The Universe and The Reason

Disclaimer

This essay originated as a series of messages between me and my friend
(you know who you are). After that I took those messages and worked on
this for quite some time to polish then into something presentable.

Okay! so ...

Humanity always had a special relationship with reason. Reason is the
main keyword here. It is reason that ultimately led to all beautiful
inventions and achievements. Since the early days humanity has always
strived to find the reasons that could describe the naturally occurring
phenomenon around them.

Man was (still is to some extent) a very inquisitive animal. If it
were up to man then he would have had proper reasons for all the
things that he could have had reasons for and he strived to achieve
just that. Reasons that described everything man could think of. He
strived for perfection. This led to a problem. Man did not realize
that some (read: most) answers are not ultimate. They all lead to
further questions that need further answers and the cycle repeats all
over again. Soon enough humanity had more questions than it had
answers for.

This created a feeling of helpless-ness. Man could not stomach the
fact that he did not have all the answers. Man could not stomach the
fact that he was not in control. Man could not acknowledge the
universe. Man felt helpless and insignificant (as he rightly is). Man
was (still is) a bit too arrogant. A bit too arrogant for his own
good. Man was/is a bit too fragile to accept the responsibility for
all of his actions. He needs a scapegoat; not only to blame someone in
case anything goes wrong but also someone to take the credit in case
something goes right. This way man can escape accountability for his
actions and blame god for the good and the bad. He needs to believe
in something far bigger, far greater than himself to make him feel a
part of something bigger than himself, to define a sense of purpose
for him.

THIS led to the invention of god. GOD was someone who had all the
answers; someone so perfect that he could take all the bashing and all
the accusations of lowly creatures like ourselves and still be
righteous. God was (still is) the perfect scapegoat for man. This is
what messed up the world as we know it.

We were born a Hindu, raised a Hindu, trained a Hindu until we realized
what we were and we gave up our religion. We are atheists now.

Giving up our religion was not a great feeling, there was some form of
disconnect. This is when we realized the power of the "believing in
something bigger than our-self" feeling. That feeling is a powerful
feeling; it keeps you sane.

So what do we believe in ??

We believe in the Universe and the Reason. The universe because it is
what is ultimately out there and reason because reason is how we
insignificant beings communicate with the universe. The universe is
the ultimate form of power and grandeur. Nothing can beat its elegance
and majesticity. When compared to the universe, you truly are
insignificant. And that is also a powerful feeling.