MAN’S POSITION IN THE UNIVERSE
The principle underlying the proper relationship between God and man is this: Man’s freedom ends where God’s domain begins.
Social reformers and thinkers have concerned themselves with the relationship between one man and another. This relation is this: Every man is free as long as his freedom does not impinge on or interferes with the freedom of others. This concept can be conveyed through the following story:
It is said that when America won political independence from Britain, a man came out of his house, wanting to celebrate his ‘freedom’. So he went out into the streets, waving his hands in glee. Then, suddenly, his hand hit another man’s nose. The second man got angry and said, “What foolishness is this? Why did you hit my nose?” The first man replied, “Today, America is free, and now I can do anything I like!” The second man retorted, “Brother, America may be free now, but your freedom ends where my nose begins.”
This story clarifies the moral principle regulating the relationship between one person and another. However, as far as the issue of the relationship between man and God is concerned, man has not been able to properly discover it through his efforts.
This is no complex matter. The principle of the proper relationship between one man and another tells us something about the appropriate relationship between man and God. In light of the principle mentioned above, it can be said that the principle underlying the proper relationship between God and man is this: Man’s freedom ends at the point where God’s domain begins.
In this world, all the things man has received are God’s gifts. All items are obtained by man only because they have been given to him by God. The same is true of freedom as well. In this world, man’s freedom is a blessing or gift from God. It is known that a gift brings a corresponding responsibility with it. In line with this general principle, man’s freedom is tied to a necessary obligation, which is that man should use his freedom responsibly and correctly. He should not misuse it.
The improper use of this freedom is to believe that this freedom is man’s right, that he is the master of this freedom. He begins to think, “I will use this freedom as I please, following my desires. I do not have to ask anyone how I should use my freedom.”
Contrary to this, the right way to use this freedom is that man should try to discover whom he has obtained this freedom from. And then, man should find out what the Giver of this freedom intends by giving it to him and how he should use this freedom, and act accordingly. This discovery makes man aware of the proper use of the freedom he enjoys.
The right and wrong use of human freedom is not a mystery. Any person, if he is sincere, can discover this fact. But, to discover any truth, the seriousness of purpose is necessary. Therefore, seriousness is also required to find out this law of freedom.
The person who reflects on this question with seriousness will discover a criterion inside every person for distinguishing between right and wrong present in him by birth. With his natural awareness, every person can know which action is right and which is not. This criterion is called ‘the conscience’. Another name for it is ‘common sense’.
In this way, man can learn what to do and what not to do by listening to the voice of his conscience. It is as if every person’s conscience is his guide for him. Inside every person, this warner is present. Experience tells us that this element is never inactive. It never allows man to be heedless. It never makes a mistake in carrying out its duties.
By birth itself, within every person, a specific, powerful emotion is present. It is the emotion of acknowledgement. Every person can personally experience this. Through his conscience or common sense, every person knows that he ought to acknowledge people’s kindness. Man’s internal guide recognises this acknowledgement as a lofty ethical virtue. Acknowledgement is a high level of righteousness, while a lack of acknowledgement indicates insincerity. In this sense, a person who acknowledges others, maintains his status as a human, while someone who does not falls from that status.
In the same way, the decision of the conscience or common sense is also accurate about the Creator. In line with his nature’s voice, every person should acknowledge his Creator. He should acknowledge the manifold blessings of his Creator—all that he owes to Him. He should consciously recognise and be grateful for all that His Creator has given him. He should feel this in his heart and openly announce it through his tongue. Acknowledging God is in accordance with human nature, while non-acknowledgement deviates from it.
In the same way, every person experiences that his conscience is a moral criterion that, at every opportunity, is bearing witness. When a person lies, his conscience scolds him. On the contrary, if he speaks the truth, it becomes a means for him to feel at ease. The conscience knows injustice to be always evil and justice to be always good. The conscience expresses its displeasure with dishonesty and its satisfaction with honesty. The conscience knows violence to be inhumane and peace to be good. The conscience knows hate to be wrong and love to be a blessing. The conscience rebuts anger and hails forgiveness.
In the same way, when man surveys the world around him, he finds that besides him, all creatures are firmly bound by the law of their Creator. From the seas and the lands to the vast skies, all creatures are, in perfect discipline, doing just what they have been made to do by the Creator. No creature, big or small, deviates even a fraction of an inch from this discipline. From the minerals, the plants, and the animals of the Earth to the stars and planets in space, all things are bound by this universal discipline.
The Creator has established this discipline in the universe. Moreover, this discipline is desirable for men, too. Therefore, like the rest of the universe, man should become part of this universal discipline. However, there is one big difference—the rest of the things in the universe are compulsorily bound by this universal discipline, while man should voluntarily choose to abide by it in spite of having freedom of choice.
For example, all the planets in the solar system revolve around the sun. In the same way, man should accept God as his focus or center and establish his life around Him. Nothing in this world is stagnant. Here, everything is in constant motion. The universe is like a vast factory, constantly moving, but we see no sound, smoke, or pollution here. In the same way, man’s actions should be such that they do not cause any pollution—moral corruption, strife, hate, and the like.
Likewise, in the universe, everything is established to benefit others. Everything is engaged in beneficial action, from the shining sun to the flowing rivers, from the lush green trees to the cool breeze, from the mountains to the seas, from radiant flowers to busy insects. Every component of this vast universe is a unilateral giver. In the same way, man should plan his life in this world in such a manner that he becomes beneficial to others. Every person should be of benefit to other people and other creatures of God.
In the same way, the study tells us that man always thinks of a particular result and then plans the course of action to seek to obtain this result. Man’s thinking is result-oriented. He wants to engage only in that action that produces his desired result. Man’s nature is such that he is reluctant to engage in any activity that does not create the desired result. Human nature demands that man plan the course of his life, in the broader sense, under this principle. In the same way, as in the pre-death phase of his life, man plans his actions based on the results he seeks; in the post-death period too, he should make the result the criterion. He should organise his activities in the pre-death phase of his life in a way that benefit him in the post-death phase of his life.
The system of this world is divided into ‘today’ and ‘tomorrow’, the present and the future. Other than man, all the creatures in this world act in the present. They have no concept of life other than ‘today’ or the present. The word ‘tomorrow’ is found only in the dictionary of man.
This difference is a sort of message to us from nature. In this difference, nature is exhorting man not to focus on (or remain concerned only with) his ‘today’ but to keep his ‘tomorrow’ in front of him and accordingly plan his life. The success of other creatures lies in obtaining only what they need ‘today’. However, man’s success is that he should be successful not just today (that is, in the life before death) but also tomorrow (that is, in the life after death). Man’s success lies in obtaining the best place in the eternal world after death.
