The Life of Pi: A Modern BibleAdam GowanI have always been an atheist. In my entire life, I have never questioned my religious beliefs. I viewed religion as a way for people to justify their intolerance of primitive theories, which undermined the progress of modern science. Recently my opinion has changed dramatically. The instigator of this change was my reading of the novel Life of Pi by Yan Martel. I met the author in Saskatchewan in the summer of 2013. His wife is a colleague of my father's, so we went to visit him and I was delighted to tell him how much I enjoyed the film adaptation of Life of Pi., which was just released. In response, he told me to read the novel, half-joking that it was “better” than the movie. I'm glad I did it. It's one of the best books I've ever read. Reading it changed my life. At the beginning of the novel, Pi's uncle, whom he calls Mamaji, says, "I have a story that will make you believe in God." » (Martel, viii) According to my reading, the story lived up to this statement. Life of Pi made me believe in God. In my opinion, Life of Pi is more than just a novel. This 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 physical and spiritual death, but he eventually made his return. Now he asks us to hear his story, in both senses in which he tells it, and to interpret it as we wish. 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. According to Pi, any individual's philosophy of life is his faith⎯ as long as he takes an imaginative approach...... middle of paper ...... animals are sincere⎯ and in fact greater than the story with humans. Okamoto: 'Yes. The story with the animals is the best. » Pi Patel: “Thank you. And so it is with God. (352) Faith is a narrative that I love with all my heart and to which I will surely dedicate my life. The first stories were told to explain reality, because, as Pi says, “if there is one thing an animal hates above all else, it is the unknown.” (45) Today, art serves the same purpose, but in a very different way. This simplifies reality and puts our mind in harmony with the universe, sustaining our feelings of empathy and connectedness. Through art, Atman⎯ the soul of the individual meets Brahman⎯ the soul of the world. The resulting symbiosis is something that must be achieved for society to advance and species to evolve. This is where we find God.