Looking back
at the accomplishments of the last few decades it is easy to see that this world of ours
has advanced very rapidly in the realm of science, mathematics, astronomy, paleontology,
etc.
The
discoveries have been monumental. We know so
much more about the universe, our solar system and the earth itself. For example, we
now know about DNA carrying all the information of genetic replication. Great advances have been made in medicine and in
our ability to treat so may new diseases, thus prolonging life. And the stage is now set for even more exciting
discoveries in the next few decades.
Reflecting
on the above facts, I realized that we are the luckiest of all the generations that have
come and generations yet to come, because we are at a time when we can question and
hopefully will be around to know the answers. No
other generation has been, or can be as lucky. The
previous generations questioned, but hardly had any answers. And our children will have been taught the answers
before they can ask the questions! This is
the age we began in wonder and will end in understanding.
This is the
age of reason and common sense. However, in
our busy lives we get carried away with our jobs, homes, children, etc., and have no time
left to contemplate on God and His abilities and qualities.
People are
also hesitant to talk about God - partly because they don't want others to think they are
religious, but mostly due to their ignorance about God.
The reality is that deep down inside every single one of us is the natural
instinct to believe in God. We supress this
instinct as we go about our daily lives, which are strangely lacking in something - what
we do not know. Some of us are actively
searching, trying to find meaning for our existence, getting some answers, but not enough
to lead satisfied and happy lives.
One of the
the most elusive objectives of every human being is happiness. Happiness is an exclusive quality of the real self
(or mind, or soul). Thus, a body that attains
all the material successes it longs for - money, power, fame, good looks, carnal
satisfaction - often belongs to an unhappy person. Happiness
depends on the degree of growth and development attained by the real self, and God alone
can help us attain this growth.
This is true
for all human beings. When we examine the
history of mankind we know that the descendants of Adam had one thing in common - God, the
Creator. If we look around the world today,
we see a variety of races: Caucasians, Orientals, Africans, Hispanics.... God, again, is
their only unifying factor. If you consider
the different religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, etc., again we have one
common factor - God.
What is
dividing us? The human factors in our
religions. If we can concentrate on the
message that all the messengers brought to humanity, then our problem is solved.
All the
messengers brought only one message - to worship God alone.
Therefore, let us keep our focus on God, and God alone.
With this in
mind, we will set out on an exciting adventure to explore God's universe and prove, beyond
doubt, that God exists and that we are one congregation - God's congregation.
We will
examine all the scriptures and see what God has to tell us about ourselves, the reason for
our creation and the creation of this beautiful universe.
We will then examine these verses in the light of the enormous amount of new
information we now have about the beginning of the universe (the Big Bang Theory), the
formulation of the solar system and our planet Earth, and the origins of human beings
specifically Darwin's theory of evolution.
Up until the
last few decades, science and technology were facts, and religion was something confined
to churches, synagogues and mosques. Religion
had no basis in scientific reality. You had
to have blind faith. We are now in an era
where it is impossible to believe on faith alone. We
need good evidence to accept anything. We are
intelligent human beings. We have to ask
questions and we have to get answers. We
should not allow our prejudices, training and traditions to stand in our way of
understanding. We should have an open,
critical mind at all times so we can examine all the evidence presented, and select the
best.
Since God is
eternal, He has to be modern. Since He
created not only the universe, but also the video and the computer (by teaching us), He
has to be more sophisticated than the most sophisticated.
And since He is ageless, He cannot be old.
God does not
differentiate between human beings (it is we who create our own prejudices and
boundaries). It is our goal to appreciate His
greatness and thereby appreciate our fellow human beings.
By understanding God as the master mathematician, master scientist, master
astronomer... we will see that God is running the world and He is in control of all
matters.
Hence,
Universal Unity was formed with the following goals:
1) To present information which will help people come
to the conclusion that God does exist.
2) To
look at the fascinating new discoveries that have been made on the frontiers of science,
mathematics, astronomy, etc. We will examine
them in the light of the world's scriptures and thus gain meaningful insights of God.
3) To
prove beyond doubt that God created all of us equal, as one people, and that it is we, the
humans, who have divided ourselves into various congregations.
4) To
prove that God is essential for our peace and happiness, and to discover together how to
maintain these qualities in our lives.
It is
unfortunate that humans have long seen science and religion as being in opposition to one
another. Science has given us the keys to
understand the univierse, and thus appreciate its Creator.
Einstein once said, "Science without religion is lame and religion
without science is blind." We shall no longer be blind.
- Shakira Katipineni
