Mystery (contd...)

Exact knowledge is not possible for yet another reason. There are many things which we cannot see as they are, but as they were in the distant past. Yet in human terms, one can imagine the mystery of the universe as a hide-and-seek game of lovers, who hide only to be sought, and for this purpose, give clues to the seeker in signs, signals and speeches which may be cryptic yet capable of conveying a meaningful message.

Though man is an integral part or the universe - undoubtedly the test and the most reverential, there is a veil between the two. This illusion is certainly not permanent, and breaks down when he has developed sufficient vision to see through it. It is like standing at the bank of a shallow murky pond and keep wondering about its depth, for having no courage to fathom it. But, when one becomes sufficiently interested and feels inclined to take a plunge into it, one finds the truth about it with amazing ease.

Many a time is greater the pleasure, which accrues from mounting a search for something than the delight of chance-finding it. It is so, simply to maintain the dignity and value of effort. Apart from the factors already mentioned, nature makes sure that exact certainty and predictability form no part of the universal make-up.

In fact, what makes our cosmos so mysterious is the process of birth and death. The Hindu tradition in this connection states that it is the nature of the universe to evolve, devolve and re-evolve after an interval called a Kalpa. This mathematical fact was also described in a parable by Lord Buddha of India; he said: "every century there comes an old man to polish, with a handkerchief of the test Benares silk, a mountain that is higher and more concrete than the Himalayas. After one Kalpa the mountain will be worn down to the level of the sea."

Of all mysteries, life itself is the greatest. It is amazing that rocks, despite being made of atoms, cannot move or communicate, but man, who is also composed of atoms, can walk, talk, think, will, argue and invent. Thus, stone is considered lifeless but man is classed alive. What is the secret of life! How can inanimate things like atoms act as the fountain of life? Life is obviously dormant in atoms though one cannot trace any sign of life in the behavior or chemical properties of the constituting atoms. The higher the intelligent life rises the greater becomes the mystery.

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