because we act.

If I have, for instance, the strength to carry a hundred pounds, then I am free to carry the whole or part of it. And if a burden is more than a hundred pounds it is beyond my power and also beyond my responsibility: then I am free from the necessity of carrying the burden, because he who has placed the burden on me will not require of me more than I can do. Therefore there is freedom in either case. And if I do not do something which is within the limits of my power, then I have to suffer for my shortcoming and indifference, because I have misused the power which has been given to me.

2. Evil and crime cannot be wiped out by punishing the criminal. If this could be done, all prisons would have to be closed. In spite of the severe punishment meted out to wrongdoers, we do not find any change. And neither is it possible to remove evil from the face of the earth until each man resolves by his own free will to wipe it out to the full extent of his capacity. Compulsion from others produces no effect. God does not catch the hand of the murderer or close the lips of the liar, because He does not interfere with man’s free will. If God did so, man would be like a machine; nor will he appreciate the Truth and find joy in acting according to it; since joy can only be the outcome of an act of free will.

3. The world which is, in a way, rebellious from God makes slaves of those who follow Christ. When by the grace of God they are set free from the bondage and control of the world’s power and enter into heavenly places, then the world itself becomes their slave, because the world recognises that they have come into relationship with that living Power who has created it. Then, instead of overcoming, it is overcome. God grants a perfect freedom for ever to those who serve Him with love of their own free will.

1. Principies of health, physical and spiritual, are themselves means to health. Principles are nothing else than the appointed means by which special objects might be attained. Money, for instance, is of no use in itself. It is only a means to obtain the things we need.

Music, fragrance, dainty food, light and warmth—these we can enjoy if we have them in moderation. We feel the loss if there is not enough of them; if there is more than enough, then do we suffer. God has given us senses, external and internal, so that they may warn us of impending dangers or indicate to us real happiness. fain is the symptom showing that something is wrong in our body or mind. Rest and happiness are the outcome of obedience to the laws of Reality.

2. Nature is against us, if we are against her; but if we seek to live in conformity with Nature, then, instead of doing us harm, she will help us to reach that destiny of perfect health which God meant we should reach through these means. And in attaining perfect health we shall attain the eternal happiness in God, which is the primary longing of our soul.

1. ConscIENCE is the moral law or sense in us. It is not innate in personality, except in germ. It stands in need of education, training, exercise and habit. Environment also has great influence on its growth.

As, we have an esthetic faculty which enables us to distinguish between the ugly and the beautiful, so we have conscience which helps us to distinguish between good and evil.

2. Pain in any organ of the body is a voice which gives the alarm of danger. Just so, pain and unrest of soul are the result of sin. Like the sense of touch in the body, conscience warns us of coming danger and destruction, and urges us to take the steps necessary for salvation.

3. Ships near the coast know where they are by seeing the lighthouse or the rocks or the outlines of the land. But those far out in the deep can be guided only by the stars and a compass. So in the voyage of our soul to God, conscience and the Holy Ghost are most necessary so that we should reach our destiny without going astray.

1. You will hardly find men who do not worship God or some Power. If atheistic thinkers or scientists, filled with the materialistic outlook, do not worship God, they often tend to worship great men and heroes or some ideal which they have exalted into a Power. Buddha did not teach anything about God. The result was, his followers began to worship him. In China the people began to worship ancestors, as they were not taught to worship God. Even illiterate people are found worshipping some Power or some spirit. In short, men cannot but worship. This desire for worship, from which man cannot get away, has been created in him by the Creator, so that, led by this desire, he may have communion with his Creator or enjoy eternal fellowship with Him.

2. And those who because of stubbornness do not believe in God, even though arguments for His existence based on design and order are placed before them, will not believe in Him even if they see Him. This for two reasons. If God reveals Himself to them and gives them reasons for proving His Godhead, reasons based on divine logic, they will not be able to understand Him, as such reasons will be far above the reach of their human logic and philosophy. If, on the other hand, He gives reasons following the canons of human knowledge, then too they will despise Him, saying, ‘‘ Of course, we know all these. God is not much better than us, as His way of thinking seems to be only like ours. He may be a little higher than a human being, but no more.”

3. Man is a part of the Universe and is a mirror reflecting it. Therefore creation, seen and unseen, is imaged in him. In this world, he is the only being who can interpret creation. He is, so to speak, the language of Nature. Nature speaks, but silently. Man puts into words these silent utterances of Nature.

4. Manisa limited being; hence his senses, inner and outer, are also limited. Therefore he cannot perceive all the aspects of the Creator’s creation. ‘To know them all, he requires innumerable senses. Our few senses can perceive but few aspects of creation and its nature, and those not fully. In spite of these limitations, the heart has a conception of Reality which is independent of the intellect and whose aptness cannot be understood by the intellect. The human eye, though small in itself, sweeps over immense distances and reaches places where man himself cannot go. It beholds the stars, which are millions of miles away, observes their movements and enjoys their lustre. Just so the eyes of the heart gaze on the deep things of God, and this insight urges man to worship Him, in whom only he has the needs of his heart satisfied perfectly for ever.

1. Wise men from the East, coming from a far country, were led by the star to the Sun of Righteousness. These men who came from far away realised the desire of their hearts by seeing and worshipping the King of Righteousness, while in a sense His own people, the Jews, rejected and crucified Him and lost their blessing. People from East and West come to Him searching for Reality, and, finding Him, worship Him with heart and soul and lay themselves in sacrifice at His feet. By this sacrifice they inherit eternal life in His Kingdom. Christians, on the other hand, who are in a sense His own people, reject Him by word and deed and suffer untold loss. ‘The wise men from the East did not stay long enough to hear the teaching of Christ and to see His miracles, His crucifixion, His resurrection and ascension, and therefore they did not have any message for the world. In the same way some seekers after Reality do not live in blissful fellowship.with the Lord and experience His life-giving and saving power; so they have no message for the world.

2. ‘“‘ Unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath” (Matt. xxv. 29). If a man has not, how can anything be taken away from him? He may not have any talents or responsible work as these have been taken away from him because of his negligence, but there has been left to him at least his capacity to distinguish between the real and the unreal. Even this power of discernment is taken away from him because he does not use it. After that, his conscience becomes numb and dead. Nothing is left to him.

3. There are some, whose power of discernment is so dead, that when they fail with their delicate scientific instruments to trace out the beginnings of life in this world, then, instead of believing in God as the source of all Life, they begin to think that germs of life fell down from meteors—surely an impossibility. Ifthe dead matter of the world cannot produce life, how can meteors, made of the same kind of matter as the world, give rise to life? If matter in the meteors is different from matter on this earth, then how can germs from meteors grow in this world, where the environment is so different? The truth is, where there is God’s Presence, there is Life. In water, whether hot or frozen, there are living insects. In hot springs, living creatures are found. This is the result of God’s creative presence everywhere. He creates life under all conditions.

4. Truth or Reality is known by its fruits. He who acts in accordance with Reality enjoys, while thus acting, the fruits as well as in the future the ultimate good of habits. Reality alone can satisfy the craving of the soul,

A man, however fallen into sin and degraded he may be, likes and appreciates Truth. A liar, for instance, may tell lies himself, but he does not like that other people should tell lies. Another man, however unjust he may be himself, is annoyed if other people are unjust. This means that unconsciously there is in their natures a desire for and an appreciation of Truth and Justice, because it is Truth who has created them so that they might enjoy bliss by living for and in Truth. If they act against Truth, they shall suffer, because it is against their nature as well as against the nature of the Truth who has created them.

5. Truth has many aspects. Every one, according to his God-given capacity, reveals or gives expression to, different aspects of Truth. A tree may appeal to one man because of its fruits; to another because of its pretty flowers. Men appreciate and explain those aspects of the tree which appeal to them. So the philosopher, the scientist, the poet, the painter, and the mystic, each according to his capacity and temperament, will define and describe the different aspects of Reality by which they have been influenced. It is not possible for one man to have an all-embracing view of Reality and to describe all its different phases.

6. We have to look at a thing from different sides to find out whether it is true or not. Otherwise misunderstanding and error will arise. When we look, for instance, with one eye at a straight stick from one of its ends, we have no idea of the length of the stick. In order to get a right idea of the stick, we have to see it from different sides.

He who searches for Reality with his whole mind and soul and attains it, realises that before he began to search for Reality, Reality itself had been searching for him to bring him into its blissful fellowship and presence; just as a lost child, seeking for his mother, realises, after getting into her lap, that she had begun searching for him with deep motherly love even before he