To me the most natural thing is to believe that I will continue to
consciously be as I move beyond this life. So many soul-searching
questions have made me fully convinced that I can never become
annihilated.
This is so because I am an individual identity, and not a bundle of
flesh and bones and skin and hormones. I am more that all that. As
I was growing up, I had some intense moments of thinking which have
made me understand that I am always there, no matter what.
And I am not God, though His presence or touch is felt in me just
like it is felt in all creatures. I call it the voice of conscience
or God manifested as the Parmaatma, witnessing our actions and
guiding us. Never can I become equal to Him. Uniting with Him means
going back to His full presence in the hereafter. It does not mean
becoming equal to Him because if any creature had the capacity to
be so, he or she or it would never have suffered pain in this life.
It does not mean we lose our individual identity with death because
if there is no identity, there is no consciousness and the whole
journey of life undertaken would become meaningless. We suffer
because we are imperfect. God is always perfect.
My experiences in life, both happy and painful, have made me
understand that nothing is wasted. Love has a meaning: that we can
(and do) reach out to others in love and compassion proves that
these feelings are so beautiful and eternal. There is someone who
is giving us these beautiful experiences. That someone is God. On
the other hand, experiences like pain make us realize we are not
all-powerful. There is someone in front of whom the whole universe
is helpless. That someone is God.
Finally, deep within me is a voice saying that there is justice in
the wider scheme of things. There is a pattern in the way things
happen, although I may not always immediately understand it. But I
have learnt to trust it because over the years, I see that often, I
understand the significance of an experience only years after it
happens.
Finally, I feel a deep sense of peace and trust because I know that
although I am imperfect, He guides and helps me all the time and is
by my side. He is that Supreme Person referred to as God and
compared to Him, each creature is infinitesimal. So, the final
lesson I learn from any experience, is that of joy and hope.
"All I
have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not
seen."
(Quoted
from Ralph Waldo Emerson, American author, poet and
philosopher)
(Contributed by Ayeshaparveen)
