Stupas, sikharas, steeples, and minarets dot our planet. So, let’s play the “what-if-a-visitor-from-another-world-asked-you-about-these-tall-structures?” game. Knowing that your species has a wide variety of religions and that beneath those structures people practice their faiths in various ways, you would say…what?
“Uh, well, hmm, you see, people around the world accept that there is a Being superior to the beings on this planet. No, I don’t mean the kind of superiority that you exhibit because you are technologically superior to humans. I mean that people believe that even you, with a different origin, are inferior to some Supreme Being or Supreme Beings.”
“You mean,” the visitor says in English, that there is a smarter being somewhere?”
“No, it’s more than that. Not just smarter, superior in type of existence and, in fact, responsible for all existence. Also, the people beneath stupas, sikharas, steeples, and minarets believe that this Being can affect life on this planet. They pray to this Being to ask for favors, or protection, or healing, or maybe even a victory in war or in something as seemingly silly as an athletic endeavor.”
The visitor scratches its large head with one of its six appendages, and asks, “Does the Supreme Being answer the prayers?”
You stumble a little over conflicting thoughts, but reply, “Not always. Some prayers seem to go unanswered.”
“How do you know whether or not the prayers that seem to be answered are not the product of chance or coincidence?”
“We don’t know for sure, but sometimes strange things occur, things that cannot be explained by chance or coincidence, such as a recovery from a chronic or even terminal illness.”
“If I understand you, Earthling, you build these structures so that you have a place to pray to the Supreme Being. Do they have significance?”
“I guess there are several reasons for the structures. See that creature in the air. That’s a bird. On Earth we say birds of a feather flock together. Humans of like mind associate. Like-minded humans and those curious about their mindset go to these structures. And people actually travel just to see these structures not because they share the belief, but rather because they consider the structures to be a form of art or objects of historical significance. Humans also gather at these structures because they believe that their prayers are more effective when they are joint supplications. Also, the structures are connected in a hierarchy. Some are more important, bigger, and more elaborate than others. Almost all of them are tended by people who have devoted themselves in some special way to the Supreme Being.”
The visitor, somewhat confused, then asks, “If you are all humans, and if most of you believe in a Supreme Being, why do you have so many versions of belief and kinds of gathering places?”
“Through our history we have had individuals that have attracted followers to their vision of the Supreme Being. The stupas, sikharas, steeples, and minarets are expressons of cultures that grew around these few influential individuals. Ah! I just thought of something to tell you. Once a human accepts the mindset of a belief, it is very difficult to acquire a different mindset. There’s comfort and security in any tradition of belief. You might find this hard to believe, but humans have actually killed those that do not share the same belief, and they have at times destroyed the structures as a symbolic way of eliminating a competing belief.”
The visitor, pondering, says, “So, does the Supreme Being have consciousness? Is the Supreme Being aware of both the building and destroying of structures for Its sake? Is It aware of the killing.”
“One can only have faith. And, apparently, one can have only one faith.”
“Uh, well, hmm, you see, people around the world accept that there is a Being superior to the beings on this planet. No, I don’t mean the kind of superiority that you exhibit because you are technologically superior to humans. I mean that people believe that even you, with a different origin, are inferior to some Supreme Being or Supreme Beings.”
“You mean,” the visitor says in English, that there is a smarter being somewhere?”
“No, it’s more than that. Not just smarter, superior in type of existence and, in fact, responsible for all existence. Also, the people beneath stupas, sikharas, steeples, and minarets believe that this Being can affect life on this planet. They pray to this Being to ask for favors, or protection, or healing, or maybe even a victory in war or in something as seemingly silly as an athletic endeavor.”
The visitor scratches its large head with one of its six appendages, and asks, “Does the Supreme Being answer the prayers?”
You stumble a little over conflicting thoughts, but reply, “Not always. Some prayers seem to go unanswered.”
“How do you know whether or not the prayers that seem to be answered are not the product of chance or coincidence?”
“We don’t know for sure, but sometimes strange things occur, things that cannot be explained by chance or coincidence, such as a recovery from a chronic or even terminal illness.”
“If I understand you, Earthling, you build these structures so that you have a place to pray to the Supreme Being. Do they have significance?”
“I guess there are several reasons for the structures. See that creature in the air. That’s a bird. On Earth we say birds of a feather flock together. Humans of like mind associate. Like-minded humans and those curious about their mindset go to these structures. And people actually travel just to see these structures not because they share the belief, but rather because they consider the structures to be a form of art or objects of historical significance. Humans also gather at these structures because they believe that their prayers are more effective when they are joint supplications. Also, the structures are connected in a hierarchy. Some are more important, bigger, and more elaborate than others. Almost all of them are tended by people who have devoted themselves in some special way to the Supreme Being.”
The visitor, somewhat confused, then asks, “If you are all humans, and if most of you believe in a Supreme Being, why do you have so many versions of belief and kinds of gathering places?”
“Through our history we have had individuals that have attracted followers to their vision of the Supreme Being. The stupas, sikharas, steeples, and minarets are expressons of cultures that grew around these few influential individuals. Ah! I just thought of something to tell you. Once a human accepts the mindset of a belief, it is very difficult to acquire a different mindset. There’s comfort and security in any tradition of belief. You might find this hard to believe, but humans have actually killed those that do not share the same belief, and they have at times destroyed the structures as a symbolic way of eliminating a competing belief.”
The visitor, pondering, says, “So, does the Supreme Being have consciousness? Is the Supreme Being aware of both the building and destroying of structures for Its sake? Is It aware of the killing.”
“One can only have faith. And, apparently, one can have only one faith.”
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