LIFE WITH MIRACLES, a personal view

LIFE WITH MIRACLES - a personal view!

"There are only two ways to live your life;
One is as though nothing is a Miracle.
The other is as though everything is a Miracle".

This statement recorded by Albert Einstein, the great German-American theoretical physicist, philosopher and author, universally regarded as one of the world’s most influential and best known scientists, encapsulates to me, by its clarity and simplicity, the true status of Miracles in our society.

Where many of his scientific collegues denied the existence of a Supreme Being, and insisted that all of nature and its laws can be explained on the basis of predictable evolution, he held firmly to the belief that the universe had to be the work of a supernatural entity. He expressed this view thus:

“Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science,
becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe.
-- A spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one, in the face of which,
we, with our modest powers, must feel humble.”

To him, life itself was a miracle. He did not feel that he needed to explain or define those events that cannot be explained by the known laws of nature. He had no difficulty in assigning these occurrences to either the result of our incomplete knowledge, or to a “superior spirit”. But Einstein, as well as others like the great Portuguese Philosopher Spinoza and so many of the world great scientists, while accepting the existence of a superior spirit, were unwilling to accept the concept of a Personal God and all that it implies.

To me this view is unfortunate and incomplete, for one does not need to witness a miracle to believe in a God of miracles. Although I have never witnessed a true miracle in my lifetime, I believe firmly, that they do occur and that they are the work of an Almighty God and that they appear as part of a Divine Plan.

In strict scientific terms, Miracles are defined as events which occur as a result of the “divine” intervention of some supernatural entity or outside force, must survive rigorous scrutiny and must fulfill rigid criteria. History is replete with records of miracles that have occurred and of their impact on the society. All the great religions, past and present, have acknowledged their existence and have given them prominent positions in their literature. Miracles play a central role in the Christian churches, in Islam and in Judaism. The New and Old Testament of the Holy Bible, the Holy Koran and the Talmud contain an abundance of references of events that are true miracles. Many of the great philosophers and thinkers have spent there lives in the search and understanding of these events. A study of any of these miracles readily reveals clear evidence of divine intervention with an intention or fulfillment of a purpose. There is no evidence of an indiscriminate or purposeless occurrence but rather the deliberate work of the Almighty God over his domain. But we do not need to witness such miracles to be convinced of God’s presence or power.

But “Miracle” also has a casual usage which is a very important and fundamental component to life and living. It is often used in the context of a variety of unusual events occurring most often with beneficial outcomes that were unexpected but hoped for. We can all relate to these and when they occur they are accepted as such, without giving rise to doubt or challenge. Such occurrences, like surviving a natural disaster, or a life threatening situation, or avoiding a harmful outcome, or receiving unexpected good news are viewed as evidence of “the hand of the Almighty at work” and more or less accepted by all but the most skeptical among us. Deepak Chopra, the Indian-American Physician and Public Speaker, was speaking for every believer when he expressed his views as follows:

“Miracles happen every day.
Not just in remote country villages,
or at holy sites halfway across the globe,
but here, in our own lives”.

Over the many years of my life, both professional and personal, I have witnessed and can attest to a large number of events which have left me in awe, without a reason or an explanation. Some are striking and dramatic as was the case of a young man not quite 29 years old, diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia who was told by a highly respected Oncologist that his prognosis was very guarded, yet was alive and well ten years after, or the severe post-traumatic accident victim who regained consciousness more than 18 months after the accident and went on to lead a full life, or the case of a 67 year old man who received a direct lightening strike while playing golf, was completely knocked out, yet got up shortly after and went home. But stunning as these may be, they are but a small part of the miracles of life around us. In fact, I share this view that life itself is the miracle, and that their presence is more a measure of the individual and the extent of their imagination.

In the end, the final decision as to the existence of miracles is, and will always be, left up to the individual and his personal beliefs and faith. As Nancy Gibbs, the author, commentator and editor for TIME magazine, so eloquently observed:

“For the truly faithful, no Miracle is necessary.
For those who doubt, no Miracle is sufficient”.