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A Mild Rant

All of us have a lot of questions that seem to popup on a regular basis in the curious minds. Do I have a purpose in my life? Where do I come from and where am I going? What is life and death? I believe it's perfectly "sane" to think about these questions seriously and do research to make the answers more clearer as we progress in life (or as we come a day closer to an eventual death).


I recently saw a video of a debate between Richard Dawkins and Rowan Williams the Archbishop of Canterbury. The topic of the debate seemed a very appropriate topic to listen about from two learned minds - Human Beings & Ultimate Origin. I wasn't expecting any answers to my questions but the curious nose leads to various directions and sometimes I let it lead me (yeah, guilty).

The debate on Human Beings included the theory of Natural Selection propounded by Charles Darwin more than hundred & fifty years ago. The idea of tree of life that began in a primordial soup as an RNA that could self-replicate and passed on that ability to a DNA which then began the wave of species that "evolved" in the millions of years to come. During the course of time a fish jumped and began the chain of human species.

It also began with the laws of Physics that explain the creation of universe with a Big Bang. And how these laws of Physics don't need a creator for the creation to begin (a rather loose sentence to say). If the laws of Physics can so majestically explain the existence of the universe there is no need to "clutter" it with a divine entity. 

The arguments on the other side included the questions on consciousness of human beings and the ability of human beings to "tell stories about themselves". The science is unable to explain the consciousness and human beings have special souls! The debaters delved into determinism and free will. And human beings have the right to go into the scriptures to understand their moral and spiritual position in this universe. 

The debate was unsuccessful in enlightening the mind with a possible direction. It had its moment when contemporary and informing ideas came out but the debate went off course too early in its path to leave any chance to bring it back to the original topic - Human Beings & Ultimate Origin. Do I understand the nature of myself? Do I understand the reason of my existence? Do I have a "theory" that can direct me to a certain way that is ready to provide some answers? The answer to all these questions is no. 

The nature of human being as explained by Bhagvad Gita as afflicted with illnesses of mind (whether lust, greed, anger etc) seems to explain my current state. Also the "logical" statement that we want bliss and eternal bliss is not in the materialistic world. The question of why bad things happen to good people can be explained by the logic of karma and other theories that some other scriptures can provide. I would leave the reader to explore further as I don't have the necessary enlightenment to guide anyone else but myself.

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