At 11:26 a.m. last Friday (July 8), I joined millions to watch in silent awe as the space shuttle Atlantis, for the last time, "slipped the surly bonds of earth" and soared into orbit. Our generation has seen the shuttle launch many times, but it never seems to get old, each time there is a special sense of beauty, as if we know we are watching magic unfold as we see our species, over thousands of generations, move out of Africa, settle the continents of the globe, and now in just a blink of historical time go from Kitty Hawk to the moon and then a space station made by ourselves.
While there is a sense of sadness at the end of an era and a seeming slowdown in the next stage of space exploration, I have a sense of long-term optimism about our exploration of space inspired by my understanding of the writings of the Baha'i Faith, which I'd like to share.
The first relates to the gift of flight. For thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years, humans have dreamed of having the ability to fly, from Icarus to Leonardo Da Vinci. But this dream only became a reality in 1903, and since then has allowed many of us to fly around the planet and some of us to space.
Why did it happen so quickly, after such a long time as just a dream? My understanding is that it has to do with the stage of human evolution we are now in -- the beginning of the stage of the maturity of the human race. It is one manifestation of a line in the Lord's prayer: "Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." One of the images almost every religious tradition has of heaven is that it is populated by beings that have the gift of flight. If our earth is also in the process of becoming heavenly, it is not surprising that we now have also been given this gift, and that it will continue to develop.
While most of the writings of the Baha'i Faith focus on the current imperative needs of peace and unity for the human race on earth, there is a statement made by Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, about other stars and their planets: "Know thou that every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own creatures, whose number no man can compute." Logic also shows that a Supreme Intelligence that created this vast universe would not leave 99.99999999 (keep going with the 9s) percent of it barren and uninhabited with sentient life, and only our tiny speck of dust inhabited. Any landlord would be tremendously saddened by such a low occupancy rate!
A question naturally arises: Why have we not yet encountered these creatures? One day we might find out why it took so long, just like our gift of liftoff from earth seemed impossible, but then suddenly happened. A possible explanation is that we still have a lot of work to do on ourselves -- a planet and a species that is still often at war with itself. If technological and spiritual evolution ultimately go hand in hand, it could be that more highly evolved beings know to leave us alone until we can at least first be united among our own kind.
It is interesting that our exploration of space has also led to a deeper understanding of our soul. It allowed us, for the first time, to see our planet as a whole in its dazzling beauty, without the man-made borders for which so much blood was shed. It provided a visual image of another statement made by Baha'u'llah: "The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens." The images we are now seeing of the surfaces of other planets and their moons also have a beauty to them that I have heard modern artists remark on their intricate and majestic forms and patterns, which brings to mind another statement of Baha'u'llah: "Every created thing in the whole universe is but a door leading unto His knowledge, a symbol of His majesty, a token of His power."
While our national debt, ironically acting like the law of gravity binding us to earth, may well slow down our space program for now, hopefully the sense of wonder and exploration will continue to be cultivated in new generations that will expand both our knowledge of the universe and deepen our understanding of our soul. The progress of both science and religion, like two wings of a bird and two different ways of understanding the same ultimate reality, are both important to an ever-advancing civilization.
As Albert Einstein said: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science." May we keep experiencing the beautiful mysteries of the heavens.
Follow Shastri Purushotma on Twitter: www.twitter.com/shastrip
Andrew Z. Cohen: A Longing to Evolve
Space Shuttle Atlantis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shuttle Atlantis reaches orbit for final time - USATODAY.com
Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on 'sentimental journey' - CNN
Space shuttle Atlantis carries some curious cargo: two iPhones ...
I translated it to Portuguese and post it here:
http://povodebaha.blogspot.com/2011/07/uma-reflexao-sobre-o-espaco-e-alma.html
If they have any sense whatsoever, they're hiding. Or else moving away from their planets before we get there and cause the property values to drop.
We can't deal with each other with respect even on the most basic level of male and female, we can't find a resource without trying to exploit it and then fight over it, we can't even manage to keep our own home clean, and we cling to superstitions and ego-based ideas that we are the only ones who can possibly be right about what the universe is and what it means.
Until we get our own mess under control, we're just not ready to "meet the neighbors". We don't know how to play nice and share yet.
“Why did it happen so quickly, after such a long time..?â€
My understanding is that it had to do with that age old desire meeting a general knowledge base, and individual perseverance, followed quickly by governments desiring a tactical advantage in war.
The Wright brothers (and the others working around the world) are the dream. They are the individuals with the knowledge base to understand, the wealth to engage, and the freedom to pursue their own ideas.
In our (?Mature?) world dreams are often co-opted by governments hoping to extend their power, and the greed of those who will gladly provide any service for wealth. Thus the millions of innocent people killed from the air in the last century.
It is sad, but also true, that these two aspects have, and usually do, work in combination for the great projects of our species. As a member of a Faith that believes in peace and unity, I think you will agree, that it is not the best way for humanity to proceed. But without Hiroshima there would have been no Sea of Tranquility in our lifetime, possibly not for a dozen lifetimes.
As a member of a faith that also values education, I would think that you’d like to see this very dangerous world with the clearest possible view, rather than just another religiously idealized one.
While I think that this was a great society, I do not, believe that they were on their way to the moon.
The rockets of the space race were modeled on the rockets that Hitler used to bomb England.
National enmity and materialism funded the moon shot.
Great achievements in short time periods require centralized power and wealth because all individuals have their own ideas about the best uses of wealth, and most would agree that feeding and educating the population is more important than blowing stuff up.
Are humans maturing? In WWI most casualties were soldiers, now, with our smart bombs and enhanced intelligence gathering most war casualties are civilian. As the rich get richer, the percentage of people in the world with access to food, water, medicine, education and self determination is on the decline.
Yes we could become a just and peaceful society which achieves great things.
But the arc of technological achievement is slower when fairness and kindness are considered to be greater priorities than wealth and power.