Most of us are likely to agree that mysteries and revelations are inextricably bound like strong blood relatives … opposite sides of the same coin in many ways.
Cats have an undeniable penchant for curiosity, and man, similarly, has generally had a consuming, time-honoured fascination with mystery and the unknown.
The almost insatiable appetite for knowledge has driven successive generations of mystery-solvers to ‘advance’ mankind to where we are.
A direct product of this appetite to tame the unknown is the exponential-rate explosion of technological advancements and changes which is engulfing our planet in tsunami-like proportions on a global scale.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution will change life and our planet radically and forever, but at what cost to Planet Earth, nature, ecological balance and natural resources? What of pollution, deforestation and real threats of extinction faced by many plant and animal species? Are we killing our planet?
It should be our fervent, earth-sustaining hope that the mystery-solvers currently at the forefront of discovery and technological advances, include sufficient attention, resources and effective effort allocated to counteract the concomitant ‘downside ‘ during their investment of time and expertise.
Planet Earth depends on it.
All of this will never subdue man’s innate preoccupation with his dance with mystery. Some quotes which reflect this:
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day.” — Albert Einstein.
“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion at the cradle of true art and true science.” — Albert Einstein.
“Stars, too, were time travellers. How many of those ancient points of light were the last echoes of suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realise we were alone? I had always known the sky was full of mysteries — but not until now had I realized how full of them the earth was.” — Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
“Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.” — Max Planck, Where is Science Going?
As the direct link between mystery and understanding/ knowledge, revelation looms large as indispensable in the natural process experienced by man. This conduit, including monumental ‘aha moments’, has largely defined us and determined where we are at all levels in our relationships with one another, our environment and our universe. Those who follow Christianity are conscious of the monumental role played by the Book of Revelation.
The role of revelation is reflected in these quotes:
“It does not matter how long you are spending on the earth, how much money you have gathered or how much attention you have received. It is the amount of positive vibration you have radiated in life that matters,” — Amit Ray.
“True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure — the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character’s essential nature.” — Robert McKee.
“A revelation leaps over the borders of the everyday. A life without revelation is no life at all. What you need to do is move from reason that observes to reason that acts. That’s what’s critical.” — Haruki Murakami.
And, possibly the quote, reflecting the undeniably all-powerful role of revelation, that makes the biggest impact:
“Nothing in this world is hidden forever. The gold which has lain for centuries unsuspected in the ground, reveals itself one day on the surface. Sand turns traitor, and betrays the footstep that has passed over it; water gives back to the tell-tale surface the body that has been drowned.
“Fire itself leaves the confession, in ashes, of the substance consumed in it. Hate breaks its prison-secrecy in the thoughts, through the doorway of the eyes; and Love finds the Judas who betrays it by a kiss. Look where we will, the inevitable law of revelation is one of the laws of nature: the lasting preservation of a secret is a miracle which the world has never yet seen.” — Wilkie Collins.
Man will always seek revelations in his dance with mysteries, and delving into the unknown will always tempt and motivate him to seek new horizons. Hopefully, ‘curiosity won’t kill the cat’.
