REBIRTH, RESURRECTION AND RECYCLING

By

George Merlo Pallath

 

Humans want to be immortal. Every body wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Given a choice, we would all like to live forever. Right from the beginning of human civilization, different civilizations have tried their level best to cheat death. The great pyramids of Egypt and of the Mayan Civilization were all the result of this Herculean effort by these civilizations chasing immortality. All the major religions promise their followers that there is life after death. Christians believe in resurrection, Hindus in rebirth, Muslims believe in Heaven etc. This is the ultimate promise to mankind. To give a hope that there is no death. Almost 99% of the humans want to believe in it. But the age old concept of rebirth and resurrection are getting outdated. It is high time that we find a plausible explanation for our feeling of being always here.  In fact it is proven that there is a strong reason for our feeling of being here always.

Our bodies are a mere combination of all the elements and energy that we have accumulated through our life. When a child grows, it is absorbing nutrients from nature.  In other words, we are continuously borrowing from nature. But like all borrowings, it is to be paid back. Once we die, all these individual constituents get separated and go back to nature. Just like the water that we drain out into the canals reach the rivers and lakes which then become one with the ocean. Then the very same water molecules get evaporated to form rain bearing clouds that come back to the land as monsoon rains. The water remains as such. It takes various forms and becomes part of our bodies, the trees, worms, waste etc. Then the whole cycle is repeated. The water in our body becomes part of the ground water or the water vapor in the atmosphere.

When the energy level ebbs to its lowest level, life cannot be sustained any longer, the individual cannot survive as a separate entity any longer and the individual comes to an end. If at all there is any thing that resembles the concept of soul, it is only a form of energy that becomes part of the universal soul {energy}. All these constituent matter and energy that once existed together in symbiosis as a being becomes loose and separate. They go their own ways and all of them will become parts of  nature till it again gets trapped in the body of another being. The Newton’s theory that Energy cannot be created or destroyed is once again proved. It always exists in one form or other. It keeps on changing form. It can exist as energy or matter. Electricity can become Light energy, sound energy, magnetism etc. gravity becomes converted into electricity in hydro electric plants. The energy in sun light gets trapped by plants. The energy is always there in one form or another. Even the sun has a birth and death.

Matter is constituted of molecules, which are a combination of atoms. These atoms are constituted of electrons, protons, neutrons etc. These electrons, protons and neutrons are made up of positrons, neutrinos, quarks etc. The scientists call the particles forming gravity that is a weak form of energy “Gravitons”. Then there are ultra violet, infra, gamma rays etc. are also bundles of energy { photons} in different forms. There is no end to it. These sub atomic particles are also made up of Energy that is no different from the sub atomic particles that make up matter. The force of gravity, electromagnetism, strong energy, weak energy, dark matter etc are all the same. In fact the sub atomic particles in light energy, sound energy, magnetism, are no different than the subatomic particles in the atoms of iron, gold, potassium, sodium, uranium, water. Even the organic matter which make up our living bodies are constituted of these very same particles. Different combinations and bondings give rise to different properties.

According to one theory, our body is a colony of billions of bacteria living together symbiotically like a beehive. It is the most complex and highly evolved colony that has decided to live together for the better survival and adaptation with the surrounding environment. It took billions of years of evolution for this marvel of symbiosis to come together and live as an individual. It is scientifically accepted that if there are 10 Trillion human cells in our body, there are more than 100 trillions of bacteria in a human body living in harmony with our cells as a single colony.

The living beings are made up of cells, which are nothing but a combination of complex molecules made up of complex atomic groupings and bonding. These atoms and the sub atomic particles, which they are made up of, is no different than the sub atomic particles found in light energy, or matter or a star. In short there is basically no difference between the human beings and the wind or the sun and the soil or the light and the water.  The entire universe is made up of the very same matter or energy. Now the physicists are propagating a new theory called the “String theory” or “M” theory according to which the entire universe is connected through strings of energy. The entire universe is one big web of energy. They also postulate that there are parallel universes existing side by side together. We know of only three dimensions. Now it is widely believed that there are 11 dimensions or parallel universes and may be more.  We cannot see it , touch it or perceive it.  But scientists postulate that these parallel universes and dimensions exist. So all the possibilities exist or coexist in different universes at the same time. That is the only way they have been able to explain the dark matter and dark energy or the weakness of the gravitational force etc.  Now scientists say that 96 % of the universe is composed of Dark energy & dark matter. Since the total energy of the universe is considered to be zero.

We are all part of the whole. The difference is only our perception. Our concept of separateness is just a Maya as the Hindus believe. The idea of being an individual which is separate and distinct from its surrounding is as superficial as a wave that arises from the sea. The wave rises from the sea for a short time exists as a separate entity and then it falls back to become one with the sea. But always it is part and parcel of the sea.

So the GOD concept takes in a whole new meaning. At present our vocabulary is very limited. All the languages of the humans are not good enough to explain this concept. God is not separate and distinct from the rest of the universe or the individuals, as we perceive. GOD is not a separate super being who controls every thing and resides in heaven. This whole universe is part and parcel of GOD or should we refer to it as “Universal Consciousness”. We the perceived individuals are also part and parcel of this consciousness. The concept of GOD  is the whole energy of the whole universe and beyond. It is the whole and we are also part of the whole. Hindus refer to this as ATMA and PARAMATMA. So long as we do not understand it we will perceive ourselves as individuals and continue to fight for our separateness, our sense of “I”. So long as we try to create and built upon the “I” we are just wasting the energy. The individual “I” never gets reborn or resurrected. The individual has no immortality. But its constituent parts at an atomic level is immortal. It gets recycled. We, the bundle of energy and mater gets recycled billions of times. Our constituent parts might have existed as part of sun, light, magnetism, gravity, waste, trees, viruses, bacteria, fish etc. The recycling process goes on and on.

Whether we are buried, or cremated or fed to animals, it does not matter. As an individual we will come to an end. It is inevitable. But we the bundle of different kinds of energy will always exist. This collection of energy referred to temporarily as an individual cannot ever be destroyed. There was no beginning and there is no end. We (energy) will be continuously recycled and we will keep on existing. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It will only keep on changing form and take on different avatars.