# The Nectar of God (Part: 15) ঈশ্বরের অস্তিত্ব সম্বন্ধে সমস্ত প্রশ্নের সমাধান করার চেষ্টা করা মানুষের একটি স্বাভাবিক প্রবৃত্তি। কিন্তু এই প্রবৃত্তিটি যখন বুদ্ধির মধ্যে ক্রিয়া করে, তখন অনেক সময় বুদ্ধি নিজেই বুঝতে পারে না যে, কোথায় তার সীমানা আছে। এবং এই অজ্ঞতাই পরে অনেক ভুল সিদ্ধান্তের জন্য দায়ী হয়ে ওঠে। To seek resolution for all questions concerning God's existence is a natural inclination of the human mind. Yet when this impulse works within the faculty of reason, intellect often fails to perceive where its own boundaries lie. And this very blindness becomes the source of countless errors in judgment that follow. প্রতিটি বস্তুর একটি প্রকৃতি আছে। প্রকৃতি মানে তার নিজস্ব স্বভাব, যা তার থেকে অপরিহার্যভাবে প্রবাহিত হয়। লোহার প্রকৃতি হল লোহা হওয়া। পাথরের প্রকৃতি হল পাথর হওয়া। গাছের প্রকৃতি হল বৃদ্ধি পাওয়া, বিস্তার পাওয়া এবং ফল দেওয়া। এই সমস্ত প্রকৃতিগুলি তাদের নিজনিজ বস্তুর থেকে পৃথক নয়। তারা সেই বস্তুরই অপরিহার্য বৈশিষ্ট্য। Everything possesses a nature—its own essential character, that which flows from it necessarily and inevitably. The nature of iron is to be iron. The nature of stone is to be stone. The nature of a tree is to grow, to extend itself, and to bear fruit. These natures are not separate from the things themselves; they are the essential properties of those very beings. কিন্তু বুদ্ধির প্রকৃতি কী? বুদ্ধির স্বভাব কী? But what is the nature of intellect? What is its essential character? বুদ্ধি বিশ্লেষণ করে, পার্থক্য করে, তুলনা করে, বিচার করে। এটি একটি বিষয়কে অন্যটির সাথে সম্পর্কিত করে। এটি কারণ এবং ফল খুঁজে পায়। এটি নিয়ম খুঁজে পায়। এটি প্রকৃতির মধ্যে শৃঙ্খলা আবিষ্কার করে। কিন্তু বুদ্ধির নিজেরই একটি প্রকৃতি আছে—এবং সেই প্রকৃতি হল সর্বদা বিভাজন, বিশ্লেষণ এবং সীমিত করা। Intellect analyzes, distinguishes, compares, judges. It relates one thing to another. It searches for cause and effect. It discovers laws. It uncovers order within nature. Yet intellect itself possesses a nature—and that nature is perpetual division, analysis, and demarcation. ঈশ্বর যদি অসীম হন, তবে বুদ্ধি তাঁকে সম্পূর্ণভাবে আয়ত্ত করতে পারবে না। কারণ বুদ্ধির প্রকৃতিই হল সীমিত করা। অসীমকে সীমিত করার চেষ্টা করা মানে অসীমকেই অস্বীকার করা। সীমার মধ্যে যা পরিণত হয়, তা আর অসীম থাকে না। If God be infinite, then intellect cannot fully comprehend Him. For the very nature of intellect is to demarcate and limit. To attempt to bound the infinite is to deny the infinite itself. What is made finite within boundaries is no longer infinite. এখানে একটি গভীর সত্য লুকিয়ে আছে। এটি শুধুমাত্র ঈশ্বরের ক্ষেত্রেই নয়, বরং জীবনের সমস্ত উচ্চতর স্তরের অভিজ্ঞতার ক্ষেত্রেও প্রযোজ্য। প্রেম, সৌন্দর্য, সত্য—এই সমস্ত জিনিসের অভিজ্ঞতা বুদ্ধির সীমানার বাইরে নিহিত। Herein lies a profound truth. It applies not only to God, but to all the higher dimensions of human experience. Love, beauty, truth—the experience of all these things dwells beyond the bounds of intellect. তুমি প্রেমকে সংজ্ঞায়িত করতে পারো, বিশ্লেষণ করতে পারো, কিন্তু তুমি কখনো প্রেমের সারমর্মকে বুদ্ধির মাধ্যমে পেতে পারবে না। বুদ্ধি যা পায় তা কেবল প্রেমের খোলস—তার বাহ্যিক সংজ্ঞা এবং বৈশিষ্ট্য। You can define love, analyze it, yet you can never grasp the essence of love through intellect alone. What intellect obtains is merely the husk—the outward definitions and attributes of love. এই কারণেই বহু দার্শনিক এবং ঋষি বলেছেন, ঈশ্বরের জ্ঞান অনুভবের মাধ্যমে আসে, বুদ্ধির মাধ্যমে নয়। অনুভূতি হল অধিবিদ্যার একটি উচ্চতর স্তর। এটি বিচ্ছিন্ন নয়, সংযুক্ত। এটি বিভাজন করে না, একীভূত করে। এটি পার্থক্য খুঁজে পায় না, একত্ব খুঁজে পায়। This is why so many philosophers and sages have declared that knowledge of God comes through direct experience, not through intellect. Intuition—or direct perception—is a higher faculty of knowledge. It does not divide; it unites. It does not distinguish; it integrates. It does not seek difference; it finds oneness. কিন্তু এই অনুভূতি কী? এটি কোথা থেকে আসে? But what is this direct perception? From whence does it arise? এটি আসে আমাদের অস্তিত্বের গভীরতম স্তর থেকে। এটি সেই মুহূর্তে জাগ্রত হয় যখন আমরা আমাদের সীমিত স্ব-সচেতনতার বাইরে চলে যাই। যখন আমরা নিজেদের ছোটো করা বাক্সের দেওয়ালগুলি ভেঙ্গে ফেলি, তখন এমন একটি বিশাল বোধ জাগ্রত হয় যা আমাদের পূর্ববর্তী সমস্ত ধারণাকে অতিক্রম করে যায়। It springs from the deepest stratum of our existence. It awakens at the moment we transcend our limited self-awareness. When we break through the walls of the narrow box we have constructed around ourselves, there awakens a vast consciousness that surpasses all our previous conceptions. এবং এই অভিজ্ঞতাটি হল চূড়ান্ত। এটি প্রশ্নের অতীত। এটি সন্দেহের অতীত। কারণ এটি নিজেই প্রশ্ন এবং সন্দেহের উৎস যা আমাদের মধ্যে রয়েছে। And this experience is ultimate. It lies beyond questioning. It transcends doubt. For it is itself the source of the very questioning and doubt that arise within us.

The power of truth does not reveal itself only in the life of an individual. Society, which is the aggregate of many persons, also bows its head in acknowledgment of truth's dominion. At first, some particular person perceives truth. Yet for a time, even he sees it as though through a haze, obscured and dim. Gradually, with clearer contours, every facet of truth begins to shine before his eyes, and this truth burns fiercely in his soul. Then he can no longer remain still; to whoever he encounters, he offers this knowledge of truth. And the more he describes truth's nature to the world, the more his heart's truth flares up like sparks, burning ever brighter. The people around him, too, begin slowly to perceive this new truth in the half-light, in that subtle interplay of illumination and shadow. This truth gradually awakens in people's hearts a certain affection for truth itself. Then a few more individuals partially embrace this truth.

Then, just as when sunlight falls upon water, the sun's reflection trembles upon the surface and, trembling, passes from one wave to the next, illuminating each in turn—precisely so does truth flow from one soul to another, spreading gradually through the world. In time, people of similar convictions gather together and, through mutual sympathy, mutual aid, and shared endeavor, begin to develop this newly born truth further. They form themselves into a company, united by a common truth, and through their fellowship they are initiated into this new understanding. This band of truth's servants grows ever larger. Meanwhile, the general populace begins to mount fierce resistance against this new truth. People ordinarily cannot, or will not, accept what is new in its early form.

Sometimes the masses, with the aid of state power, move to destroy the new truth entirely. Sometimes they marshal their intellect and employ logic and argument to uproot it. Sometimes, with elaborate cunning, they seek to obliterate it in secret. And sometimes they openly and nakedly obstruct its advance. Yet the moment truth encounters such resistance from every quarter, it seems to assume a certain fierce resolve; its very spokespersons, at such times, grasp the truth more fully through knowledge, strengthen their own conviction, and establish with dignity the inseparable bond between truth and the world. Against all such hindrances, truth's power and capacity only develop further. Then the new disciples of this new truth, calm and collected, through careful examination and reasoned discussion seek to understand its essential facts. In time, they establish the philosophical foundations of truth itself. They cultivate their powers of speech for proclaiming truth, devise various methods to present truth before mankind, and labor with utmost care to secure recognition of this truth in some enduring, external form.

We must remember that truth, by its very nature, requires an outward form. Every thought and feeling that arises in the human mind cannot remain merely as thought and feeling; it perpetually seeks to manifest itself in material form. When the custodians of this new truth proclaim their innermost convictions with clarity and fullness, the criticisms that inevitably arise—rooted as they are in their own hidden truths—serve to purify the new truth, stripping away any errors it may contain. Thus does this new truth liberate itself entirely from the narrow prejudices and conditioning of nation and individual, venturing forth to conquer the world. In this manner the great truths of religion and human welfare spread across the earth, accomplishing their appointed tasks.

Every new truth concerning religion or morality stands in opposition to ancient custom, and those who first embrace it shoulder a burden unprecedented in their minds—namely, the resolve to persevere in their work by renouncing the comforts of old ways, becoming objects of public scorn and hatred, losing the affection and support of friends and kinfolk. The founders of new truths must always suffer degradation and contempt in society. In ancient times, the bearers of true religion endured countless torments and cruelties. Yet the devotees of truth bore these afflictions with smiling faces, and by their steadfastness truth advanced irresistibly across the earth. Gradually, wise minds came forth to discover the philosophy, science, and structure of this new truth, to expound and proclaim it in every corner, and through various outward institutions to give it tangible form. Then truth descended into the world as a new force. Nothing could displace it or obstruct its passage. Thus have the great religions of the world been established. The prophets of truth, enduring thousands of obstacles and hardships, succeeded in setting truth upon the world and spreading it far and wide.

That all social, political, and religious institutions lie entirely within human dominion—that these are nothing more than means to human purpose—and that humanity can at any time, in any manner, alter, expand, or even abolish these laws: this simple truth began to dawn upon the human mind some five or six centuries ago. In our present age, any thinking person knows this truth concerning religion.

There was a time when religion appeared to humanity as a kind of novel and magnificent truth. People believed then that religious laws were ordained by God and beyond human power to change. Let us consider what resulted from this conviction. Though opinions on religion have varied, the truths of religion have inspired hundreds of millions of people to live beautifully. Among mankind, those possessed of some intelligence and talent created countless religious precepts for human welfare. These laws have given new life to thousands upon thousands of souls.

Later, man conceived that religion's truths could be wielded for the advancement of his own interests—in politics, in governance, in commerce. If only these religious truths could be cunningly impressed upon the human mind and applied with appropriate strategy, then personal and communal gain would not be difficult to secure. Thus began the exploitation of religion for the sake of self-interest. Yet beyond this, there exist within religion certain dimensions devoted to human welfare; and should these be employed impartially and with genuine purpose, it would be possible to establish peace, order, and justice upon the earth.

This revolutionary march of religion soon began to precipitate upheavals in the state—in England, America, France, Holland, and in various corners of the world. Man then sought to arrest this movement and stand in its way. The rulers of different regions attempted to create obstacles through various means. It must be remembered here that the reformation and elimination of obsolete and unnecessary ordinances is not the sole work of truth. Thus, this truth—in its effort to abolish various forms of monarchy and systems of governance, and to establish new modes of administration suited to human need and aligned with religion—crossed the Atlantic Ocean and came to America.

In this manner, the seed of religion scattered from land to land, and from that ancient truth there began to emerge new truths of the age in politics, society, literature, economics, and in various fields of human endeavor. The right of every human being to preserve his own life, to enjoy mental and physical freedom, and to seek peace both in this world and the next—this was the new truth, which was merely a refined and perfected version of the ancient truth itself. By embracing this truth, mankind has advanced civilization and culture upon the earth.

The truth that men acknowledged long ago is now proving its efficacy and utility through its application in the various affairs of life. Man will accept all manner of human ordinances and conduct them according to his own judgment, yet he shall not be enslaved by those worldly laws contrived for the sake of particular interests. He himself has established these ordinances for his own welfare. God did not create him to serve as their slave. All this is ancient truth. In the present age, the influence of this truth is far greater than in times past. Now no one can arbitrarily impose rules and regulations upon the people according to his own whim. Through the force of religious truth, royal thrones have been reduced to dust in various parts of the world. The unnecessary and baseless monarchies that once existed in many places have been demolished, and in their stead, various institutions have been established for the welfare of common citizens.