DOES A PARALLEL WORLD EXIST?
No one today can deny the existence of a parallel virtual world- the world where meetings are held, desires are satisfied, memories created and treasures stored. Following the pandemic, companies and organizations are increasingly moving on to online work and virtual meetings. While physically witnessing a game in a stadium is entertaining, it might be far more convenient to sit in the convenience of your home and watch the game and the replays unfolding on the television screen. When somebody returns from a vacation and goes around showing pictures of their tour highlights, you wonder if they were more interested the pictures taken rather than the tour itself! Physical money has all but disappeared from everyday use and will likely be extinct in the near future as money is stored exclusively online. We don’t see this virtual world, at least not all the time, yet we have faith in it, trust it and understand it to a limited extent.
If we recognize a parallel virtual world, why should it be so difficult to perceive a parallel spiritual world? Just like the virtual world, the spiritual world remains hidden from our senses most of the time. However, as we witness man’s collective inability to control circumstances, the supremacy of sacrificial love in our experiences and the abundance of the mysterious, we recognize that the spiritual realm not only influences us but also dominates everything around us. In fact this spiritual world is not only around us but also within us. Why else should we yearn to live forever, even beyond the certain death that awaits us? Why else do we seek the nourishment of true companionship and love?
Man could operate at three levels. The lowest level is one of ‘instinct’, where there is a free reign for man’s animal desires to control his life. This life is easy to start with, but self-destructive in outcome. You cannot eat all you want, all your life and not escape the consequences of ending with obesity and its attendant diseases. A higher level is one of ‘reason’, where you logically deduce what course your life should take and order your life as such. Most people operate at this level and most self-help books help a person to advance within this level. But the limitations are obvious- the meaninglessness of a life well lived when death swallows everything, the inability of reason to overcome the instinct when you need it most and the lack of guarantees that a rational life will indeed make you successful are only some of the limitations. The highest-level man can operate in, is the level of the ‘spirit’, where you connect to the spiritual realm and meaningfully relate to God who dominates the spiritual realm. This not only brings this hidden realm to your experience, but also gives fullness to you as a person, because all people are intrinsically connected to this highest realm, though living in ignorance of the same.
So how do we connect to the virtual world? We get on to a device and click a few buttons, but above all we have faith that it exists and will operate in accordance with the principles we have learnt by experience. Without faith, we would not be able to transfer money from one online account to another. But when we believe in the existence and the reliability of this virtual world, we are able to operate within it despite not really grasping it like we do with real paper money. So also, it is only by faith that man can connect to the spiritual world. He needs to believe that a spiritual world exists and connects seamlessly with the physical world we see. He needs to understand the supremacy of this world and recognize that finding God alone will help him reach his highest potential. And he should expend his efforts to shed his biases, traditions and illusions to find the true God in Whom he will find fulfillment and satisfaction. As we read in Hebrews 11:6,
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
