In Search of Truth

IN SEARCH OF TRUTH

by

MURALI MURTHY

Until the Lion learns to speak or write, the world will continue to glorify a Hunter.

Searching the meaning of life, truth, real definition of world and God - can indeed be a daunting task and usually considered crazy in today's world, as we like to believe what we see and trust what is told to us.

Very few dare to go beyond the normal life and above all this superficial and experiential level, in pursuit of deeper meaning of life.

Prajwal is one such truth seeker who is constantly on the lookout to find out the real meaning of life.

Prajwal is a Software Engineer by profession and he is one of the best Architects and has designed and built many systems and solutions to solve some real world problems.
He is an avid reader, and spends most of his free time reading Books. His day always ends with a half read book on his chest and in deep sleep. His weekends are usually spent in Libraries renting/buying new books, and visiting all the book fairs in the town.

He reads philosophical, inspirational, spiritual, great men's life stories, science, astronomical books.

He always found Sky, stars, sun, moon, planets mesmerizing and magnetic.
He even bought a 90X astronomical telescope for exploring the stars and the sky. He never missed any celestial event.

Watching the sky became his passion, and reading about astronomy, science and spirituality became his alternate life.

Yet, he was not content with all the information, as he thought something was still missing.
He wanted to seek more, meaning of life, world, god and had lots of questions in his mind.

Born in a Hindu family, he was taught since childhood that God exists, he controls every actions of ours, he was forced to pray to God, recite hymns that praised Gods, sing devotional songs, and was indirectly threatened that he would be punished by God if he showed disrespect or do wrong things in the eyes of God.

Prajwal was caught between the teachings and preaching by his grandparents on the mythological stories, miracles of heavenly beings and the knowledge he acquired over the years being in the IT industry where he was tuned to use Logic and Science in every thing, and Of course his acquired knowledge in Astronomy.
All these mixed and contradicting knowledge in him kept him exploring more, urge to have clarity.

He was always silenced when he asked questions on the unseen & the unknown, the existence of God and if we are indeed controlled by God. His Grandparents used to tell him that finding God and the truth of life required deep penance. Historically, sages have done penance for years together to see God and find answers.

He was told about Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swamy Vivekananda, Gouthama Buddha, Shankaracharya, Madhwacharya, Ramanujacharya and other great Humans who attained enlightenment, which Prajwal failed to understand.

In search of truth and answers, he even attended programs by modern day Gurus and self proclaimed Godmen. But he again found it hypnotic and a bunch of good orators trying to impress their audience with some really good convincing skills and using psychology to keep them interested.

Though many of his friends on a Bar table, were being philosophical after having couple of pegs trying to decipher life, sharing their perspectives; but most of the other times thought he was crazy and out of mind. Most of his friends and colleagues whom he spoke mistook him to be finding God, when he was actually trying to get answers to many unknowns, truth of life.

He makes use of the year end freeze, and plans a solo trip to Himalayas.

Prajwal boards a flight from Bangalore to Kathmandu, and he receives a warm smile from an old man in his early 70s, as he finds his seat next to the old man.

As the flight takes off, both exchange pleasantries and settles down as the flight takes off.

As it's a 3 hour long flight, the old man initiates a conversation with Prajwal "So, you are going to Nepal on work?"

"No sir, want to see Himalayas"

"That's nice, you must be a trekker then?"

"No sir, this is the first time I am visiting Himalayas, and am not into trekking as well, just want to see the great mountains"

"That's nice, you are travelling with a tour operator or with friends?"

"I am travelling alone. How about you Sir?"

"My name is Abdul Huq, and I am a Professor in Psychology. I am visiting Kathmandu to attend a conference. And what do you do?"

"That's good to know sir. I am Prajwal and I work in the IT industry. I work for a Software Development company"

"Nice"

After a quick bite, Prajwal doses off for some time, while Abdul sips on his Coffee and keeps himself busy reading a book.

After a Power nap Prajwal wakes up, uses the Restroom and gets back to his seat. As Prajwal observes Abdul reading a book and also making some notes on a paper, he enquires "If I may know, which book is that sir"
Abdul removes his reading glasses and responds "That's Man's Search for Meaning by one of my idols Dr. Viktor Frankl. I am preparing some notes for the conference in Kathmandu, where I will be talking about the Power of human's intelligence, and our unique potentials"

"Wow. When you asked me earlier why I was going to Himalayas, I stopped myself sharing the real reason, as I thought you would laugh at me"

"Now if you think you can share, try me"

"I am going to Himalayas to find answers. To find the meaning of Life"

"In Himalayas, really?"

"I know I might be sounding stupid, but somehow I have been disturbed with many questions in my mind, that has drawn me towards Himalayas. I don't know what I am expecting there or if I will get what I am seeking, but just another thing that I am putting myself through in the quest of finding the truth"

"Well young man, the flight is about to Land now. My conference is day after tomorrow, I will share you the Auditorium's address and my contact number. Meet me there, if you would like to talk to me"

"Of course Sir, I would love to talk to you. It will be my privilege and thank you for giving me time"

Both found their way out of Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu.
Prajwal had planned to visit Gaurishankar Mountain. Though he was not much into trekking and was not very adventurous, he stuck to exploring the local culture and enjoying the scenic beauty.

With multiple layers of clothing starting from the thermal wear, T Shirt, sweater and a Fleece jacket, Prajwal had his woolen Cap and Synthetic gloves on. His morning expedition to the foothills of the gigantic Gaurishankar, leaves Prajwal speechless and awestruck.
As the Sun rose, the white snow caps turned sheer gold and it was a sight for the sore eyes of Prajwal.

He felt uplifted with the beauty of the magnificent and grand Himalayas.

With such awesomeness in front of him, Prajwal was overjoyed, emotional with many thoughts running in his mind. He kept wandering and exploring the foothills, he rolled down the slopes filled with thick Snow like a child.

Exquisite landscapes, infinite blanket of blue skies with a tinge of white cotton candy cloud cover, was a stairway to heaven.

Prajwal couldn't stop humming the song that was so apt for what he was experiencing

"Ye haseen wadhiyan, yeh khula aasman,
Aa gaye hum kahan, aye mere saajna,
Inn baharon mein dil ki khali khilgayi"

Prajwal spent the entire day in that magical and gorgeous place sipping on the hot chai and was happy to fill his stomach with freshly whipped Omelettes and piping hot Maggi Noodles.

Next day, Prajwal reached the Auditorium where Mr. Abdul Huq was attending the conference. As he saw Mr. Abdul, they both waved at each other, as Prajwal was asked to wait in the Lounge.

As Abdul walk out, both of them walked towards Cafeteria and sat on a table sipping on a Chai, as Abdul jovially asked "So, did you find God?"

"Ha ha...no I didn't. But it was beautiful and mesmerizing Sir. I have never smiled and laughed so much, alone. There is something about Himalayas, something magical, mystical. It's charm is a mystery, intriguing and I kinda lost the grasp of ordinary things."

"Good to know your trip was fruitful"

"It was a lifetime experience, but I am still filled with Questions"

"Tell me, what do you seek, what is bothering you?"

"I need to know the Truth, meaning of life"

"Young man, there is nothing called The Truth, you can only find Your Truth"

"My Truth?"

"Yes, Truth is subjective and we humans perceive truths as per our Convenience and liking. There is no one single gospel truth on any aspect of life. What truth are you seeking?"

"I would like to know the Truth of Life, Meaning of Life, God, these natural wonders, the sky, the stars...are they real, is God real?"

"Firstly, let's define Truth. Truth seekers usually try to find answers for: Does God exists, Is this life and world created by God, Who am I, What is my purpose...there are some who seek answers for After Life, rebirth and so on"

"You are absolutely right, these are some of the specific questions in me. Do you know the answer for these?"

"Like everyone else, I have found answers on my own, based on my own experience in life. Both Science and Religion have many answers to these questions. There's no right or wrong answers. The various religions you come across are efforts in answering these questions"

"I follow Hinduism, and my people have certain answers which I think is contradicting and confusing at many places"

"Exactly...as I said, the truth, meaning of life, God are interpretations of individuals. And the theories they float become religions. Each religion is formed with an idea to answer these questions. It is called a belief system, because people believe in a specific Truth."

"What do you believe, and as per your religion what is the truth?"

"Being a student of psychology, I would want to only help you find Your own Truth and not influence your thoughts with mine.
As I said, each Religion has its own definition of God and Life. Let's take Hinduism for instance, where they strongly advocate the existence of God and God creating the life and the world."

"But I see contradictions in many scriptures"

"Yes there are. As you know, there are multiple sub sects under any religion, including Hindus. Some of them believe Shiva is superior and many others believe Vishnu is superior. It doesn't stop there, though entire Hinduism is based on Vedas and Bhagavatgita, based on how each of them interpret the same texts, some believe the world is real and is created by God, while few believe God created world but is just imaginary and the world doesn't exist in real"

"My contradictions are not only religious beliefs, but the science behind the world and its existence"

"Science has definitions for everything, it works on physics, chemistry, biology and theories for world, happenings, phenomenon and life."

"But there are many unexplainable phenomenon in life which Science is not convincing all the time"

"That's where people conveniently turn to Religion for some mysterious Truths. For example Hindus believe in Rebirth and Souls changing body after death.
In Islam, we do not believe in Idol worship as we don't see God in any particular form, and monotheistic in Nature.
Even we have certain differences in the way we practice Islam - Sunnis and Shias have different ways of interpreting Quran.

Christianity is another monotheistic religion that believes in God. As Christianity is very widely practiced, again the same Bible is interpreted and 100s of sub sects are in practice.

There are many more religions and belief systems being followed in this world. Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism and the list goes on. And each such doctrine was the result of some truth seeker finding his own truth and preaching his truth to others"

"Sir, firstly I am impressed with your immense knowledge and thank you for sharing. So what I understand from this is Truth and meaning of Life is upto us, how we see it and there is no Absolute Truth, but perceived Truths?"

"Absolutely right. As per my understanding of the world, religions and faiths, each of us believe in our own Truths that has been imposed on us. Few seekers like you might come up with your own Truths and understanding of Life and God, how you see it"

"Sir, it was a pleasure meeting you and thank you for your valuable inputs. I respect the multi-cultural information and understanding of all religions that you acquire"

"Best of luck Prajwal. You take care and lead a happy life"

Happy, content and decluttered Prajwal heads back to his world. It had been a rejuvenating, detoxifying trip to Himalayas. Though he is not sure if the mystical beauty of the Himalayan Mountains helped him or Mr. Abdul Huq's informative yet enlightening talk straightened this thoughts.

During his flight back, looking out of the Window, above the clouds, Prajwal knows he didn't find answers nor did he find the meaning of life.
He now realizes meaning of life, encounter with God, understanding of Life are all experiential and each of us have to believe in our own Truths.
Instead of contradicting and being confused, Prajwal realized it is a life time experience that can teach him lessons, can meet his idea of God and the answers & conclusions might again be altered as he comes across new experiences in life.
Prajwal also realized life is not always binaries, as in his Software world. He learnt to live with the superficial & perceived Truths, artificial & materialistic world.