First Words
First Words
The creature named human has established its dominance on this Earth and in its vain pride believes it stands at the peak of civilization today. It thinks that in its millions of years of existence, it has never achieved the kind of comprehensive success it enjoys now. It looks back at its millennia-old past with a sense of pity and mercy. It has harnessed the power of lightning, bending it to serve like a slave, redirected the course of rivers to produce crops, and halted their flow to generate electricity. It has traveled to the moon, millions of miles away, and returned. Not only that, it knows that soon it will roam from planet to planet.
Who will tell this creature named human that the civilization you stand so proudly upon has not only done all this, but more? It has created nuclear bombs to destroy you, it killed hundreds of thousands of elderly, youth, women, and children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki within minutes, and within just a few years it killed eleven million of your kind in two world wars.
The people of Earth are troubled today. Outwardly, there is pride in success, but deep down, humanity is bankrupt and lost. Open any newspaper on any given day and you will see descriptions of global unrest, anger, bloodshed, injustice, and lamentation. State wars, group clashes, personal conflicts, and heart-wrenching tales of bloodshed fill the pages. In almost every country, especially those that have embraced this mechanical civilization, the rates of murder, assault, robbery, rape, bombings, and kidnappings are rapidly increasing every year. Even innocent, defenseless children are not spared from these devils in human garb. In one aspect, as humans reach the pinnacle of science, they simultaneously reach the peak of all kinds of injustice. Humanity's soul cries out in agony—why? Why does human progress in knowledge and science lead to moral degradation instead of improvement? Comparing any special moment of the past that humanity looks back upon with today's moments, it becomes evident how low humanity has fallen. One need not go far; in this 20th century alone, more lives have been taken than in all the wars of the past ten centuries combined. Not just in killings, but in every aspect of injustice, humanity has broken all previous records. The combination of this soul-crushing decline and the destructive power of technology makes people shudder.
Is this civilization that humans boast of truly civilization? I say, no, it is not. It is merely a soulless, conscience-less mechanical progression that, as it advances mechanically, pulls humanity further down. It cannot be called civilization. This mechanical progress has reached such a point that the nuclear weapons amassed today can, according to experts, destroy our planet Earth. The only reason it hasn't been destroyed yet is not due to civilization, nor to the tenderness of human emotions for men, women, children, and animals, but fear. Fear that the attacker will also be destroyed along with the enemy. The United States knows that if it tries to destroy its enemy, the Soviet Union, by the time its intercontinental missiles reach Russia and annihilate its men, women, and children, Russian missiles will have covered half the distance to America, causing the same devastation there. The Soviet Union knows the same. This fear alone has kept the doomsday weapons from being used. In the mechanical 'civilized' language, this is called a deterrent. The moment either Russia or America becomes certain that it has developed such weapons that can completely counter the enemy's strike and deliver a blow that the enemy cannot block, it will strike. No sense of right or wrong, no compassion or kindness will delay them.
It is no longer a secret that the fear of the enemy has prevented small and large states from starting a catastrophic war. Recently, former U.S. President Ford stated clearly, "Deterrent is nothing; our military power is the greatest guarantee of peace." In other words, America will remain safe only as long as it is strong enough that any attack will also kill the attacker. The same applies to Russia. Both stand with guns aimed at each other’s chests. Neither pulls the trigger simply because pulling it will mean mutual destruction. If anyone calls this civilization, I disagree. This is not civilization; it is merely mechanical progress. Such a situation cannot last indefinitely. Humanity must realize that it must use this mechanical knowledge for human welfare, elevate its soul, and dismantle the current social system to rebuild anew. Otherwise, sooner or later, someone will pull the trigger.
Many may disagree with me, saying humans will not commit such suicidal acts. To them, I submit that while humans may not wish to commit such suicide, they cannot stand forever with guns aimed at each other. Circumstances will force one to pull the trigger. In this century, humanity has fought two world wars. Take the first one: if a global referendum had been held the day before the war started in 1914 asking if people wanted war, the vote for war would have been almost zero. Even those who started the war the next day would have voted no. Yet the war happened. Forty million people were killed or wounded. Then, only twenty-one years later, if another global referendum had been held the day before the second world war, the results would have been the same—almost zero votes for war. Yet the second world war happened, killing seventy million people, leaving millions crippled, widowed, orphaned, and women raped.
Why? As I mentioned earlier, circumstances arise from human actions, and they cannot escape the consequences. Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister during the First World War, wrote about how the war started: "We all slithered into it." Today, cries for peace rise from all over the world. The strong oppress the weak, the rich exploit the poor, rulers act unjustly towards the governed, injustice triumphs over justice, and cunning deceives the innocent. The world has become unlivable. The earth is soaked with the blood of innocents and children. This situation did not arise without cause. No one from another planet created this state; humans themselves are the creators. Hence, despite all the cries, writings, and speeches for peace, nothing changes. Statistics show that apart from mechanical progress, humanity is rapidly declining in every other aspect. Every year, crimes such as murder, robbery, and rape increase exponentially. There is no country where crime rates are decreasing.
What is the end of this? Thinking about the consequences leaves the sane mind in disarray. On top of this, the threat of nuclear weapons looms. All this proves that humanity has not yet devised a system of life that, even with mechanical progress, allows people to live in peace.
So what is the solution? How can humanity avoid this dreadful fate? There is a way, but time is short. This book explores that path. By following it and adopting a system of life that blends intellect and soul, mind and body, in a harmonious way, humanity can reach the pinnacle of progress in both aspects. To find this path, humanity must make a crucial decision: to determine, calmly and objectively, whether a creator of this universe exists or not.
It is clear from common sense that the way humans live on Earth to ensure safety and peace must differ depending on whether or not a creator exists. To make it simpler—if you had to go to a particular country, would your decision be the same in all circumstances? If that country had strict laws, courts, and a dedicated police force, or if it had no government, laws, police, or courts at all, would you enter and navigate that country the same way in both scenarios? Clearly not. In the first situation, you would enter alone and unarmed, and move around fearlessly. In the second, you would not enter alone. If you had to go, you would form a group, arm yourselves, and be extremely cautious. Without law, your weapon would be the law. Thus, the presence or absence of a powerful government drastically changes your approach.
Similarly, the existence of a creator determines the true path of peaceful and prosperous progress or deviation. Humanity has yet to decide on this, leading to conflicting views and paths. Therefore, humanity must decide whether a creator exists or not, for today the stakes are not just human wars, bloodshed, or conflict; the very existence of humanity is at stake.
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