The Way of the Universe

The Way of the Universe

1985 6 June 20 The Way of the Universe (441) Man is an imperfect being in the midst of a perfect world. The stars and the planets, wind and water, trees and animals, are all just as they should be. They do not deviate from the path prescribed for them in nature. Man, on the other hand, deviates from his natural path. The actions that he performs, the person that he develops into, are a contradiction of nature. He follows a path far removed from that which has been laid down for him.

While this paradox poses some questions for man, it also provides the answer to them. It shows that man's problems in this world all stem from the fact that he has deviated from the path of nature; only by re-adopting that path can he find a solution to them. We can see that the path which other objects in the universe follow is one of harmony and perfection. If man were to follow the same path, then human society would surely acquire the same ideal qualities.

The very fact that our imperfect human world lies in the midst of a much larger, perfect natural world, shows us what our aim in life should be. We must first try to understand the world around us, and then strive to base our lives on the principles that function in the rest of the universe.

One thing emerges with absolute clarity from an observation of the universe: everything is inextricably bound together in one specific law of nature. Nothing ever strays from the path that has been laid down for it. Molecules of hydrogen and oxygen, for instance, can always be depended on to make water in the same way. One can always predict the chemical compounds which will form from mixing certain elements, for these elements invariably act according to definite laws. When metals dissolve and water turns into steam, they do not do so erratically; they do so exactly as prescribed in the law of nature.

Man is required to act in the same manner. His character should be moulded according to the natural and specific laws of nature, so much so that he acquires a predictable personality. One should be able to depend upon him to act in certain ways in certain situations. Rather than following impulses, which sometimes lead him in one direction, sometimes in another, he should faithfully adhere to the path that the whole of the natural world follows so successfully.

There is but one proper code of ethics for both man and the universe. The rest of the universe is observing that code. The only way that man can succeed is by following suit.