Man is born with a centre, but he remains completely oblivious of it. Man can live without knowing his centre, but man cannot be without a centre. The centre is the link between man and existence: It is the root. You may not know it, knowledge is not essential for the centre to be but if you do not know it you will lead a life that is root less - as if root less. You will not feel any ground, you will not feel yourself based: you will not feel at home in the universe. You will be homeless.
Of course, the centre is there, but by not knowing it your life will be just a drifting - meaningless, empty, reaching no where. You will feel as if you are living without life, drifting, just waiting for death. You can go on postponing from one moment to another, but you know very well that postponing will lead you no where. You are just passing time and that feeling of deep frustration will follow you like a shadow. Man is born with a centre, but not with the knowledge of the centre. The knowledge has to be gained.
You have the centre. the centre is there: you cannot be without it. How can you exist without a centre? how can you exist without a bridge between you and existence? or if you like the word, "God" you cannot exist without a deep link. You have roots in the divine. Every moment you live through those roots, but those roots are underground. Just as with any tree, the roots are underground: the tree is unaware of its own roots. You also have roots. The rootedness is your centre. When i say man is born with it, I mean it is a possibility that you can become aware your rootedness.
If you become aware, your life becomes actual: otherwise you life will be just like a deep sleep, a dream. What Abraham Maslow has called " Self actualisation" is really nothing but becoming aware of your inner centre from where you are linked with the total universe, becoming aware of your roots: you are not alone, you are not atomic, you are part of this cosmic whole. This universe is not an alien world. You are not a stranger, this universe is your home. But unless you find your roots, your centre this universe remains something alien, some thing foreign.
Sartre says that man lives as if he has been thrown into the world. Of course, if you do not know your centre you will feel a thrown-ness, as if you have been thrown into the world. You are an outsider, you do not belong to this world and this world does not belong to you. Then fear, then anxiety, then anguish are bound to result. A man as an outsider in the universe is bound to feel deep anxiety, dread, fear, anguish. His whole life will be just a fight, a struggle, and a struggle which is destined to be a failure. Man cannot succeed because a part can never succeed against the whole.
You cannot succeed against existence. You can succeed with it but never against it. And that is the difference between a religious man and a non religious man. A non religious man is against the universe, a religious man is with the universe. A religious man feel at home. Does not feel he has been thrown into the world, he feels he has grown in the world. Remember the difference between being thrown and being grown.
