World in the view of non-believers
Who am I? What duties are imposed on me? What is my origin and who has brought me into existence? Where am I at present and what was the aim of my arrival? Where am I going and what would happen at the end of my life?
As we stated earlier, such questions confront every person and every sensible person through mental effort and his curiosity wants to obtain the correct replies and to satisfy his conscience. Indeed, these questions also confront the non-believers. But they do not contemplate upon them in the proper way; they do not employ their reason and thinking in the right way regarding these basic matters. Attachment to worldly matters and selfish desires cast a veil on their insight and reason; too much of pleasure seeking keeps them occupied and makes them oblivious of the truth. They avoid contemplating on this important matter and even when they have the opportunity and hear the call of their conscience, they change their mind and even deceive themselves and assure themselves through conjectures. The disbeliever does not have any reply with certainty; on the contrary he only depends on his personal views as follows:
Who am I?
I am an animal who named as ‘man’ and I am like other beasts. I eat and drink and roam about here and there to fulfill my innate desires and needs. I am free from every restriction to satisfy my desires; and as opposed to higher beings, I don’t have any responsibility and duty.
Where have I come from?
In reply to this question, the disbeliever says on the basis of his defective notion, that: I am a material being. No one has created me. I have not been created by a conscious creator. I have come into being through coincidence. It is not that a wise and a powerful creator has created me and my creation is aimless and without any purpose.
Where am I?
In a world, which is purely material, aimless and unaware and before existing things, animals and human beings who themselves are created unaware and since I am myself aimless and confused, no awareness and aim is needed either in my creation or in the creation of the world.
Where am I going?
To illness, old age, pain, weakness and finally to annihilation and nothingness.
Life in the view of the disbeliever is as follows:
It began with nothing, it grows with unawareness and goes higher and higher till it leaves behind childhood, during the youth his structure is at its peak and the youth lives in the highest fort of life. However, it is a pity that this form and strength is soon a thing of past and after a short time, man falls into decadence, pain and then falls to the lowest level. Diseases and difficulties surround him, the power of youth gradually goes on decreasing and physical faculties reach their end. Eyes, ears and limbs become weak and day by day become useless. The period of the fulfillment of base desires comes to an end and the period of weakness and old age begins. Children and friends become unkind and disloyal and leave him alone in his problems…and finally he moves towards nothingness and is buried under dust…
The end of life in the view of the disbeliever is useless, terrible and painful like this. And what a dark end it is! The disbeliever believes that his end is decadence into a horrible nothingness. That is why during his lifetime, he avoids the thought of death and when he is confronted by questions, especially regarding life hereafter and death, he just gives false assurance to himself.
He tries to pacify his mind and conscience through vain pastimes and sensuality; even though they may comfort his nerves only for a short while. However can this stop the inquisitive conscience of man and his curious intellect from asking those questions?
Imagination of uselessness and annihilation and nothingness for the disbeliever is very bitter and painful. These thoughts are like poisonous snakes in his inner being, who continue to sting him and secrete poison and he continues to live in that pain and chastisement. How nice it had been if he had used the faculty of reason and had obtained the right and satisfactory replies.