RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD--IN RHYME---Part 5 --HINDUISM

This is the poem I'm most proud of.  To digest a vast religion like Hinduism and dare to summarize the gist of it into a short poem was my most ambitious project. To test my accuracy, I sent it to a Hindu teacher and asked if I'd gotten it right. He wrote back and congratulated me and said yes.
I (modestly) believe that the 5th verse of this poem is the most condensed theology ever written as it states in 11 words the essence of nearly all religious belief: That eternity is acting in time.

Hinduism

Only one thing has ever existed:

Hindu’s call it Brahma.

The universe is Brahma “dreaming.”

Hindus call this “cosmic drama.”

All the stars and all the planets,

Real and solid as they seem,

At their core are purest spirit;

Grand illusion, Brahma’s dream.

Thus the universe is Brahma’s

Grand and cosmic stage

Where He’s playing all the parts,

Directing, writing every page.

The play began at zero

With the bang of cosmic shatter.

In a billion fleeing galaxies

Spirit “descended” into matter.

Omnipotence--self-limited,

Oneness--multiplied,

Omniscience--went to dimness,

Omnipresence--localized.

In breathtaking cosmic self-deception;

He put divinity “on the shelf”;

To go adventuring in time

Simply to amuse Himself.

Somewhat like the king who,

Bored with endless royal pomp,

Slips into a pauper’s clothes

To enjoy an earthy romp.

There were things He yearned to do,

Commonplace with you and me,

Simple finite earthy things,

Impossible in eternity:

Like risk, make love, learn and grow,

Strive and fail, hurt and cry,

Do great evil, be redeemed,

Live a life, be born and die.

So Brahma put Himself “to sleep”

In an act of Godly scheming,

And dreams a dream so cleverly,

That He does not know He’s dreaming.

Our galaxy is Brahma whirling;

He hides inside a trillion lives,

Enjoying bold performances,

Creativity and surprise.

He is the cobra and the mongoose;

He is the innocent child at play.

He’s everything both good and evil;

He’s both predator and prey.

Both tragedy and triumph are

Equal fun in Brahma’s eyes.

It’s all a game of let’s pretend;

No one ever really dies.

When our bodies die, we are reborn,

Shortly back into the game.

And our new body is what we’ve earned

With deeds of good or shame.

Our duty’s to play the role we’re “in,”

With all the courage that we’ve got,

With depth of feeling and fervent passion

Like the actor George C. Scott.

You and I are Brahma conscious,

Dim and flickering though it be,

And when I look you in the eye,

It’s Brahma looking back at me.

Once you knowthat God is you,

You are free to enjoy the game.

Or you can opt yourself right out;

Return to Brahma whence you came.

The thousand gods that Hindus worship

Are merely aspects of the one,

As a thousand rainbows are

Reflections of a single sun.

Since life is drama, Hindus can answer

The toughest theological knot:

Why is there evil in the world?

Why, just to thicken the plot!

Curiously, Hindus believe that history

Rolls faster and faster downhill.

What began as splendid perfection

Decays to the darkest of ill.

The universe will end in chaos.

Our world will vanish like steam.

As matter dissolves into spirit

When Brahma wakes up from his dream.

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:  Einstein's idea that matter creates space and that time is relative to speed is considered the most subtle thought that humanity has produced.  I agree---and I propose that the second most subtle thought was this GUESS at what existence might be all about.  The Baghavad Gita has dazzled thinkers all over the world.  I have attempted to boil it down to these 21 verses.

Sadly, most Indians know almost nothing about the religion they profess---any more than Christians know theirs.  They are caught up in superstition and magic like all the others. No better--no worse.

That we do not know the purpose--if any--of existence is a bitter pill for all of us to swallow.  Only the brave can do it.  ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE SWALLOWED THE PILL CAN LEGITIMATELY SPECULATE.  All others are brainwashed and cowardly believers--who will wreck our world (overpopulation, crazy, frozen ethics, pretensions to certainty, taliban-like fanaticism) if reason does not prevail.

After you have swallowed the bitter pill--you can legitimately speculate. It is a fun and perhaps psychologically useful thing to do. The Baghavad Gita is the most elegant speculation to date.  Far better than Christianity.  So If you feel the need for a WHY to your life---try this theory on.  It is a happy why-in the big picture.  And it has a plausible answer the question of why is there evil in the world, (verse 19)