Atonement, At-onement, At-one-ment

"It is not the critic who counts; nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt

Today is Christmas. Before long, we will see the dawn of a New Year. I am writing this on the eve of Christmas. Celebrating the coming of God, into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity, is considered by Christians, to be the primary meaning of Christmas.

Reconciliation

As I write this, I recollect the redemptive work of Christ; the reconciliation between God and man brought about by His life, passion, and death; the exemplification of man's unity with God, whereby man reflects Divine Truth, Life, and Love.

I will not dwell upon the evolution of the idea of God, nor upon the ethics of such belief wherein God is equated to, and correspond with the one Supreme Being, self-existent and eternal, the infinite creator, sustainer and ruler of the universe: conceived of, and defined in Christian Science, as omniscient, good, and almighty. To me, God is the personification of any of the forces of nature as in cosmism, or of some human attribute, interest, or relation; is mirrored in the goodness and graciousness of man; the embodiment of some aspect of reality. It is man alone who can achieve the elevated position of god through his service to mankind as demonstrated by Buddha, Jesus, Mahavir (contemporary of Buddha and the last of the Thirthankaras in Jain religion), Mother Theresa and others; and, that the forces of nature will incarnate god until such time as man learns to master them.

Atonement is a doctrine that describes how human beings can be reconciled to God. In Christian theology, atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin through the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, which made possible the reconciliation between God and creation. Within Christianity, there are three main theories for how such atonement might work - the ransom theory, the satisfaction theory, and the moral influence theory. If one breaks the word atonement into its root components, it reveals "at-one-ment." When we parse it this way, it has as much to do with penitence and forgiveness for our failures as it does with re-aligning ourselves with our ideals and aspirations. Humans are in serious need of at-one-ment with God, not for any moral reason, though it is not a bad one, but simply for the sake of self-purification of the mind and body.

It seems to me that if we solely look backward and repent but do not change; or solely look forward and say past is past; then we miss the link between what we've learned and what we can do with that learning. Learning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, preferences, or understanding. The ability to learn is inborn in humans, animals and some machines.

Learning

To 'Learn' refers to the process of getting knowledge, whereas to 'Know' is the result of the learning process. Hence, what we once thoroughly learn we know; or so most of us think and assume. But, is it so? When I was a high school student, while studying chemistry, we learnt that an atom was the smallest known particle. Will this hold good today? We now know that what we learnt then is not correct in the light of the knowledge we possess today.

There are countless examples that show the learning process to be a life long mission of reviewing what we know with new knowledge that has surfaced.

Thus, to be a learned person, one must necessarily unlearn as well. The one who ceases this process will not only not 'know', but also will miss-out on the joys of life.

Be that, as it may; another aspect of learning is that it is best when combined with thinking. Humans are supposed to be contemplative creatures. It is this single attribute, ability, which sets us apart, and elevates us, from the rest of life forms.

Without this faculty of reasoning, human beings could not have attained this present state of elevation. However, this privilege, this prerogative, is facultative in form and requires deliberate effort and cultivation on the part of humans.

Thus, thinking is a conscious act, whereas intuition is subconscious. My late father used to tell me very often that ninety percent of the people do not think at all; and that the other ten percent think that they think. How true it is when one reflects upon the agony that man has imposed upon the others of his ilk. Whether it is conscious or subconscious, man can only control his actions and not the result. So, be not motivated by results, nor attached to inaction.

Yom Kippur is one of the holiest days of the year for the Jewish people. At the core of Yom Kippur lies a theme of "onement" and the act of being there - at that onement.

Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Similarly, most religions specify and have a day or days set apart for reparation, to expiate or make amends.

Reality

In reality, to some measure, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year that falls in the month of April every year also caters to this need. On that day, and during the celebrations, we set aside our anger, our dislikes, and bias, to be with others - to forgive and forget - and begin anew.

My readers may wonder why I am dwelling so much upon this subject. It is simply because of the fact that by this very act of setting apart time to evaluate our actions and then to seek penitence; we are saying, in the final analysis, that we have lived our life in a thoughtless and mindless manner.

For, had we rendered every action of ours with mindfulness and thoughtfulness, where would be the need for remorse and expiation.

Humanity is understood to be in a process of collective evolution, and the need of the present time is for the gradual establishment of peace, justice and unity on a global scale. Actions that lead us on to "at-onement": harmony, equity, and unison - these are contemplative behaviour and not avaricious or ad hoc conduct.

Thus, if we pose a question as to what is the highest good in all matters of action; to the man, there is almost complete agreement. Everyone, uneducated and educated alike, call it happiness; but equate happiness with the good life and successful living. However, happiness - true blessedness - is found in the selfless service of man to the rest of humanity - in whatsoever small measure we are capable of. See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

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