“If intoxication is in the alcohol, then the bottle should dance.”
It’s me who drinks to get drunk.
I interpret these lines to explore the core of our problems. They come from a poem I read in Pakistan while growing up. At that time, I didn’t pay attention to who wrote it, but now I feel the need to know. For now, I’ll mark it as Author Unknown.
I understand it this way: the alcohol (of God) is meaningless in a bottle. It is the human who believes in God and gets drunk on it. Thus, I am the dancing bottle—or, rather, we all are the dancing bottles, depending on the degree of intoxication. If you have a tendency to get drunk on knowledge, you can become drunk with prejudice simply by having a university degree or by believing you are superior because of your skin color or religion. Be aware of this intoxication; there is a big difference between a social drink and being drunk. Even if it is the alcohol of God, you can’t just get drunk on it. If only the spiritual side of God makes things happen, then God’s presence everywhere would render human free will and existence meaningless.
God has been, is, and will always be elusive to us until we reach our potential. When we can use the full capacity of our brain, we will have understanding. Until then, humans must dig deep, struggle, and evolve to reach that potential. It is up to us to learn how to drink without getting drunk because too much of anything, even God, is bad.
If I believe I am directly connected to God and take God as a social drink to serve humanity, it benefits both me and humanity. But getting drunk on God harms not only myself and others but also gives God a bad name.
By giving us free will, God made us the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of our lives, responsible for making choices. This intertwining of God and humans shows that both are necessary for making things happen. Like it takes two wires to light up a bulb, it requires both God and humanity together. I believe God is our spiritual side, and we are God’s physical side.
Prophets were people of miracles. Without them, would there have been organized religions? Organized religions, ideologies, democracy, or any other governing systems have been and will always be stepping stones or milestones in our evolution. We have been experimenting and learning throughout our history. We rob the tombs of the dead who believed they needed their belongings in the afterlife. I don’t deny what religious people believe, but I favor using free will to be a CEO who makes decisions based on the philosophy of not doing to others what you don’t want done to you.
If you doubt what I’m saying, look around and consider any area of our progress. We are evolving in all aspects of life except our religions. Everything we do is evolving with us, and our journey to reach our potential continues. We are not a finished product. Only when we reach our potential can we claim our knowledge is complete or correct. Until then, we should refrain from assuming we are always right and instead be human beings striving to evolve to the next level. The next level is when we can live without the politics of race, gender, nation, and religion.
The “hu” is essential to “manhood.” Ignoring or dismissing the “hu” means we are incomplete, regardless of our evolution. This “hu” is a ripening factor in individual and societal evolution.
Do you consider yourself a man or a human? Are you a human first, before being black or white, male or female, Pakistani, Canadian, Muslim, Christian, or any other identity given by your belonging groups?
Have you ever asked yourself why your sense of belonging overpowers your sense of freedom? Each of us is wrapped up in our identities to the point that we forget we are human beings first. Our true identity is as humans who belong to humanity first, yet we act as mere extensions of our ideologies, race, or nation without the status of a CEO.
How and why did the wrapper become our identity? The real essence is the “hu,” which is wrapped up with love or stripped of love. Without love, a human is just a man. Our social evolution came with our love. Being just a man is less than being a human. You can have all the scientific, technological, or religious knowledge, but without “hu,” love, or spirituality, you don’t pass the test of being a human being, especially if you kill over knowledge you don’t even understand.
When someone commits an act of violence, we often respond as men, wanting the other side to feel the same pain we experienced. For instance, if you drop bombs indiscriminately where bad people live, you act just like those who harmed you. Such actions don’t solve problems. As Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Dropping bombs indiscriminately kills even those who disagree with the violent act. Love loss is the main cause of our emotional problems, leading to more killings and social issues. We need to understand our emotional responses. It’s bad enough we have crimes and social problems from individuals with love loss during childhood. Nations responding emotionally could prevent us from reaching our potential. If secular societies respond like religious ones, we may end up fulfilling religious predictions of holy books.
If you learn something new every day, you don’t know everything. There is much room for us to learn and evolve; we have a long way to go. You need to understand one thing: your free will. Why do you have it? It allows you to be a CEO who can do justice beyond the politics of belonging to an exclusive group.
Understanding yourself as part of God liberates you from inferiority complexes and adds “hu” to manhood. Different societies have different governing systems. You can pray, be generous, and help others because your religion teaches you to live this way. There’s nothing wrong with that until you put others down and claim your way is the only right way. I see people praying by the millions, yet chanting God’s name and killing each other. Prayer is not only bowing down and worshiping; helping those in need is a real and practical way of praying and appreciating God.
For instance, social work, assistance, healthcare, and other helpful programs are real praying systems and practical worship. The real mosques, churches, and temples are inside human beings, where God resides. When humans help others in need, we do God’s work. Buildings are made by man for man, especially if the needy can’t get help despite others’ ability to help.
Interestingly, conservatives and Republicans often oppose these programs due to their politics, yet they are mostly religious people. Democrats or liberals are called Godless, yet they insist on these programs. If you are religious but oppose these programs, you stand on the wrong side. These are real practical prayers, and opposing them means you are a victim of the politics of organized religion. If you see as I do, any religion without spirituality is an impotent worship system. So, put some “hu” in your manhood by focusing on practical prayers. Paying a little tax during your life to help others is the most spiritual thing you can do. If your political system opposes it, look at it with a little “hu.” It’s all about reciprocation: we come into this life, get help, give help, and pass on to complete the circle of life so humanity can continue. You must appreciate and reciprocate, be helpful if you can, because if you can and don’t, you need to reexamine your life’s purpose spiritually. The alcohol of political religion is strong, and even a little can brainwash you, taking you away from spirituality. One gets you drunk, while the other lets you enjoy being useful to all humanity, not just your belonging group, and puts some “hu” into you.