Book Discussion - The God of All Things

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 17

They were sitting on comfortable white sofas in an airconditioned
room, sipping lemonade. There was a
Hindi movie going on and they were all watching it with
interest. Nobody except Dr. Singh understood Hindi, but
that was okay. They could follow the story by reading the
English sub-titles.

It was odd. Entertainment was the last thing they expected
at that retreat. But they were glad. It was a nice
break from all the serious thinking and contemplation
exercises that had rattled their brains for the past few days.

The name of the movie they were watching was Dilwale
Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. It was the story of a young girl
named Simran who is dismayed to learn that her father had
arranged her marriage with his friend’s son in India. She
asks her father to let her go on a month long holiday on the
Euro-rail with her friends before she goes to India to marry
a man who she had never seen or met in her entire life. Her
father is very strict, but he agrees. On the train, she meets
Raj, a guy who is also on holiday with his friends. The two
of them fall in love. Simran’s father comes to know about
this. In a rage he informs his entire family that they are
leaving for India the next day. Raj then goes to India to find
his beloved Simran and bring her back to England. But his
task is difficult because everyone is preparing for Simran’s
wedding. Simran’s mother soon discovers that Raj and
Simran love each other. But she also knows that her husband
would never accept Raj. She tells Raj and Simran to
run away. At this point, Dr. Singh stopped the movie.

“I want you to listen carefully to what Raj says,” he said.
“He is about to speak about a universal Truth and it is
important for you to take note of it.”

He pressed the play button.

Raj was saying to Simran’s mother. “When I was a little
boy, my mother passed away. Whatever I am today is mainly
because of her. She said to me, “Son, in your journey of life
you will come upon many turns and cross-roads. The wrong
road will be the one that will be easy. It will be very attractive
and pleasing. You will be drawn towards it. While the
other road which is the right road, will be hard. Bear in
mind son, that if you take this road, you may face a lot of
difficulties and hardships in the beginning, but ultimately it is
by walking on this road alone that you will win.” Raj did not
want to run away with Simran. He felt that it was the wrong
road to take.

They watched the movie till the end. Amy was clapping
her hands because she was so overjoyed that Simran and
Raj got together at last. It was a happy ending and they
were all smiles. To Richard, this was unusual entertainment.
He had never watched a Hindi movie before.

“Most extraordinary!” he thought.

They all looked relaxed and pleased.

Henry got them all some more lemonade.

“I hope you enjoyed the movie,” said Dr. Singh. “I watch
Hindi movies quite frequently. But not for entertainment,
though I must say that these movies are certainly very
gripping.”

“Not for entertainment?” Marie was puzzled.

“Yea,” said Dr. Singh. “There are many lessons we can
learn from watching them. For example, that dialogue
between Raj and Simran’s mother. Did you take note of it?”

“Actually I have written down some notes on that,” said
Marie.

“Let’s hear what you’ve written,” said Dr. Singh.

“There are two roads to take. One is the wrong road and
the other is the right road. The wrong road is easy, the right
one is hard. The one who takes the right road will win in the
end,” Marie read out.

“Very good,” said Dr. Singh. “I hope that makes it pretty
apparent why Truth is so bitter for many people?”

“I know!” said Andrew. “The right road to take is the
path of Truth, and that road is full of hardships and difficulties.
So that’s why Truth is so bitter for many people. They
don’t like to take the hard road.”

“Yes,” said Richard. “It makes so much sense now.
There’s only one way that leads to real success and that’s
the way of Truth. Anyone who takes the wrong way cannot
expect to win.”

“You know,” said Jim thoughtfully. “There isn’t just one
way that is going in the wrong direction. There are thousands
and millions of them. Only one way is the right way to
go.”

Dr. Singh nodded his head appreciatively. “Sharp observation
there, Jim. Very good!”

Martha wanted some words of appreciation as well.

“Truth is bitter for another reason,” she said. “Truth
won’t change. It remains the way it is whether you like it or
not. And you can’t have an opinion about it either.”

“Marvelous!” cried Dr. Singh. “You have hit it right on
the button. People hate the Truth because it won’t change.
Very good!”

Martha felt as if she was on cloud nine.

“Truth and untruth can never be the same,” said Dr.
Singh. “Truth will not change. It remains the way it is. It
will not become what you want it to be. On the other hand,
untruth keeps changing. Untruth is whatever you want it to
be. If you don’t like it, you can always change it to fit your
view of things.”

“I never knew so much about Truth like I do now,” said
Richard. “I think more people should attend this retreat.”

“Most people are just not interested in learning about the
Truth,” said Henry matter-of-factly.

“It’s such a shame!” said Martha. She was really pleased
to have made it to the retreat and was sorry for all the
people who had not qualified.

“Most people don’t want to know what the Truth is,”
said Dr. Singh. “It is bitter after all. Who likes swallowing a
bitter pill? And talk about bitter, does anyone know which is
the bitterest Truth of all?”

“Ah, you mean that bitter Truth that everyone flees from
like frightened rabbits?” chuckled Henry.

Dr. Singh nodded. “Yep. It’s a bitter piece of Truth that
people don’t like to think about. It terrifies them.”

“I know what it is,” said Richard quietly. “There is
nothing more terrifying than the thought of death. Am I
right?”

Dr. Singh smiled. “Yes, you are. People don’t like to
think about dying. So they don’t think about it at all. Until it
comes to them suddenly.”

Richard nodded. He was at the retreat for no other
reason than to know more about this mysterious phenomenon.
The thought of death terrified him, that was true. And
he had always evaded thinking about it all his life. Until the
doctor had broken the news to him that he hadn’t much
longer to live.

“I have a little story to tell you,” said Dr. Singh. “It has
to do with people’s attitude towards death.”

All of them leaned forward to hear the story.

“Once a man named Simon had a dream. He dreamed
that he was on a train. The train was traveling at full speed.
The passengers on the train were busy eating and drinking.
They were playing music at full blast and singing and dancing
and decorating their compartments with artistic drawings
and paintings. When the train stopped at various
stations many passengers bought things to make their trip
more comfortable. Simon saw that some people were very
wealthy, while others were not. But the same merry atmosphere
pervaded the entire train. Or so it seemed. He
walked from one coach to the next and saw all the people
were engaged in enjoying themselves. Suddenly, the train
entered a deep, dark tunnel. The doors opened and some
people were snatched away by some dark mysterious hands.
When the relatives of the people who were taken away saw
that they were no more, they wailed and cried. But soon
afterwards, they went back to their merry-making.”

“What a strange dream!” thought Marie.

Dr. Singh continued with his story. “The train stopped at
many tunnels and many more people were snatched away.
Simon was extremely scared. He decided to ask one of the
passengers what it all meant. “What are these mysterious
tunnels?” he asked. “Where are these people taken?” “Oh, I
don’t know where they go,” said the passenger. “I just
know that they come to get us at these tunnels.” “Do they
come to get you at any time?” asked Simon. “Oh yeah, they
can come any time to get you. I suggest you don’t think
about it,” was the reply, and the passenger went back to
playing cards.”

“Well, Simon was terrified. The train could stop any
moment at one of those dreaded tunnels and it could be his
turn to go! He wanted to know more about those tunnels.
So he kept looking for an answer. He went through many
coaches and was dismayed to find the same carefree attitude
in every coach. He decided to ask somebody a question. He
tapped one man on the shoulder. “Excuse me,” said Simon.
“Could you please tell me where this train is going?” “I
don’t know,” said the man. “And I don’t care!” He laughed
and offered Simon some beer.”

“Simon was of course very upset. What kind of attitude
was this!? He couldn’t understand how these people could
be so merry and so ignorant. He had never seen such incredibly
foolish people. And then he found one coach that was
different from the rest. The passengers in that coach didn’t
have many belongings. Their compartment was not decorated.
They wore no fine clothes but were dressed in simple
white attire. When the train stopped at a station, they would
purchase lots of straw, hay and grass. All of them read
books and seemed to be memorizing some instructions
given in them. “How odd!” thought Simon. “Excuse me,”
he said to one passenger clad in white. “Do you know
where this train is going? And what happens to people when
they are taken away at those dark, mysterious tunnels?” The
passenger nodded his head. “Yes, I know where this train is
going. And I also know what happens to those people at
those tunnels. We are actually preparing ourselves for
that.””

Dr. Singh paused for a few seconds. Then he continued
with a smile. “At this point, Simon was awakened from his
dream by the loud ringing of his alarm clock.”

“Aww!” cried Amy. “Now we’re never going to know
where that train was going or what those dark tunnels were
about!!”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Martha. “I think Dr. Singh has
made his point.”

Everyone except Amy could see the point. She looked at
them all extremely perplexed.

“Will anyone volunteer to explain the dream to Amy?”
asked Dr. Singh.

Richard turned and looked at Amy. “You see Amy, it is
really quite simple,” he said. “We are all on the train. Every
person on earth is on it. We are all going somewhere. And
most people don’t know where. The problem is not that
they don’t know where they are going. The problem is, they
don’t care.”

“In the story, you saw that the passengers on the train
were carefree and busy enjoying themselves. That’s how the
people of this world are. Well, most of them anyway. They
know that death can come to anyone at any time, but they
don’t want to think about it. Those tunnels are tunnels of
death. And anyone can be snatched away at any time. Simon
asks people questions. Where is the train going? What do
people say? They tell him they don’t know and they don’t
care!”

“And then he finds some people who do know where
they are going. These people are wearing white clothes and
purchasing straw, hay and grass. It’s not important why they
were collecting these things. It’s important that they knew
the answers to the questions that Simon was asking. It’s
important that they were preparing themselves for the time
when the tunnels would get them.”

“Oh!” cried Amy. “I understand! This dream is about
foolish people and clever people, isn’t it?”

“Foolish people and clever people?” Richard wondered
what she meant.

“Yes,” said Amy. “The foolish people are the ones who
don’t care. The clever people are the ones who do.”

----------End of Chapter 17-------------

 

[Flame of Hope]

Questions on chapter 17.

1. Do you feel that Dr. Singh was wrong to provide entertainment at the retreat? Would it have been better if he had simply continued with his lessons instead?

2. Was there anything of value that the students learned from the Hindi movie? Or was it a complete waste of time?

3. What do you think about people's attitude towards death? How correct is the description given in Simon's dream regarding that attitude?

 

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 18

“It feels so nice to be here in this room,” remarked
Marie. “It’s nice and cool and I feel so refreshed
after watching that movie.”

Richard agreed. This room was the kind he was used to.
It was indeed very comfortable.

Dr. Singh smiled. “I thought a little break would do you
some good. And besides you deserve a little bit of reward
for being such outstanding students.”

“We’re the clever people,” said Amy smugly. “Aren’t we,
Dr. Singh?”

“Oh yes! Certainly!” he replied at once. “This room is
specially reserved for you to help you unwind and relax.
Believe me, you’re going to need it. Our journey in search
of Truth and in search of answers has only just begun. You
have a long way to go, many discoveries to make and a lot
of work to do.”

“You’re very kind, Dr. Singh,” said Martha. “Thank you
so much!”

“Not at all! Not at all!” replied Dr. Singh.

“Well,” said Amy. “I knew all along that it was going to
be a lot of fun! I’m so happy I came here! Thank you so
much Dr. Singh for taking me in even though I’m so little.”

“We encourage children to come,” said Dr. Singh. “Since
they absorb everything, it would do them a lot of good to
learn what is right and distinguish between true and false
early in life. That is what we teach over here. Our aim is to
help you know what is true and what is not. It’s the adults
who have a harder time actually. They have to unlearn all
the things that prevent them from seeing the Truth the way
it really is.”

“That’s so true,” remarked Martha.

“Yes,” said Richard. “It’s harder for us who are grown
up. But I sure am glad to be here. You are so right. This has
been the best decision I have ever made. And like Amy, I
must admit that I am having fun too.”

Everyone was in agreement. Yes, it was a lot of fun. It
was fun to find answers to questions and listen to stories
and watch movies. They enjoyed thinking about things and
making great discoveries. It was fun because it was all so
meaningful and enlightening. It satisfied their burning
curiosity. It was like court TV. Seriously entertaining.

“Let’s play a game,” said Dr. Singh suddenly.

Amy’s eyes sparkled with delight. More fun! How wonderful!

Henry left the room and came back with a basket containing
various objects. He withdrew them one by one and
placed them upon the table:

A pair of shoes, a pair of gloves, a pair of sunglasses, a
cap, a t-shirt, a belt.

“Okay,” said Dr. Singh. “The name of this game is - Built
upon what Truth.”

“Built upon what Truth….?” Jim repeated the words.

“Yes!” said Dr. Singh enthusiastically. “This game is
extremely easy but by playing it you will come to understand
how everything you see around you is built upon
Truth. These things you see here are all built upon Truth.
Let’s see if you can tell me what Truth each of these things
is built on.”

He picked up the shoes and asked, “What Truth are these
shoes built on?”

“I know! I know! I know!!” cried Amy excitedly. “These
shoes are built on the Truth that we have two feet!”

“That’s right,” said Dr. Singh. “What about this cap? No,
Amy. Let someone else answer.”

Marie answered. “This cap is built on the Truth that we
have one head and it is round in shape.”

“These sunglasses?” Dr. Singh picked up the pair and put
them on.

“Those sunglasses are built on the Truth that we have
two eyes,” said Martha. Then as an afterthought, she added,
“And also the Truth that we have two ears to hang them
on.”

“Good observation. Very good!” said Dr. Singh. He then
picked up the t-shirt. “What Truth is this t-shirt made
upon?”

“It is built on the Truth that we as human beings have
two arms. The right sleeve for the right arm and the left
sleeve for the left arm. We also have one chest. The t-shirt is
shaped to fit our torso, or upper body. We also have a neck,
so there is a hole in the middle of the t-shirt for that,” said
Richard.

“Right! Now what about these gloves?” Dr. Singh put
them on.

“Those gloves are built on the Truth that we have two
hands,” said Andrew.

“And this belt?”

“It is built on the Truth that we have a waist and need
something to hold up our trousers or pants,” said Jim.

“That wasn’t a difficult game, was it?” said Dr. Singh. “It
is pretty apparent when you think about it. Everything you
see around you is built upon Truth. We can make progress
only when we stick to the Truth.”

He picked up the t-shirt. “This t-shirt doesn’t have three,
four or seven sleeves.”

He pointed to the shoes. “Shoes are always in pairs.
When we make them, we have to make two of them. We
never make just one. Nor do we make more than two.”

He put on the sunglasses. “The same logic applies to
these sunglasses. And these gloves as well.”

“This cap is designed to fit the head. One head. Not three
or four heads because we don’t have three or four heads.
This belt is designed to fit our waist. Now did you notice
something while doing this exercise? Did you take note of
anything else significant?”

He waited. And when no one spoke, he said, “Well, it’s
pretty obvious. Everything you see has a certain size and
proportion. When we make shoes, we have to make shoes
in different sizes. One size does not fit all people. Clothes
are made in different sizes. Tailors take your measurements
to make clothes that will fit you perfectly. Those measurements
have to be accurate. You can’t have one sleeve longer
and the other shorter, for example. So size, shape and
proportion. These things are pretty apparent. When we
make anything, we have to keep in mind the true dimensions.
Our measurements have to be accurate. In other
words, we make things keeping the Truth in mind. Sure,
these shoes are built on the Truth that we have two feet. All
shoes are made in pairs because of that. But there is also
another Truth and that is, our feet come in different sizes.
There are shoes for babies, children, men and women.”

“There’s also another thing that we can take note of.
These shoes are made of leather. We don’t make shoes out
of iron or steel. That would be most uncomfortable, don’t
you think? These sofas you are sitting on. They are not
made of iron either. Neither are our beds. When I go to the
kitchen, I make an omelet on a frying pan that is made of
metal. We never make our frying pans out of plastic. Do you
know why?”

“Because plastic would melt,” said Amy at once.

“Very good! So do you see how we make things keeping
the Truth in mind? We build things with knowledge. Knowledge
of the Truth. We know the properties of metal and we
know the properties of plastic. And because we know, we
make our frying pans out of metal. It doesn’t matter what
country you go to, in what age or time. People everywhere
follow the same principles. These things you see here and all
the things that man has made, they are all built upon Truth.
Now suppose you see a man placing a pot made of wood on
the stove, what would you think of him?”

“Silly!” said Martha.

“Of course! That’s right. He would be silly to do such a
thing. But there’s an important point to be made here. The
point is, if you follow anything other than the Truth, you
would be silly.”

It made sense to them now that he put it that way.

“You see, Truth never changes. It doesn’t matter what
you think or believe, it is not going to change. You might
believe or you might think that you can boil some water in a
wooden pot. Sure you can go ahead and believe and think
whatever you like. But your belief or thought must be based
on knowledge. Knowledge of the Truth. It’s important that
you know what the Truth is before you do anything. Doing
things in ignorance can land you in serious trouble. There is
therefore a big difference between a person who knows and
a person who doesn’t know. A knowledgeable person is not
the same as one who is ignorant. Like those people who
were on the train. They didn’t know where they were going
and they didn’t care to find out.”

“You are here today because you care and because you
want to find out where we are going. Of course that’s very
clever of you. Why? Because you will benefit from all this.
You will be a winner. You won’t be like those thousands of
people who are ignorant and who are lost. Frankly it’s all in
your own self interest. Tell me, if a person is headed in the
wrong direction, would that affect you? Or anyone else?”

They shook their heads.

“No, whoever goes in the wrong direction would meet
with his own doom. It is his loss alone. And he has no one
but himself to blame, because he is the one who didn’t care
where he was going. He chose that direction. He chose
ignorance. But a person who chooses the right way and
who walks on the path of Truth, he is the one who will win
in the end, even though he will face difficulties and hardships
on the way. So it’s really alright with me that hundreds
and thousands of people are headed in the wrong direction.
It is their loss and their problem. I won’t suffer because of
the decision and choices they have made. I know that I am
on the right path and I know that I will win if I stay on this
path. That’s all that matters to me. I must admit I am rather
selfish in this regard. There is room over here for over
seventy people. But only six of you managed to make it. I
don’t really care about the people who didn’t qualify for this
retreat. It is their loss, not mine or yours. So, it is my ardent
hope that you will be as selfish as I am as far as hunting for
the Truth is concerned. I believe that you will find the
answers to many questions here. And I hope you will have
the courage to accept the Truth, whatever it is. After all,
you are the one who will reap the fruit of your labor. Your
hard work will pay off and in the end, success and victory
will be yours. And yours alone. Don’t worry about other
people I always say. Worry about yourself.”

-----------End of Chapter 18-------------

Read more: here

 

[Flame of Hope]

Questions on chapter 18.

1. What do you think about Dr. Singh's game: Built Upon What Truth?

2. How do you feel about the people who had not qualified to attend the retreat? Do you think it was a good idea for Dr. Singh to have the eligibility test? Why? / Why not?

Read more: here

 

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 19

They were back in their classroom, ready for action.
Dr. Singh had written one word on the blackboard in
huge big letters. That single word announced to them that
they were going to learn about a subject of paramount
importance. The word was - Beliefs.

Henry had a paint brush and a pail of black paint with
him, and he was painting the side door black.

“What on earth is he doing?” wondered Martha. A black
door looked very much out of place.

Dr. Singh meanwhile was sitting in his chair, a broad
smile upon his face. He liked to keep his students in suspense.

He called Amy. She got up and went to him. He had
something in his fist and he showed her what it was. Then
he whispered something in her ear. Amy giggled and went
back to her seat.

“What’s in my fist?” he asked. “Can you guess what it
is?”

They all tried.

“Is it a penny?” said Marie.

Martha thought it was a button.

Richard said, “I think you have nothing in your fist.”

“I believe it’s a pebble,” said Jim.

Andrew didn’t answer. He remained quiet.

“Well, Andrew? What’s the matter? Can’t guess what
I’ve got in my fist?” Dr. Singh waited for him to respond.

“Actually sir, I don’t wanna guess. I don’t know what
you got in your fist.”

Dr. Singh was impressed. “Now that’s a great answer!
Good job! Bravo!”

Andrew was surprised. So were the rest of them. They
did not at all understand why Dr. Singh was so pleased with
his answer. Dr. Singh wasted no time in explaining.

“Too many people indulge in guesswork,” he said. “Very
few people are honest enough to admit that they do not
know the answer. When searching for the Truth, it is vital to
have this element of honesty. I admire people who have the
grace to say that they do not know and are honest about it.
And I despise people who claim that they know the answer
when in fact they are doing nothing but guesswork. You’ll
understand precisely what I mean in a moment.”

“Amy knows what’s in my fist. Tell us Amy, who has
guessed correctly.”

“None of them!” said Amy.

“Now please understand that I am not condemning you
for trying to guess what’s in my fist. You were doing so
under my instructions. This was in reality an experiment. By
participating in this exercise I am hoping you will under
stand how people believe in all kinds of things when they
are dealing with things that are beyond their powers of
perception. You cannot see, hear, taste, smell or touch what
is in my fist. So what do most people do? Yes, they guess.
They make a lot of guesses. And with the passage of time,
their guess becomes their faith. Their belief. Their conviction.”

He held out his fist.

“Amy knows what’s in my fist. If you ask her she will tell
you what it is.”

He told her to tell them what it was.

“It’s an orange seed!” said Amy.

Dr. Singh opened his hand. There it was. An orange seed.

“I hope you have learnt something very important about
belief from this,” he said. “But let’s hear it from you. What
did you learn?”

“Uhh…that people do a lot of guesswork?” said Jim.

“People are wrong to indulge in guesswork?” said Andrew.

“Ah, I know!” said Richard. “People are usually wrong
when they guess the answers. But they are even more
wrong when they believe whatever it is that they guess.”

“And we have learned that it is better to say that you
don’t know the answer rather than guess it,” said Marie.

“Very good! Very good!” said Dr. Singh. “You have
learnt well. But just in case it has escaped your observation,
I shall explain in more detail the meaning of all this.”

He took a deep breath. “I have an orange seed in my fist.
Nobody except Amy and I know about this Truth. There is
only one Truth. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten that already,
have you? Only one answer is correct. 99.9%
of answers are going to be wrong. So……..”

“If you believed that I have a penny in my fist, would
your belief turn that orange seed into a penny?”

“No,” said Marie.

He looked at Martha. “If you believed that I held a
button in my fist, would your belief turn that orange seed
into a button?”

The answer was of course negative again.

“And Richard, if you believed that there was nothing in
my fist, would your belief cause that orange seed in my fist
to disappear into thin air?”

Richard saw the point. Loud and clear.

“You see,” continued Dr. Singh, “you can believe whatever
you like. You can believe the moon is square in shape
for example. But would that belief make that moon become
square in shape?”

Henry had finished painting the door. Dr. Singh took no
notice. He went on. “If you believe something, you need to
have a reason why you believe it. For example, if you
believed that I have an orange seed in my fist and I asked
you the reason why you believe it, you can tell me that you
asked Amy. She had seen what was in my fist. So you have
a good reason to back up what you believe.”

“People have many beliefs. And most beliefs are unfounded
and baseless. If you ask people why they believe
what they do they won’t be able to give you a reasonable
answer. Usually people simply follow the beliefs of their
forefathers. And that’s not surprising.”

“Yeah, I understand that pretty well,” said Andrew. “It’s
children, isn’t it? They would inherit the beliefs and customs
of their parents and pass that on to their children. And it
goes on and on and on.”

“Yes,” said Dr. Singh. “Glad to know that you have not
forgotten our previous lessons. Blind beliefs. That’s what
we are dealing with. Remember those ancient people who
believed that the earth was supported on the backs of four
elephants? What reason did they have for believing such a
thing?”

“I guess they had no reason,” said Andrew.

“That was made up. A figment of their imagination,” said
Richard.

“Guesswork,” said Marie.

“Exactly!” said Dr. Singh. “Their belief had no basis
whatsoever. It was not founded on fact, nor evidence nor
reason. Therefore their belief was clearly in error.”

“The problem with people is that they believe anything.
They entertain a strange notion that if they believe in something
hard enough they will make possible what is impossible.
In other words, they think that faith and belief can
perform miracles. They believe that Truth is whatever you
want it to be if you believe in it with all your heart.”

“That’s preposterous!” exclaimed Richard.

“Yea, I know. But that’s how people are. I watch Hindi
movies a lot. There are many lessons to be learned in watching
them. Lessons that teach you what to avoid. It’s in
watching nonsense that you actually gain wisdom. Now that
doesn’t mean that all Hindi movies are rubbish. But I’m sure
many people are aware that these movies revolve more
around fantasy and things that are untrue.”

“Take for example, the movie Karan Arjun. It’s the story
of rebirth. A mother loses her two sons and she goes to the
temple and beats her head on the stone before the goddess
Kali, begging this goddess to return her sons to her. In the
beginning of the movie, there goes the commentary - This
story is about belief. Belief and faith that can make the
impossible, possible.”

“So, this mother has strong belief and faith that her two
sons will come back. And the movie shows the birth of her
two sons. Born again. In other words, the belief of this
woman is so strong that her belief becomes true. It makes
possible what is impossible.”

“By now, you already know that Truth is universal in
nature. It applies to all people, at all places and at all times.
The concept of rebirth is found only in India and its surrounding
region. It is not known in other parts of the world. I leave you to decide
whether you want to believe it or not. And to help you
decide perhaps you could ask these people who believe in
rebirth why they believe what they do. See if you can get a
reasonable answer.”

“I’m almost certain they believe that because that is what
their forefathers believed,” said Richard.

“Uh huh,” said Marie. “Blind faith. That’s what I think it
is. They’ve got no reason to believe it.”

Dr. Singh smiled. “There’s a TV show I’ve been watching
lately - on Zee TV, called Shabash India - Naa mumkin
kuchh bhi nahin. To translate that, it means - Well done
India - Nothing is impossible.”

“The producers of that show say - Nothing is impossible.
You get to see many astonishing feats. Like a man setting
himself on fire and jumping from a height into a tank of
water that has been set ablaze. And a man who does some
stunts with his motor cycle, flying over many buses. A little
boy with roller skates, skating under 30 cars, with his legs
outstretched on either side. A man blowing up a massive
rubber tube by blowing into it, and so on. However, all this
does not mean that nothing is impossible. This is a highly
misleading statement. Here are some things that are impossible
to do.”

He turned and wrote the following on the blackboard:

1. Turn copper into gold.
2. Kill a man and then bring him back to life.
3. Get a dead man to make a woman pregnant.
4. Go without food, water, sleep for three days and then
win in the Olympic race.
5. Change our parents.
6. Change the age in which we live.
7. Pluck a leaf from a tree and then put it back.
8. Prevent fire from burning paper.
9. Teach dogs, cats, rabbits and goats to speak English.
10. Obtain a Master of Arts degree without studying.

“My! These are impossibilities indeed!” said Martha.

“I can think of many more impossibilities. The greatest
impossibility is changing the Truth. But I hope you see the
point. That slogan - Nothing is impossible has done a fine
job in reflecting the mentality of the Indian people. They
believe in anything and everything. They believe even in
impossibilities.”

“That’s really absurd!” said Marie.

“Yes, it is,” said Dr. Singh. “But it’s not just the Indian
people who are that way. It’s people all over the world. This
is a condition which afflicts all human beings.”

Richard nodded. He thought about the American people.
They believed in impossibilities as well. There was no
denying that. Dr. Singh spoke the Truth.

“Well, not all human beings are like that,” said Jim. “I’m
not.”

“Me neither,” said Amy quickly.

“That’s true too,” said Dr. Singh. “Not all human beings
believe in absurdities and nonsense. That’s a good thing to
know. And it’s nice to know there are people in this world
who want answers that make sense, and who are not content
with the answers provided by their forefathers. And hey,
I’m talking about all of you.”

He smiled and they smiled back in return.

“And now,” said Dr. Singh. “Let’s turn our attention to
this mysterious black door over here.”

-------------End of Chapter 19-----------

Questions on chapter 19:

1. Would you say this chapter was an important one? Why?

2. What did you think of Dr. Singh's "What's in my fist?" game? Do you think it was a good way to explain how people come up with strange ideas to explain mysteries?

Read more: here

 

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 20

This black door and what lies beyond it is a mystery,”
said Dr. Singh. “Would you like to guess what’s on
the other side of this door?”

They shook their heads.

Jim spoke for all of them. “We don’t want to indulge in
guesswork,” he said.

“Nice to know you’ve learned your lesson,” said Dr.
Singh. “Guesswork and conjecture can never help us know
what is the truth and reality. So we are not going to guess.
We don’t know what lies beyond this door. But we know
for sure one thing. What?”

They looked at him blankly.

“We know for certain one thing, my friends. And that is,
there is only one correct answer.”

“Right!” exclaimed Jim. “Now why didn’t I think of
that?!”

“Yeah,” said Andrew. “There’s only one Truth. Whatever
lies beyond this door, we don’t know what it is. But we can
say for sure that only one answer has gotta be the right
answer.”

“And that answer will not change,” finished Richard.

Dr. Singh was about to speak when Marie raised her
hand.

“Also one more thing!” she said. “No amount of belief or
faith is going to change that answer either.”

“I’m very pleased,” remarked Dr. Singh. “You really are
brilliant students.”

He took a piece of chalk and went to the blackboard. He
made a little dot and then drew a horizontal line.

“This point here is our entry into this world, our birth.”
He wrote the word Birth under the dot.

“And this line here is the length of our life here on earth.
It comes to an end here….” And he made another dot at the
end of the line. He wrote the word Death under it.

“This point is where we leave this world. Our death.
Now, this is a scary topic. I’m not sure if you really want to
know more about it. Not only are we looking at a subject
that is frightening, we are also looking at a subject that
people are very sensitive about. You see, people have a lot
of beliefs about death and what happens after death. And
these beliefs have been drummed into our consciousness
since we were little by our parents, guardians, elders and
society. You already know that there is only one Truth. That
means ninety-nine percent of beliefs are going to be wrong.
So…”

“I understand what you mean,” said Richard. “You’re
wondering whether we have the guts to face that Truth,
especially now that we know that believing differently won’t
change it.”

“Yes, I want to know if you have got the courage to
admit that you’re wrong about whatever beliefs you have
entertained about this subject. We shall not proceed unless
you’re ready.”

They all looked at one another. There was determination
on their faces.

“We’re ready!” said Martha.

“Alright then,” said Dr. Singh walking to the black door.

“Consider this door the door by which you leave this world.
This door indicates Death. Everyone of us will have to go
through this door one day. We have seen people go through
that door and we know very well that they never come
back. We don’t know where they go. They simply disappear
and vanish into thin air and we know that the same fate
awaits us all.”

Amy shuddered. It gave Marie the shivers. Richard found
himself trembling. It was a scary subject alright. But they
were not going to run away. Running away was not the
solution.

“Since we’re dealing with the unknown, of course it’s
inevitable that people are going to indulge in a lot of guesswork.
A lot of it, I’m afraid,” said Dr. Singh. “The question
is, how are we to solve the mystery of death without making
guesses?”

He paused for a few seconds. “You know that things are
built upon Truth. But did you know that things are also built
upon reason?”

“Built upon reason?” said Richard.

“Of course! Isn’t that obvious? Think about it.”

He gave them some time to think. They thought about it
for ten minutes.

Finally Richard had something to share. “Well, come to
think of it, I’ve always believed that there was a reason for
everything. I can’t say why I believe that. It just seems kind
of logical. And it makes sense to me now that you bring it to
our attention. I agree wholeheartedly that all things are built
on reason. Just can’t explain why I agree. Maybe there’s
something deep down inside me that finds this idea most
appealing.”

“Well said and well expressed,” commented Dr. Singh.

“Yes, you’re right. Certainly there’s a reason for everything.
It’s a good thing too. It becomes easy for us to find answers
to questions because of it. All we need to do is ask the
magic question - why. And when you ask why, you’ll get to
know the reason behind anything. Asking the question why
gives you an answer that is reasonable. An answer that
makes sense. And that’s the answer you want. You should
settle for nothing less than that.”

“This is a mystery. What happens after death? No one
seems to know. But I’ve solved this mystery and I think you
can too. It’s really easy but we’ll handle this one step at a
time. Firstly we need to understand that the world of the
unseen – and we’re dealing with the unseen here – this
world cannot be reached through any of our five senses. We
cannot see it, hear it, smell it, taste it or touch it. Now let us
consider what things belong to this unseen world.”

He wrote on the blackboard:

1. Events that happen in this world in different
places and times that we did not personally witness.

“Because we didn’t witness the event – that doesn’t mean
that it never happened, by the way…..” He continued
writing:

2. Dreams of other people.

“It is impossible to experience them for ourselves,” he
commented. And lastly….”

3. The minds of other people, their hearts and their
thoughts.

He explained, “It is impossible for us to know what is in
the hearts of other people and what they think. This definitely
belongs to the world of the unknown and unseen. This
is something that we cannot perceive through any of our
five senses.”

“So these three things here – these are the things which
we cannot perceive with our senses. This is where belief
comes in. But this is also where many people fall into a trap.
They think they can believe whatever they like. This is most
unreasonable.”

“At this point, I’d like to inform you that I’m not going
to tell you what the truth is. You are going to have to find it
on your own and I’m here only to help and guide you. I
shall put before you all the relevant facts and details and I
shall leave you to come to your own conclusions.”

“Speaking of conclusions, I do have something important
to say. In order to reach the right conclusion, you need to
have the right facts and the right premise. A faulty premise
will lead to a faulty conclusion.”

He wrote on the blackboard:

False premise – wrong conclusion.

“You see,” he explained. “If your premise is not based on
fact your conclusions are going to be wrong. For example,
some people say that Truth is unknowable. That it is impossible
to know what happens after death. Impossible to find
out. So their conclusion is – it’s alright to believe whatever
you like.”

“In this case – where people say that Truth is unknowable
– this is a false premise. It is something that is not
based on fact. Because it is false – their conclusions are
going to be wrong. As you can see – their conclusion is that
any belief is valid.”

“The reality is this, my friends. It is not impossible to
uncover the hidden Truth. It is very much possible to find
out and know what the Truth is. It is certainly possible to
solve mysteries.”

“If it was true that Truth is unknowable – then detectives
could never have solved all those murder mysteries. Historians
and archaeologists could never have known what
happened in the past. Scientists would never have found out
so much about the universe.”

“Detectives, lawyers, historians, archaeologists, scientists
– the common man – you and I – in fact, any human being
can find out what the Truth is. Even a child – like Amy –
can do it. But I want to hear from you. Can you tell me how
they do it? How they solve mysteries and find out what
happened in the past?”

“They look for clues and evidence?” said Marie.

“Right. But clues and evidence don’t solve mysteries.
What does?”

He waited for them to give an answer. When none came,
he said, “It’s our power of reason, and in our quest for
Truth – this is what we shall be using, for the world of the
unseen can only be reached through it.”

-----------End of Chapter 20-------------


Questions on chapter 20:

1. Are you disappointed to learn that Dr. Singh never talks about religion nor makes any attempt to preach his religious views to his students? What do you think would happen if he had done that?

2. What do you feel has the answer to the question: what happens after death? Religion or science?

3. "There is nothing higher than reason".... the quote at the beginning of the book by Immanuel Kant. Does this chapter remind you of this quote and clarify the point that all answers about the unknown can only be discovered through the use of reason? If it is reason that helps us to discover what the hidden Truth is, the Truth that can save man from disaster.... does that not prove that "there is nothing higher than reason"? How successfully do you think this chapter highlights the importance of reason.... and its connection to the Truth?

Read more: here

 

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 21

Dr. Singh went to the black door and tapped on it.

“It’s a mystery what lies beyond this door,” he said.
“And we’re going to solve this mystery by using our power
of reason. That’s the only way to do it. Do you agree?”

“Yes,” said Marie, “whatever lies beyond that door is part
of the unseen.”

“And it cannot be reached by our perceptions of sight,
hearing, taste, smell and touch,” said Dr. Singh. “But before
we proceed to solve this mystery, perhaps you could tell me
something about Sherlock Holmes. I’m sure you must have
heard of him.”

“Who hasn’t heard of Sherlock Holmes!” said Andrew.
“He did some very clever detective work.”

“He’s a fictitious character, created by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle,” said Martha. “He wasn’t a real person.”

“Yes, yes,” said Dr. Singh. “You are right about that. But
the mysteries he solved were very much like the mysteries
we have in real life. So even though he was a made-up
character, the way in which he solved his mysteries is pretty
valid. He used his power of reasoning just like real people
would do.”

“Yeah, I can understand now why he is so well-known all
over the world,” said Jim. “He was so much like a real
character!”

“Uh huh,” said Dr. Singh. “This is where fiction shines.
Heard of William Shakespeare? Well, he wrote his plays
based upon popular stories that were circulating around in
his days. Even though his plays were fictitious, they are
considered masterpieces in English literature. Why? Because
his work is directly connected to real life situations
and real life people. His plays have universal appeal. We can
relate to the characters in his stories. We can understand the
problems his characters face because their problems are so
much like our problems.”

Marie was thinking and she looked at Dr. Singh with a
quizzical expression on her face. She would have expected
this man to read nothing but books of science. But he
seemed to have his nose into all kinds of things. He watched
movies and read fiction. Just like ordinary, normal folk
would. But Marie didn’t at all think Dr. Singh was ordinary.
He had such a towering, charismatic personality.

“Now, about Sherlock Holmes,” said Dr. Singh. “He was
able to solve many mysteries that others couldn’t because of
just one remarkable thing. What?”

They waited for Dr. Singh to tell them what it was, but
he didn’t. He smiled enigmatically. He posed the question
again. “What was Sherlock Holmes so good at that no case
was too difficult for him to solve?”

Amy couldn’t bear it. “Oh, Dr. Singh!” she cried. “Please
tell us!”

Dr. Singh walked to the blackboard. “Sherlock Holmes
was good at one thing,” he said. And he wrote down one
word:

Observation.

“This is the starting point. This is where you must begin
if you want to be successful at solving any mystery. In any
investigation, this is the first step. Observation is the key to
solving all mysteries.”

He wrote another word on the board:

detective.

“What does a detective do? Well, he solves mysteries,
doesn’t he? That word detective - if we were to break it up,
you’ll find another word in it. And that word is - detect. A
detective is therefore a man who is good at detecting. And
you can’t be good at the art of detection, if you are not
good at observation.”

They listened with great interest.

“Now why is observation so important? It’s because we
are searching for clues. We want evidence that will lead us
to the Truth. Sherlock Holmes observed everything. He
even took note of things that we might consider trivial and
unimportant. In our quest for Truth, we too must take note
of everything. Every clue is important. Nothing must escape
our scrutiny. So first comes observation. Second comes
clues and evidence. And third comes our use of reason.”

He paused and then said, “I don’t know if Sherlock
Holmes would have been able to solve the mysteries of life
and death however. I actually think you can do it more
easily than him!”

“You mean me? I can do it better than Sherlock
Holmes?” asked Amy incredulously.

“Yes, you. All of you!” answered Dr. Singh. “Do you
know why?”

He was smiling again. He loved to tease them.

Amy was impatient once more. “Please Dr. Singh! Please
tell us!” she begged.

“It’s going to be easier for you, my child,” responded Dr.
Singh. “Because you are well acquainted with the properties
of Truth!”

Amy was puzzled. So were the rest of them.

“You don’t understand?” said Dr. Singh. “Well, let me
explain. Tell me.......what is the most outstanding property
of Truth?”

Several hands shot up in the air. “Truth is one!” they
chanted.

“Well then,” said Dr. Singh. “That is the number one
observation, the number one clue and the number one
reason how we solve any mystery. There is only one Truth.
So there’s only one correct answer. Now, tell me what
conclusion would you arrive at from this simple observation?”

“That all other answers are incorrect,” replied Richard.

“That’s right,” said Dr. Singh. “And what does that mean
for us? What would be the reasonable thing to do when you
know that only one answer is right?”

They sat there wondering for a few minutes.

Dr. Singh became a little impatient. “Okay, I’ll tell you
what would be the reasonable thing to do. It would be to
eliminate all answers that are wrong!”

“That makes sense!” exclaimed Richard.

“Of course it makes sense. That’s why it’s the reasonable
thing to do. If Truth is one, then all other answers are going
to be wrong. Now, how do we know which answers are
wrong? They are the answers that are improbable and
unlikely. So all we would need to do is eliminate improbabilities,
whatever is unlikely, and which doesn’t make
sense. It’s as simple as that. I call it the elimination method
and it’s a very effective method of finding the Truth. Just
think about it. If we were to eliminate all the wrong answers,
what are we going to be left with? The Truth of
course. And that’s what we want, don’t we?”

“A lot of people are going to dislike this elimination
method,” observed Jim.

“You are quite right about that,” said Dr. Singh. “Imagine
living all your life believing in something that is not true.
Something that is false, and then learning that it is all false.
That you were on the wrong track. It’s going to hurt the
feelings and sentiments of many people.”

“But don’t people who walk on the path of untruth hurt
themselves the most?” commented Marie.

She thought about the treasure hunt and the false map
they had followed. “If I found out that I was walking on the
wrong street and someone told me what the right street
was, I really don’t think I’d feel hurt. I think I would thank
the person who showed me the right way actually.”

“Aha!” said Dr. Singh. “I like what you said. This is how
we should react. But you must remember that people are
complicated creatures. Many of them don’t like to be
wrong. So they’ll continue walking on the wrong path even
if you told them which was the right path.”

“I guess this is it then,” said Jim. “The time for us to face
reality?”

“Right!” Dr. Singh nodded. “Truth is one. And this is a
fact that will provide us with all the ammunition that we
need to blast all falsehood, lies and untruth into outer space.
Are we ready for business?”

“Yes sir!” they all shouted enthusiastically.

-----------End of Chapter 21--------------

 

[Flame of Hope]

The God of All Things is not an easy book to read. And not for the weak-hearted. But it's the only book in the world which solves the mystery of death with such thoroughness and detail as you have seen here.

Death is inevitable and will come to all of us. To die with knowledge and conviction about the truth about the Afterlife is critical.... for after all there can be nothing more precious and more important to us than ensuring the safety of our souls.

I do not preach any religion in this book... it is simply not necessary.

Truth is self-evident..... one just needs an unbiased mind to see it.

Read on .... and discover what it is.... in the forthcoming chapters.

Alhamdulillahir rabbil al ameen!

 

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 22

Amy felt rather important. Dr. Singh had chosen her
and she was going to solve the first puzzle.

“Are you ready Amy?” said Dr. Singh with a twinkle in
his eye. “You are going to be our little detective. You are
going to solve this mystery and you are going to do it using
the elimination method. Don’t worry, it will come to you
naturally.”

Amy listened carefully.

“There’s a classroom. The blackboard has nothing written
on it. There’s a table in front of it and a chair. On the
table is a piece of chalk. There are several desks there too.
Some people enter this classroom. A man by the name of
Sebastian, his son Robby who is three years old, a blind lady
named Seema and her service dog. Seema is from India by
the way. And she can’t speak English. Okay, so these are the
people who enter the classroom. Seema, the blind lady,
Robby, the three year old and the man named Sebastian.
And yes, don’t forget the dog, Seema’s dog. They stay in
the room for ten minutes. After they have gone, you enter
that classroom and see that there’s something written on the
blackboard. It’s a simple sentence - Two plus two is four.”

Dr. Singh smiled. “Can you tell me Amy, who did not
write that sentence on the blackboard? I don’t want to
know who wrote it. I want to know who didn’t write it.
Understand?”

“Oh, okay,” said Amy. It was instantly clear to her that it
was the man named Sebastian who wrote the sentence on
the blackboard. But that was not the answer Dr. Singh
wanted.

So she said, “Well I know that Robby didn’t write
it. He’s only three years old and I know that little kids that
age don’t know how to write. They don’t know how to add
up numbers. Then, there’s that blind lady. I don’t think she
did it. She couldn’t see. And you said that she didn’t speak
English. So she couldn’t have written that sentence on the
board.”

Dr. Singh nodded. “See how easy it is for us to reason
and rule out the improbabilities? Good job! Seema and
Robby couldn’t have done it, so we are going to rule them
out. Is there anything else that you need to rule out Amy?”

Amy thought about it. “Oh yes!” she said. “There was
that dog. Seema’s dog. He couldn’t have done it either.
Dogs can’t write.”

Dr. Singh was pleased. “I’m glad you thought about
that,” he said. “Certainly, we can rule out the dog. Is there
anything else left to rule out?”

“No,” replied Amy.

“You have left out the table, the chair, the desks.....and
the piece of chalk,” said Dr. Singh extremely amused.

Andrew laughed. And everyone was smiling. They now
understood what Dr. Singh meant when he said that nothing
should escape their observation.

“I know, I know,” said Dr. Singh. “Tables, chairs,
desks....why should we even consider them? Simply so that
we can rule them out. We want to eliminate 99.9% answers,
right? So.....we have ruled out all the wrong answers. Now
tell me Amy, which is the only answer that remains?”

Amy had no hesitation at all in saying that it was
Sebastian.

“Right!” said Dr. Singh. “Eliminate all the wrong answers
and the only answer left is the Truth. You may not have seen
Sebastian actually write two plus two is four on the blackboard
- with your own eyes. But you know for sure that it
must have been him because you know that all the other
answers are wrong. You know what the Truth is by using
your powers of observation and reason.”

“Reason tells you first that there’s only one correct
answer. Meaning there is only one Truth. So you reason that
it couldn’t have been the dog. Dogs can’t write. It couldn’t
have been the blind lady. She couldn’t see. Plus she didn’t
know English. It couldn’t have been Robby because he’s
only three years old. He hadn’t learned how to add numbers,
nor could he write. And of course tables, chairs and
desks are non-living things. They cannot do anything. So the
only answer left is the man named Sebastian. We eliminated
all the wrong answers. In this case, they were all so obvious
that we didn’t need much time to think about it.”

“Now, have you ever heard of those multiple-choice
tests? You know - those tests where you are given four
choices - A, B, C or D. Three of the choices are wrong.
Only one is right?”

“Yes,” said Martha instantly. “I do them all the time. In
Reader’s Digest, when I take the word power test.”

“Okay,” said Dr. Singh. “Often it so happens that you do
not know what is the correct answer. But many times it is
possible to figure out what the right answer is. You see -
you know that there’s only one right answer - there is only
one Truth - so what you would do is eliminate or rule out
those answers you know for sure are wrong. If you can
eliminate three wrong answers - which by the way is 99.9% of
the answers - what would you be left with?”

“The correct answer!” cried Marie.

“So let’s do one of those multiple-choice tests. I’m going
to ask you a question and I’m going to provide you with
four answers. Let’s see if you can figure out what the right
answer is by using the elimination method. Okay?”

He wrote on the blackboard:

What looks like a man and lives in the jungles of South
East Asia?
A) octopus
B) zebra
C) orang utan
D) eagle

“This is so easy,” said Richard. “It’s got to be C - the
orang utan.”

“Can you tell us why you selected this answer?” asked
Dr. Singh.

“Well of course I don’t know what an orang utan is. But
I do know that the octopus lives in the sea. Not in any
jungle. The zebra might live in a jungle I suppose, but it
certainly doesn’t look like a man. And it can’t be the eagle.
The eagle is a bird. So the only answer left is the orang
utan.”

Amy clapped her hands in delight. She was enjoying this
kind of puzzle-solving very much. “This is so much fun!”
she said excitedly.

“Our little formula of eliminating all improbabilities - a
highly effective method of uncovering the Truth. I’m sure
you all agree with me there. And now that you understand
how it works, let’s solve a mystery that has baffled people
since the beginning of history. It still remains a mystery for
many people even today. But you, my dear friends are going
to solve it easily. So easily that it’s going to be a breeze.”

Dr. Singh took a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard
the mystery question:

What came first - The chicken or the egg?

“I don’t think it’s gonna be easy to solve that!” exclaimed
Andrew.

“I’ve come across that question many times,” said Richard.
“The debate goes on. Nobody has been able to give a
satisfactory answer. The chicken comes from the egg and
the egg comes from the chicken. So what really came first,
nobody really knows.”

“Ah, but you can know what came first, my dear friend.
I’m going to solve this mystery step by step for you. I think
you’ll be quite amazed to learn how incredibly simple it
really is to solve this mystery,” said Dr. Singh.

They were all ears.

“First of all, we’ll consider all the possibilities and options,
alright?”

He wrote on the blackboard:

Possibility 1 - The chicken came first.
Possibility 2 - The egg came first.

He turned and asked them a question. “Do any other
possibilities come to your mind?” Nobody spoke so Dr.
Singh wrote down:

Possibility 3 - Neither the chicken nor the egg came first.

“To solve this puzzle,” said Dr. Singh. “We’re going to
use the formula of elimination. Of all the options written
down here, which one would you rule out or eliminate
first?”

“Possibility number 3 of course,” said Richard at once.

“Right,” said Dr. Singh crossing out the third option.
“We’ll rule out that possibility. It can’t be the right answer.
Because life comes from life. A dead chicken cannot produce
any egg nor can a dead egg produce any chicken. So
we have two other possibilities left over here. Which one
are you going to rule out next?”

It suddenly became very clear to them and Marie instantly
raised her hand. “I would rule out the egg!” she said.

Dr. Singh crossed out possibility number 2. “Tell me
Marie, why did you select this option to rule out?”

“Because it’s highly improbable that the egg came first. If
the egg had come first, then a baby chick would have come
out of that egg, not a full-grown chicken. And a baby chick
cannot survive without the care and protection of its
mother,” was Marie’s reply.

Dr. Singh was pleased with her answer. “Great observation
Marie! Very good!” he said appreciatively.

He then turned to the blackboard again.

“Now my friends, tell me what’s the only answer that’s
left here on this blackboard?”

There it was. Loud and clear for all of them to see. It was
the chicken. It was the chicken that came first.

“So the mystery is solved,” said Dr. Singh. “The chicken
came first. This is the truth that we should believe. But
wait! Now that we know that it was the chicken that came
first, we must think a little further and reach another conclusion.
Another truthful conclusion. You see, all of us know
that a chicken by itself cannot produce an egg. It needs a
partner to help it produce an egg that will hatch into a
chick. So the logical conclusion would be - it wasn’t just
one chicken that came first. Mama chicken came along with
Papa chicken. And from the first pair came all the chickens
that we see today.”

“What a clever way to solve mysteries!” thought Jim.

Richard was thinking the same thing. But now he was
beginning to grow worried. He could sense that they had
reached a point of no return. They were getting dangerously
close to the Truth. Soon it would be there before them to
see in crystal clear clarity, and although he had told himself
that he would be brave, he found himself feeling exceedingly
afraid.

-----------End of Chapter 22---------------

 

[Flame of Hope]

Questions on chapter 22:

1. Describe how you felt when reading this chapter. Does the thought of getting to the bottom of the mystery of death frighten you? Or make you feel eager and glad? Would you say that honest observation plays a critical role in solving mysteries?

2. Why do you think Richard feels afraid of facing the Truth?

Read more:here

 

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 23

It was a beautiful, bright and sunny day and they were
happy to get out in the open. Dressed in white all of
them looked and felt rather grand and important. They were
going out on an assignment. Henry led the way. They had
not gone very far when a loud cry made them stop and look
behind. It was Mrs. Patil.

“Wait for me!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “I’ve
had enough of staying indoors,” she said panting for breath
as she came up to them. “Dr. Singh told me that you were
going out to do some investigating or something. I just
hope you don’t mind if I come along.”

“Of course we don’t mind!” said Martha at once.

Henry quickened his pace and the men were forced to
walk a little faster. They were headed towards the lake and
to reach it they had to go through a forest. The ladies
however walked at a lazy pace for Martha couldn’t walk
too fast.

“You should really come and attend our class,” said Amy
to Mrs. Patil. “We are in the middle of solving the greatest
puzzle ever!!”

“And what puzzle is that?” asked Mrs. Patil.

“The puzzle of life,” answered Amy.

The men were walking ahead and having their own
conversation.

“I really do think we are on a strange assignment,”
Andrew was saying. “Dr. Singh told us to go out and make
observations. But observations about what?!”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” said Jim. “I’ll just
write down all the things I see.” And he took out a notebook
from his pocket and began to jot down a few observations.

Amy saw what Jim was doing. She too took out her
notebook and wrote down a few things.

Mrs. Patil was intrigued. She wondered what they were
writing.

“I hope you don’t get bored with our company,” said
Martha to Mrs. Patil. “We have an assignment on our hands,
so we’re going to be a little busy writing down notes.”

“Bored? Of course not!” said Mrs. Patil. “I’m just glad to
get out of that White House!”

“The Round House, Mrs. Patil,” corrected Amy.

“Whatever!” mumbled Mrs. Patil. And then she caught
sight of Amy’s shiny new badge. There was something
written on it. “Untruth busters!” she read.

Amy giggled. “Untruth busters - that’s what we are!”

“What on earth does that mean?”

“Just that we eliminate all the wrong answers in order to
get to the Truth,” explained Marie.

“Oh, I already know what the Truth is,” said Mrs. Patil
with a trace of arrogance in her voice. “I don’t need to
attend some silly classes to know what it is.”

“Don’t you call our classes silly!” said Amy angrily.

“Alright, I won’t,” said Mrs. Patil seeing that even Marie
and Martha looked offended.

However Mrs. Patil couldn’t conceal her emotions. She
looked at Henry who was now guiding them through the
forest. She frowned as she remembered how she had to
surrender her amulet to him. There was much hatred in the
eyes of Mrs. Patil and Amy was quick to mention it.

“You hate Henry a lot, don’t you?” she said.

Mrs. Patil did not deny it. “He took my amulet, remember?”

“But Mrs. Patil!” exclaimed Amy. “He was only doing his
job! He is really a very nice person.”

“I don’t care what anyone says,” replied Mrs. Patil. “I’ve
always worn that amulet and I’ve never taken it off. Without
it I feel very unsafe and unprotected.”

Amy thought about the amulet. What was it? A charm
that warded off evil? She walked closer to Mrs. Patil. She
had a question to ask her.

“How do you know that this amulet thing works?” she
asked.

“Of course it works!” said Mrs. Patil quickly. “I have
been kept safe and sound all these years because of it.”

“But Mrs. Patil,” said Amy slowly and clearly. “Look at
all of us! I don’t know how old Henry is. But I think he is
much older than you. And Martha is older than all of us.
What I mean to say is - Mrs. Patil - none of us wears any
amulet or anything. But no harm has come to any of us.”

Marie and Martha raised their eyebrows in astonishment.
They couldn’t believe it! Whatever Amy had just said made
perfect sense!

Mrs. Patil was quite speechless. Now what
answer was she to give this little brat?

A couple of squirrels were scurrying up and down the
trees and Amy instantly forgot about the question she had
just posed to Mrs. Patil. Squealing in delight she watched
the little animals with the greatest fascination and wonder.

Mrs. Patil secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “I can’t wait
to get out of this place!” she said to herself.

At last they reached the lake. They marveled at the lovely
scenery before them. Richard had spoken very little during
their little excursion. He hadn’t written down anything in his
notebook at all. But now as he looked at the beautiful lake,
the green forest and the splendid blue sky, he withdrew from
his pocket his notebook. He seated himself on a huge rock
and began to scribble down the many thoughts that were
racing in his mind. Thoughts about the beauty of nature and
the remarkable order prevalent in the world around him. He
was surprised that he had never thought about such things
before. He had never had the time for it.

When they returned from their trip to the lake, they
found Dr. Singh waiting for them in the classroom. A loaf of
bread was on the table. Amy looked at it hungrily.

They settled down behind their desks and placed their
notebooks in front of them.

“Welcome back,” said Dr. Singh getting up from his
chair. “This will be our last lesson for the day. I shan’t take
too long. I know that you are tired and hungry and want to
get back to your rooms. But the lesson you are going to
learn in a few moments is an important one. Once you
understand it, you’ll be able to see the Truth so clearly that
half of the answer to the mystery of life and death - will be
solved.”

He pointed to the loaf of bread that was on the table. “As
you know - all things are built upon Truth. So tell me -what
Truth is this loaf of bread built on?”

“The Truth that we need to eat?” said Jim.

“Right. Now you also know that all things are built on
reason. Everything is built upon reason. In other words,
there’s a reason for everything. So if we take a look at this
bread over here - we can say with the greatest certainty that
there’s a reason why this bread exists on this table.”

“Now let’s consider this a mystery. There’s a loaf of
bread on the table. It’s a mystery how it got there. So how
shall we go about solving this mystery? Of course - by
asking the magic question why. Why is this a magic question?
Because when you ask the question why - you get to
the bottom of the mystery. You find out the reason behind
the mystery. In this case, we shall know the reason why the
bread is on the table.”

Everyone listened in rapt attention. This was so ridiculously
simple that they were amazed how they never
thought about it that way!

“So tell me my friends, why is there a loaf of bread on the
table?” Dr. Singh had a smile on his face.

The answer to that question was just too easy. Amy gave
the answer. “Because,” she said with confidence. “Someone
put it there!”

“Very good!” said Dr. Singh. “Someone put it there. And
that’s the reason why the bread exists on the table. The
mystery is solved, isn’t it? You know that someone had to
put that loaf of bread on the table. Even though you didn’t
see anyone do it. Now tell me, would you be reasonable if
you said that nobody put this loaf of bread on the table?
That it got there all by itself?”

“That’s not possible,” said Jim. “And anyone who says
that that loaf of bread got there on the table by itself - well
seriously - I think he needs to have his head examined!”

“So all of you agree that nobody would ever come to the
conclusion - that the loaf of bread appeared on the table by
itself - or that nobody put it there.”

Dr. Singh had a way of making things abundantly clear
and the students had absolutely no hesitation in agreeing
with what he said.

“Let me however tell you the reason why nobody would
come to such a conclusion,” went on Dr. Singh. “It’s because
there is a certain law that operates in this universe.
It’s a law that provides us with one of our most important
clues in solving any mystery. A law that leads us to conclude
that everything is built upon reason. What law am I talking
about?”

When nobody answered, Dr. Singh revealed, “It’s the law
of cause and effect!”

There were heads nodding in total agreement. And they
listened intently as Dr. Singh continued speaking. “The law
of cause and effect tells us that if there is an effect, there has
to be a cause. And if there is a cause, there is bound to be an
effect. So when you see this loaf of bread on the table - we
can ask - what caused it to appear there on the table? We
ask about the cause because it was not there before. So if
something exists, then it means that it was caused to come
into existence. In other words, it was created or made. So
what are our conclusions going to be when we see this loaf
of bread on the table? One - that someone put it there. And
second - that someone made it.”

“How right you are!” exclaimed Marie with the greatest
admiration.

“It would be unreasonable to say,” went on Dr. Singh,
“that nobody made this loaf of bread. Agree?”

They agreed indeed.

“Okay now, let us think a little about the millions of
things we make or create. Tables, chairs, buildings, refrigerators,
cars, pots and pans, clothes etcetera. Why do all
these things exist? They exist because we made them. In
other words, they were caused to come into existence. They
are the effect and we are the cause. A thousand years ago,
the car didn’t exist. It exists today however. And the reason
why it exists is because we made it. We created it. We
caused it to come into existence. Got it?”

“This is not all hard to follow,” commented Andrew.

Dr. Singh desired to explain the phenomenon of cause
and effect a little more. He went on with his speech, “Yes, it
is not at all hard to understand how the law of cause and
effect works. For example, let’s say we are walking in the
desert. Suddenly we come across an abandoned truck. We
didn’t see who made it, but certainly we would never come
to the conclusion that nobody made it. Or that it appeared
there by itself. We would never say that it formed itself out
of thin air. There’s also another conclusion that we would
reach. And that is - the truck was made by human beings.
Not by any animal, insect or bird.”

“Oh, but that’s so obvious!” said Marie.

“You’ll be surprised how many people shut their eyes to
things that are so obvious,” said Dr. Singh. “Especially in
this area - about things of the unseen. They would come to
unreasonable conclusions and say things like - nobody made
the truck. Or that it was made by a hyena or an eagle or a
snake!”

“Nobody would say things like that!” said Martha swiftly.

“You’ll understand what I mean in a little while,” responded
Dr. Singh.

Henry could not help chuckling.

---------End of Chapter 23------------

 

[Flame of Hope]

Questions on chapter 23.

1. What do you think of the question Amy put to Mrs. Patil? Could this mean that sometimes children have greater insight than adults?

2. Dr. Singh's observation is that many people shut their eyes to to things that are obvious. Do you agree with that observation? Why do you think people ignore the obvious truth?

Read more: here

 

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 24

“When we are confronted with a mystery to
solve,” said Dr. Singh, “we usually have to deal
with effects. We identify and observe the effects and then
ask about the cause. That’s how mysteries are solved. So
what are effects? How do we recognize them?”

Dr. Singh wrote down the following on the blackboard:

Effect = Existence or presence of anything which was
previously non-existent

“Any event, happening or occurrence is also an effect,”
he went on. “For example, if you come across a burnt
building - what would you think? Why is the building burnt,
right? You would ask what caused the building to be in that
state. Obviously that building wasn’t like that when it was
built. So we can say that at one time that building did not
exist in that burnt-down state. But now it does. Therefore
the existence of the building in that burnt state indicates that
it’s an effect.”

He paused and then continued, “We’re always asking
about causes. Why do we ask for causes? Because we want
to know the reason why a thing exists - such as this loaf of
bread. We want to know the reason why things happen.
Like a building that gets burnt down. We want to know the
reason why things are the way they are. Our mission therefore
is to find out what is the cause. And if we can find the
cause - we have solved the mystery.”

“Just like when we see a dirty and smelly old man?”
asked Amy.

Dr. Singh raised his eyebrow.

“I mean - we can ask why he is dirty and smelly,” explained
Amy at once, wondering if she had said something
stupid. “We can ask what caused him to be like that - dirty
and smelly?”

Dr. Singh smiled. “You’re right! Certainly we can ask
that. Very good!”

Amy felt very encouraged. “Also what about a messy
room?” she said. “We can ask what caused that room to be
messy?”

“Excellent!” cried Dr. Singh very much pleased. “Can
you think of any other examples?”

“How about an accident?” said Jim. “We can ask what
caused it, right?”

“And murder?” said Andrew. “Like when the police want
to know who is the person who caused the murder?”

“Good,” said Dr. Singh. “It looks like you have understood
the principle of cause and effect well. We are now in a
position to solve our little mystery...the mystery of what
happens after death.” He walked towards the black door
and stood before it. There was a serious look on his face.

“Like I said - I’m not going to solve the mystery for you.
Nor am I going to tell you the answers to the questions you
have on your mind. You’re going to have to come to your
own conclusions. But Truth is very clear and obvious
especially to those people who are looking for it. So in just
a few moments you’ll be face to face with the Truth. The
Truth which you may dislike. The Truth which is very bitter.
I have asked you before and I’ll ask you again - do you wish
to proceed?”

Richard’s face grew pale. The time had come at last. He
knew that he was very close to the Truth. And he didn’t
want to know it. Somehow he felt that it was going to be
something he wouldn’t like. “But I don’t have to accept the
Truth if I don’t like it,” he told himself. “Nobody can make
me accept it!”

“We’re ready to face the Truth!” declared Marie. The rest
of them were all eager to know what Dr. Singh was going
to reveal next.

“Alright!” said Dr. Singh. “All of you went outdoors
today. You were told to make observations. So tell me -
what did you observe?”

Amy went first. “I saw many things,” she said opening
her notebook. “Lots of trees and plants - pretty flowers,
green leaves, green grass - an ant-hill - some termites. I
even saw a big spider-web! There was a spider on it too -
and some squirrels. They had bushy tails!”

“I made some different observations,” said Marie. “I saw
falling leaves and I felt the wind blowing. And I was thinking
about how things fall. Because of the earth’s gravity. I
saw birds flying in the air. They have wings and that’s why
they can fly. Then at the lake, I saw some fish in the water.
They have gills, fins and tails.”

“Very good observations,” commented Dr. Singh.

“I wrote down pretty much the same things that Amy
wrote,” said Andrew.

“Richard? Let’s hear what observations you made,” said
Dr. Singh noting how Richard seemed to be a little withdrawn.
Richard opened his notebook. “I’ve observed,” he said
slowly. “That my legs had grown weak and tired after
walking only a little distance. And that I was feeling thirsty
and hungry. I’m sorry if I’m talking only about myself - but
these are my observations -about how I felt. At the lake, I
sat down and wrote down many other things. I’ve been
thinking about my own death - which is going to be soon.
And then I looked around me and saw that death comes to
all things. The trees, plants, animals - the birds, insects,
fish....reptiles. There are many living things on earth. They
all die. And another thing I’ve noted is day and night. I felt
rather thankful that night was going to come in a few hours.
It’s the time for rest and sleep....which I need very badly.
Lastly I must say that everything in nature is so orderly and
systematic. And peaceful.”

“Awesome!” said Jim looking at Richard in admiration.

“Yes,” agreed Dr. Singh. “That’s deep thinking -observing
how everything around us is perishing. Wonderful!”

Then it was Jim’s turn. He cleared his throat. “Well, I
have made some very obvious observations,” he said. “Like
we’re wearing clothes. There’s no other animal out there
that wears clothes. Then the fact that the earth is round in
shape. And so is the sun. Actually each thing seems to have
a specific size and shape. Including us human beings. We
have two hands, two feet and we walk erect. And also one
more thing. We don’t have tails!”

“Ah, those observations are obvious alright,” remarked
Dr. Singh. “But I love them! People have a tendency to
overlook what is most obvious - and that isn’t good at all.
We need to take into consideration all things, including
things that are obvious - in order to come to the right
conclusion. Nothing must be left out.”

Martha was the last one to speak. “My observation is
this,” she said. “We’re different from the animals and creatures
that exist on this planet. There are many things to see
and observe. But that has been my main observation - that
human beings seem to be special creatures.”

“I’m impressed,” commented Dr. Singh. “All of you have
made some really great observations. You have seen the
existence of many things - living as well as non-living. It’s a
fact that there are many things in this universe. The logical
question to ask therefore is - why do these things exist?
Why are things the way they are?”

“You’ve learnt that the existence of anything that wasn’t
there before is an effect. So the question to ask is - have all
the things you have seen and observed always existed? Or -
was there a time when those things didn’t exist?”

“You see - if there was a time when these things did not
exist - then we must ask the question what caused them to
exist. All the things you have seen and observed are effects.
If so, we should ask about the cause. This is where we
wonder about our own existence. We want to know what
caused us to be here.”

“Nothing caused us to be here,” said Richard at once.
“All things have evolved to be what they are.”

Martha rolled her eyes. “That stupid evolution theory!”
she thought.

“Evolved?” said Dr. Singh. He laughed heartily. “No, no,
my friend! The evolution theory does not have any ground
to stand on. I personally think it’s all nonsense!”

Richard was not very pleased. It showed on his face.

“You’d think it was nonsense too, Richard,” said Dr.
Singh seeing that he had to explain the matter clearly to
him.

“You see, the evolution theory rests on two assumptions,”
and he wrote on the board:

Assumption 1: The universe has always been there
Assumption 2: Life emerged from non-living matter

“The first assumption has been totally destroyed by
recent astronomical discoveries. We have found that our
universe is in a continuous state of expansion. And the
galaxies are speeding away from one another. Based on this,
scientists have come to the conclusion that at one time the
universe did not exist. It came into existence as a result of a
big bang. What does that mean? It means that it was caused
to come into existence. In other words - the universe hasn’t
always been there.”

“The second assumption is absolutely ridiculous,” he
went on. “Life comes from life. Non-living things never
become alive all of a sudden. Scientists have tried with all
their might and technological expertise to create living
things out of non-living matter. To this day they have not
succeeded. They never will! Just think about it! Can a dead
man ever make a woman pregnant? Can a dead woman ever
give birth to a child? This is an impossibility!”

Martha was extremely pleased. She simply loved the way
Dr. Singh blasted the evolution theory. Marie threw her a
glance and nodded her head in support.

“Let’s get back to our observations,” said Dr. Singh
totally ignoring Richard’s reaction to what he had just said.

They all looked on as Dr. Singh wrote a few things on
the board:

Observation 1: The tails of squirrels are bushy.
Observation 2. Birds have wings.
Observation 3: The sun is round in shape.
Observation 4: Spiders make spider-webs.
Observation 5: We are living beings.

“We’ve learned that the first step in solving any mystery
is observation. These are some of the things you have
observed. And now - what we are going to do is simply ask
the magic question why. So tell me -why are the tails of
squirrels bushy?”

They were silent for a while. Then Jim had an answer.

“Because that’s the way they have been made,” he said.

Dr. Singh wrote on the board:

1. The tail of a squirrel is bushy because that’s the way it
has been made.

He asked the rest of the questions and then wrote down
their answers on the board. The answers were as follows:

2. Birds have been given wings so that they can fly.
3. The sun is round in shape because it has been made
that way.
4. Spiders can make spider-webs because they have been
taught how to do it.
5. We are living because we have been given life.

“Now - we’re going to do a grammar exercise,” said Dr.
Singh with a big smile. “All these sentences are in the
passive voice. Change them to active. What do you get?”

They gave their answers and Dr. Singh wrote them all
down. They were as follows:

1. The tail of a squirrel is bushy because SOMEONE
made it that way.
2. SOMEONE gave birds wings so that they can fly.
3. The sun is round in shape because SOMEONE made it
that way.
4. Spiders can make spider-webs because SOMEONE
taught them how to do it.
5. We are living because SOMEONE gave us life.

The Truth was staring at them in the face. There it was -
as clear as crystal right before their very noses. They
couldn’t deny it. It was after all the only answer that made
sense! But Dr. Singh did not declare that Truth to them. It
was something they had to figure out on their own. However,
Dr. Singh decided to help them a little.

“Who is this someone? Do you know?” he asked his
awestruck audience. “Remember the elimination method?
We must eliminate all those answers which are unlikely and
improbable. So what answers must we rule out? We must
rule out all animals, insects, birds, reptiles that live on earth.
We must rule out all plant life. We must also rule out all
non-living things. And yes! We must rule out human beings
as well. Human beings did not teach the spider how to make
that spider-web - nor are they the ones who made the sun
round in shape. So who is that SOMEONE - what is the
only answer that is left?”

“Mon Dieu!” exclaimed Marie quite forgetting that she
was speaking French.”

Dr. Singh nodded his head. “I think I agree with you
there,” he said. “He would be known as Dieu in French,
Bhagwan in Hindi, Allah in Arabic, Tuhan in Malay.....and in
the English language?”

There was silence in the classroom as they waited for Dr.
Singh to finish speaking.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said at last. “In the English
language He is known as God - the Creator of this universe
and all things in it!

-------End of Chapter 24---------


Read more: http://islamcorner.proboards.com/in...=islamicbooks&thread=22&page=11#ixzz1UHrRtYvE ​

​

 

[Flame of Hope]

Questions on chapter 24:

1. Is there anything in this chapter you disagreed with? What?

2. Do you feel that this lesson on the existence of God should have been the first thing that Dr. Singh should have taught his students? Or do you feel this was the right time to do it?

Read more: http://islamcorner.proboards.com/in...=islamicbooks&thread=22&page=11#ixzz1UHrj99JY​

 

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 25

Richard tossed and turned on the flat, hard floor. He
was having a hard time going to sleep. It wasn’t the
discomfort of the floor that was bothering him however. It
was his state of mind.

There were two loud voices in his head.

“You made a huge mistake coming here!” cried the first
voice. “Why did you have to come? And mingle with all
these ordinary people? You’re used to a life of comfort and
luxury! You have everything that you want! You left all that
behind - for what? To live under these miserable circumstances!?
You have been stripped of your identity. You have
no more importance. You are not even recognized. You
have become like these common people. What have you
accomplished by coming here? What have you found? That
a God exists? What rubbish! You know that there is no
God! These classes are nothing but a waste of time!”

“Yes, maybe I did make a mistake,” thought Richard.

“You did not make any mistake,” said the second voice.
“You wanted to know what the Truth was. You wanted an
answer that made sense. So you got what you were looking
for.”

“Oh come on!” said the first voice angrily. “There is no
need for you to go looking for the Truth. You already know
it.”

“Do I?” thought Richard doubtfully.

“Yes, of course!” insisted the first voice. “You know that
there is no God. You’ve never believed in God. And there is
no reason why you should start believing in Him now.”

“You’re right,” said Richard feeling a little better. “Why
should I believe in God all of a sudden?”

“Because,” said the second voice matter-of-factly. “You
have no other choice.”

Richard opened his eyes. He knew that he had no choice
but to believe in the existence of a Creator. After all, there
was no other answer that was reasonable. He dearly wished
he could accept the idea that nobody caused the universe to
come into existence. He wished he could believe that life
began on earth by itself - and that nobody had given him
life. But now -after attending Dr. Singh’s classes, and after
having learnt the amazing properties of Truth, he found it
difficult to accept anything that was unreasonable....or false.

“Untruth Busters”.

He thought about the badge he wore.

“I’m supposed to hate untruth,” he reminded himself.

Then why was he finding it so hard to accept the obvious
Truth?

“Why am I so unhappy to learn that God exists?” he
wondered.

He thought about this for a good while. He stared at the
ceiling and tried to think objectively. He didn’t want his
emotions to cloud his thinking. It wasn’t long before the
answer came to him. He remembered some of the lessons he
had learnt earlier. One of them was the lesson on cognitive
dissonance. And that was when it hit him full force. That’s
what it was! He was suffering acutely from this condition!

He had found information that created a disturbance in his
mind. Information that was extremely unpleasant. Information
that showed that he was wrong about what he believed.

“You’re not wrong!” cried the first voice instantly. “The
evolution theory can’t be wrong! How can it be wrong if it’s
taught in schools?! We learn about it in science text-books -
in all kinds of books. Scientists have shown how life began
on earth. You have seen the diagrams, the illustrations -
you’ve seen how man evolved from lower-life forms.
Scientists cannot be wrong!”

“Oh yes, they can!” retorted the second voice. “Remember
Dr. Rawson - that forensic scientist?”

Richard thought about Dr. Rawson. He didn’t think
highly of that man. He was proud and arrogant. That’s what
he was.

He blinked his eyes as sudden realization dawned on him.
Wasn’t he being proud as well?! He had seen the Truth and
he had disliked it. And he had turned away from it - simply
because it was not something he believed! It was not what
he thought it would be! He remembered the lesson of the
orange seed. There was no changing the Truth. It remained
what it was regardless of how anyone felt about it. And
hadn’t he said that Truth was beautiful? And that he would
love the Truth with all his heart? Hadn’t he pricked the
balloon and shown everyone that he was going to be open-minded?
And hadn’t he circled the number 10 in answer to
the question: How great is your desire to know what happens
after death?

Didn’t he want to know what the Truth
was? Of course he did! Then why was he running away
from the Truth when it came before him?

Dr. Singh was right.

Pride had come in the way. It was making him feel
unhappy and worse than that - it was preventing him from
accepting the Truth.

But there was something else. He thought about his girlfriend
- Anne. And how she had shreaked and grabbed at
him as he had taken a pillow and suffocated her to death. He
remembered that scene very clearly and vividly. Sweat lined
his brow as he relived that awful moment. He had been
quite overcome with a mad rage. He scarcely recognized
himself. He had refused to hold himself guilty of the crime
however. “I’m not guilty,” he had told himself a thousand
times. “She deserved it! She was asking for it!” he would
say again and again. He consoled himself thus - by placing
the entire blame on the girl who had been so unfaithful to
him. The world did not know that he was a murderer. He
was confident that nobody would ever find out. But now -
he was extremely worried.

“If God does exist,” he thought fearfully. “Did He witness
the murder - and know what I did?!”

He wanted to know! He wondered about this new,
strange God. Who was He? What was He like? Did He care
about His creatures? Did He take note of their doings? Did
He forgive people for the bad things they did? Why did He
create man? Why did He keep Himself invisible?

Richard became more and more curious about this God -
who had made all things. There was much fear in his heart
no doubt. But along with it, there was also a flicker of hope.
He recalled the pledge that he had made to himself:

There is no other Truth but one Truth.
Anything other than Truth is false and vain.
I shall love the Truth with all my heart.
And I shall reject all falsehood.
My mission in life is to seek knowledge,
And walk upon the Straight Path alone,
For I know that only the Truth has the power
to help me, guide me and save me.

He recited the lines over and over again. They had a
calming effect on his mind.

“I had better forget about how I feel,” he thought eventually.
“I came here to find out what the Truth was - and if it’s
true that God exists - then I shall certainly accept it. I will
not run away nor will I refuse to admit that I have been
wrong.”

He suddenly felt as if a tremendous burden was lifted
from his shoulders. The voices in his mind became silent.
Peace and tranquility descended upon him. And two minutes
later, he was fast asleep.

------------End of Chapter 25---------------

Questions on chapter 25:

1. What do you think was the most difficult thing that Richard had to face in this chapter?

2. Does it feel like there was war going on in Richard's head? Have you faced such turmoil and war in your own head at any point in your life?

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​

 

[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 26

There was great excitement in the air. Dr. Singh put on
a broad smile. He knew that his students were eager
to get on with their next lesson.

“Today - we’re going to learn something quite extraordinary,”
he began. “We’re going to learn what our Creator is
like. And we’re also going to learn what our Creator is not
like. But first - I’d like to do a bit of revision - for the
benefit of those of you who may still object to the idea that
God exists.”

Richard listened attentively.

“It was way back in the early 1900’s. Astronomers
discovered a strange phenomenon - known as red shift.
They found that light from distant galaxies shifted toward
the red end of the color spectrum. What did this mean?”

He paused for a few seconds before explaining, “It meant
that the universe is expanding. In all directions. Now - I’d
like to read to you what conclusion one professor of astronomy
came to based upon this discovery. This guy’s
name is John D. Barrow and this is what he writes in his
book The Origin of the Universe.” He withdrew a book
from the drawer, flicked open its pages and read out:

“If the universe is expanding, then when we reverse the
direction of history and look in the past we should find
evidence that it emerged from a smaller, denser state - a
state that appears to have once had zero size. It is this
apparent beginning that has become known as the big
bang.”

Dr. Singh turned and wrote on the board in big letters:

ZERO SIZE.

“What is meant by zero size?” he asked.

“No existence!” answered Andrew at once.

“Exactly!” said Dr. Singh. “There was a time when the
universe did not exist! If there was proof to show that the
universe has always existed - we would have reason to
believe that it was not caused to come into existence. We
could have said with confidence that the universe was not
made - or created. It would have been alright to say that
there is no Creator or Maker. However - the facts are
before us and they are undeniable. The facts show that the
universe has not always existed. At one time the universe
had zero size. This means that the universe is an effect. You
remember what an effect is?”

“Yes,” replied Jim. “The existence of something which
wasn’t there before - is known as effect.”

“Therefore the universe must have been caused to come
into existence,” Dr. Singh concluded. “If there is an effect -
then there has to be a cause. So.....” He wrote on the board:

The universe must have been caused to come into exist-
ence

“This sentence is in the passive voice. We shall change it
to active. We get.....” And he wrote:

Someone must have caused the universe to come into
existence.

Never had the Truth been so clear to them. It was so
evident and obvious.

“Isn’t it strange how people like to say things in the
passive voice?” went on Dr. Singh. “The passive voice is
used when the doer or subject is considered unimportant.
You will find that science text-books are all written in the
passive voice. No - change all those passive voice sentences
to active voice - and the Truth will become abundantly clear
to you.”

“Biology, chemistry, physics, algebra, geometry, geography,
history .....these are some of the subjects you learn in
school. And what are they but facts? Science is the study of
things as they are. It’s the study of Truth - remember? And
you will find observations written down in those books -
written in the passive voice. Obviously people give more
importance to the effect. Not to the cause. They will write
down that the sun is round in shape. But they would never
write that someone gave the sun that shape.”

“Oh - they wouldn’t write it down like that!” commented
Jim. “If they did, that evolution theory that is taught in
schools would have to be chucked out the window.”

“Yeah- that’s right!” agreed Andrew. “The theory of
evolution says that there’s no Creator. That nobody made
this universe. So if we were to convert those passive voice
sentences to active voice - then that theory would look
extremely silly!”

Dr. Singh was all smiles. “Do you remember that puzzle
we solved the last time - about what came first - the chicken
or the egg? Do you recall I had listed three options?”
“I remember them,” said Amy at once. “Option one was
the chicken came first. Option two was the egg came first.
And the third option was neither the chicken nor the egg
came first.”

“And which option did we eliminate right away?” asked
Dr. Singh.

“The third option,” replied Richard.

“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?” said Dr. Singh. “You had
no hesitation in ruling out that option immediately. It sounds
too silly. We cannot imagine anyone believing in such a
thing.” He paused. “But this is precisely what people who
support the evolution theory believe. According to them -
neither the chicken nor the egg came first. They think that
life began on earth by chance.”

“This is too funny!” said Marie unable to suppress her
laughter. Laughter being contagious, soon everyone including
Richard was laughing.

“So the next time you read any science book -simply do
this simple exercise,” said Dr. Singh. “Change all those
passive voice sentences to active voice. You’re going to be
amazed at the wonderful things you will discover.”

“I can’t wait to do this exercise!” said Marie excitedly.

“Alright - so now let’s move on. Based upon the law of
cause and effect - it has been established that Someone
created this universe. We call that Someone - God. It
doesn’t matter at all what you think or feel - this is the only
Truth there is. No other answer would make sense and
therefore all other answers have to be eliminated. God
created this universe - and we know that this has to be the
Truth - because we have observed that every effect has a
cause. We have used our power of reasoning to arrive at
this answer. It doesn’t matter at all whether you like it or
not. This is the bitter, unpleasant Truth that’s not going to
change.”

“But I don’t consider this Truth to be bitter at all,” said
Jim.

“Perhaps not you,” responded Dr. Singh. “But those who
do not believe in God would. They would find this answer
most repugnant. Do you know why?”

Richard knew why but he didn’t speak.

“Because,” said Dr. Singh slowly, “it would prove that
they have been wrong!”

“Yeah,” said Andrew, “I remember. Cognitive dissonance.
People don’t like to be wrong.”

“Right! People are like that. They hate being wrong. But
is this a good thing? No - not at all. You must remember
that it is only the Truth that can guide you - and save you. If
a person refuses to accept the Truth when it comes to him -
he’s going to continue walking on the wrong path. And
what would that lead to?”

“That would lead to his doom,” said Andrew.

Dr. Singh nodded. “If you turn away from the Truth
because of your dislike for it - that would indeed be a pity.
Because that would mean you allow your emotions and
feelings to rule your life. It is often the case that we like
things that are bad for us and dislike the things that are
good for us. Therefore we must not get misled by our
feelings.”

“That’s so true!” thought Andrew.

“So now if I were to ask you - do you believe in the
existence of God - what would you say?”

Dr. Singh looked straight at Richard.

“I believe that He exists,” confessed Richard.
“And why do you believe that?”

“Because I have no other option but to believe it. This is
something that is related to the unseen - something that I
am unable to perceive with my five senses. I either believe it
- or I don’t.”

“And you have chosen to believe it?”

“Yes - because I have seen the evidence.”

“And the evidence is?”

“The existence of the universe...which was at one time
non-existent.”

“Great!” commented Dr. Singh pleased to learn that
Richard had accepted the Truth. “Let us now focus on the
Creator of this universe - and find out more about Him.”

------------End of Chapter 26-------------



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[Flame of Hope]

Chapter 27

“Truth is very clear and evident,” said Dr. Singh.
“When you see a loaf of bread you instantly know
that human beings made it. Not some animal, insect or bird.
Your mind works like lightning - and you know what the
Truth is - even without thinking about it. Or so it seems.”

“That loaf of bread - it did not exist at one time. But now
it exists - only because we made it. Similarly the universe
once had zero size. It did not exist. So what can be the only
reason why it exists?”

“Because Someone created it,” said Jim.

“And we know that it was no human being!” said Dr.
Singh. “We can apply the same logic to the mystery regarding
the chicken or the egg. We found that a pair of chickens
- male and female came first. If this is true - then what does
it mean?”

They looked at him blankly.

Dr. Singh smiled. “It’s really very simple my friends. It
just means that before they came - they did not exist.”

“Oh yeah! That was easy!” said Andrew.

“So they didn’t exist,” went on Dr. Singh. “But then
there they were! The first chickens. What could be the only
reason why they suddenly appeared?”

“I know!” cried Amy. “That’s because Someone made
them. God made them.”

“How about if we applied the same reasoning to human
beings?” asked Dr. Singh. “If there was the first pair of
chickens - then there must also have been the first pair of
human beings. The first man and the first woman. What do
you think?”

“I agree with that,” said Marie. “I can’t imagine a baby
coming first. God couldn’t have created the baby first.”

“We have therefore solved one mystery,” said Dr. Singh.
“We now know that all of us are children of that first man
and first woman that God created.”

“This is awesome!” said Jim. “I never thought that we
could figure out something like this!”

“And it does make perfect sense,” added Richard quietly.

“What seems to be a mystery - is in fact not at all a
mystery,” said Dr. Singh. “You have the beautiful gift of
reason that helps you to know what the Truth is. By the
way, I have a question to ask you in this regard.”

They waited to hear the question.

“Can you tell me - what is meant by the word gift?”

“Something that is given for free?” said Martha.

“Right!” replied Dr. Singh. “If you have the gift of reason
- it’s only because it has been given to you and that too for
free!”

There was no denying that.

“But wait a minute!” exclaimed Dr. Singh. “There’s that
passive voice sentence again.”

He walked to the blackboard and wrote it down.

“We must change this to active voice,” he said firmly.
“What do we get?”

Martha had the answer. “If you have the gift of reason -
it’s only because Someone gave it to you for free.”

Dr. Singh wrote her words down. Then he turned and
regarded his class. They were all wonder-struck. Here was
another Truth staring at them in the face!

“Wow!” was all Jim could say.

“That’s the Truth my friends,” said Dr. Singh. “God is the
One who has given you the ability to reason - so that you
can know what the Truth is - so that you can know Him!
You don’t need to be exceptionally clever or smart to
understand or know this Truth. Even a little child can
understand it.”

Amy smiled. She was very pleased.

“Actually,” continued Dr. Singh. “People have believed in
the existence of God since the beginning of history. If a man
came across a spear lying in the jungle - he would instantly
reason that the spear was made by someone - a human being
like himself. Similarly when people looked at the stars, the
moon, the sun, the trees and the mountains - they also
reasoned that these things existed because Someone made
them. Not a human being of course. But Someone who was
very powerful and great.”

The students had no more doubts in their minds regarding
the existence of God.

“Alright, class,” said Dr. Singh abruptly. “We’re going to
another room. We’re going to watch a slideshow!”

The students followed Dr. Singh and entered the same
room where they had watched The Forensic Files.

Henry began to set up the projector and prepare the
slides.

“I’d like to tell you a story,” said Dr. Singh when they
had taken their seats. “I have a friend who lives in England.
His name is John. He’s an artist and he teaches art. He had a
class of ten students and they were all very good at drawing.”

Amy loved listening to stories. Especially the stories that
Dr. Singh told. She listened eagerly and attentively little
realizing that everyone else was as eager and interested as
she was.

“Well one day,” went on Dr. Singh. “John told those ten
students that he was going to marry a girl who lived in
Singapore. He asked them to draw a portrait of this girl.”

“Did he give them her photograph?” asked Jim.

“No,” replied Dr. Singh smiling. “He gave no information
about her at all. Of course they were very surprised. How
were they to draw her picture without seeing her? John told
them he just wanted to see how good his class was. So they
made their drawings and displayed them on the wall for
John to see. John brought a picture of his girlfriend the
following day and he showed all his students the picture he
had brought.”

He stopped speaking. Was this the end of the story?

“What do you think?” asked Dr. Singh. “Which student,
do you think, had drawn the picture that looked just like his
girlfriend?”

“No one!” they all said aloud.

“Are you sure?”

“Very sure,” they said confidently.

“You’re right,” said Dr. Singh.

“When John showed them her picture - she was nothing
like what any of them had drawn. Now here’s a question for
you. If a million people tried to draw a picture of someone
without seeing him or her - without knowing anything about
that person - how accurate do you think their pictures are
going to be?”

“They are not going to be accurate at all,” replied Richard.

“That would be nothing but guesswork,” said Jim.

“Exactly!” said Dr. Singh. “And here’s the point I want to
make. God is Unseen. If so - how does anyone know what
He looks like?”

There was silence in the room. Dr. Singh walked over to
the switch and turned the lights off.

“Alright, Henry,” he said. “Let’s begin the slide-show!”

------------End of Chapter 27---------


​

Questions on chapter 27:

1. Would you agree that the gift of reason is the most beautiful given to us by God? Why?

2. How sound do you think is the idea of making images of people or gods we've never seen before with our own eyes? How well do you think Dr. Singh's story illustrates the silliness of making images of God when nobody has ever seen Him?

Read more: ​

here​

​

 

[Flame of Hope]

Assalamu alaykum.

It's time to get on with the chapters....

Here's the next chapter....

------------

Chapter 28


It was a slide-show of many different gods and god
desses. They saw the many faces of Jesus Christ.
Some people drew him as a white man with blonde hair and
blue eyes. Others drew him as a black man. Each picture
was different.

Then there were images of Buddha. In India
he was drawn with big eyes and rounded eyebrows. In
China he had slant eyes. Next came the pictures of Hindu
gods and goddesses. Many of these gods and goddesses had
several arms and several heads. They saw the elephant god
Ganesha - the god of good fortune, the terrifying goddess
Kali and the goddess of wealth, Laxmi. The slides showing
pictures of the Hindu gods and goddesses seemed to be
never-ending.

“Did you know,” informed Dr. Singh, “that in Hinduism -
there are around 330 million gods and goddesses?”

It was unbelievable - but there they were - hundreds and
hundreds of pictures of gods and goddesses. The slide-show
went on. People from other countries had their own gods
and goddesses. Egyptian gods and goddesses were different
from the Japanese gods and goddesses. There were Greek
gods, Chinese gods, African gods. All kinds of gods and
goddesses.

They watched the slide-show in great fascination.
They had never seen so many images and forms of
God. They watched the slide-show for half an hour. Then
Dr. Singh turned the lights on.

“People cannot see God,” he said, “so they have drawn
him in all kinds of shapes and forms. Can you tell me -
which of these images depicts God accurately?”

“None of these images,” said Richard. “All these pictures
and images - they are all false!”

“You are sure about that?”

“There can be no doubt about it,” said Richard.

Martha had to agree as well, though a little reluctantly.
She believed that Jesus was God. And she had seen many
different pictures of him in the slide-show. She had to admit
that all the pictures she had seen were false. None of them
could be the picture of the real Jesus simply because nobody
knew what he looked like. It was all guess-work. She had
never thought about it - but now she could see how wrong
it was to make guesses. That little story that Dr. Singh had
told them earlier about his friend John had made her think a
little more deeply. She glanced at her white coat and looked
at her badge that had “Untruth Busters” written on it. She
was not supposed to tolerate any form of falsehood. She
was supposed to hate it with all her heart and she was
supposed to guard her uniform from getting filthy. She
remembered how Richard’s coat had looked so awful when
Dr. Singh had shaken some drops of ink on it. It spoiled
everything! She thought about the painting of Jesus she had
in her bedroom. “I had better remove it when I get home,”
she secretly told herself.

“Many people believe in God,” said Dr. Singh. “Like I
said, it doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to figure out that
He exists. But people have all kinds of ideas and beliefs
regarding Him. They indulge in a lot of conjecture. You can
go to any library and check out an illustrated book on world
mythology. You will be amazed at the number of gods and
goddesses people have believed in - and still do believe in.
And you’ll be astonished to read about the incredible opinions,
stories and theories people have come up with regarding
God.”

He paused before continuing, “You know that there is
only one Truth. And the Truth is - God is Unseen. Therefore
people who make images of God are clearly in error.”

“But there are people who do not make any images of
Him,” Jim pointed out.

“Yes,” said Dr. Singh. “And these are the people who are
on the right track. No see God - no make image of God.
Makes sense, right?”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” said Andrew.

“It’s not surprising however that people should come up
with so many different beliefs and opinions about God. This
is something that’s bound to happen. You remember what
we had learnt? Disputes and disagreements only arise when
the Truth is unknown, concealed or hidden? It’s only when
Truth is unseen that people indulge in guesswork?”

“Yes, I remember!” said Marie recalling the lesson of the
orange seed. They had made a lot of guesses -and all of
them were wrong.

“And I also remember,” she added, “that the world of the
Unseen can only be reached through our power of reason.”

“That’s right,” said Dr. Singh. “We have found that God
exists - not because we did some guesswork but because we
used our power of reason. And we also learned that God
gave us the gift of reason - so that we can find out what the
hidden Truth is - so that we can reach the world of the
Unseen. So what does that mean? It means that we can find
out more about God - what He is like - and what He is not
like - simply by using our powers of observation and reason.
If you guess - you are going to be wrong. But if you use
your reason - you are going to be right.”

“I absolutely agree!” said Richard. He didn’t care about
people’s opinions and he didn’t like making guesses. He
liked using his power of reasoning to uncover the Truth.
They all did.

“I have a story to tell you,” said Dr. Singh. “Listen
carefully. After hearing this story - I shall be asking you
some important questions.”

Dr. Singh knew how to stir their interest and they listened
with great eagerness.

“A long time ago in ancient Egypt,” began Dr. Singh.
“There lived a couple who worshipped the goddess Isis -
the god Osiris and another god named Horus. They had
been childless for many years and naturally they yearned for
a child. So they prayed to these idols everyday. In another
country - in ancient India - there was also one couple - who
were in the same predicament. They too wished for a child.
But they had different gods. They prayed to the god Shiva
and the goddess Parvati.”

“Then what happened?” asked Amy curiously.

“Well, the prayers of the Egyptian couple were answered.
They were of course overjoyed.”

“And the Indian couple?” Marie wanted to know.

“Their prayers were also answered,” said Dr. Singh. “But
now - it’s question time! The Egyptian couple worshipped
Isis, Osiris and Horus. They prayed to these gods - and their
prayers were answered. And the Indian couple worshipped
Shiva and Parvati. They prayed to these Hindu gods - and
their prayers were also answered. My question to you is this
- Did the Egyptian couple know anything about the gods
that the Indian couple worshipped?”

“I don’t think so,” said Amy.

“And did the Indian couple know anything about the
gods that the Egyptian couple worshipped?”

“No,” said Marie. “Not if this was in ancient times.”

“So tell me what conclusions you are going to come to
based on these observations,” said Dr. Singh.

No one spoke and they looked at Dr. Singh blankly again.

“Alright,” said Dr. Singh a little amused. “I’ll tell you
what our conclusions are going to be. In the case of the
Egyptian couple - we can conclude that the Hindu gods
couldn’t have been the ones to answer their prayers. And in
the case of the Indian couple - the Egyptian gods couldn’t
have been the ones to answer their prayers.”

“Yeah! That’s right!” said Jim.

“Let’s think a little more, shall we?” continued Dr. Singh.

“If it’s true that the Egyptian gods and goddesses exist -
then a question arises which must be answered - and the
question is - why didn’t these Egyptian gods hear the
prayers of the Hindu couple?”

“Hmmm,” said Richard. “I never thought of that!”

“And if it is true,” went on Dr. Singh, “that the Hindu
gods and goddesses exist - then why didn’t these gods hear
and respond to the prayers of the Egyptian couple?”

The answer was pretty clear.

“It’s because - these gods and goddesses don’t really
exist!!” exclaimed Jim.

They had already seen hundreds of
gods and goddesses in the slide-show. And they knew that
all those gods and goddesses were false. They were made by
human beings!

“Then we have another question that we must answer,”
said Dr. Singh, “and the question is - if these gods and
goddesses don’t exist - who listened to and responded to
the prayers of these two couples? Who gave these couples
what they wished for?”

Again the answer was loud and clear.

“Only a God who possessed power and ability could have
answered the prayers of these people,” said Richard. “Our
Unseen God.”

“I agree!” said Jim. “The true God is the One who is
Unseen. Images and pictures can’t be made of Him. He’s
the same God who created this universe and He’s the same
God who listens to and answers the prayers of people all
over the world.”

“And He is also the One who created the first man and
first woman from whom we all came,” added Martha. “He’s
the God who created the Egyptians as well as the Hindus.
He created us all.”

Dr. Singh was impressed and pleased. They had figured
out the answers all on their own. They were doing pretty
well but they had only just begun. They had a lot more to
learn about the God of all things.

----------End of Chapter 28--------------



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[Flame of Hope]

Questions on chapter 28:

(where are you Bintulislam? :hmm: )

1. If man created these idols, why do you think some people still believe that they have power over us?

2. How did the creation (idols) become the master over the creator (man)?

3. How do you believe in what you can't see?



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