The elephants that paid their respects to their savior on the first anniversary of his passing triggered this post.
"A herd of elephants stayed in silence for two days after the death of Lawrence Anthony – the man who saved them. Exactly one year after his death, to the day, the herd marched to his house again. It is something that science cannot explain."
Science is a journey, ever evolving.
As we are.
My favorite phrase from the Corinthians, "Faith, hope and love" came circling back to me as it does periodically bearing new meanings like gifts. What these elephants felt was love. And what my friend Ted revealed in his comment under the elephant post shared on my timeline was love!
"I actually do love things like this that science can't explain!"
But it was also a lightbulb that illuminated a fresh doorway into the Corinthians and their oft-quoted triad.
Within those three, love had the edge: "The greatest of them all is love."
Love makes the magical connection between beings, between unlikely entities.
The how, the why and wherefore, fall into place in their own time. Faith gives us the hope that we will understand someday, what we don't today but accept all the same.
Maybe in our lifetime, maybe not. Nothing is set in stone. I for one, believe science will evolve to the point of explaining this.
Which brings me to a another insight that flashed out of my head in response to a heated and none too civil conversation on another Facebook Post and wrote itself on my wall:
"Between the post and the comments lay the truth."
"What is truth?" asked Jesting Pilate eons ago. The answer comes from my friend Neelima :
"In between lies a hidden tapestry of imagination....Each finds his own meaning."
There are no limits on the imagination. What imagination believes today, science will "prove" along the way.
This post is for my "thinking cap," Bharat Sharma(I'm sure you got that from the title). I enjoy the challenge of bridging your point of view and mine!
Picture courtesy BBC One, color altered
"A herd of elephants stayed in silence for two days after the death of Lawrence Anthony – the man who saved them. Exactly one year after his death, to the day, the herd marched to his house again. It is something that science cannot explain."
Science is a journey, ever evolving.
As we are.
My favorite phrase from the Corinthians, "Faith, hope and love" came circling back to me as it does periodically bearing new meanings like gifts. What these elephants felt was love. And what my friend Ted revealed in his comment under the elephant post shared on my timeline was love!
"I actually do love things like this that science can't explain!"
But it was also a lightbulb that illuminated a fresh doorway into the Corinthians and their oft-quoted triad.
Within those three, love had the edge: "The greatest of them all is love."
Love makes the magical connection between beings, between unlikely entities.
The how, the why and wherefore, fall into place in their own time. Faith gives us the hope that we will understand someday, what we don't today but accept all the same.
Maybe in our lifetime, maybe not. Nothing is set in stone. I for one, believe science will evolve to the point of explaining this.
Which brings me to a another insight that flashed out of my head in response to a heated and none too civil conversation on another Facebook Post and wrote itself on my wall:
"Between the post and the comments lay the truth."
"What is truth?" asked Jesting Pilate eons ago. The answer comes from my friend Neelima :
"In between lies a hidden tapestry of imagination....Each finds his own meaning."
There are no limits on the imagination. What imagination believes today, science will "prove" along the way.
This post is for my "thinking cap," Bharat Sharma(I'm sure you got that from the title). I enjoy the challenge of bridging your point of view and mine!
In my current module on story there have been on-going debates on science vs faith. While most believe that a cohesive fusion of them is important this post of yours beautifully exemplifies the very thought. Faith and Science need to work together rather than dissing each other on the word go.
ReplyDelete:)
Nice to see hathu back.
love
Karan
Thank you for your words! If I may say so, your comment "made my post" :)
DeleteLove
When we talk about science, we talk about a certain framework that binds everything that can be proven with logical reasoning and experiments together.
ReplyDeleteThen there are certain ideas and phenomena which trespass these boundaries.
For me, that is where faith starts.
Beautiful post, Maya. :)
Love.
I love the positive use of the word "trespass" ;)
DeleteMaybe science will watch today and follow the trespassers tomorrow :)
Something drew me back to your comment today.
DeleteI wonder what you would say over a year later. Have your ideas changed? Have the boundaries changed? Would love to hear more thoughts from you.
xoxo
I still carry the bandwagon of 'there are things which trespass the ever-blurring boundaries of scientific hypothesis, research, and study' and believe that it is beyond these (still existing) boundaries where faith starts. Faith in love - Faith in Spirituality - Faith in yourself.
DeleteI feel so close to these elephants right now, because I marched to a new place. For I am feeling love for someone. It's true science can't explain love. I don't want it to. For me, love is sacred (read: not religious jargon). It is pure.
You took my breath away with this comment. So powerful and so delicate at once! Yes sacred IS pure. Thank you again for leading me to a zone of clarity :)
DeleteAs a scientist, it was a pleasure reading this piece. However, as a historian it was an ever greater pleasure because the very fact that there is no such thing as an objective truth is what makes makes many arguments beautiful. "In between lies a hidden tapestry of imagination....Each finds his own meaning". Bravo.
ReplyDeleteWelcome and thank you so much for commenting! I love that you connected with that line!
DeleteCheers and keep visiting :)
Science is not a ruler as we make it out to be, like money. Both are our aids to achieve all that we imagine..so use them to make your kingdom of imagination to make it real :) lovely write !
ReplyDeleteLi
Maitreyee you have expressed this as only a poet can. Thank you!
DeleteYes, very beautiful indeed...the mysteries of the world are not something to shy away from for they contain some of the most beautiful things in the world. Ted xox
ReplyDeleteThank you dear Ted. Like you I believe in embracing the mysteries and allowing them to do likewise to me.
Deletexoxo
I still believe that science is our aid to make our dreams come true..☺
ReplyDeleteI completely missed this comment. Science evolves to keep pace with our dreams and bring them to life. And there are new frontiers, new dreams. Let the tandem continue!
DeleteFirst of all, congratulations for writing such a wonderful blog. This shows how wonderful human being you are.
ReplyDeleteThere is a very thin difference between belief and faith.
Belief is an acceptance that something exists without any proof.
Faith is complete trust in someone or something based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.
So, faith is connected with spiritual conviction. Belief and faith is a human act, which is the basic difference between a human and an animal.
Love is strong feeling of affection. Here in this beautiful story which you covered, is the Love took the top spot predominantly. As the elephants are devoid of human brain does not have the ability to believe or have any faith.
Love and anger are the only components filled in animal brains. But it is amazing to see the behavior of elephants which is a pure love.
Fascinating perspective on that. It seems to suggest that faith and hope require some form of intellect. Our present knowledge about non-human beings has not yet uncovered any signs of that intellect. I would not rule out some quality beyond instinct evolving or being uncovered in the animal kingdom. I do not believe it as yet but let's say I would hope for it to happen. Till then the love of the elephants in the story and many other creatures in our lives will continue to move us.
DeleteThank you for your kind words about the blog and myself. Please do visit other posts and comment. And I am so relieved the blog finally opened.