Einstein was that way. He was disappointed with school and its efforts at indoctrination. Was it worth it? Maybe his letter can help in our understanding. I’ll post what resonates with me. Feel free to post your impressions on Einstein’s letter.
http://upliftconnect.com/spiritual-wisd ... -einstein/
Though doubting authority and teachers, Einstein was attracted to the interactions of universal laws and the wholeness they produce within nature
Creation including Man is an effect with a cause that we can only appreciate through the experience of the interactions of universal lawsCreation may be spiritual in origin, but that doesn’t mean that everything created is spiritual. How can I explain such things to you? Let us accept the world is a mystery. Nature is neither solely material nor entirely spiritual.
Man, too, is more than flesh and blood; otherwise, no religions would have been possible. Behind each cause is still another cause; the end or the beginning of all causes has yet to be found.
According to Einstein then, Man’s human obligation is to co-create with universal laws rather than live with blind obedience to Man’s laws.If I hadn’t an absolute faith in the harmony of creation, I wouldn’t have tried for thirty years to express it in a mathematical formula. It is only man’s consciousness of what he does with his mind that elevates him above the animals, and enables him to become aware of himself and his relationship to the universe.
I believe that I have cosmic religious feelings. I never could grasp how one could satisfy these feelings by praying to limited objects. The tree outside is life, a statue is dead. The whole of nature is life, and life, as I observe it, rejects a God resembling man.
Man has infinite dimensions and finds God in his conscience. [A cosmic religion] has no dogma other than teaching man that the universe is rational and that his highest destiny is to ponder it and co-create with its laws.
Realistic humility. It seems to be a diminishing trait in modern society and I seriously doubt that the egoism of technological influences will ever allow it.The genuine scientist is not moved by praise or blame, nor does he preach. He unveils the universe and people come eagerly, without being pushed, to behold a new revelation: the order, the harmony, the magnificence of creation!
And as man becomes conscious of the stupendous laws that govern the universe in perfect harmony, he begins to realize how small he is. He sees the pettiness of human existence, with its ambitions and intrigues, its ‘I am better than thou’ creed.
This is the beginning of cosmic religion within him; fellowship and human service become his moral code. Without such moral foundations, we are hopelessly doomed.
What is conscience? As I understand it we are born with conscience and morality is indoctrinated. Modern society respects scientific knowledge and prefers indoctrination. But can objective conscience and scientific knowledge become equally respected?If we want to improve the world we cannot do it with scientific knowledge but with ideals. Confucius, Buddha, Jesus and Gandhi have done more for humanity than science has done.
We must begin with the heart of man—with his conscience—and the values of conscience can only be manifested by selfless service to mankind.
Religion and science go together. As I’ve said before, science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind. They are interdependent and have a common goal—the search for truth.
If objective awakening to human meaning and purpose in accordance with universal laws comes through intuition, is it realistic to believe that the modern emphasis on dualistic thought and the intolerance towards anything suggesting a higher source of consciousness will allow it, at least not for another hundred years? What will it take for Man to leave the prison of Plato's cave and become cosmic man?Many people think that the progress of the human race is based on experiences of an empirical, critical nature, but I say that true knowledge is to be had only through a philosophy of deduction. For it is intuition that improves the world, not just following a trodden path of thought.
Intuition makes us look at unrelated facts and then think about them until they can all be brought under one law. To look for related facts means holding onto what one has instead of searching for new facts.
Intuition is the father of new knowledge, while empiricism is nothing but an accumulation of old knowledge. Intuition, not intellect, is the ‘open sesame’ of yourself.
Indeed, it is not intellect, but intuition which advances humanity. Intuition tells man his purpose in this life.
I do not need any promise of eternity to be happy. My eternity is now. I have only one interest: to fulfill my purpose here where I am.
This purpose is not given me by my parents or my surroundings. It is induced by some unknown factors. These factors make me a part of eternity.”