Brother Neem
You must be a hundred years old
Standing sentinel before our ancestral home.
My earliest memory of you
As a little child
Was of fear.
You were so big and dense
So the servants kept us
Children at bay.
Snakes could be lurking there.
Still I remember
The joy of discovery
Of wide-eyed wonder
On finding bright green parrot feathers
In the dense under growth.
Then I went away
To boarding school in the hills
To see you only in winter
When you were bare
Having shed your green canopy.
As a young boy
With my .22 rifle
I liked you bare.
It was easy to spot
The doves and pigeons
Silhouetted against the sky.
Then I grew into a young man
With all the trauma of youth.
And on the way I met Jesus.
I had to relearn life and its values.
We are here not to take life
But to give our lives for others.
And that is just what you did.
When I came back home
And settled down
I saw you with different eyes.
Even in scorching summer
It was cool as ever in your shade.
In Kanpur’s concrete jungle
Fuming and spewing pollution,
You were a green oasis
The lungs of purification.
There were many that coveted you
But did not respect you.
They said to me, “Cut it down”
And build something grand,
You will make lots of money.
I did not have the heart.
This twelfth of July
You heard a whisper
That you were no longer needed.
You did not plead your case.
You lowered your mighty arms
And bit the dust from which you came.
You could have exacted your price
For all you did these many years.
The previous night it was
Our nephew’s marriage in your embrace
But you waited till all had gone
And then you lowered your arms.
Like Jesus on the Cross
Stretching out to all humanity
Or like Moses with arms uplifted
Praying for his people’s victory.
As long as his arms were raised
His people won, till the setting sun.
Brother Neem our Brother Douglas
Followed you two days later.
His son was married
So too his sun now set
On a train
Trundling into the Midwest.
Brother Neem
Had you been in Bethlehem
Joseph would have preferred you
To a cave in the hillside.
Had you been in Nazareth
You would have heard
Mary preparing the boy Jesus
For a life of love and truth.
Had you been in Jerusalem
They would have cut you down
To make a rough hewn cross
To hang their naked shame
Little knowing
It would rise again.
As Isaiah prophesied about Jesus
“A new shoot would sprout
From the stump of Jesse
The wolf would dwell with the lamb,
The lion with the calf
And a little child would lead them”.
How can I thank you Brother Neem?
By stretching out my arms like yours.
Till it hurts, as Mother Teresa would say.
Before another American tries to patent you
I send you my grateful greetings.
Oh my Brother Neem. Namoh. Namoh.
* This piece was originally written in 1998 when these events actually occurred
Thursday, 1 July 2010
A TRIUMPHANT RETURN
The pink sheet slipped through the letter hole in the front door; and the chowkidar coughed loud enough to draw our attention to it. It was a bitterly cold December night, and four of us kids were snuggled up near the fireplace in the drawing room, as Dad regaled us with shikar stories, and Mum rustled up the dinner. I rushed to the door to pick up the pink slip. The telegram, addressed to Dad, read “MANEATING TIGER GETS SIXTH VICTIM STOP ASK WILLIE COME IMMDTLY TO DESTROY IT STOP VILLAGERS TERRIFIED STOP RAM ASREY DISTRICT MAGISTRATE LAKHIMPUR”.
Ram Asrey had earlier been posted as the Additional District Magistrate in our hometown Kanpur, and knew of my Uncle Willie’s shooting prowess. Dad immediately called up his younger brother Willie. But Uncle Willie was hard of hearing, so his wife Mae took the phone. She called back later to say that they would leave for Lakhimpur, about 200 miles away, the day after. I was tickled pink, and begged Dad to allow me to join the hunting party, to which he reluctantly agreed.
The road from Kanpur to Lucknow was fine. But onwards to Sitapur and Lakhimpur, and then the jungle track, would be jolting. All the shikar equipment and khana peena had to go along, together with the retinue of servants and gun bearers. So Uncle Willie opted for two vehicles, the Willys Jeep for the jungle track, and his trusted V8 Chevrolet Fleetmaster, that could cruise effortlessly at 100 mph. The Fleetmaster was the type of car used by Chicago’s mafia dons in Hollywood movies.
The hunting party, besides the driver, cook and bearer, included Lal Khan, one of Uncle Willie’s most loyal hunting aides. Lal Khan brought along his weathered English 12 bore double barrel breach loading (DBBL) gun, gifted to him by a British officer going “home” to Blighty. The DBBL had hammerheads, not firing pins, which most old timers considered more reliable, though cumbersome. Uncle Willie chose to take his 500-bore elephant gun, and the sleek 375 Magnum 6 shot bolt action rifle. Aunty Mae had her 410 shotgun, and I had my diminutive Winchester short barrel .22 rifle. Aunty Mae looked benevolently at my .22 and asked if I was going to kill a huge man-eating tiger with that toy.
I had read a story about a young boy in a tea garden in Assam. A leopard was chasing his pet bull terrier. He somehow managed to scramble up a slanting tree, dragging his dog along. The leopard came after them, and was in striking distance, when the boy shoved the rifle barrel down the throat of the leopard, and fired, killing it on the spot. So I was not to be cowed down.
We reached Lakhimpur early in the evening, only to find that the District Magistrate (DM) had gone on tour to Dudhwa Block. It was nightfall when we reached there. The DM had pitched his camp in a forest clearing, and had an inviting log fire burning. He had arranged for two tents for our hunting party. He jumped out of his folding canvas chair to greet us. Uncle Willie had brought along his choicest Scotch whisky, which was more than welcome in the cold, despite the dancing flames of the log fire. Red liveried chaprasis (a vestige of the British Raj) hovered around to minister to the sahab log, while the lesser mortals contented themselves with shots of rum in the shadows.
The elders huddled together against the cold, and planned the hunt. The tiger was reportedly a magnificent 12-year-old male. Tracking of its pugmarks had indicated an injury to its right front paw, as this pugmark was lighter than the others. This is because the tiger was not putting its full weight on it, said Mangaloo, the expert tracker from the forest department. It was probably this injury that had prevented the tiger from chasing its natural prey, and made it turn to soft targets like domestic cattle or human beings.
Mangaloo also reported that earlier that evening the tiger had killed a zebu milch cow. It would return to the carcass the second day, relax on the third day, and as it felt hungry again, would make its next kill on the fourth day. So we had just two days to put our plans together.
The next morning we visited the spot of the “kill”. The tiger had dragged the carcass into the thick lantana undergrowth. It was partially eaten, so the tiger would definitely return to the carcass before going down to the nearby stream to quench its thirst. However, there were no convenient trees in the vicinity of the kill, to set up a machaan. So it was decided to erect three machaans on trees in a clearing about 500 yards away, half way between the carcass and the stream. The tiger was bound to come that way. Tigers mark their territory by standing on their hind legs and clawing the bark of the trees. Seeing the claw marks on a sal tree Mangaloo said that the tiger would be atleast 10 feet from nose to tail, a huge specimen.
The machaans would have to be erected bearing in mind the direction of the moonlight. If the moonlight silhouetted the shikaris, or glistened off their gun barrels, the ever-wary tiger would fight shy and disappear. Three machaans were erected at a height of 15 feet. Uncle Willie and Aunty Mae would be on the centre one, Lal Khan and myself on the left, and Mangaloo with another tracker on the right, in the direction from which the tiger would be expected.
On the fourth evening a male buffalo calf was tied under another tree in the moonlit portion of the clearing. We took up our positions. Uncle Willie left behind the 500 bore, as it was too heavy to hold in a machaan. It was powerful enough to pierce an elephant’s skull or a rhinoceros’ armour, but its recoil would have thrown one off a flimsy machaan. Uncle Willie sadly recalled how his son Johnny had drowned while duck shooting in a jheel three years earlier, because he had fallen into the water with a recoil. So he opted for the lighter and more accurate 375 Magnum. He loaded it with hard-nosed bullets that had more piercing power, as against the soft nosed dumdum bullets that would have shattered and splayed their target. And Uncle Willie hoped to preserve the skin. Mangaloo and his companion carried sharpened spears.
By 7 p.m. we were all in place. There was a downwind from the clearing that would carry our scent to the stream. But tigers have hardly any sense of smell, so that didn’t matter. Tigers have a very sharp sense of sight and hearing, so it was crucial that we remained well camouflaged and silent. After about two hours there was a rustling in the undergrowth as a herd of kakar (barking deer) scurried away. Then the langurs shrieked out a warning, followed by the miaowing of the peacocks. The tiger was on its way.
Rifles, guns and spears were lowered at the ready, in the direction of the tiger’s approach. Safety catches were released. The buffalo calf became restless and began tugging at its rope. It sensed danger and death, and let out a plaintive cry. It was an open invitation to the tiger. About 100 yards away, the tiger stopped on the jungle trail and slipped into the dense lantana bushes. We waited with baited breath. So did the unfortunate bait below! Sensing no danger, the tiger emerged half an hour later and halted again about 20 yards from the calf. Its tail twitched, an indication that it was about to strike. After a final furtive look around, the tiger charged. The calf screamed with fear. With one fell stroke of its left paw, as its right was injured, the tiger broke the neck of the calf. It then went for the jugular, to draw first blood. It then paused to look up, the white patch on its chest glowing softly in the moonlight.
Just as softly, Uncle Willie squeezed the trigger of the Magnum. A red squirt emerged from the patch of white. The tiger let out a blood-curdling roar that reverberated through the jungle and the neighbouring villages. As it rose to its full height, in shock and pain, it exposed its flank and a second bullet entered just below its shoulder blade, piercing its heart. The magnificent king of the Indian jungle rolled over, with just a twitch in its tail; this time it was the twitch of death.
The DM and the villagers were extremely grateful to Uncle Willie for destroying the menace that threatened their lives and livestock. The next morning we returned to Kanpur with the body of the tiger draped over the bonnet of the jeep. It was indeed a triumphant return.
Note:- This essay was originally written in December 1965 in St Joseph’s College Nainital, when the writer was 14 years of age. It was written for his Senior Cambridge exam, that earned him a distinction in English Language. He has tried to reproduce it from memory and reduced it to writing before it fades into the twilight. The writer came fifth in Trap Shooting in the U.P. State Shooting Championships in 1969. He laid down arms several years ago, and now shoots wildlife with a camera.
Photo Titles:
1. The writer with the man-eater of Lakhimpur shot in 1958. It is now preserved in his home.
2. The writer in 1969 with his first “kill”, a chinkara (Indian Gazelle).
May 2010
Ram Asrey had earlier been posted as the Additional District Magistrate in our hometown Kanpur, and knew of my Uncle Willie’s shooting prowess. Dad immediately called up his younger brother Willie. But Uncle Willie was hard of hearing, so his wife Mae took the phone. She called back later to say that they would leave for Lakhimpur, about 200 miles away, the day after. I was tickled pink, and begged Dad to allow me to join the hunting party, to which he reluctantly agreed.
The road from Kanpur to Lucknow was fine. But onwards to Sitapur and Lakhimpur, and then the jungle track, would be jolting. All the shikar equipment and khana peena had to go along, together with the retinue of servants and gun bearers. So Uncle Willie opted for two vehicles, the Willys Jeep for the jungle track, and his trusted V8 Chevrolet Fleetmaster, that could cruise effortlessly at 100 mph. The Fleetmaster was the type of car used by Chicago’s mafia dons in Hollywood movies.
The hunting party, besides the driver, cook and bearer, included Lal Khan, one of Uncle Willie’s most loyal hunting aides. Lal Khan brought along his weathered English 12 bore double barrel breach loading (DBBL) gun, gifted to him by a British officer going “home” to Blighty. The DBBL had hammerheads, not firing pins, which most old timers considered more reliable, though cumbersome. Uncle Willie chose to take his 500-bore elephant gun, and the sleek 375 Magnum 6 shot bolt action rifle. Aunty Mae had her 410 shotgun, and I had my diminutive Winchester short barrel .22 rifle. Aunty Mae looked benevolently at my .22 and asked if I was going to kill a huge man-eating tiger with that toy.
I had read a story about a young boy in a tea garden in Assam. A leopard was chasing his pet bull terrier. He somehow managed to scramble up a slanting tree, dragging his dog along. The leopard came after them, and was in striking distance, when the boy shoved the rifle barrel down the throat of the leopard, and fired, killing it on the spot. So I was not to be cowed down.
We reached Lakhimpur early in the evening, only to find that the District Magistrate (DM) had gone on tour to Dudhwa Block. It was nightfall when we reached there. The DM had pitched his camp in a forest clearing, and had an inviting log fire burning. He had arranged for two tents for our hunting party. He jumped out of his folding canvas chair to greet us. Uncle Willie had brought along his choicest Scotch whisky, which was more than welcome in the cold, despite the dancing flames of the log fire. Red liveried chaprasis (a vestige of the British Raj) hovered around to minister to the sahab log, while the lesser mortals contented themselves with shots of rum in the shadows.
The elders huddled together against the cold, and planned the hunt. The tiger was reportedly a magnificent 12-year-old male. Tracking of its pugmarks had indicated an injury to its right front paw, as this pugmark was lighter than the others. This is because the tiger was not putting its full weight on it, said Mangaloo, the expert tracker from the forest department. It was probably this injury that had prevented the tiger from chasing its natural prey, and made it turn to soft targets like domestic cattle or human beings.
Mangaloo also reported that earlier that evening the tiger had killed a zebu milch cow. It would return to the carcass the second day, relax on the third day, and as it felt hungry again, would make its next kill on the fourth day. So we had just two days to put our plans together.
The next morning we visited the spot of the “kill”. The tiger had dragged the carcass into the thick lantana undergrowth. It was partially eaten, so the tiger would definitely return to the carcass before going down to the nearby stream to quench its thirst. However, there were no convenient trees in the vicinity of the kill, to set up a machaan. So it was decided to erect three machaans on trees in a clearing about 500 yards away, half way between the carcass and the stream. The tiger was bound to come that way. Tigers mark their territory by standing on their hind legs and clawing the bark of the trees. Seeing the claw marks on a sal tree Mangaloo said that the tiger would be atleast 10 feet from nose to tail, a huge specimen.
The machaans would have to be erected bearing in mind the direction of the moonlight. If the moonlight silhouetted the shikaris, or glistened off their gun barrels, the ever-wary tiger would fight shy and disappear. Three machaans were erected at a height of 15 feet. Uncle Willie and Aunty Mae would be on the centre one, Lal Khan and myself on the left, and Mangaloo with another tracker on the right, in the direction from which the tiger would be expected.
On the fourth evening a male buffalo calf was tied under another tree in the moonlit portion of the clearing. We took up our positions. Uncle Willie left behind the 500 bore, as it was too heavy to hold in a machaan. It was powerful enough to pierce an elephant’s skull or a rhinoceros’ armour, but its recoil would have thrown one off a flimsy machaan. Uncle Willie sadly recalled how his son Johnny had drowned while duck shooting in a jheel three years earlier, because he had fallen into the water with a recoil. So he opted for the lighter and more accurate 375 Magnum. He loaded it with hard-nosed bullets that had more piercing power, as against the soft nosed dumdum bullets that would have shattered and splayed their target. And Uncle Willie hoped to preserve the skin. Mangaloo and his companion carried sharpened spears.
By 7 p.m. we were all in place. There was a downwind from the clearing that would carry our scent to the stream. But tigers have hardly any sense of smell, so that didn’t matter. Tigers have a very sharp sense of sight and hearing, so it was crucial that we remained well camouflaged and silent. After about two hours there was a rustling in the undergrowth as a herd of kakar (barking deer) scurried away. Then the langurs shrieked out a warning, followed by the miaowing of the peacocks. The tiger was on its way.
Rifles, guns and spears were lowered at the ready, in the direction of the tiger’s approach. Safety catches were released. The buffalo calf became restless and began tugging at its rope. It sensed danger and death, and let out a plaintive cry. It was an open invitation to the tiger. About 100 yards away, the tiger stopped on the jungle trail and slipped into the dense lantana bushes. We waited with baited breath. So did the unfortunate bait below! Sensing no danger, the tiger emerged half an hour later and halted again about 20 yards from the calf. Its tail twitched, an indication that it was about to strike. After a final furtive look around, the tiger charged. The calf screamed with fear. With one fell stroke of its left paw, as its right was injured, the tiger broke the neck of the calf. It then went for the jugular, to draw first blood. It then paused to look up, the white patch on its chest glowing softly in the moonlight.
Just as softly, Uncle Willie squeezed the trigger of the Magnum. A red squirt emerged from the patch of white. The tiger let out a blood-curdling roar that reverberated through the jungle and the neighbouring villages. As it rose to its full height, in shock and pain, it exposed its flank and a second bullet entered just below its shoulder blade, piercing its heart. The magnificent king of the Indian jungle rolled over, with just a twitch in its tail; this time it was the twitch of death.
The DM and the villagers were extremely grateful to Uncle Willie for destroying the menace that threatened their lives and livestock. The next morning we returned to Kanpur with the body of the tiger draped over the bonnet of the jeep. It was indeed a triumphant return.
Note:- This essay was originally written in December 1965 in St Joseph’s College Nainital, when the writer was 14 years of age. It was written for his Senior Cambridge exam, that earned him a distinction in English Language. He has tried to reproduce it from memory and reduced it to writing before it fades into the twilight. The writer came fifth in Trap Shooting in the U.P. State Shooting Championships in 1969. He laid down arms several years ago, and now shoots wildlife with a camera.
Photo Titles:
1. The writer with the man-eater of Lakhimpur shot in 1958. It is now preserved in his home.
2. The writer in 1969 with his first “kill”, a chinkara (Indian Gazelle).
May 2010
Thursday, 26 November 2009
UNVEILING 2012
Press the panic button. 2012 is not far away. The world is going to end on the 21st of December 2012. So says the Mayan calendar of South America. You may have heard of the ancient Inca and Mayan civilizations. But Hollywood’s latest blockbuster “2012” has made the Mayan calendar a household word. What should we do? Is the world indeed coming to an end? Maya in Hindi means illusion. Is the Mayan prediction an illusion, delusion or is it just Hollywood again creating confusion?
What do different people think about the end of the world and time? The three monotheist religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe in the end of the world and a final judgement. The Muslims call it Qayamat Ka Din. According to the Bible there will be a final judgement, with the Second Coming of Jesus, and the beginning of a new creation, a new heaven and a new earth (cf Rev 21: 1-2). How and when will that happen? Hinduism does not seem to have a clear-cut definition of a beginning and an end. It leans towards a cyclic form, rather than a linear one. It believes in four eons (yugs) – Satyayug, Trethayug, Dwaparyug and the present Kaliyug. Each yug extends for millions of years. When the present Kaliyug ends we will go back to the Satyayug, and the cycle will begin all over again. How can this be verified?
We also have seers like Nostradamus and Malachy who have prophesied about future events from a very Euro-centric, and often Pope-centric perspective. What do they have to say about “The End”?
Michel de Nostradame (1503-1566), whose name was Latinized to Nostradamus, had made 942 predictions published in his book “Leo Propheties” published in 1555. Like most prophecies, his too are so vague that “post facto” one may try to fit them in anyhow. He does however refer to 3 antichrists, of whom two have already been identified as Napoleon and Hitler. The third antichrist is yet to come. Will his appearance signal the end of the world?
The prophecies of St. Malachy, the 12 Century bishop of Armagh in Northern Ireland are somewhat more specific. They are 112 Papal prophecies. By that count the present Pope Benedict XVI is the 111th one. So there is just one more to go! Too close for comfort? This is what the final prophecy says:
“During the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, the seat will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed his sheep in many tribulations: and when these things are finished, the seven-hilled city will be destroyed, and the formidable Judge will judge his people. The End.” So Malachy leads us close to judgement day and the end. The end of what - the Church, Christianity, the papacy, the earth, the entire cosmos? Malachy was in no way competent enough to address, let alone answer, such questions.
What does science or astrophysics say? The greatest living astrophysicist, after Albert Einstein, is believed to be Stephen Hawking. I have studied in depth his best seller, “A Brief History of Time”. He quotes the philosopher Immanuel Kant and St. Augustine, who say that time did not exist before creation. In 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe was actually expanding. From this evolved the Big Bang theory that time and space began about 20 billion years ago. Scientific evidence points to a slowing down of that expansion till it comes to a point where the force of gravity will exceed the diminishing velocity of expansion. This will result in the Big Crunch, the reverse of the Big Bang. And that could take another 10 to 20 billion years! So where do the Mayans, Nostradamus or Malachy fit into those billions of years? Both these seers were Eurocentric. But the entire cosmos has a diameter of 8 billion light years. There are about a hundred billion galaxies, each with a hundred billion stars. Earth is just one of this vast cosmos. And Europe is a small continent on the earth. So Nostradamus or Malachy would be totally out of depth on any cosmic predictions.
What then of the Biblical understanding of the end? Several Christian preachers, especially the evangelicals, quote calamities like earthquakes, floods, famine and warfare from the last book of the Bible – Revelation. They see similarities and arrive at the hasty conclusion that the world is hastening to its end. Biblical scholars, exegetes, differ greatly from the evangelicals on this point.
Exegetes say that it is even unlikely that John the Evangelist wrote the Book of Revelation. It has two focuses – secrets of the cosmos and secrets of the future. It has two approaches – one terrestrial and the other celestial. In the historical perspective it was written at the time of persecution of the Christians, especially during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian (81-96 AD). It is a compilation from different sources, and lacks a single literary production, or progress of thought. It is more symbolic than factual. Hence it would be dangerous to make geographical or chronological predictions based on the often confusing symbols mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
Many Christians refer to the Apocalypse. This comes from the Greek word apokalypsis, which literally means lifting of the veil or revealing. Hence the word Revelation, used for the last book of the Bible. In no way does the word apocalypse means the eclipse or the end of the world. No doubt Revelation talks of a new heaven and a new earth. Is this an on going spiritual renewal or a finite moment in time? Definitive conclusions are beyond human perception.
Even the great St. Paul erred when he advised people not to marry, as the “time was limited” and “this world as we know it is passing away” (1 Cor7:29,31). Jesus, the Son of Man, who was limited by time and space, was humble enough to say, “Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. But as for that day and hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, no one but the Father alone” (Mat 24:35-36). Perhaps it was for this reason that St. Paul later admitted that “Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face. Now I can know only imperfectly, but then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known (1Cor 13:12).
We could conclude with the wisdom of Cardinal Newman, “The distant scene I do not wish to see. One step at a time is enough for me.” Be it the Book of Revelation, or anything else, we should be more concerned with the words of Jesus that will not pass away, rather than the passing away of anything else. Let us live the gospel of love and service, and leave the cosmic future to the Father, who alone knows. Till then sit back and enjoy watching Hollywood’s fictional “2012”, with our without the Mayan Calendar. Unveil error, and reveal the truth.
What do different people think about the end of the world and time? The three monotheist religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe in the end of the world and a final judgement. The Muslims call it Qayamat Ka Din. According to the Bible there will be a final judgement, with the Second Coming of Jesus, and the beginning of a new creation, a new heaven and a new earth (cf Rev 21: 1-2). How and when will that happen? Hinduism does not seem to have a clear-cut definition of a beginning and an end. It leans towards a cyclic form, rather than a linear one. It believes in four eons (yugs) – Satyayug, Trethayug, Dwaparyug and the present Kaliyug. Each yug extends for millions of years. When the present Kaliyug ends we will go back to the Satyayug, and the cycle will begin all over again. How can this be verified?
We also have seers like Nostradamus and Malachy who have prophesied about future events from a very Euro-centric, and often Pope-centric perspective. What do they have to say about “The End”?
Michel de Nostradame (1503-1566), whose name was Latinized to Nostradamus, had made 942 predictions published in his book “Leo Propheties” published in 1555. Like most prophecies, his too are so vague that “post facto” one may try to fit them in anyhow. He does however refer to 3 antichrists, of whom two have already been identified as Napoleon and Hitler. The third antichrist is yet to come. Will his appearance signal the end of the world?
The prophecies of St. Malachy, the 12 Century bishop of Armagh in Northern Ireland are somewhat more specific. They are 112 Papal prophecies. By that count the present Pope Benedict XVI is the 111th one. So there is just one more to go! Too close for comfort? This is what the final prophecy says:
“During the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, the seat will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed his sheep in many tribulations: and when these things are finished, the seven-hilled city will be destroyed, and the formidable Judge will judge his people. The End.” So Malachy leads us close to judgement day and the end. The end of what - the Church, Christianity, the papacy, the earth, the entire cosmos? Malachy was in no way competent enough to address, let alone answer, such questions.
What does science or astrophysics say? The greatest living astrophysicist, after Albert Einstein, is believed to be Stephen Hawking. I have studied in depth his best seller, “A Brief History of Time”. He quotes the philosopher Immanuel Kant and St. Augustine, who say that time did not exist before creation. In 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe was actually expanding. From this evolved the Big Bang theory that time and space began about 20 billion years ago. Scientific evidence points to a slowing down of that expansion till it comes to a point where the force of gravity will exceed the diminishing velocity of expansion. This will result in the Big Crunch, the reverse of the Big Bang. And that could take another 10 to 20 billion years! So where do the Mayans, Nostradamus or Malachy fit into those billions of years? Both these seers were Eurocentric. But the entire cosmos has a diameter of 8 billion light years. There are about a hundred billion galaxies, each with a hundred billion stars. Earth is just one of this vast cosmos. And Europe is a small continent on the earth. So Nostradamus or Malachy would be totally out of depth on any cosmic predictions.
What then of the Biblical understanding of the end? Several Christian preachers, especially the evangelicals, quote calamities like earthquakes, floods, famine and warfare from the last book of the Bible – Revelation. They see similarities and arrive at the hasty conclusion that the world is hastening to its end. Biblical scholars, exegetes, differ greatly from the evangelicals on this point.
Exegetes say that it is even unlikely that John the Evangelist wrote the Book of Revelation. It has two focuses – secrets of the cosmos and secrets of the future. It has two approaches – one terrestrial and the other celestial. In the historical perspective it was written at the time of persecution of the Christians, especially during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian (81-96 AD). It is a compilation from different sources, and lacks a single literary production, or progress of thought. It is more symbolic than factual. Hence it would be dangerous to make geographical or chronological predictions based on the often confusing symbols mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
Many Christians refer to the Apocalypse. This comes from the Greek word apokalypsis, which literally means lifting of the veil or revealing. Hence the word Revelation, used for the last book of the Bible. In no way does the word apocalypse means the eclipse or the end of the world. No doubt Revelation talks of a new heaven and a new earth. Is this an on going spiritual renewal or a finite moment in time? Definitive conclusions are beyond human perception.
Even the great St. Paul erred when he advised people not to marry, as the “time was limited” and “this world as we know it is passing away” (1 Cor7:29,31). Jesus, the Son of Man, who was limited by time and space, was humble enough to say, “Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. But as for that day and hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, no one but the Father alone” (Mat 24:35-36). Perhaps it was for this reason that St. Paul later admitted that “Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face. Now I can know only imperfectly, but then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known (1Cor 13:12).
We could conclude with the wisdom of Cardinal Newman, “The distant scene I do not wish to see. One step at a time is enough for me.” Be it the Book of Revelation, or anything else, we should be more concerned with the words of Jesus that will not pass away, rather than the passing away of anything else. Let us live the gospel of love and service, and leave the cosmic future to the Father, who alone knows. Till then sit back and enjoy watching Hollywood’s fictional “2012”, with our without the Mayan Calendar. Unveil error, and reveal the truth.
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