Grata, Mandy

by Mandy Grata

Man appreciates the beauty of his existence based on his understanding of the world; or his world. This understanding is based upon some factors; culture, physical environment and his biological make up- all these contribute to the shaping of his consciousness. The world, or the bigger universe, which has a life of its own, does not move in its solitary and separate existence. For one, it operates parallel to all other beings. For another, it breaths life in coherence and is connected with the rest of beings, living or not alike. This connection of all beings is designed to create order and harmony. The puzzle, that has perplexed man however, is that existence seems so full of confusion. This is why man often questions the meaning of his existence. What is a meaningful existence? Why is he here to start with?

This is not only a perennial question, but this is a question that will haunt us for as long as we fail to understand the interconnection of our existence with the entirety of creation. Interconnection does not only mean our connection with other beings while we are physically alive. This means the holistic connection of the entire creation; devoid of the consideration of time and space. This interconnection is only possible through us –humans; because it is through us that creation is given meaning or it is through us that phenomenon is explained. These meaning systems are not uniform; in other words, how our ancestors saw the world is certainly different from how we see it. Because as the physical world evolves, so does human consciousness.    

This is not an attempt to justify evolution, but this simply tries to establish the idea that our consciousness is the creator of our own universe and everything that is in it. This is not saying that all physical elements cannot exist without our consciousness, but it is simply saying that it is our consciousness that gives meaning to our world, and it is our consciousness that has attempted to understand and explained everything just so we will attach meaning to everything that we encounter.

When we were in the more primitive stage, we attempted to explain everything from the religious and ritualistic perspective. When we discovered new ways of seeing things, we explained phenomenon from other perspectives as well- the equally enduring perspective of science. This has challenged our imagination that societies were evolved according to the dominance of the belief or tradition prevailing upon its people. The east for instance became more religion centered, while the more technologically advanced west became more secular. Even governments were formed along these lines of thought.  For so long, this became the social order and we were settled with the idea that we have to fit in for us to survive. This settled well for some time and had its share of successes. Civilizations grew and humanity progressed. But even then, the perennial question subsisted-the meaning of it all.

At our present level of consciousness, what many of us needs to realize is that we live not in isolation but in interconnection with our fellow men. Although, this has been taught by religion for so long already, the secular world came rather late in appreciating that by being one with others, we are also being one with our selves; and being one with the great design. The opposing forces of life have been taken to mean good and evil forces, or negative and positive forces. Little do we realize that these forces may not be taken as opposing but mutually aiding forces, giving life and energy to the each other. The unity of opposites should be understood as the one that will make life more meaningful. For in the non-duality of things, we will come to realize our responsibility to take care of others and that’s what makes a meaningful existence.