A Letter to a Friend

By Mahendra, March 2nd 2018.

Introduction: First of all, let me say that I have a close friend with whom I exchange philosophical ideas. What I have discovered about my communications with her is her absolute honesty and sincerity. She trusts me and appreciate that good friends can be frank with each other, have differing views but still have respect for each other. I regard that as a tremendous compliment and find it deeply touching. With each other, we needn’t worry about political correctness and the question of hurting each other’s feelings do not arise as our discussions are at an intellectual level and although critical at times, always open and devoid of malice, scorn or other such negative connotations.

“I have often wondered why I think on matters such as what is the meaning of life, is there a God, does  Rebirth really happen, what is morality, why should we be moral, does it matter to know the answers, can we ever know the answers, does any human being have the capacity to know the answers, does  the acquisition of knowledge by reading books and other sources of information provide the answers, can we “understand” by deep introspection by just “thinking” and finally does it matter to know the answers, if that was possible?

I cannot provide one consistent answer but I can share my thoughts with you.

Firstly, I am a curious person and have always been so. My beloved mother used to say “Mahendra, why do you keep asking me why? Why? Why this, why that!” in frustration! The fundamental appeal of science to me is that. I can still picture my Chemistry teacher at Royal Mr Arulanandan, addressing the class and saying “Always asks the question why, never accept without questioning”.

It therefore seems that asking questions and asking “why” is something which is part of me and in some ways, almost an end in itself. But with ageing and maturity, my attitudes towards knowledge and beliefs have also changed. I am much more aware of our limitations and of the wide literature, both in Science and Philosophy on these subjects.

I know that there are no simple answers to many of the philosophical questions I ask. Furthermore, I have abandoned the quite naïve belief that if you are intelligent, you will apply the scientific method and you will get the answer. Long long ago, I thought that anybody who believes in a God, especially an all-loving merciful God is daft! I am pleased to say that I don’t hold that view now. Intelligence and belief in God or not linearly related!

I know that what we believe and accept is driven by a whole host of factors, some conscious and others not. The conclusions we come to are made within a Physical brain and a “hard to understand or conceptualise consciousness, or mind”, which operates by churning a whole host of available information, feelings, concepts, beliefs, knowledge acquired now and before, being influenced by cultural factors, family influences, past personal experiences and many more. Because of this, each one of us is unique, as our past and present are unique. If I listen to a classical piano piece and enjoy it, I will also recollect things connected to it such as a memory of where I heard it, with whom  I was with, the events which preceded it and succeeded it and all this will condition the way I feel during the moment I hear the music. The same music will be associated with very different memory associations for another person and although we are listening to the same music, the experience for that person at the same time could be totally different. Every sensory input causes arousal of a host of past experiences and responses, some conscious and others unconscious and determines the manner in which we perceive and interpret the sensory input. In this way perceptions produced by the same stimulus are unique to that person.

I think the same applies to phenomena which are yet to be fully explained by Science. I don’t think many will doubt the existence of the Moon and the mechanism of an eclipse as the evidence is irrefutable but when we ask a question such as, “Is there a God?”, we cannot expect a straight consistent answer from every person that question is asked because in the absence of proof, the acceptability of such a notion would be influenced by that person's background (all the factors I have referred to above). Furthermore,  there are different concepts of God. (a very common error when people “argue”, is that very few define what they are debating before they start!). There is God and there is God! An all-powerful super-being who created everything and loves everybody unconditionally (the humanistic more New Testament type), or an all-powerful super-being who created everything and picks and chooses people to favour and “better keep on his good side as he is quite capable of being nasty, really nasty, but if you accept him and have faith in him, he is absolutely fantastic!” (The Old Testament type, the Islamic type).

Personally, my own sense of logic does not allow me to accept and be comfortable with either of the two types of God referred to but I do know that if I was brought up as a Christian and a particular model was drilled into me, it is quite possible that I would have accepted one or the other model of God, - which brings me to rebirth, as that is the model in which I was brought up as a Buddhist.

The only reason why I am somewhat agnostic about rebirth is that I read widely on case histories where reputable, serious sceptical investigators investigated cases of recollection of past births and found the details given about that alleged past life correct in every detail, beyond chance and with no evidence of fraud. Western experts call it “unexplained persistence of memories of a past existence” with the statement that “rebirth or reincarnation is offered by some Asian religions” as a possible explanation.

When I put my Science hat on, rebirth seems utterly impossible and borders on the ridiculous. There is no biological explanation and furthermore, it appears to go against the theory of Evolution, which Scientists (and most humans) accept as a fact and no longer a theory. If the Buddhist concept is true, a human can regress and be born as an animal, which is against Evolution.

You can see my problem. Logical thinking and science tell me it can’t happen but I am still left with some doubts for the reasons I gave (the cases of recollection of past births).

This brings me to what I think is a logical thought process. Just because if some observed phenomenon has no current scientific explanation, it should not be discarded only for that reason. The correct approach would be to first investigate it thoroughly and make sure it is not a hoax or fake. If all the evidence points to indisputable data, then the conclusion is that this phenomenon has happened but we have currently no explanation for how it happens. Taking the example of recollection of a past life, quite a significant number turned out to be publicity seeking engineered falsehoods but there were instances which passed the test for a genuine observation. What I find unscientific is the attitude adopted by some scientists who investigated and found that the stories were genuine but nevertheless dismiss them by saying “it just can’t be true” or “they have somehow doctored this as it just can’t be true”. The proper conclusion should be that "A person recalled accurately details of the life of a person who has died, with no way of having obtained knowledge about that person, and we found the details to be correct. At present we have no scientific explanation for it”. That’s it, it is not “proof of rebirth but something which needs to be explained and not just dismissed, which, is the easy way out.

In many instances when a belief is tested, it boils down to this. What does your reasoning power indicate to you and what does any “inner consciousness or voice tell you” after critically analysing the problem? They may say the same or possibly the "inner voice" may suggest that your reasoning is faulty. Whenever that happens I would suggest that a sensible approach would be, whatever it tells you, to ask "is it compatible with what I believe is the proper way to live on this Planet to achieve happiness and Peace of mind?" If it is, it is unlikely to have harmful effects. If the answer is, "no, it would not", then that belief should be discarded.  For example, If your inner voice says “he is a heathen, kill him”, I am not advocating that you should go ahead and kill him! On the other hand, if the voice says "there is a God who loves me and all living beings", surely no harm can result.

It is my belief that morality is an evolved characteristic. Animals who roamed the Planet on their own without caring for other animals had a greater chance of not surviving. Or conversely, those who grouped together and supported each other increased their chance of survival. Cooperation, supportive behaviour, sharing and such beneficial characteristics enabled species to survive. Survival of the fittest as stated in the Theory of Evolution is one of the most misunderstood, misstated theories. Those who misunderstand say that it promotes selfishness. I say it is quite the contrary. Based on this ongoing beneficial behaviour pattern, Man has succeeded but as you would expect, not every individual man will display it but as a group, as a tribe, this moral behaviour has made us advance. It is still survival of the fittest, and the best way to survive is through cooperation.

My dear friend, what matters, in the end, is the comfort in your mind (and Body). Live a healthy lifestyle, do believe in God if it helps you and knowing you, if you do believe, your model will be one of unbound Love and Care for ALL and not just for those who believe in Him and accept him. If you truly believe in such a Power, you will do no harm and you will also not worry about Evangelism, or whether there is Rebirth or not, because His love is unbounded. A  lovely Christian friend I had (she is sadly no more), one of the best human beings I have known and who is sadly no more, told this to me when I asked her “Do you worry about the fact that your good friend Mahendra does not believe in God?”. “Mahendra dear, I know you extremely well and the kind of person you are and God will look after you whether or not you believe in Him”. If this is the way with all good God believers, the World will be a better place.

I wish I could believe in such a Force but I just cannot for the reason that for me, it does not fit with my own experience and understanding.

The very last point is if you do believe in some sort of life after death, then you may lean towards not just accepting just a “way of living well” now, in this life, but also taking steps to gain further insight and salvation through various practices such  as Meditation, prayers etc.in preparation for what follows death. The extreme position of this could be choosing a monastic life.

Well, that was a long rigmarole and thank you for your patience, if you read this far. Shall end by wishing you all the best and it is indeed a privilege to have you as my friend. In the end, after our basic needs for food, shelter, safety and good health are met, what matters most are not material possessions or power, but good friends and family living in a Society where people care for each other”.

Mahendra