The Night Sky Offers Much More Than Religion

Since the dawn of humanity, we have always searched for our place in the cosmos. Why do we exist? What is our purpose? What is the meaning of all this? We have asked these kinds of questions and, in an effort to answer these, made religion. We have deluded ourselves with the stories, myths and legends that we have made ourselves. We wholeheartedly believe that we were created by a supernatural entity - that we are special! We are motivated to achieve - to do great things - under the idea of being chosen specifically by a higher intelligence and being part of its divine plan. All these just to comfort ourselves.

I offer you, my friends, an alternative to religion.

Comfort? Values? Way of life? It can provide you whatever it is you find in religion. What's more, it is based on evidence. It is humanity's oldest hobby. It is the oldest and greatest of all sciences. It is no other than astronomy.

When was the last time you looked at the night sky? It must have been a long time since then, hasn't it? The night sky serves as a feature of our world - a permanent fixture, even. It has always been there with all its majesty and beauty. Have you ever wondered what our ancestors thought of it? They believed that the heavenly bodies are deeply connected to us. That's true. However, they made stories out of it. Some even believed that the Sun was a god on his chariot. They used the stars for predicting calamities and such. They paved the way for astrology - the precursor of astronomy and cosmology. It is very unfortunate that people, up to this day, still believe in astrology. Now we know that the positions of stars cannot determine the possibility of you achieving your dream job. The stars have no connection with our shallow problems. Through years of endeavor and research, we now know that those objects up there have something to tell us who are down here.

"We are stardust."

If you are familiar with the likes of Lawrence Krauss, Carl Sagan, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, you'll often hear them say this. What do they mean by saying "we are stardust"? Do they mean it figuratively? Is it a shameless attempt at making science sound poetic? This may come as a surprise for most people but, no, they mean it literally. We really are made of "star-stuff."

How, you may ask? Let me explain briefly. Our Sun is a star - a common kind, in fact. This kind of stars converts hydrogen into helium. However, there are much massive and bigger stars that can produce heavier elements such as gold, lead, and uranium. These elements, among others, are commonly found here on Earth. We even have iron in our blood; calcium in our bones! These huge stars explode and scatter these elements in the form of clouds of dust. Due to gravity, particles from these clouds clump together, forming stars and planets.

The statement is factual as well as poetic.

Now I invite you to gaze at the stars tonight with this in mind. The stars you see up there are no different than you. You don't need a made-up god to make you feel special. You are made of stardust! You came from a star! How beautiful is that? You are a conscious being. You are in the Universe. The Universe exists within you. You are a way for the Universe to know itself. You are the Universe being conscious of itself.

With this kind of perspective, you are free. You are no longer bound by the chains of religion. Your ideas are no longer contained inside a box.

Now who said that science can't provide the spiritual fulfillment religion offers?