The Questions of Mr. Orujali Tolooiian – Maragheh
To the honored scientists, Mr. Heshmatullah Dowlatshahi
I am respectfully writing this letter: first, I need to introduce myself so that there is no misunderstanding; I am a farmer's son. Like many million oppressed Iranians, I am illiterate. The reason that I can somewhat read and write is that I am essentially an inquisitive individual. Reading had become a psychological addiction and as essential as eating and sleeping to people like me. Now that I have passed over sixty-nine years of age, everything seems to fade; with an old body and a trembling hand, it seems that nothing is over the horizon for me but an (imminent) death. However, Iranian culture and society will remain. So, I am sorry for my illegible handwriting due to a shaky hand.
Many years back, I had acquired and read the “Mechanism of Creation.” I find many of its contents extraordinarily educational and beneficial for society, except two discussions (the quality of spirit – Perispirit), where I am partially uncertain.
In that book, you had promised the following publication entitled “Dynamism of Creation.” I had been waiting for its release until I finally acquired it this past June. I have recommended this book to many book lovers, and we have all read it carefully. You have achieved an extraordinary task in this book and created a masterpiece on self-knowledge and ontology. Plus, you have described three essential and critical issues (the universe is within itself; nature is God and God is nature, God is not separate from the universe) with great simplicity and clarity like no other before.
It is a great honor and pride for all humankind and all Iranians that you have clarified notions easily where the past philosophers had failed. It is a great honor that a scientist from Iran has endeavored to serve humanity and fight superstitions and delusions. I believe that the Persian race (with all its previous civilization and capabilities) has fallen behind the world advancement in civilization because of all the superstitions injected into its people's minds in the name of divine religion.
As I have already mentioned, I lack the proper science and knowledge to scrutinize scientific and philosophic topics. Nevertheless, there are topics in "The Dynamism of Creation" that have created doubt in my mind. Furthermore, I believe these notions are harmful to the sleeping society. So, I list them here, with your permission, and await your response to enlighten us. Those are fate, providence, and destiny, which favor the wolf and disregard the oppression of the sheep… I believe that you have not considered these two essential conditions (education, accidents, and or cause and effect). In any case, here are my questions:
First, this book has discussed the proofs of existence repeatedly. There have been millions of books written about the proof of existence since the emergence of the Israelites' Prophets. So far, there have been no agreements on this notion in the world. However, it has been injected into the people to accept that no creature can exist without a creator. It has been proven that a manager or an engineer is responsible for handling this great factory. We should worship and bow to that infinite force, whatever name they choose.
However, God created by human's imagination (human with evil thoughts and looting acts and much more) and has made them loot simple-minded individuals should be denied. This conception is also in the fourth notion of "Dynamism of the Creation." A God that generates oppressors and killer of the oppressed pays no attention to humankind without bribery, consults some Jewish or even a bat (the speaker for the Solomon crown), and a God that supports the wealthy and tyrants in all affairs should be condemned. Nevertheless, the God who is fair and just and merciful and does not discriminate His creatures and promotes affection and Unity among human beings is worthy of being worshiped and bowed.
Unfortunately, deceitful charlatans have turned the notion of God into a dangerous affair for worldly pleasures, power-mongering, lust, and dominance for themselves and their tribes over others. They have created disputes and wars among religions throughout history with the pretext of how God should be described. They have massacred billions of innocent people through this act and left hundreds of millions of orphans and widows and bereaved elderly along their path… such theism has led to nothing but misery upon humankind. Throughout history, dynasties had never been followers of religions. Instead, they have made religion subject to their own earthly desires. Is such theism for the betterment of humankind?
Second: As denoted in the first notion of "The Dynamism of Creation," "morals' existence is the reason for God's existence. It is through morals and principles that one can become familiar with God. If there were no such morals, God would not have been recognized in any capacity. The reason for God's existence is the manifestation of morals in every corner of the universe, for all traits in humankind, their essence exists in God"…
What proof and evidence support that the existence of morals is the reason for the existence of God? If by morals, you mean justice and humanity, kindness, compassion, and law and order in human societies, most societies do not have that. You have denoted this notion regarding theism, "minority holds no value against the majority." In every religion, only a minority of the ruling sect deprives the majority of life's blessings. Was God's purpose only the felicity of a minority group in the establishment of religion? Besides, how can you tell this issue does not correspond with the remarks in the fourth notion of "The Dynamism of Creation"? You say that (all traits in humankind originate from God). However, you know better than anyone that three-fourths of humankind have traits such as selfishness, arrogance, deceitfulness, hypocrisy, betrayal, murder, oppression, aggression, and more. Are the origins of these traits in God as well? Not to mention noxious and nasty animals …
Third: it is the issue of fate and destiny. After describing from the invisible atoms to beyond galaxies, you have introduced God above all forces. You have said that His intelligent designs and schemes are carrying out all the universe's affairs. (you have imputed all these extravagances and oppressions and crimes to that force).
Such a God is practically no different from the God of Jehovah (the God of Hakhams) and popes and priests in the Middle Ages. You mentioned: God determines the mixture of elements in objects, and the fate of every being is according to the specifications of those elements and their mental mechanism. You also denoted: God has created every human being for a specific purpose, one for governing and high social orders, another for inferior and demeaning occupations such as scrubbing toilets and laboring and sweeping floors. One is to be wealthy, and another is to be destitute. One human is to be a scientist, while the other is to be stupid and ignorant. You mentioned that if there were no such distribution of responsibilities, inferior jobs would remain unattended, and thus, the order of the society would become imbalanced.
We cannot deny that many things are due to fate and destiny, and in those matters, humankind has no free will in life. However, I believe it is not as extensive as mentioned in the "Dynamism of Creation." These are the problems that come to my mind. You know very well that approximately two-thirds of the Iranian population are farmers who live in a hell-like environment filled with abjection and oppression and ignorance and as subordinates of the merciless landlord for decades. If we were to count, there would be billions of people who had come into existence and died with depravity and destitution since the dominance of Arabs over Iran. Is it possible that all those people's mental structures and their body elements were equal and alike and identical? Of course, such a thing is impossible, but their destiny in experiencing the oppression and affliction was similar. It is impossible that such a God, which is known to be merciful and just, impose upon people such atrocious destinies.
Second, is it not possible that the bodily elements and mental mechanisms (destiny) of billions of people are identical with no distinctions?
For instance, more government assistance has improved farmers' livelihood by about ten percent during the last few years. Has there been a change in their bodily elements?
No, their education and upbringing are changed (God is the same, and elements are similar).
Or, if you or Socrates had been born during the Qajar dynasty in remote villages of Iran, will you still be this renowned Dowlatshahi or Socrates?
In the second notion of "Dynamism of Creation," you mentioned (the type of food and weather affects the elements). If this is true, then why should it be attributed to God? Moreover, more importantly: if God determines destiny, then He has created discrimination. On the other hand, it is denoted explicitly in Torah, Gospel, and Quran that God does not discriminate (even as small as a diminutive particle) any of His creatures and never imposes any oppression. How can this mystery be solved?
This notion is even more important: Your book mentions (the destiny that God determines will not alter). So, what was the point in appointing Prophets? Did Prophets long to change the determined destiny and the will of God? Did they long to better those who were created bad? Did they want to disrupt the creation and send those who were created to go to Hell (Holy Quran mentions) to Paradise instead?
Fourth: Once again, on the notion of destiny: In your book it says: God has created the body's elements and mental mechanisms and appointed their characteristics as destiny.
In the recent earthquake in Khorasan, we have seen that thousands were killed or injured in a horrible manner (with similar destinies). Did these people have the exact mental mechanisms and elements that resulted in such identical destiny? Or in wars, where millions of youths and adults are taken to a war zone by force before the enemy's line of fire, and sometimes thousands die instantly, is it possible that their body's elements were identical?
In any case, if fate and destiny are entirely attributed to God, hundreds of problems and questions arise that not even one (except answering by coercion) has been currently answered logically and adequately. This issue is lethargic and prejudicial to society because it creates despair and detachment towards work and endeavors to acquire arts and knowledge and obtain life improvement. Since you invite all the world people to unity and kindness, you should know that these objectives are not attainable without improvement in life and economy. I believe a significant reason that religions are not appropriately implemented is that the governors have kept most of the population in poverty and famine, and ignorance. You have excellently mentioned this in "The Dynamism of Creation," where you say: the manner of life in every society is an offspring of their own beliefs and customs.
I believe the most significant reason that Iranian society is falling behind in the world is delusions and superstitions that are being elevated in the name of God and religion and are being made mandatory. The scientists in fortunate nations have brought many industries, inventions, and discoveries and made them available for their people. While unfortunately, Iranian scientists have tried to breed in their society religious providence who believe in fate and destiny with no will power in life; people who believe that the sustenance in life is predestined and pre-divided.
God will give everyone's daily bread
A spider's lunch will not be without a fly in the web-bed
What is destined is given; no more or no less is given
If you do not get what is given, it will be forcibly given
Riches and wealth are not due to any skills
That will not happen unless heaven wills
And they have prohibited knowledge and science for the society:
If you possess one hundred skills for each string of hair
Those skills are useless if you are unlucky despair
There exist thousands of such examples.
Mr. Dowlatshahi, is it not better to believe that God created the universe and the regulations and life's affairs are done by humankind so that we can come out of this dead-end belief in fate and destiny? If, by assumption, such belief spreads in society, will it harm God's existence?
Fifth: In the second notion of "The Dynamism of Creation," you denoted: "This notion is said for the first time in the world that the reasons for any sicknesses are the imbalance of elements in the human body."
Maybe this is one hundred percent true; as someone knowledgeable and well-read, I can confirm that I have seen this notion for the first time only in your book.
However, on the one hand, you promote prophets and say that (God has taught everything through them…), if so, how come the prophets have not shared this important notion with humankind even though this issue is in direct correlation with the life and death of people? God has always been God. Plus, according to prophets, His ultimate intention is the convenience and felicity of humankind. If God did not teach this to His Prophets, He has harmed humankind; if the prophets did not relay this to humankind, they did not obey divine orders.
Sixth: in the second notion of “The Dynamism of Creation,” you mentioned that your discussions are lessons for sociology scholars and those who think. Why is someone in a higher social stature and another in a lower one? Why is someone wealthy, and another is destitute? Those who believe they can realign society by eliminating the differences in creation are thinking as futile as someone who wishes to equalize elements within all human beings. Is such a person not deranged?
First, you had said: Nature is not what they have conceptualized. All the affairs in the universe are in the hands of God. God intends to guide the ignorant people through HIS prophets.
Suppose the intention of God was nurturing ignorant people (by the Prophets). Why did He not create scientists when people were very uneducated, familiarize humans with the verities, and avoid unnecessary bloodshed?
Do you not think that these words of yours favor the wealthy and neglect the oppression of millions of people deprived of wealth? Are your words not the follow-ups on conversations of the likes of Mr. Bagher Majlesi? There is only one distinction: he forced people to believe with coercion, intimidation, commination and denunciation, while you do it through science and philosophy and reasoning…
Furthermore, if fate and destiny were beneficial to society, how come Iranians have fallen so far behind other societies with having centuries of similar beliefs?
Dear renowned scientist, Mr. Dowlatshahi: Please forgive me for wasting your valuable time like this. If you find the words in this letter offensive, do not consider it my lack of manners. It is merely due to my lack of knowledge and illiteracy. Please accept them as I could not find appropriate words to convey my intentions.
I think my letter is lengthy, while many more questions remain. As a person who dedicated his life to serving humankind, I am asking you to answer my letter to solve our problems, and we can be free from doubt.
Sincerely yours,
Orujali Tolooiian, a retired employee of the revenue service department of Maragheh.
October 4th, 1968