Saccidananda FQA
| Saccidananda FQA (Frequently Questioned Answers) | |
| We all live in one, big universe which began with the big bang, and all share the same progression of time. | |
| Think about it – what do we know about the actual “origin” of time, or the universe? How can time have a beginning, since to have a beginning implies the existence of time? How do we know that there are not an infinite number of universes existing at this moment, or even throughout what we normally call time? | |
| Each of us is a totally unique person who never existed before us and will never exist again. | |
| Do we believe this because it is too scary to think that there could be multiple copies of ourselves, either now or in the past, or in the future? How can we really be sure that somewhere, somewhen, our genetic patterns won’t repeat given enough time and space? Can we really say the universe is small enough, finite enough to say with confidence this could not happen? | |
| What we see, hear, and experience is the ultimate reality and the ultimate measure of reality. | |
| How can we believe this answer when we already have been shown by science the incredible worlds that exist right within our bodies, out in the vast reaches of space, in the depths of the planet, and even within the minds of others, that we can never directly experience? | |
| The physical universe we live in contains many seperate conscious beings. | |
| Can we really prove that any other being is “conscious” other than ourselves? How do we know for sure that the universe “contains” consciousness? Where, physically, does consciousness actually exist? If consciousness is an “epiphenomenon of the brain” as some claim, how can each of us explain the existence of our very experience? | |
| No one can tell us anything significant that we haven’t heard before. | |
| Have we made the same order of magnitude of progress in spiritual understanding that we have made in the understanding of what we call “science”? Has anyone you have heard of made any real progress in understanding the nature of consciousness? Has mainstream philosophy in the twentieth century retained any remnant of spirituality, or has it degenerated into a dead end of mathematical logic? Has mainstream religion made any progress in spiritual understanding in the last 2000 years, and does it admit that it is even permissible to do so? | |
| Spirituality is just the “opiate of the people”, an area people make up to make themselves feel better. | |
| Does feeling better have so little value that such a smug and disparaging statement could be made? Do we know so much about the universe we live in to make such a statement about spirituality? Does science and skepticism really tell us so much about what we don’t know about? Can they really explain the source of creativity, or the immense complexity of the system of life on this planet?
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Saccidananda - The Pyramid in the Eye 