The Father Within by Chris P (best novels to read for beginners TXT) 📕

“How do you know the sun is rising?” the teacher fired back not giving Kai a moment to think.

The student looked puzzled.  “What do you mean how do I know?” he said while waving his arms in the air.  “I know because it is morning and the sun always rises in the morning.  Day follows night and night follows day.  This is how it has been for centuries and how it will be for centuries to come.  You know I have studied Astronomy and Astrology as well as Physics, Logic, and…”

“Yes, yes,” interrupted the Master.  “I know you studied all those subjects because I taught you many of them, but how do you know the sun is rising?”

“Forgive me, dear Master, but is this one of your puzzles?  We know our solar system has nine planets.  The sun is at the center and planet Earth is the third planet from the sun.  It is now morning.  Because we know the orbit of the Earth in relation to the sun and the rest of the planets, the sun is rising.  This is how we know.”

The teacher smiled and walked back to sit by the tree.  He was proud of his student but knew there indeed would be yet another lesson on this day.  On this day, his student would understand a Great Thing.

The student looked at the sun again then came back and sat by his teacher.

“Master, is it not morning and is the sun not rising?  How can there be any other possibility?  Help me to understand the nature of your question.”

The Master’s heart filled with love.  There were moments when Kai’s burning curiosity made him look like a wonderful child exploring the world for the very first time.

“You are a good man,” said the Master.  “You have gained much knowledge since we have been together, but it will be on this day you learn the Truth.  Of course the sun is rising because it is morning, but my lesson to you is that you base this information from your current perspective; your perspective from being on planet Earth.  You mentioned other planets in our solar system, did you not?  Is it also morning on those planets?  Is the sun also rising on those planets?

“Today, I will teach you about perspective,” continued the Master.  “Much like your perspective allows you to draw conclusions that the sun is rising, your religious perspective also allows you to draw certain conclusions about God.  This, too, is merely a perspective; an important perspective but nonetheless a perspective.  It is relative depending on your vantage point.  In fact, all things in the Universe are a matter of perspective.”

“Master, I understand your words but there is nothing better I understand than God.  As long as I follow God’s rules, I will go to Paradise.  I should help others so I am worthy of God’s love, and if He is merciful I will share Heaven with Him.  I should keep myself clean from all sins or else I will burn in the fires of hell where the dark one will torture me.  This I know all too well.”

“Yes, this is what your religion professes, but it is simply a perspective about God.  As you go off into your journey, you will encounter others having their own perspective about God.  They may not believe exactly as you do, yet are as comfortable with their religion as you are with yours.  They may call God by a different name, they may have rituals different from your religion, and…”

“Yes, Master, I know,” interrupted his confident, young student.  “I will worship God in my way and I should respect others in how they respect God.  I have studied all the major religions of the world since we have been together and I feel most comfortable with this one.  It’s really quite simple.”

“Perhaps simple in concept, my dear student, but remember you must exchange ideas with them, teach them, learn from them.  What will you tell them if they disagree with your concept of God?  What will you tell them if they say they are right and you are wrong?”

The student stopped for a moment.  He remembered conversations similar to the way this one was developing when he was a child learning from his teacher.  However, he was no longer a child and felt confident in his own views about God.

“Master, I would tell them all about my religion.  I would explain to them that I studied all the other religions and feel this one will get me in Paradise.  I would share with them how our Great Prophet Luma walked the Earth 1,000 years ago and liberated our people by writing his Laws into the Fabled Tree just outside the city walls.  I would teach them from the Great Book of my religion and when they see the Truth, they, too, will want to believe as I believe.”

The student paused for a moment and then said, “Yes, this is what I would do.”

The teacher commented, “Your strategy is bold and honorable.  Your mind is sharp and your heart is golden.”  Kai smiled momentarily, but sense his teacher was not quite finished.

His Master continued, “And once you tell them about the history of your religion, its Great Prophet and its Great Book, what if they told you about their religion, their Great Prophet, and their Great Book?  What if you disagreed with the details of your religion?  Your religion’s Great Prophet Luma wrote his Laws in a Tree.  What if their Great Prophet wrote their Laws on a rock?  What if their Great Book was different than yours or they did not have a Great Book?  What if they did not believe in Paradise or in a dark one?  More importantly, what if you started to agree with things they said that were contrary to your religion?  Would you honestly be able to still work with them?  Would you sincerely be able to teach them as much as those believing exactly as you believe?”

Both teacher and student became silent.

The Master removed a golden pear from his cloak and bit into it.  There pear seemed to appear from nowhere.  He continued swallowing a piece of his pear.  “What if most of the rules of the religions were the same but a few were very different?  Would you teach them any less?  Would you respect them any less?”

This was the first time Kai felt a bit unsure as to what to say.  He had forgotten how masterful his teacher was in getting his students to really think about what they believed.  The topic of God, however, was something Kai cherished and honored all his life.  He felt comfortable with it.  It was really the only area of his life he felt he had mastered, but before he could utter a word, the teacher persisted, “What if they said something that disagreed or contradicted your concept of God?  How would you then know if your religion was the right religion? How would you know if the way you worshipped God was the best way to worship God.  How would you become found once you became lost?”

The teacher and student were silent, yet there was more sound in the air now than when they spoke.  In his heart Kai knew had had found God.  Perhaps he was not able to express it as well as his teacher, but he was sure his religion provided him with all the answers.

Finally, after several minutes of silence the student said, “I would teach them as you taught me.  I would pray to God for the answers and attempt to look at all the similarities between the different religions.  I would attempt to show them that it was not the path that was important but the traveler on the path.  I would awaken them to whatever concept of God they held in their heart and let them know if they wanted to Life Eternal, wanted to be saved, or wanted to participate in whatever concept of Heaven they held in their mind, they would have to turn to God.  I would speak truthfully and plainly to them, and not allow any differences to distract us from connecting to our own unique concept of God.  I would share with them the love of my religion and create a forum so they could share the love of their religion with me.  Throughout my teachings, I would pray to God for Truth and Guidance.”

The student then rose and walked to the edge of the cliff.  “Oh Great Master, I would carry you in my heart as I taught them, and remember how wonderful you were in front of a group of people.  I would attempt to waken in them the same spark of life you awakened in me that placed me on my current path.  I would fill their minds and hearts as you have filled mine; with ideas and feelings that would move their soul.  I would teach them of darkness and light and show them various prayers, meditations, and affirmations that would hopefully get them into their own concept of Paradise.  I would teach them about the dark one and how the realm of darkness attempts to dim the light within us all.”

Kai then picked up a rock and tossed it below.

“I would create books, songs, and poems that would raise their spirits no matter which path they walked.  I would teach them how to listen to Nature and Her animals and how to respect all people, places, and things they encountered.”

Kai pointed to the sun.

“I would tell them that whatever concept they held of God, He created all things in the Universe.  I would tell them God lives in Heaven and seeking God should be our endeavor in life.”

Kai then stopped and walked beside his teacher and said, “This is what I would do for them as you have done for me.”

Kai walked back over to the cliff and stared out into the world.  He wiped the sweat from his forehead.  He was an inspirational speaker indeed.  His ways were gentle and his passion went unsurpassed.  He had the fire of a thousand suns and was ready to share it with the world.  Kai picked up another rock and turned toward the perilous cliffs as he waited to hear what his teacher had to say.

The teacher said nothing but slapped at a fly that landed on his arm.  Kai paced back and forth by the edge of the cliff and threw the rock further than the first.

“Master, what have you to say?”

The teacher slowly rose again and stood by the edge of the cliff with his student.  Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the old man spoke.

“You are truly becoming a great man.  There is no greater reward to a teacher than in watching his student bloom.  I am extremely proud of what you have become and love you like a son.”

At this, the teacher placed his hand on his student’s shoulder and with a warm smile said, “Come, let us go into the higher parts of the mountain to continue our lesson.”