Life Of Pi A Modern Bible

Life of Pi: A Modern Bible

Adam Gowan

I have always been an atheist. In all my life, I never questioned my religious beliefs. I saw religion as a way people justified their intolerance with primitive theories, which undermined the advances of modern science. Recently, my opinion has drastically changed. The instigator for this change was my reading of the novel Life of Pi by Yan Martel. I met the author in Saskatchewan during the summer of 2013. His wife is a colleague of my father’s, so we went to their house for a visit, and I was excited to tell him how much I had enjoyed the film adaptation of Life of Pi, which had recently been released. In response, he told me to read the novel, half-joking that it was “better” than the film. I am glad I did. It’s one of the best books I have ever read. Reading it changed my life. In the beginning of the novel, Pi’s uncle, who he calls Mamaji, says, “I have a story that will make you believe in god.” (Martel, viii) In my reading, the story lived up to this claim. Life of Pi made me believe in god.

As I see it, Life of Pi is more than just a novel. It is the religious text that was responsible for my spiritual initiation⎯ a modern day bible. Just as Christ was Jewish, Pi is Christian, Muslim, and Hindi. Just as Christ was crucified and resurrected, Pi faced his own trials, and was confronted with both physical and spiritual death, but eventually made his return. Now he asks us to hear is story, in both ways he tells it, and to interpret it as we will. The reason Life of Pi struck a chord in me that the Bible did not is simply because it is modern, and therefore more relevant to my experience. In Pi’s view, any individual’s life philosophy is their faith⎯ as long as they take an imaginative...

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... animals is sincere⎯ and indeed greater than the story with the humans.

Mr. Okamoto: ‘Yes. The story with the animals is the better story.’

Pi Patel: ‘Thank you. And so it goes with god. (352)

Faith is storytelling, which I love with all my heart, and to which I will surely devote my life. The earliest stories were told as a way to explain reality, for, as Pi says, “If there is one thing an animal hates above all else, it is the unknown.” (45) Today, art fulfils the same purpose, but in a very different way. It simplifies reality, and puts our minds in harmony with the universe, sustaining our feelings of empathy and connectedness. Through art, Atman⎯ the soul of the individual, meets Brahman⎯ the world soul. The resulting symbiosis is something that must be achieved in order for society to move forwards, and for species to evolve. It is in this that we find god.