In his revolutionary book, Thus Spake Zarathustra, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued the case for a form of radical, heroic self-reliance centering around a figure that he called the Übermensch—the "Overman" or "Superman." He articulates some powerful and extremely virile ideas rooted in a radical departure from the bourgeois Christianity of his day, which he considered to be steeped in complacency. Instead, he argued for complete individualism to a radical degree.

Now these are some Powerful Ideas and, I will not deny, that they are profound in their implications. The concept of radical individualism is appealing—almost hypnotically so—especially in the context of the Classical Greek mythology and philosophy by which it is largely inspired. I am the first to submit that Nietzsche, in his works, presents us with some powerful ideas, inspiring us to question all that we usually take for granted and come up with new values, new ideas and a new mode of thinking as a departure from stale conventionalism.

In fact, Nietzsche's thinking goes to the extreme of advocating total atheism in the context of its credo of self-reliance and individualism. "God is dead," he declares, in the person of his fictional prophet, Zarathustra—which is to say, forget about Divine intervention—do it yourself and be the self-reliant individualist. Again, this thinking is especially appealing to the individualists among us, myself included, who aim to be fiercely independent and self-reliant in our attitude.

But, in the end, sooner or later, one has to confront reality. The reality that, as Human Beings, we are pretty insignificant creatures in the face of the forces of nature. Even the strongest and greatest among us is, ultimately, no match for the blind forces of nature, in their unbelievable, arbitrary destructive power.

Forget about total self-reliance—it is a myth. In the face of the blind forces of nature, what one truly discovers is how fragile the human condition really is and our need for one another and Total Dependence on the grace of God. As seen in the movie Deliverance, nature humbles us into acknowledging our need for God—to be unaware of that fact is to be self-deceived. The depth of our reliance upon God is absolute—we cannot exist apart from the will of God. This is the credo of Biblical Christianity and it is up to each of us to discover for ourselves whether or not it is factual.

All I can say is that, in the course of my life, at any given stage, any number of things could go wrong. The idea that any of us have any significant degree of control over our destinies is a myth. It is only too easy for some calamity to claim any of our lives, whether it happens to be a natural disaster like a Tsunami in south-east Asia; a man-made disaster like the flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, or a financial disaster like the recent collapse of Wall Street. Our lives are so fragile, in retrospect, that apart from Divine intervention, none of us really stands a chance! Our only hope is total reliance on God in the person of Jesus Christ—anything else is, ultimately, self-deception.

This may sound insensitive to someone who is facing financial ruin or the loss of a home caused by one of any number of calamities we face every day worldwide—but I have come to believe that it is the only reality in the end. Our lives as human beings are so fragile that apart from Divine intervention, none of us stands a chance! In that sense, self-reliance is, ultimately, a myth—no one can truly be totally self-reliant—we are, as human beings, dependent upon one another for our survival and co-existence and, ultimately, dependent on God for every breath of air that we breathe.

Horizon Cybermedia humbly and gratefully acknowledges our total dependence on the grace of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, for our continued existence as a new media company and we can only hope that our success is blessed by Divine agency. We invite you to share in our ongoing adventures across the world that we hope to continue to bring to you. Check http://www.explorationtheseries.com, our website, for the latest film in our Exploration series on the stunning vistas of the Wine Country of Sonoma County, Ca., and check back again soon for the next film in our series on the magnificent Christian monuments in the city of Calcutta, India.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.