“One of the most beautiful qualities of human existence is this sense of mystery”
One of the most beautiful qualities of human existence is this sense of mystery, which says there is something out there worth striving towards, something that cannot be grasped by any of our senses. Everything we do seems to be moving in the direction of that mystery.
Somehow science does not like mystery; it wants to unravel mystery, because mystery has been mistaken as ignorance. Mystery however, is not ignorance, and neither is mysticism. Mysticism is not about not knowing something. Mysticism is a deep understanding that there is something we do not understand about life—something that is still elusive to us, beyond our reach.
Einstein never believed in any personal god, although he was a part of religion. His entire endeavor was to create an objective science that could be empirically proved through experimentation. He moved away from all dogmas, concepts, and ideologies that were in the domain of religion. He wanted to experience and explore life scientifically. In fact, he was one of the greatest scientific minds ever to have lived among us, and still he had a beautiful understanding of mystery. Here is a passage of Einstein’s:
“The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mystical. It is the sower of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself to us as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms. This knowledge, this feeling, is the center of all true religiousness. In this sense, and in this sense only, I belong to the ranks of devoutly religious men.”
Although Einstein spent all his life in scientific endeavor, he deeply believed in the mystery of existence. In fact, all of the greatest artists, the greatest minds, have come through the process of embracing this mystery. When you accept this mystery you can start inquiring newly. Only then can you ask, “What is this mystery? What is life? Who am I?” All of these questions are a part of mysticism.
In fact, the whole journey of humanity is to understand mysticism. This existential quest of man has led to the disciplines of meditation and yoga, as well as the mystical practices of silence, solitude, and prayer. All of these practices have been created to understand the mystery of existence.
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