The Big Picture

The book, “The Big Picture”, written by Ballabh Acharya attempts to find answers to some of the fundamental questions in life that humanity and the religious faiths have been asking for thousands of years. Questions, such as, “What is Life’s purpose?” “Who Am I?” and “Is there any standard with which we can assess whether something or some action is good or not in general terms?” Ballabh takes you through the exploration of such major issues as he himself had travelled along the spiritual journey over a long period of time. What he describes in the book is what he learned and experienced himself along the spiritual path. The trigger to his search was to find answers to those and other related questions. You have heard and read about the story of how Siddhartha Gautam became the Buddha. One day, when he stepped out of the palace and went to his city with his charioteer, he learned that humans get sick in life, become old and fragile, and eventually die. Only a person who adopts a detached way of life can remain happy. He discovered the truth that there is suffering in the world and resolved to investigate it and find a way out of it, so that people all over could be happy. After years of learning from many teachers and mastering various spiritual practices, he concluded that none of the teachers he came across had answers to his quest. He then decided to pursue his quest alone going from places to places and practising various methods, protocols and meditation practices. Then he became the Buddha, the enlightened one. The trigger to his investigation was to understand what causes suffering in human beings and what can be done to get out of it. Finding an answer to that basic question became his life’s mission. He spent the rest of his earthly life sharing his knowledge by teaching, giving discourses and imparting training on meditation practices. Could you look deep inside you and identify what bothers you so much, which questions you wish to find answers to that keep you awake at night? Which questions come up repeatedly in your thinking, and you feel that it is very important for you to find answers to those questions? Only you know about these things. The following are some of the basic questions that humanity has been asking for thousands of years. 1.Who are we? 2.Why are we here? 3.Where do we come from? 4.Where do we go after the death of the physical body? 5.Does life exist after death? 6.If God is real, can we speak to Him? 7.Can we reach God? How about you? Have you ever wondered about such questions in your life? Have you ever wondered as to the meaning and purpose of life? Rooted deeply within the human psyche, this question often arises with a belief that there must be some meaning and purpose in life; that human life is more than just being born, getting education, having jobs, raising families and eventually dying. When we say ‘I do this or I do that’, What is that “I” we are referring to? What actually is meant by the word “I”? Does it mean the body “we have” that we see walking, seeing, doing things or thinking, or is it ‘larger’ than the physical body? When we say, ‘this is good or that is good’, what is the standard by which we determine that something is good? For example, what we consider to be good in any situation or activity may not be so perceived as such by others. “Is there any standard which can be generally accepted that can guide us towards improving our understanding of this matter?” These and other related aspects are covered in the book. For example, “How we came about?” “How life began in the first place?” “Were we created by God, or did life begin as a random process in line with Darwin’s Theory of Evolution?” The religious traditions of the world go along the line of “The Creation Theory” that teaches that there is an intelligent design involved with the Powerful Creator. The “Evolutionist Theory” goes along the line that it was just a random process, and life began by chance through a natural selection process when the conditions were favourable. Are we alone in the universe, or there is life elsewhere as well? What is our understanding of The Big Bang Theory? Is the universe really expanding, as the scientists say? Is there just this universe of ours or are there other universes as well? Is reincarnation real? Do we have many “past” lives? Are we born again and again? If so, why? What is Karma, and how is this related to reincarnation? Is our soul singular or plural? Does our soul exist at many places at the same time? Do parallel realities exist? Is the universe holographic? What is Maya or Illusion? How can we come out of this grand illusion, the Matrix, if we want to? Are there avenues to come out of this illusion and be free and remain blissful? The good news is that it is possible to come out of this illusion to the full expanse of infinite bliss. The book identifies avenues how this could be done. You will find this book as a valuable resource material that will help you find answers to these hard questions and provide pointers for you to look further. Some of the material is obviously new. Open your mind and be receptive to receive this valuable knowledge. You will discover many surprises throughout the book. May there be peace, love, happiness, prosperity and abundance in the world!