by Aditi Chandak
What is life really about? Why are we living it the way we are? Where does the curiosity to know things begin and what is limiting us? Aditi attempts to unravel the secret of life.
What is the secret of life? What are we striving towards – a better rebirth or finding the God’s particle? Who do I blame for my unfulfilled wishes – entropy or destiny? Should I be God-fearing or science-loving? Or can I be both? I have already spent 28 years on this planet and per Sample Registration Survey (2013-17), being the statistical ‘average Indian woman’, I have another 42 years to go. The more I live, read, think and experience, the more confused I am about the secret of life.
What will I be dealing with as I spend the next 42 years of my life on this planet – the third from the Sun, strategically placed between the red and yellow bodies, a beautifully blemished white rock making us the centre of its attraction? I grew up being taught that the Gods who took care of me, to whom I was answerable at the end of my life, the ones who were keeping tabs of my sins, resided on the mountains in the North, the seas to our South, and somewhere up above in the skies! And then before my curiosity could be eroded entirely I came across the ‘Ultra Deep Field’ photograph from the Hubble telescope which drew my attention to nearly 10,000 galaxies and the billions of stars that were captured in that tiny bit of night sky, every speck of light indicating a Sun, possibly even bigger and brighter than ours, and many more Earths revolving around those Suns. How could our Gods then keep an eye on all of these when the Earth wasn’t even at the centre of the Solar System, let alone the Milky Way galaxy? If we really are a small speck in a possible multiverse that arose out of a Big Bang then who’s really keeping tally and what sort of crazy computing memory do they boast of?
Mother taught me to be a kind person, do good deeds, and help others, not because that would help me become a better human but because God’s wrath should be feared. She said life was a circle, I learnt karma is a bitch. My school syllabus included the Ramayana, I spent my teens watching BR Chopra depict his version of the Mahabharata on DD, fell in love with Mukesh Khanna’s baritone for the character of Bheeshma. Hearing ‘Main Samay Hoon’ still gives me the gooseflesh. And then there were years of Amar Chitra Katha, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Palace of Illusions and a lot of Devdutt Pattnaik. As a child, I was taught not to question mythology – ‘these are stories of times when Gods roamed the Earth; recite them as prayers with folded hands but don’t raise a hand in question’. I know better now, better enough to know that Hanuman had a son and Raavan was extremely intelligent, Shikhandhi was neither a man nor a woman and even Bheeshma could not stop Draupadi from being disrobed; I know there are no blacks and whites, no right and wrong, no truth and lie – it isn’t that simple – Gods, it seemed, made mistakes too. So what if mythology was not about ‘Gods’ but meant to be merely stories highlighting the extremes of the human nature, the strengths we possess, the emotions we exude, the lessons we must learn? Why would any God advise us to divide humans into sects, castes, classes, admonish some by birth, and accommodate others as privileged?
But if it isn’t the ‘Gods’, then do the answers lie in science? Science isn’t self-explanatory, it isn’t readily available to be read and understood – humans have over the years experimented, made mistakes, theorised incorrectly, and been the butt of people’s laughter and admonitions (remember Copernicus and his heliocentric system, Darwin’s theory of natural selection or even pasteurization?), all so they could explain yet another phenomenon observed on and from this marvellous planet. But how does science explain the out-of-body and near-death experiences people claim to have had? What about those who believe in the afterlife – should they instead be curious about time travel and start getting accustomed to the fact that maybe, just maybe, we really can go forward in time if not backward (because we still can’t travel faster than the speed of light!)? Humans are, apparently, the only thinking organisms on Earth, which sets us apart from the rest of life – but have we been able to explain how birds mass migrate every year, every season, down the same path or how a chameleon changes colour, an octopus squirts ink, or even how our brain really works? Don’t get me wrong – we do have plausible explanations for all of these but do we really understand the how of ‘how did this really come about to happen’? Do we really know anything at all, despite knowing so much already? We manage to explain gravity and we’re hit by the uncertainty principle. We unravel spacetime and the black hole sucks us in. We figured we were made of stardust and now there’s dark matter to be explored. Is there an end to any of it? Or is this a wild goose chase? And who really came up with all this freaking awesomeness?
We have ‘priests’ in Madhya Pradesh, India, marrying and divorcing clay miniatures of frogs to try and control the monsoons. Would it not help if we paid more attention to the El Nino, monsoon trends, climate changes due to global warming and prepared our farmers, harvested our rainwater accordingly? While I admire the planets of Mars and Saturn in the night sky, they’re also the ones to be feared! Indian Astrology 101 says Mars decides marriages and Saturn your luck! Who do I really believe in – the pinprick of light in the blanket of the night or the brain that keeps looking for patterns, trying to blame the Gods whenever something goes wrong? Science treats humans more equally than religion ever has. The laws of gravity work the same on all ages, quantum mechanics baffles all. Religion instead often uses science to delve into mass murders. Entropy in science says things will happen, but on their own free will, and won’t obey someone’s hopes or expectations. On similar lines works destiny. So I don’t have to strive as much as I do, because things that are meant to happen will happen irrespectively? Should I stick around waiting for God’s plan to unravel for me or get off my arse and earn my happiness?
Or maybe the secret really is 42. No, not the 42 average years I am expected to live! I refer to what Douglas Adams wrote in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Deep Thought, the supercomputer, after a 7.5 million-year-long calculation, arrived at the ‘Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything’: 42. Eerie, huh?
Aditi Chandak was raised in Calcutta and now resides in Bangalore. She’s a Chartered Accountant during the day to pay the bills, but the rest of her hours are spent writing, reading, sketching and travelling. Her debut novel ‘Under The Crescent Moon’ is awaiting publication. She can currently be found blogging at ‘Inking The Thinking’.
The article has been beautifully written comprising of the facts we have been knowing and listening right from our childhood until now. I’d like to express my point of view on it.
Well, as per our Hindu Mythology, it is believed that humans are God’s children and a famous Sanskrit phrase ‘Vasudev Kutumbhkam’ meaning the world is one family. Do we find the validity of either of the statements above in the sanctity of human lives in today’s world? The present-day chaos in the world which can also be correlated to the ‘Entropy of the system’. Entropy in Science doesn’t say things happen at their own will rather, it’s a ‘disorder in the system’ which gets multiplied by the way people think and act (which is related to the upbringing and the ambiance of a person). So, if idealizing your fav deity from the mythology from any of the 4 Yugas, you believe in the basic principles of spreading happiness and love, the same will manifest and will come back to you and others (remember Newton’s Third Law: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction on different entities). The same law is equally valid for the people who think otherwise (are in a constant state of fear/anger/depression/hate etc) and hence, the same is manifested somewhere else.
As believed, God in his various incarnations has taught us how to deal with circumstances in life and live a peaceful and satisfying life by adhering to ‘Vasudhev Kutumbhkam’. Since he was the superpower, he could have done all the things on his own during his stay on Earth, yet he took assistance from people of varied backgrounds/expertise(for instance Ram took help from Gidh/Kewat/Vanars, etc.) which doesn’t give them any sense of non-inclusiveness/disrespectfulness.
He also said in Bhagwat Geeta, ‘Karmadyevadhikaraste ma-faleshu kadachan’. So, this was God’s plan that you do things which make you feel happy/satisfied (with good intentions towards others) and do not worry about the result (perhaps the most difficult thing to act upon as the time is uncertain!).
As far as Science related to travel forward in time is concerned, we can’t do it as well, as to travel in time zones (forward/backward) you need to travel at the speed of light. So, the only thing we can do is live in the present and work on the problems (Environmental/Physical, Emotional and Mental Health) affecting us today as mentioned by you.
One last thing, Science exists because of phenomena occurring in Nature so, it will be more suitable to say that Nature treats humans equally over Religions.
Good one Aditi good to read your thoughts as always love them