I did not question until recently the ingenious story of human fall on account of disobedience to God as narrated in the first book of Genesis of the Bible. Neither did I question moksha that is liberation from samsara (the cycle of death and re-birth) or paripurna- Brahmanubhava (the complete experience of Brahma or the One Supreme Self) found in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. We are not encouraged to question; we are merely asked to believe. Besides questioning basic traditional beliefs is not considered to be kosher. After having lived through good and bad experiences on my way to a ripe old age, I am appropriating my right to question and scrutinize everything in my final stage of search for truth. Here I want to make sure that I do not intend to question anyone’s belief system. I only ask everyone to come to one’s beliefs after due reflection and deliberation. As humans as God’s children are in various stages of perfection, I feel I can use a good guru or model on my way to God. For me that prime good guru is Christ on account of what he said and how he lived.
The best theological, philosophical, psychological, and scientific insights as human heritage are there for all to benefit from. Everyone has a duty to examine them. After studying them thoroughly, everyone has an obligation to come to one’s own conclusions. With the available knowledge one has to form one’s own conscience that then becomes the informed, supreme guide in everything. I am well aware that there are officials of religions, who would question this stance as misguided because according to them a good conscience has to function in accordance with the teachings of their religions. I strongly believe that a good conscience is a sincere conscience that has taken relevant facts and knowledge into consideration before coming to a decision.
I want to firmly assert that liberation or salvation does not require heroic acts. Living a simple life that discerns God’s will as communicated to one’s conscience and puts that into practice every day is all that is required to reach one’s salvation. I cannot think of a God’s will that does not include the love of all creation especially humans. We can all be comforted by the thought that come from Scriptures that for those who love God and humankind everything works unto good. This life is not only simple but blessed and divine.
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