That Which I AM, A statement of belief
Part 1, A shift in faith
"I am not my body, nor do I need it. I am the witness only. I have no shape of my own. You are so accustomed to think of yourself as bodies having consciousness that you just cannot imagine consciousness as having bodies. Once you realize that bodily existence is but a state of mind, a movement in consciousness, that the ocean of consciousness is infinite and eternal, and that, when in touch with consciousness, you are the witness only, you will be able to withdraw beyond consciousness altogether." NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ (1897-1981)
ON JUNE 18, 2004, a statue of the Hindu god Shiva, known in part as Lord of the Dance, was unveiled as a permanent exhibit outside the main building of CERN, the European center for research in particle physics. The statue, which represents the cycles of creation, is a gift from India to honor its long association with CERN, whose member nations work at the forefront of exploring the origins and structure of the universe. Shiva’s presence on the CERN campus is a reminder of our search for meaning and purpose. Along with knowing the makeup of the universe and the laws that govern it, we want to know who we are and why we are here. Shiva is an ancient metaphysical answer to existential questions. CERN represents modern, scientific efforts to unlock the structural mysteries. The tree of knowledge grows from the entwined roots of physics and metaphysics. It needs both to flourish.
From the statue’s prominent station on the CERN campus, Shiva shares with science in explaining creation. The statue’s presence represents a symbiotic relationship between myth and fact. Myths explain the unknown. Facts are verifiable. Shiva’s dance symbolizes the universal existence that science seeks to interpret. The mysteries of existence as explained by both metaphysics and physics are richer and deeper in meaning than from either one alone.
In Hindu lore, Shiva dances a cosmic dance which creates, preserves, and destroys simultaneously. The universe flows from Shiva’s rhythmic movement, forming and collapsing repeatedly in an endless cycle. Shiva is the energy of motion that is never still, always creating, always renewing. The statue embodies the timeless, rhythmic movement of existence – the ebb and flow of elements combining and recombining, flowing in and out of form. Shiva’s dance is the center of a venerable story of cosmic origin and the eternal rhythm of existence.
Shiva’s dance, as metaphor, directs attention beyond the physics of the universe to the metaphysics of creation and its relationship to a creator. It is nearly impossible to imagine that physics would add a creator to its equation of the universe, but the construct of creator is paramount in metaphysics. Cultures have long fashioned gods to explain themselves as a people and to answer the myriad questions they have about their lives, their world, and their place after death. A creator, and the stories surrounding it, can offer answers to the mystery of existence and bring reassurance of purpose and survival in the absence of facts.
As science pushes into the mysterious unknown with new discoveries that replace myth with facts, this expansion of knowledge at some point cracks open existing constructs of creator. Then the supernatural explanation of the unknown changes. Ancient gods, such as Shiva, become mythology as knowledge of existence expands from mystery to fact. Outdated religious beliefs crumble in the face of new scientific knowledge. Facts about the universe push the boundaries of belief until a given view of creator can no longer abide in a changed world. Then a shift in faith occurs, revising old-world dogmas with updated ideologies of the unknown.