A friend asked me a common question on Hinduism. Hema is a scientist educated in the science of education. She asked me why Ganesha has an elephant head. What drew my interest most with this question is that all the elements for the answer I was prepared to give involved the revelations (jnana) that I had received from the samayama on spirituality, science and religion. This answer would be the shruti that I promised to evolve when I concluded Part One of this article. (If you are wondering what are shruti, samayama and jnana, please click here to read Part One of this Mystical Musing which explains them).
Here are three revelations of the samayama on spirituality, science and religion. (Click here to read part one to flow with the continuity)
Revelation 1: The first to appear was a large multifaceted glistening diamond like gem that was rotating slowly. The gem remained in view for a while and as it slowly faded from the 'mind's eye' a statement, "we are already multidimensional beings" was heard.
Revelation 2: Then followed another scene where I saw a scientist and a mystic sitting back to back. Revelation 3: The revelations concluded with a final scene of a priest worshipping atop a precarious ledge on the summit of a tall cliff.
Ganesha is one of the most popular Hindu deity. He is the God (more like an Archangel) with an elephant head. There is a very colorful and violent story / myth of how he ended up with the elephant head. If you do not know this story just Google 'how Ganesha got his elephant head'. For this article suffice to know that this story is as scientifically implausible as a story can be! Yet here is a scientist, who loves Ganesha and is looking for an answer that given her training I would imagine, since she knows the story, must have relegated (the story) to fiction. It intrigued me that I could answer this question quite uniquely using the revelations of the recent samayama. I also mused that the original person who emailed me the questions that sparked the samayama, Akashay, is a scientist, and here I am faced with another scientist whose question represented the similar science versus religion debate.
I knew this answer session was going to be long winded, so I started with the short answer. "Q: Why does Ganesha have an elephant head? A: Because that was his choice. He probably had the power choose how he wanted to look and simply choose to have an elephant face. Why he choose that is whatever answer that makes the most sense to you if you believe in Lord Ganesha. Now allow me to give a clearer understanding of this answer."
After this I told everyone in the group about Akashay's questions, the samayama and the revelations from it. Then I began to evolve the jnana revelations into a shruti which was about how science, religion and spirituality integrate. I followed the order of the revelations, remembering the first revelation of the multi-faceted diamond and the words 'we are already multidimensional' while tuning my mind to the feeling of rightness that followed the revelation. Thus I said we are all already multi-dimensional beings. Daily we put on the hats of many dimensions to function. These are simple and practical functions; unless we think more seriously about them they are simply part of our personality. This 'multi-dimensionalism' is about how we act differently with different groups of people. When we are at home with our family we behave differently then when we are at work. When we are with our friends we function on different set of parameters then when we are with our family or at work. When we interact with babies or toddlers, does anyone realize how childish we become from our usual grownup norms. We do baby speak, play with them as if we are babies and forgive babies for all sorts of misdemeanors because they are innocent. Indeed we function / behave / act differently according to situations and surroundings; most of the time making only slight variations in the way we project ourselves to others but at times these variations can be quite radical. From a mystical perspective each of these different projections of personality represents different dimensions of ourself. We pick and choose to project different images of ourself according to whom or what we are around (which is why Facebook included privacy settings to incorporate our yearning for multi-dimensionalism!). What is amazing is that our brains can keep tabs of all of this to make it seem so seamless as we shift from one dimension to another.
You may think that it is too drastic labeling all these subtle shifts in personality as dimensions. However the definition of dimension according to my computer's dictionary–the one that is not related to measuring length or time–is as follows: "an aspect or feature of a situation, problem or thing." Thus dimensions can be as simple as points of view. This is how a mystic views his or her own mind. There are so many dimensions that are available within it, that our mind is our personalized world. The very fact that we can say something while thinking of something out of context and be feeling something unrelated altogether is just a hint of the measure of multi-dimensionalism humans are capable of. Yogis take multi-dimensionalism to the next level by developing extra sensory perception to enable them to explore subtle spiritual realms of existence.
Thus mystics too have come to the conclusion that humans are multidimensional no different than the scientific String Theory notion of multi-dimensionalism. It is just the way we mystics see it in application in life that is different. In fact what some scientists conjure about the multidimensional human is way more far out than that of the mystics. It takes a leap of faith to even imagine that there can be duplicates of us living simultaneously in parallel universes. Wow! makes for great science fiction, but in the reality we are used to we still do not have proof of such possibilities despite all the calculations that point that such a scenario can be.
I am following the natural sequence of revelations that appeared in dhyana and so far I have evolved the meaning of the first one which is the key to answering both Akashay's and Hema's questions. In different scenarios or different circumstances we use different sets of rules to get through life. Each of these sets of rules can be represented by rich traditions, culture and philsosophy; they can even be rules we develop personally based on conclusions from life experiences. Our amazing mind is capable of managing and processing these different dimensions, at times even simultaneously. Going through the simplicities, complexities, certainties and uncertainties of life is made possilbe through multi-dimensionalism. Remember that this is the key is to understanding how spirituality, science and religion integrate.
Now lets go to the second revelation. In this revelation the scene is of a mystic (I saw a long bearded, robed rishi) and a scientist (someone with a lab coat) sitting back to back peering into space. How does this connect to multi-dimensionalism? Here again I just have to tune the feeling of rightness that follows this revelation and it stimulates the flow of understanding. The foundation of both a scientist and a mystic is the same. It is curiosity about and inquiry into nature. What makes them unique is their base in questioning. A mystic starts with 'why life'; a scientist, 'how life'. By these questions we can deduce that a mystic is looking for reasons for life. A scientist on the other hand is looking for the rules of life (in this context 'life' and 'nature' are interchangeable). If we take these observations a step deeper we will discover that a mystic looks at the uncertainties of life and seeks reasons; whereas a scientist looks at the certainties of life and seeks answers. They are both looking at life through divergent dimensions and seeking answers on same or similar subjects under different motivations. The results of both these streams of inquiry is that the work of mystics can evolve into religions and philosophies about life and living, while the work of scientists can evolve into technological inventions.
By following the line of reasoning of mystics leads us to conclude that the main purpose of all the myriad of religions on Earth is to help us cope with the uncertainties in life, hence the third revelation; the priest worshipping precariously on a precipice. The priest is looking into an abyss in front and below him. He is praying to give himself the confidence through faith or hope to go through whatever he needs to cross over this proverbial abyss. By the way, I use proverbial abyss in case you reason–he doesn't need to look into the abyss. All he has to do is to step back! As easy as it is to reason this way, the truth is, we have to face and cross the abyss of uncertainty at times with no possibility of stepping back.
Ultimately this is what all religion are–the institutionalizing of hope. Just ask why the need for religion? You could reason that it seems that religion is the cause for much human to human violence on Earth. Religionists may justify by saying the violence has nothing to do with religion, the problem lies with its followers; but really what is religion without its followers? We can reasonably say, lets do away with religion, lets just live with science and logic. With all the scientific evidence that can easily debunk so much of the myths or stories that are the backbone of most major and minor religions, science can easily claim reasonable ascendency. Yet today majority of us would rather believe in religion than not. Why?
It is that religion begins where logic ends.
We live equally with certainties and uncertainties in life. As much as we like to get rid of uncertainties and guarantee as much certainty as possible, it is ultimately impossible to get rid of uncertainty entirely. Even as technology advances rapidly on par with strides in scientific discoveries, it cannot guarantee absolute certainty in all affairs of life at all points of time; nothing can. Even science can only absolutely guarantee that all of life is subject to change. Things change; change is followed by a period of uncertainty; and even once we regain hold of cetainty, the shadow of uncertainty remains in the background. Science can conclude that uncertainty is as much a force of nature as the other tangible and measurable forces; and in fact it does through the Uncertainty Principle. Thus we have to recognize that uncertainty is one of the forces that animate life. Unfortunately uncertainty inspires fear and if we have to accept fear and simply live with it without a solution, life could be pointless and dark. Thus the advent of religion.
Religion appears as a solution to the fear that overshadows life. The most important aspect of religion to all of us is to inspire and maintain hope especially during the times when uncertainty looms into reality. This is the most scientifically tangible effect of religion–the feeling of hope and confidence–even when all probable scientific predictions point to hopelessness. This value of religion cannot be usurped by science simply saying that there is no proof of God. There may be no experiment that a scientist can do with any repeatable result that can proof the existence of God, but the existence of God for the faithful is based on their personal (totally subjective) experience of God or their dedication to their creed. It is the effect of faith in upholding hope that can be observed scientifically. It is this power of hope that is the un-discountable value of religion. The ability to inspire hope especially during times of hopelessness is of immense value to living. This is why we do not simply throw religion out the window in favour logic or science, because it is as valuable to us as science is.
Both religion and science are meant for us to cope with different aspects / dimensions of living. In fact both these dimensions are opposites. Thus if you bring science into religion or vice-versa you will simply end up with an inconclusive conundrum. Both however can co-exist through our ability to handle the varied aspects of life by being multidimensional. Thus a scientist can without conflict be deeply religious if he understands that science and religion are different tools meant for different purposes. Herein lies the integration of spirituality, science and religion. Multidimensional living allows us to accept science for what it is and religion for what it is. All those rich illogical myths and stories of religions were never meant to be proven true or untrue; instead they are repositories of spirituality, ethics, culture and most importantly as means of inspiring hope and courage. This is why we dare not throw religion out the window. Otherwise what can science offer us in those uncertain times of darkness; a cold set of probabilities, perhaps hope of discovery that is probably years in the future when you need help now or a scientific explanation of what got you where you are when what you need is a way out.
Try as we may, humanity will never do away with the supernatural, the ultra-natural and its propensity to exaggerate wonder. Just imagine what would happen if we did do away with religion and its nonsensical myths. Like the Taliban who blew the the Buddha statues of Bamiyan, we decide as a race of logical beings, to get rid of all relic, representation and repositories of religion, religiousness and spirituality. I imagine to cure our urge to hope during hopelessness or make possible what seems impossible we will start praying to 'action heroes' like Spiderman or Batman or Superman or Wonder Woman or whomever the new scientific myth spinners conjure.
Of course then again you can expect those 'action heroes' debunkers to come along and continue the question–why in the world are you praying to something that is not really there?! Answer–Well, because science does not have ALL the answers.
So to the question'why does Ganesha have an elephant head', the answer is as elementary as whatever reason that suits you. However it makes best sense to you, that will be your answer. If you choose to believe in Ganesha and his existence has an effect in your life, then really the reason why is anyone's guess. Ultimately the answer is not very important to anyone else but however you justify the truth of Ganesha to yourself. This is religion and by extension spirituality. They are both subjective art and science for all of life that is influenced by subjectivity. I for instance believe in the reality of God, the angles, heaven and hell because of my personal experience of such matters. They are real to me and therefore their existence matters to me. Why they exist does not matter to me, protecting the belief in them does not matter to me, proving their existence to others does not matter to me even more. But mostly I enjoy having them in my life.
In the end of the day our devotion to a supernatural path does not preclude us from enjoying the benefits of scientific discoveries, unless we choose so. To be an effective scientist likewise does not require the scientist to abstain from religion or spirituality to do his or her work, unless they choose so. To Akashay who instigated this mystical musing, thank you. To Hema who got this revelation going, thank you. I enjoyed the whole exercise immensely and I hope you the readers, did too.
Click Here to Read Part One
Here are three revelations of the samayama on spirituality, science and religion. (Click here to read part one to flow with the continuity)
Revelation 1: The first to appear was a large multifaceted glistening diamond like gem that was rotating slowly. The gem remained in view for a while and as it slowly faded from the 'mind's eye' a statement, "we are already multidimensional beings" was heard.
Revelation 2: Then followed another scene where I saw a scientist and a mystic sitting back to back. Revelation 3: The revelations concluded with a final scene of a priest worshipping atop a precarious ledge on the summit of a tall cliff.
Ganesha is one of the most popular Hindu deity. He is the God (more like an Archangel) with an elephant head. There is a very colorful and violent story / myth of how he ended up with the elephant head. If you do not know this story just Google 'how Ganesha got his elephant head'. For this article suffice to know that this story is as scientifically implausible as a story can be! Yet here is a scientist, who loves Ganesha and is looking for an answer that given her training I would imagine, since she knows the story, must have relegated (the story) to fiction. It intrigued me that I could answer this question quite uniquely using the revelations of the recent samayama. I also mused that the original person who emailed me the questions that sparked the samayama, Akashay, is a scientist, and here I am faced with another scientist whose question represented the similar science versus religion debate.
After this I told everyone in the group about Akashay's questions, the samayama and the revelations from it. Then I began to evolve the jnana revelations into a shruti which was about how science, religion and spirituality integrate. I followed the order of the revelations, remembering the first revelation of the multi-faceted diamond and the words 'we are already multidimensional' while tuning my mind to the feeling of rightness that followed the revelation. Thus I said we are all already multi-dimensional beings. Daily we put on the hats of many dimensions to function. These are simple and practical functions; unless we think more seriously about them they are simply part of our personality. This 'multi-dimensionalism' is about how we act differently with different groups of people. When we are at home with our family we behave differently then when we are at work. When we are with our friends we function on different set of parameters then when we are with our family or at work. When we interact with babies or toddlers, does anyone realize how childish we become from our usual grownup norms. We do baby speak, play with them as if we are babies and forgive babies for all sorts of misdemeanors because they are innocent. Indeed we function / behave / act differently according to situations and surroundings; most of the time making only slight variations in the way we project ourselves to others but at times these variations can be quite radical. From a mystical perspective each of these different projections of personality represents different dimensions of ourself. We pick and choose to project different images of ourself according to whom or what we are around (which is why Facebook included privacy settings to incorporate our yearning for multi-dimensionalism!). What is amazing is that our brains can keep tabs of all of this to make it seem so seamless as we shift from one dimension to another.
You may think that it is too drastic labeling all these subtle shifts in personality as dimensions. However the definition of dimension according to my computer's dictionary–the one that is not related to measuring length or time–is as follows: "an aspect or feature of a situation, problem or thing." Thus dimensions can be as simple as points of view. This is how a mystic views his or her own mind. There are so many dimensions that are available within it, that our mind is our personalized world. The very fact that we can say something while thinking of something out of context and be feeling something unrelated altogether is just a hint of the measure of multi-dimensionalism humans are capable of. Yogis take multi-dimensionalism to the next level by developing extra sensory perception to enable them to explore subtle spiritual realms of existence.
Thus mystics too have come to the conclusion that humans are multidimensional no different than the scientific String Theory notion of multi-dimensionalism. It is just the way we mystics see it in application in life that is different. In fact what some scientists conjure about the multidimensional human is way more far out than that of the mystics. It takes a leap of faith to even imagine that there can be duplicates of us living simultaneously in parallel universes. Wow! makes for great science fiction, but in the reality we are used to we still do not have proof of such possibilities despite all the calculations that point that such a scenario can be.
I am following the natural sequence of revelations that appeared in dhyana and so far I have evolved the meaning of the first one which is the key to answering both Akashay's and Hema's questions. In different scenarios or different circumstances we use different sets of rules to get through life. Each of these sets of rules can be represented by rich traditions, culture and philsosophy; they can even be rules we develop personally based on conclusions from life experiences. Our amazing mind is capable of managing and processing these different dimensions, at times even simultaneously. Going through the simplicities, complexities, certainties and uncertainties of life is made possilbe through multi-dimensionalism. Remember that this is the key is to understanding how spirituality, science and religion integrate.
Now lets go to the second revelation. In this revelation the scene is of a mystic (I saw a long bearded, robed rishi) and a scientist (someone with a lab coat) sitting back to back peering into space. How does this connect to multi-dimensionalism? Here again I just have to tune the feeling of rightness that follows this revelation and it stimulates the flow of understanding. The foundation of both a scientist and a mystic is the same. It is curiosity about and inquiry into nature. What makes them unique is their base in questioning. A mystic starts with 'why life'; a scientist, 'how life'. By these questions we can deduce that a mystic is looking for reasons for life. A scientist on the other hand is looking for the rules of life (in this context 'life' and 'nature' are interchangeable). If we take these observations a step deeper we will discover that a mystic looks at the uncertainties of life and seeks reasons; whereas a scientist looks at the certainties of life and seeks answers. They are both looking at life through divergent dimensions and seeking answers on same or similar subjects under different motivations. The results of both these streams of inquiry is that the work of mystics can evolve into religions and philosophies about life and living, while the work of scientists can evolve into technological inventions.
By following the line of reasoning of mystics leads us to conclude that the main purpose of all the myriad of religions on Earth is to help us cope with the uncertainties in life, hence the third revelation; the priest worshipping precariously on a precipice. The priest is looking into an abyss in front and below him. He is praying to give himself the confidence through faith or hope to go through whatever he needs to cross over this proverbial abyss. By the way, I use proverbial abyss in case you reason–he doesn't need to look into the abyss. All he has to do is to step back! As easy as it is to reason this way, the truth is, we have to face and cross the abyss of uncertainty at times with no possibility of stepping back.
Ultimately this is what all religion are–the institutionalizing of hope. Just ask why the need for religion? You could reason that it seems that religion is the cause for much human to human violence on Earth. Religionists may justify by saying the violence has nothing to do with religion, the problem lies with its followers; but really what is religion without its followers? We can reasonably say, lets do away with religion, lets just live with science and logic. With all the scientific evidence that can easily debunk so much of the myths or stories that are the backbone of most major and minor religions, science can easily claim reasonable ascendency. Yet today majority of us would rather believe in religion than not. Why?
It is that religion begins where logic ends.
We live equally with certainties and uncertainties in life. As much as we like to get rid of uncertainties and guarantee as much certainty as possible, it is ultimately impossible to get rid of uncertainty entirely. Even as technology advances rapidly on par with strides in scientific discoveries, it cannot guarantee absolute certainty in all affairs of life at all points of time; nothing can. Even science can only absolutely guarantee that all of life is subject to change. Things change; change is followed by a period of uncertainty; and even once we regain hold of cetainty, the shadow of uncertainty remains in the background. Science can conclude that uncertainty is as much a force of nature as the other tangible and measurable forces; and in fact it does through the Uncertainty Principle. Thus we have to recognize that uncertainty is one of the forces that animate life. Unfortunately uncertainty inspires fear and if we have to accept fear and simply live with it without a solution, life could be pointless and dark. Thus the advent of religion.
Religion appears as a solution to the fear that overshadows life. The most important aspect of religion to all of us is to inspire and maintain hope especially during the times when uncertainty looms into reality. This is the most scientifically tangible effect of religion–the feeling of hope and confidence–even when all probable scientific predictions point to hopelessness. This value of religion cannot be usurped by science simply saying that there is no proof of God. There may be no experiment that a scientist can do with any repeatable result that can proof the existence of God, but the existence of God for the faithful is based on their personal (totally subjective) experience of God or their dedication to their creed. It is the effect of faith in upholding hope that can be observed scientifically. It is this power of hope that is the un-discountable value of religion. The ability to inspire hope especially during times of hopelessness is of immense value to living. This is why we do not simply throw religion out the window in favour logic or science, because it is as valuable to us as science is.
Both religion and science are meant for us to cope with different aspects / dimensions of living. In fact both these dimensions are opposites. Thus if you bring science into religion or vice-versa you will simply end up with an inconclusive conundrum. Both however can co-exist through our ability to handle the varied aspects of life by being multidimensional. Thus a scientist can without conflict be deeply religious if he understands that science and religion are different tools meant for different purposes. Herein lies the integration of spirituality, science and religion. Multidimensional living allows us to accept science for what it is and religion for what it is. All those rich illogical myths and stories of religions were never meant to be proven true or untrue; instead they are repositories of spirituality, ethics, culture and most importantly as means of inspiring hope and courage. This is why we dare not throw religion out the window. Otherwise what can science offer us in those uncertain times of darkness; a cold set of probabilities, perhaps hope of discovery that is probably years in the future when you need help now or a scientific explanation of what got you where you are when what you need is a way out.
Try as we may, humanity will never do away with the supernatural, the ultra-natural and its propensity to exaggerate wonder. Just imagine what would happen if we did do away with religion and its nonsensical myths. Like the Taliban who blew the the Buddha statues of Bamiyan, we decide as a race of logical beings, to get rid of all relic, representation and repositories of religion, religiousness and spirituality. I imagine to cure our urge to hope during hopelessness or make possible what seems impossible we will start praying to 'action heroes' like Spiderman or Batman or Superman or Wonder Woman or whomever the new scientific myth spinners conjure.
Of course then again you can expect those 'action heroes' debunkers to come along and continue the question–why in the world are you praying to something that is not really there?! Answer–Well, because science does not have ALL the answers.
Epilogue
So to the question'why does Ganesha have an elephant head', the answer is as elementary as whatever reason that suits you. However it makes best sense to you, that will be your answer. If you choose to believe in Ganesha and his existence has an effect in your life, then really the reason why is anyone's guess. Ultimately the answer is not very important to anyone else but however you justify the truth of Ganesha to yourself. This is religion and by extension spirituality. They are both subjective art and science for all of life that is influenced by subjectivity. I for instance believe in the reality of God, the angles, heaven and hell because of my personal experience of such matters. They are real to me and therefore their existence matters to me. Why they exist does not matter to me, protecting the belief in them does not matter to me, proving their existence to others does not matter to me even more. But mostly I enjoy having them in my life.
In the end of the day our devotion to a supernatural path does not preclude us from enjoying the benefits of scientific discoveries, unless we choose so. To be an effective scientist likewise does not require the scientist to abstain from religion or spirituality to do his or her work, unless they choose so. To Akashay who instigated this mystical musing, thank you. To Hema who got this revelation going, thank you. I enjoyed the whole exercise immensely and I hope you the readers, did too.
Click Here to Read Part One
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