We are all programmed by one programmer

As human beings we should understand a basic fact - whoever the programmer is; he/she is not known yet and that however much we believe in the strength of our arguments in relation to this invincible programmer, there is a scope for inaccuracy in terms of our assumptions and beliefs.

Life begins with a thought. Ofcourse a new born infant cannnot think. So what I really mean by my statement is that life actually starts when we start thinking. Do you remember your first thought? Well neither do I. We are programmed (as much as we'd like to believe that we are not) like computers. This belief creates a necessity to believe in a programmer, call him/her 'God' or a name that you choose. After all how can the order around us be there unless we are programmed? We create an order through us, but who creates us? This question has flummoxed even the best of us for centuries.

This very programmer, who has introduced the complexities that we witness in us and around us, seems to be someone who cannot be described and much less understood. Yes ofcourse we do have names through which we address this invincible programmer, so let us continue calling him/her by the names that we have given for the ease of understanding. These names essentially stem from books, scriptures, epics, belief systems, etc.

All of these names try and personify the programmer. However, why exactly are we insisting that this person (if real and not a figment of our imagination) is a programmer? Well the answer is a little complex. Mankind in his zeal for claiming that 'my programmer is better than yours', has unleashed mayhem and unrest upon this planet. Therefore wouldn't it be much easier to universally address that ethereal being (who is often personified) as a programmer? Now that we have established that our creator, preserver and destroyer, is a programmer, let us delve deeper.

One naturally wonders upon the complexity of the programmer who could create a world replete with incredible complexity. Human beings are the epitome of complexities and there are shades of every emotion too.

For instance anger is an inherent part of all humans. This anger is often manifested in the form of wars (many of which have been fought to prove the superiority of one programmer against another). Anger is also used to subdue and oppress. On the other hand, we have virtuous anger, which is a necessity. To see a wrong being done and to silently witness it is tantamount to committing that wrong yourself. Therefore sometimes anger is justified and righteous too. As human beings we should understand a basic fact - whoever the programmer is; he/she is not known yet and that however much we believe in the strength of our arguments in relation to this invincible programmer, there is a scope for inaccuracy in terms of our assumptions and beliefs. Now let us look further into the human psyche and examine sorrow. Sorrow usually follows loss and the two go together. We might wonder why the eternal programmer gave us the experience of loss and why he gave us the experience of sorrow. Tears are a part of daily life, sometimes we cry and that is the way it is and has been. While we are debilitating about sorrow, let us look at another emotion – joy!

The opposite of sorrow, which is the emotion of joy, has also been given to us. We are happy on certain occasions. Joy invariably follows success and achievements, among other things.

But would we have experienced joy if we didn't know sorrow? Well this looks like a deliberate plan that our programmer has conceived and implemented upon us. Before we discuss the programmer, we have to consider another cardinal emotion that is characteristic to all human beings – the emotion of love. Our programmer too is basically a benevolent entity for we have all been programmed with love.

Whatever our weaknesses, whatever our follies and mistakes, one emotion makes it all correct and that is the common emotion of love. The emotion of love is felt by all living beings on this planet. We human beings have the capacity for the highest kind of love, which is unconditional love. Perhaps unconditional love is the underlying emotion that defines (or should define) our relation with the eternal programmer.

It will be so much easier to just believe in the entity (that we all so vehemently fight over) as a distant programmer. This 'programmer' has indeed given us so much that makes us human. I conclude by reiterating that I would like to believe that all of us are programmed by a benevolent programmer.

By Dr. Arunav Barua

The writer is an assistant professor in NERIM Group of institutions and can be reached at arunav_barua@yahoo.com)

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