Note from Guru Kurt: This fellow was a staunch atheist. I could not convince him, however, that his proofs against the existence of God were not valid. He seemed to be caught in a kind of a rut, which I now see is inherent in the human condition. New ideas do not enter a man's mind easily, but must be forced in by a power greater than the man. Humanity is an expert when it comes to matter, but in the realm of ideas and spirit it falls flat on its face. Indeed, there is a "continuum of translation" from God to man. Each understands what he hears in his own way, but only the spiritually advanced really understand spiritual concepts and rational ideas. If a farmer describes a Rhode Island Red rooster to a townsperson who has never seen a rooster or even a hen, the townsperson may get the idea of a large pigeon with blaze orange feathers. Only when he sees a beautiful, stately and proud Rhode Island Red for himself will he really know what a wonderful bird it is. This is how it is with spiritual talk. Only those who have tasted the spirit can understand it, and where are they in today's world? I have not met any.
Keith:
It seems there may be another living person on the planet! I did not mean to be rude to you, but I have found many claiming to be rational, who nevertheless turn their heads in the face of what I consider to be man’s highest rational aim, realization of God. For instance, I sent www.infidels.org two papers, one supporting Pascal’s wager and another refuting a set of incompatible properties arguments. Not only did they not post my papers, they refused me even the dignity of a reply, and this after they issued a call for precisely such papers! I have also written a refutation of Bertrand Russell’s famous essay, “Why I am not a Christian,” but alas, I have given up hope of anyone ever reading it. Atheists, who claim to be open-minded, appear to be as closed-minded as the Christians they assail with criticism. I do not say that the existence of God can be proved, but I state firmly that He cannot be disproved either. I do also claim, however, that He can be experienced by man, who is a spiritual being residing in a physical body, and who can discover this through spiritual effort.
Religion is a rational proposition. Let me explain this to you. Assume you are working in your office one day, on the 32nd floor. Suddenly, a man in blue tights wearing a red cape and bearing a red “S” emblazoned on his chest appears out of nowhere, standing on your window ledge. “Come along,” he says, enthusiastically. “Let’s fly out of here. I want you to see the countryside from a mile high, and when we’re through with the ride, I want to start giving you flying lessons.” You smile knowingly, and call for building security. This man is surely an escapee from a mental asylum! You turn around to reach for the phone, and by the time you have finished your call you look around for him, but he is gone! You look down below, and since there is no one splattered on the pavement, you assume you must have had a hallucination and go on with your work. Now, had this man appeared during a building fire, with the flames licking under your doorway and your room in danger of exploding into an inferno any moment, you will at least take him seriously. You’ll begin to ask him some pointed questions about the safety of flying, perhaps ask for a brief demonstration, then climb on his back and go for a ride! Of course, since it is Superman you have nothing to fear, and everything to gain. Who knows, perhaps he really will be able to teach you to fly, too!
The spiritual world cannot be apprehended by the senses. It can be known, however, by the pure mind. Those who have purified their minds through spiritual practice travel to spiritual realms, and then return. Now, is it rational for them to tell the rest of us about their experiences, or is it irrational? If they keep quiet, if they do not proclaim from the rooftops (as they do) where they have been and what they have done, what hope is there for the rest of us? Like Superman in my illustration, they come from somewhere we do not know, and possess powers we do not possess. They offer to bring us to this wonderful realm of the spirit, where God can be perceived directly, or at least to show us the way in which we must travel. To my mind, a truly rational person does not say, “There is no God.” He says, “That God exists is one possibility. That He does not exist is another possibility. Neither can be proved nor disproved. Certain people claim to have seen God, but for me that is neither here nor there. I have no hunger for God, yet I also am tolerant, and do not stand in the way of those who care for such things.”
There is another class of people, for whom the building in which they reside appears to be burning! They have a fierce hunger to know; they see death approaching rapidly, as it does even for an infant, with its fierce and hungry maw open, just waiting to devour them, and they are afraid. Looking all around them, they see Superman standing on the window ledge with a knowing smile, saying, “Well, are you ready yet?” They request a demonstration of his powers, by for instance asking him probing, searching questions. The best test of a person who has seen God is his rational discourse following such an experience. He will speak with authority, clearly and with no hesitation. He is relating truth to you; he is not trying to prove anything, but just stating what he knows to be real by his own personal experience. If you leave him, he is not bothered. If you stay to listen, he is not overjoyed, although he is friendly because his heart is full of love. He has no need of the world, for he is direct communication with the world’s very source.
Religion is verifiable by personal, subjective experience. There is no other way. I say, There is a “spiritual pyramid” on earth. I am an active proponent of reincarnation, a topic which is also controversial in today’s world. Some people, therefore, are recently arisen from animals. The Bhagavad Gita calls such people “tamasic,” which means full of lethargy. They are not very good humans, often crude and vulgar, and often turning to crime as a shortcut to success. Above these are the “rajasic,” which means full of energy. These people are fully committed to worldly life, at which they are experts. Their minds are very active, but they are applied only toward material objects and prestige among men. Yet above this group are the “sattvic,” which means wise. These are the people whose spiritual consciousness has been awakened. They care very deeply about spirituality, and become eager to attain spiritual awareness for themselves. From this group alone arise the students of spiritual teachers. Their inner Self is rising, pushing them forward into spiritual realities. This inner Self is the sole support of religion on earth. As you say, the statements of religion are totally unsupported, but it is the longing of man for a deeper and more abiding truth that brings him to the spiritual quest. Mystics return from a land far away, which no one here has ever seen, with brilliant, glowing descriptions of high mysteries and realms of bliss. “It is here!” they shout. “You do not know what wonders are hidden within your own heart! You do not know what wisdom is there, what bliss, what freedom! I can tell you what I have done, but no more. It is for you to choose to try for it, or not. I am fully content to let you all go, but I will also be pleased to open the door for you, should you desire it.” Skeptics will laugh and go their way. Others, whose minds are open to new possibilities, will stay to hear, after all, what is the harm? There may be something to these stories after all.
Those who are lower on the “spiritual pyramid” keep their minds closed, and foolishly state there is no God. Those who are higher admit there may be a God. Those who are higher still, who have developed a longing for God and a fear of death, pin their hopes on that which no scientific instrument can ever measure, full union with God. With a rational mind they seek to know themselves and to discover spiritual truths. Whether they are successful or not is again a subjective question, but life is, in the end, a subjective experience. Religion is a rational pursuit, because it is possible that through religion we can go beyond death and attain infinite bliss, wisdom, and freedom as the scriptures declare. This is an irrefutable statement. There are many who claim to have done just this, and have gathered many followers around them from ancient days. I say these claims are real; you may say they are not real. I think we would agree, however, that both points of view should be tolerated. I dislike intolerance in all its forms, of the atheist for the Christian as well as the Christian for the atheist. We do not need to convince another; it is ourselves we must convince and with whom we must reason. Spiritual aspirants reason thusly: “One thing alone is certain, and that is I must die one day. I can die without knowing where I go or caring, as the vast majority of mankind does. I can believe, with the Christians, that Jesus will somehow appear and rescue me at the last minute. Lastly, I can spend a part of my life at least considering seriously the possibility that I, myself, through my own efforts, can attain illumination.” Only those who take their own deaths seriously engage in the spiritual quest, and through this quest may indeed attain freedom from death. This attitude is supremely rational. Otherwise, all that we have, all that we have done, all that we are disappears like dust in the wind or water that evaporates; who can bring it back together again?
It is not necessary to attain illumination to be convinced of the truth of religion. All those who make some effort along the path taste some measure of the bliss of the end-state. Religious truth is verifiable on a daily basis by those who practice it with sincerity. Spiritual disciplines like meditation and repetition of the holy name are intended to increase the joyfulness of a man immediately, right now, today. The path that leads to Self-realization is the path that leads to increased joy, vitality, energy and wisdom. Whenever the Avatar appears, He spreads this message of joy. As Jesus, He worked to keep the lowest among mankind, having just arisen from the animal state, out of hell by learning to avoid sin. As Krishna, He worked with advanced devotees, talking about the highest state attainable by man, illumination, which is a divine state. Man is capable of realizing the Self within, which is divine, and when he does he becomes himself a divine being, speaking with authority on religious topics, about the land where the only science that can travel is the science of self-knowledge. Socrates said that above all else, we should be true to ourselves, and it is my belief that spiritual aspirants are the ones most true to themselves upon the whole earth. They make an effort after reasoning about life and death, and begin themselves to take real steps into the inner spiritual kingdom, the treasure house that lies in the heart of each and every man. Top