God in Two Minutes - A Summary
This is a summary of my book "God in Two Minutes" (Amazon). The summary has a US Copyright. The book is a re-look at God and religion as never before. It cuts across
religions and challenges some of our strongest beliefs. When beliefs like
the flat-earth theory have been proved wrong, is it not possible that some
of our deepest faiths today may prove to be myths? Click here to preview the book at Amazon.
[This summary of my book was published in a reputed thinkers' website Besthinking.com which is closed now but available in archives. You can read it herebelow, or read in archives. (Archives may be slow to load). Some links on this page may not work.
The site was closed after Trump's election as US president due to "unprecedented polarization and antagonism"! (Click to see details why closed).]
image courtesy:bestthinking.com
A 'Pseudo-Scientific' but Objective Re-look at God and Religion
Foreword
This article is an abstract of my e-book titled " God in Two Minutes " (downloadable at Amazon.com). Though the book describes the concepts in much greater details with very simple illustrations, examples and diagrams, this is an attempt to summarize a difficult subject. Difficult not because the concept is difficult to grasp, but because it addresses a topic which one cannot help but read through the colored glasses of our deep rooted belief system. This is a topic which is close to our heart, and also the root of the strongest human conditioning. The book provides a completely new look at god and religion, and our strong religious conditioning may make it difficult to accept an alternate view.
With due respect to your beliefs, it is my humble request to read with an open mind, and get ready for a completely fresh look. Keep observing your thoughts as you read this - and whenever the skeptic in you says "not possible" based on your current religious belief, push yourself to be as open to a fresh look as possible.
What I have discussed in the book is not science, not religion, nor 'heavy' philosophy. It is plain and simple common sense.
The topic of religion is very relevant today when religious fanaticism has shaken the world. In a world divided by religion, this book is important to you and to every human being. You may say, "I am very open minded. I am not against other religions, so I do no harm to the world when I follow my faith". Do you know that your very private beliefs too contribute to dividing the world? Do you know that YOU need to do something about this religious divide? If you love your children and want to gift them a better world, YOU NEED TO WAKE UP AND ACT NOW.
The book addresses the fundamental causes which have led to the great religious divide. It can help root out religious fanaticism from this world and make the world a much better place to live in.
The book is an attempt to explore the mysteries of the Spiritual World, and to find an answer to the question "What is God and Religion?" It is more an inquiry than an answer to this question. This piece does not purport to be a research paper on the subject of God and religion, and no claim is made of any proof for the arguments presented. Though we begin by examining "what is god", the purpose of this piece is not to explain the concept of God and religion, but to indicate what it is NOT.
Our Two Worlds
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We all are familiar with the physical world that we live in. Our physical world is the world of objects that we see with our eyes. But is that the only world that we live in. Actually, we live in two worlds - the physical world and the mental world. The mental world is the world of our thoughts and emotions, a world within our minds. While the physical world is the same for all, the mental world is very personal and unique for each one of us. Whereas the physical world is static and we move around in the physical world, the mental world moves along with us. We carry our mental world wherever we go.
There was a time when all unknown phenomena of the physical world were explained using god. Who or what causes rain? Rain god. Wind? Wind god. Thunder was supposed to be the gods bowling. Gods and devils explained the eclipse.
Physical Science and mathematics helped explain most of the physical phenomena of the physical world like not just rain and wind, but also gravitational force, earth’s rotation and revolution and many more complex physical phenomena. With evolution of physical science, we stopped using gods and devils to explain the physical world.
But the mental world still remained in the dark. Physical science and mathematics failed miserably to explain the phenomena of the mind and of the mental world like happiness and misery, success and failure, etc.
What helped explain the physical world was a simple model devised by physical science - the humble 3-dimensional space with x, y, and z axes. (Fig. 1.1)
Fig 1.1: Physical Space
We all learnt at school that the physical world is represented by a three dimensional space (Fig. 1.1). The three dimensions of the physical space are represented by x, y, z axes (distances in x, y and z directions). An object occupies a unique position in this space, which is represented by point P in the figure and by values of a, b, and c on the x, y and z axes.
Similarly, I believe that our mental world too can be represented by a mental space. At at any given time, we occupy a unique position in this space.
The mental space is a multi-dimensional space where the axes are our various feelings like love, fear, hope, faith, courage, etc. (In Fig. 1.2 we have chosen only 3 dimensions for simplicity and for ease of comparison with the model of physical 3-dimensional space). Our position in the mental space can be defined by how much we measure on the feelings axes.
Fig 1.2: Mental /Spiritual Space
Just as an object in the physical space has a potential energy, all of us humans are endowed with immense mental energy, which depends on our position in the mental space.
In Fig 1.1, an object at point P in Physical space (Fig 1.1) is associated with a unique potential energy which depends on its position, or how much it measures on the x, y and z axes. Similarly, our mental energy depends on how much we measure on our various feelings. In other words, a person at point S in Mental Space (Fig. 1.2) has a unique mental energy, or a unique mental state. The probability of success in whatever we do depends on our mental energy at that time. Since our feelings change from time to time, our position in the mental space keeps changing, and so does our mental energy. Our changing mental energy with our ever-changing moods explains the inconsistency in our performance.
Fig. 1.2 may as well be the Model for the mental space.
In Fig. 1, when we put the two images side by side, the two spaces look quite similar. Together the two diagrams representing the physical and mental spaces make up our basic model which will help us to understand not only the concept of god but of religion and spirituality.
Fig 1.1: Physical Space
Fig 1.2: Mental /Spiritual Space
We are familiar with the Physical space and x,y,z coordinates. There is a similar mental space, the dimensions of which are our various feelings like love, fear, hope, faith, courage, etc. Just as we occupy a position in the physical space, we occupy a unique position in the mental space at any given time.
Used only with express written permission
Hence I call this the "Prem Spirituality Model" (Fig. 1). Prem means love in most of the Indian languages, and love is a very important component of spirituality and high mental level. Hence the name. (Please click here to read my paper on Prem Spirituality Model presented at an International Conference on Spirituality and Peace)
What is God?
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Just as there are high potential energy points in the physical space, I believe that there are very high energy zones in the mental space too. Attaining God is nothing but reaching these high-energy zones in the mental space. These are zones where the measure of confidence, love, faith, hope, etc. is extremely high and you can be in an extremely powerful state of mind. This is where Buddha reached, and so did Christ, Mohammed and Mahavir. We will refer to these zones as "God zones". (Fig. 2.2)
Fig. 2.1: To move from A to B in Physical Space, physics & mathematics tell us what force to apply at what angle φ
Fig. 2.2: In the Mental Space, we are in the dark as to how to move from a low energy position A to high energy position B that Buddha reached
Used only with express written permission
In the physical space (Fig. 2.1), if we have to move a body from point A to point B, or from low energy to high energy, we know what force is required, and at what angle φ we need to apply that force. What made it possible is Mathematics. Man devised a miraculous language of mathematics to conquer the physical space. I call it a 'language' because it helped us to define, explain the phenomena of physical space and to communicate ideas related to physical science. After the discovery of Mathematics, man has mastered the laws of the physical space and has come a long way from the days of apeman. However, we are still apemen so long as the mental space is concerned. We know nothing about the laws of this space (Fig. 2.2). We do not know how to reach the god zones.
While the language of mathematics describes the laws of physical space precisely, it fails miserably in the mental space. What is required is possibly a new language, which I call Mentomatics, which will explain the laws of mental space. Before mathematics was devised, laws of physical space were as much a mystery as the laws of mental space are today without Mentomatics.
To reach the moon you have to fire your rocket at a specific angle with a specific force. If you were to explain how to reach the moon without a mathematical language, some of your followers would reach Mars, some would crash-land on the moon, some would be lost in the space and some would not take off at all. Only one in a million million would reach the moon.
In the absence of a Mentomatical language, some people have tried to explain how to reach the high-energy zones of mental space, or to reach 'God'. It is no wonder that only one in several millions like Buddha, Mohammed, Christ, etc. could reach the destination and the rest of us were left groping.
I believe that in the olden days there were extremely learned sages (saints) who reached dizzy heights in the mastery of spiritual learning. Unlike physical science for the study of which you use sophisticated instruments and gadgets, the study of spiritual science or spirituality required nothing but your mind and body (and of course, a lot of time to meditate). As a result, the ancient sages had acquired advanced knowledge of spiritual science and had mastered the art of reaching god zones. They could attain high mental energy levels, but in the absence of a language like Mentomatics, they could not explain to the common man how they did so in the absence of Mentomatics. In order to explain to the man in a language that he could understand in those days, they created the concept of God. They said God gave them the energy. They gave 'God' a physical human shape because that is all that common man understood then.
The common man is far advanced today and understands the basics of physical science. He is in a position to understand abstract concepts like energy and force which the ancient common man could not have imagined in the wildest of his imagination. Hence, I have the liberty to explain to you the concept of God with an analogy of abstract concepts like forces and energy, a liberty which the ancient saints did not have. Nevertheless, let me caution you that I am not using physical science to explain the concept of God - I am only drawing an analogy as an illustration. I know that today's physical science may not be able to explain it. You may need an all-new 'spiritual science' and a new language like mentomatics to explain it.
The concept of God was created by the ancient sages to help you to move closer to the high-energy zone from wherever you are in the mental space.
So what is the concept of God? It is a method, in fact a psychotherapy which helps you to get to a higher state of mind and to a higher mental energy, and closer to the god zone in the mental space. And where is God? If at all there is something called God, it is right within you. The high energy level that you can experience by reaching the high-energy zone is latent within you.
Why did we call this a psycho-therapeutic method? Because it works by increasing your faith in God and your love for God, and thereby raising your confidence and hope. So you move up in the mental space closer to the high-energy zones (fig. 2.2). It is the faith in God, and not God, that works for you. And it is not God who does it for you, you do it yourself. When you wear a ring with special stones that are believed to bring good luck to you, it is your faith in the miracle stone that helps you and not the stone itself. The book describes in much greater details and with simple illustrations how the methods of God and the miracle ring work.
So the concept of God is the current best available method to reach the high-energy zones. It may be slow, not very easy to follow, but it is the best available method today. I believe that a time will come when you would have a mentomatical method to reach high-energy state within minutes or seconds. You may be able to attain so called God in two minutes. Sounds ridiculous? But so would TV, radio, pistol, aircraft and computers (which are miracles of mathematical science) be unbelievable to an apeman.
What is Religion?
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Religion originated as a code of conduct - rules of social behavior and hygienic living. As time passed, the code of conduct got married to the concept of God.
In the olden days, there was a wide gap between the learned and the common man. I believe the elevated state of mind of the spiritual saints gives them special powers and wisdom to see what is beyond the reach of the uninitiated (possibly future science will unravel how that state of mind helps you tap the commonly inaccessible quantum properties of your brain!!). The learned sages probably knew about disease, what caused it and how to prevent it. They wished the welfare of the masses. They wished to create the norms of good social and hygienic behavior. But the big question was how could you convince ignorant people about hygienic practices like washing their hands as there were unseen germs. And how could you ensure compliance? The best way to ensure compliance was to tell the common man that such behavior pleases God, or in other words, God says so. The code of conduct got converted to the voice of God and Religion was born.
Religion is a result of a marriage of convenience between the code of conduct and the concept of God. While the purpose of the concept of god was to reach an elevated and powerful state of mind, the code of conduct or religion prescribed the rules of hygienic and community living. Most of the religious beliefs and rituals have a very scientific base. But there are two problems.
First, most of the rituals and rules have been distorted by touts and the half learned so called saints.
Secondly, the norms and rules were important in those days, but may not be so relevant today with the advancement of science, particularly the science of hygiene and medicine. Conditions have changed, technology has changed, but we still believe in the age old rituals without having a fresh look.
Flawed Method - Need for a Fresh Look
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We re-engineer business processes today, where we re-assess the relevance of the age-old processes with respect to the current tools and technology available today. Similarly, there is a serious need to 're-engineer' religion.
As stated, the norms and rules were relevant in those days, but redundant today with the advances in science. In spite of remarkable advancement in science and technology, we still believe in the age old rituals without having a fresh look.
What stops us from having a fresh look at religious rules and rituals? We saw that 'faith' was a very important component for this psycho-therapeutic method to be effective. There lies the real catch. You must have faith in the concept of God and religion to benefit from it. The more you believe in the method, the more it will work for you. But faith can also blind you - the more faith you have, the less you will question the rules. And blind faith has led to a serious side effect.
The most disastrous side effect of this psycho-therapeutic method was that multiple religions sprang up and so did religious conflicts. It is possible that Buddha, Mohammed and Christ reached the same high-energy zones. They all tried to explain how they reached there. All of them may have followed the same path, but in the absence of a precise Mentomatical language, we understood them as different paths and created several religions.
The over-dependence of faith in this method is the double edged sword which has led to religious extremism. Faith can be blinding. That is the greatest flaw in the method and there also lies the catch. The method may have worked for individuals, but clearly it has not worked for the world as a whole. It is said that today there are more deaths due to religious conflicts than due to all natural calamities put together. Clearly, there is a need to look for a better method.
If man had closed his eyes and said that walking is the only way to move from one place to another, he would never have invented the cars. If he had said that moving along land is the only way, he would not have invented aeroplanes.
Similarly we can find a way to reach the god zones, a way that will be several times faster than today's methods of religion.
To me Mentomatics seems to be the key to our understanding of the spiritual world. The beginning of our study of the physical world was made when we devised a way to measure the different parameters of the physical world like distance, weight or mass and time. When we could represent them in numbers, there came the beginning of Mathematics. Physical laws could be explained by mathematics only when we devised ways to measure distances, mass and velocity.
Similarly for the spiritual laws to be explained with Mentomatics, we need to first devise methods to measure the various parameters of the Spiritual world, namely the various feelings like love, confidence, hatred, etc. That could open the doors to the realm of mentomatical rules and the formulas governing the spiritual law. That could open the doors to the Spiritual World!
Like mathematics led to the development of Classical physics and Quantum sciences, mentomatics will lead to the discovery of Spiritual Science. And as quantum physics explained not only the laws of classical physics of slow moving items but also explained the laws of fast moving particles of the physical world, spiritual science will not only explain the laws of spiritual world but will also encompass the laws of classical and quantum physics.
Spiritual science will develop advanced 'mentomatical' explanations for the spiritual phenomenon and will provide easy tools for the common man to attain spirituality. There will be methods available to realize "God-in-two-minutes" or instant spirituality. Sounds stupid? So would thoughts of television and aircraft sound stupid to an apeman. And we are no more than apemen in the realm of spiritual world.
I can foresee a world united again, a world where man will not be divided by religion. Religion will be 'scientifically' explained and we will see that there is only one so called 'God' present in the form of an energy within each one of us. Man will see his folly.
You have read about barbarians who lived on earth years ago who killed one another for food. Several years from now, people will say, "Once upon a time, there lived barbarians on this earth who believed in different religions and they killed their fellow beings in the name of God."
The e-book " God in Two Minutes" discusses the Prem Spirituality Model in greater details and explains with examples why feelings have been chosen as the axes of the mental space. It describes with simple illustrations and examples how the concept of God and religion may have originated and how exactly the psychotherapy of god and religion works to benefit us. The book also reveals the biggest flaw in this method and the big mistake of mankind due to which this wonderful method, which was devised for our well-being, has actually led us to conflicts, divisions and miseries. The book can be downloaded at Amazon.com. To preview the book at Amazon, click here.
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Reader's Comments at Bestthinking.com
I enjoied and appriciate the thoughts presented here but must ask and comment, from my point of view, about a couple of things.
What you are referring to as mentomatics. If I am understanding, it is an easier to comprehend explanation of religion to attain a higher understanding and level of God.
It seems that, even with the multitude of religions we have today that if we were to be self aware and make a pure commitment to learn that possibly we, just as Buddah, Christ, Moses and the others you have mentioned could attain a higher spirtuality, level of God.
I feel that the men you gave examples of had to have learned what they did from a source close and relevant to their level of understanding when they started their journies into spirituality. Wouldn't this have been to them what you now are referring to as mentomatics?
I agree that we have a wide spectrum of religious beliefs that confuse many and cause anger and even war amongst ourselves, but hasn't that been occuring since nearly the start of known time? The Ra worshiping Egyptians held Isrealites as slaves because they came from different heritages, beleiving different things. At the time of Christ (as well as before and after) the Romans had their religious beleifs and within Isreal was the seperation of the pharisees and sadducees all arguing that they were the ones with the direct link to ones salvation. Man has always argued over politics and religion.
In searching for an individuals belief of a higher source, power, you give an example of when one wears a luck ring because of the stone it holds being able to bring that luck. I completely agree with you that it is not the stone that brings the luck but the individuals belief that they have a "luck" with them, yet isn't that individual placing that belief in an actual physical object and not an imaginary stone in an imaginary ring? I bring this up as I feel that the higher source, the level of God, is not just an awareness but the belief in an actual, physical source, entity. I do not want to feel that I have devoted my spirituality to an inadimate object or thought (graven image).
It seems that if we were to become more aware of who-ever, what-ever, the higher source is that we would be more concerned for the welfare of our comrades rather than trying to keep up with and out do the joneses by malice and contempt, reguardless of what we may call or refer to that higher souce as. Granted, a unity would be most beneficial but re-designing religion, that seems to me like one would be re-inventing the wheel.
Thank you very much for your comments. While I will post a point by point reply soon, my immediate response is that several of your questions may be answered in my book "God in Two Minutes" (of which this piece was a summary) which I invite you to read at Amazon.com (Also available in your local currency at your country's website of Amazon.)
I appreciate your openness. It is difficult to come out of our strong belief system and discuss the way you have done.
Kirtney,
Here is my point by point reply as promised:
What are you referring to as mentomatics? If I am understanding, it is an "easier-to-comprehend" explanation of religion to attain a higher understanding and level of God.
Attaining God is nothing but attaining a particular state of mind or reaching a mental energy state. In the physical space, a body can have a low and high energy. It is mathematics and physics which allows you to move a body from a low energy state to a high energy state in the physical space. Mentomatics, like mathematics, is that something which will help you to move from a low mental energy state to a high energy state with precision and in minutes. In other words, it will help you to attain in minutes what we call God today. It is difficult to explain Mentomatics today, just as a pre-maths era human being would find it impossible to explain Mathematics. Mentomatics is an imaginary concept to explain something which is missing today but will be developed one day, and which will explain the laws of Spiritual science like mathematics explained the laws of Physical science. The concept of God and Religion will be explained.
I know it is difficult to imagine a concept like Mentomatics. In my presentations I use a method which I call the "Time Swing Method". The method involves swinging back in time to the stone age, imagining yourself to be there, then coming back in time to today and finally swinging forward into the future. This last will be a flight of fancy into the future but on a trajectory defined by your flight from the stone age to today.
It seems that, even with the multitude of religions we have today that if we were to be self aware and make a pure commitment to learn that possibly we, just as Buddah, Christ, Moses and the others you have mentioned could attain a higher spirituality, level of God.
Yes, I believe that each of us can attain that higher spirituality level, or attain God. As stated, attaining God is nothing but attaining a state of mind. There are methods today to attain that state of mind, but I call them bullock cart methods because they are slow and also inaccurate. They may work for some and may not for others because all the dependent parameters are not known today. My proposition is that we will have a jet age method to reach that state of mind in seconds and with precision once Mentomatics is developed.
I feel that the men you gave examples of had to have learned what they did from a source close and relevant to their level of understanding when they started their journies into spirituality. Wouldn't this have been to them what you now are referring to as mentomatics?
I look at mentomatics more as a language, like mathematics, to denote where they reached and explain how they reached there. They reached those high energy states but did not have a language to explain how they did it. They tried to explain without the language of mentomatics, and we misunderstood most of what they said. If you try to explain how to reach the moon without the help of mathematics, you may not be able to do so, and if at all you do, you are sure to be misunderstood.
I agree that we have a wide spectrum of religious beliefs that confuse many and cause anger and even war amongst ourselves, but hasn't that been occurring since nearly the start of known time? ….Man has always argued over politics and religion.
If we look at the history of physical science, we get answers to several questions. We were arguing for ages that the earth is flat. What made it clear without doubt is maths and physics, which not only gave us explanations and models, but also allowed us to go out in the space and see the earth to believe that it is round.
Today we are arguing over religion and God. I am confident that a time will come when it will be crystal clear that there is no god and no religion, only a spiritual state of mind to be attained, and there will be accurate means to achieve that state of mind. Mentomatics will usher in the spiritual revolution.
... yet isn't that individual placing that belief in an actual physical object and not an imaginary stone in an imaginary ring? I bring this up as I feel that the higher source, the level of God, is not just an awareness but the belief in an actual, physical source, entity. I do not want to feel that I have devoted my spirituality to an inanimate object or thought (graven image).
Whoever you believe in, whether physical or inanimate, it still works. Finally it is the belief and the faith that works.
Granted, a unity would be most beneficial but re-designing religion, that seems to me like one would be re-inventing the wheel.
On the contrary there is need to re-engineer religion as we re-engineer businesses. Businesses need to obliterate current processes in order to re-engineer. Enough of the bullock cart method, now I need a jet age method to reach that state of mind. We have been locked or captivated by our thoughts not to think beyond our current method. I want to break free and believe that there is a jet age method. Only then can I start to look for it, or else I will be in my complacent and hypnotized state for ever believing that I have the best and the only available method.
I discuss this issue at some length in my book "In Pursuit of Joy". I believe that much work has already been done on what you call "mentomatics" but I call recovery. I agree that each person has God within them. However I have to say I believe that God is more than that. Like many Native Americans I believe that Spirit is present in all things. I agree that broader understanding of how to reach the Divine within has the potential to change the world for the better. I am concerned about your notion that spiritual awakening can be achieved in an instant. The path to spiritual awakening is fairly well known and I believe that attempted short-cuts lead to heart-ache at best and disaster at worst. My suggestion is keep looking for answers, for the search in itself has value--and above all, keep an open mind.
Thank you, Gary, for your feedback. I visited your sites and blogs related to "In pursuit of Joy". Wonderful work.
This extract from my book "God in Two Minutes" exactly addresses your concern:
"A few decades back, the only way to move was to walk. If man had closed his eyes and said that walking is the only way to move from one place to another, he would never have invented cars. If he had said that moving along land is the only way, he would not have invented airplanes."
To address your concern about attempting to move fast in the spiritual space ("attempted short-cuts lead to heart-ache at best and disaster at worst"), we go back to the time when walking was the only way to commute. Your statement is equivalent to saying, "Don't run too fast, you will hurt yourself and end up in disaster". But to move fast, we did not run faster, instead, we invented cars and aircraft. I agree with you that attempting to move fast in the spiritual space with the current methods may end up in disaster. But what if we invent new methods? I believe that a fast and yet safe 'jet-age' method to move quickly to new spiritual heights is possible and will be a reality, just the way it happened in the physical space.
People of the past could not have imagined that man would fly some day. Similarly, today we cannot think of instant methods for spiritual awakening. But looking at our leap from the ground to the air in the physical space, a flight into spiritual space is a distinct possibility. It is important that we do not close our eyes and minds.