Does God Exist?

[Guest guest]

Around this time last Sunday, I was getting ready to go to the temple for

Janamashtami celebrations. (We have common celebrations for all

important festivals.) In the temple, I was a sort of detached witness to the

rituals. I was thinking about something else the whole

time. Later, I wrote down my thoughts. You may read..... 

                                       

          DOES GOD EXIST?

It is blasphemous to doubt God's existence. Despite this knowledge, I have

serious doubts about God's position as the creator and controller of the world.

I think this line of thinking would qualify me to be an agnostic. I find God to

be an amorphous figure. I do not know whether it is right to describe him as a

figure, as if he were an eminent personality in some field. But I do know that I

am equivocal about his identity. And I squarely blame him for this confusion.

God is universally acknowledged as the maker of humans. Why did he create us or,

for that

matter, everything else that constitutes the universe? It seems he had nothing

better to do. It is funny to believe that boredom might have goaded him into

action. What does this assumption mean? I would say he had no purpose in his

life. If that is the case, thinking that God created us simply to deal with the

state of nothingness he was in makes me uneasy. 

Who created God? I think man did it. The reason why God created us will always

be a matter of conjecture. Perhaps he had no comprehensible reason. In contrast,

humans had a reason to create Him. God is not meant to be a definite entity. It

is easier and logical to

understand

Him as a concept. Conceptually, God can be equated with hope. Life was full of

dangers and attendant fears for our earliest ancestors. Man needed a saviour

when his courage failed. He attributed everything he could not understand or

explain to an unknown master. Man's hope ( that God would come to

his rescue when he was helpless) and his belief (that God had created everything

that man found marvellous or mysterious ) slowly crystallised into

extreme reverence. Thus God acquired His  status as the Supreme Being.

As the human race progressed, man explored and understood the world around him.

Now we have a vast knowlege about everything. The quest for knowledge continues.

As a result, our perception has changed. Our hopes have a new meaning. In

the

past, diseases like smallpox, cholera and plague used to wipe out millions.

Smallpox has been eradicated from the world and the other diseases are unheard

of now.  How did it happen? Man made vaccine and understood the importance of

sanitation. Now we do not hope for protection against these scourges. Where does

God figure in this scheme of things?

Humans still believe in God. This belief is important. Hope sustains our life.

We want somebody to help us when we are struck by any crisis. If everything else

fails and we become helpless, it is God who can give us the strength and courage

to fight and survive. He gives us the hope that things would be better. This is

the real power God holds for those who need Him. At the same time, we must not

forget there are a few others

who have the fortitude to deal with vagaries of life on their own. For them God

does not mean much.  Therefore, God is only a psychological necessity.

I have had a different feeling about God from the very ebginning.. I want to put

forth my perspective through an experience I once had. I had gone to a famous

temple. At the entrance, there was a beggar in a pitiable condition. He barely

had any clothes on his body. He was dishevelled, with long matted hair. There

was a worn out bowl in front of him in which an occasional pilgrim dropped a

coin. Disgusted by his appearence, people mostly flung the coins at him from a

distance. His face was swollen grotesquely, and had big sores. He was not even

interested to wave away the flies swarming his face. I wondered for a long time

afterwards what he thought of God. Did God exist for that poor man? Was there

any hope for him in that world. I was sure only death would put an end to his

misery. God was nearby, comfortably ensconced in his sanctified surroundings.

What did He feel about that beggar's wretchedness? I doubted God ever thought

about that hopeless

creature, abandoned by everyone. I was certain there was no God in that temple.

It is just that his followers thought he was there.

Bharat

[Guest guest]

If You experience joy and happiness in not knowing God- it is your good fortune,

which may be temporary. You will be eternally conditioned.

But if you experience bliss and ecstasy in Knowing The Lord and live your life

centered around the Lord- then You are intelligent and eternally fortunate and

may be eligible to get out of this cycle of birth and death.

As we are not allowed to discuss religion in this forum, your experience and

free will is the best teacher.

 

Regards,

 

Meena Samtani.

 

Always Chant and be happy

 

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna , Hare Hare.

Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare.

________________________________

To: mgims <mgims >

Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2011 1:45 PM

Subject: Does God Exist?

 

Around this time last Sunday, I was getting ready to go to the temple for

Janamashtami celebrations. (We have common celebrations for all

important festivals.) In the temple, I was a sort of detached witness to the

rituals. I was thinking about something else the whole

time. Later, I wrote down my thoughts. You may read..... 

                                       

          DOES GOD EXIST?

It is blasphemous to doubt God's existence. Despite this knowledge, I have

serious doubts about God's position as the creator and controller of the world.

I think this line of thinking would qualify me to be an agnostic. I find God to

be an amorphous figure. I do not know whether it is right to describe him as a

figure, as if he were an eminent personality in some field. But I do know that I

am equivocal about his identity. And I squarely blame him for this confusion.

God is universally acknowledged as the maker of humans. Why did he create us or,

for that

matter, everything else that constitutes the universe? It seems he had nothing

better to do. It is funny to believe that boredom might have goaded him into

action. What does this assumption mean? I would say he had no purpose in his

life. If that is the case, thinking that God created us simply to deal with the

state of nothingness he was in makes me uneasy. 

Who created God? I think man did it. The reason why God created us will always

be a matter of conjecture. Perhaps he had no comprehensible reason. In

contrast, humans had a reason to create Him. God is not meant to be a definite

entity. It is easier and logical to

understand

Him as a concept. Conceptually, God can be equated with hope. Life was full of

dangers and attendant fears for our earliest ancestors. Man needed a saviour

when his courage failed. He attributed everything he could not understand or

explain to an unknown master. Man's hope ( that God would come to

his rescue when he was helpless) and his belief (that God had created

everything that man found marvellous or mysterious ) slowly crystallised into

extreme reverence. Thus God acquired His  status as the Supreme Being.

As the human race progressed, man explored and understood the world around him.

Now we have a vast knowlege about everything. The quest for knowledge

continues. As a result, our perception has changed. Our hopes have a new

meaning. In

the

past, diseases like smallpox, cholera and plague used to wipe out millions.

Smallpox has been eradicated from the world and the other diseases are unheard

of now.  How did it happen? Man made vaccine and understood the importance of

sanitation. Now we do not hope for protection against these scourges. Where does

God figure in this scheme of things?

Humans still believe in God. This belief is important. Hope sustains our life.

We want somebody to help us when we are struck by any crisis. If everything else

fails and we become helpless, it is God who can give us the strength and

courage to fight and survive. He gives us the hope that things would be better.

This is the real power God holds for those who need Him. At the same time, we

must not forget there are a few others

who have the fortitude to deal with vagaries of life on their own. For them God

does not mean much.  Therefore, God is only a psychological necessity.

I have had a different feeling about God from the very ebginning.. I want to put

forth my perspective through an experience I once had. I had gone to a famous

temple. At the entrance, there was a beggar in a pitiable condition. He barely

had any clothes on his body. He was dishevelled, with long matted hair. There

was a worn out bowl in front of him in which an occasional pilgrim dropped a

coin. Disgusted by his appearence, people mostly flung the coins at him from a

distance. His face was swollen grotesquely, and had big sores. He was not even

interested to wave away the flies swarming his face. I wondered for a long time

afterwards what he thought of God. Did God exist for that poor man? Was there

any hope for him in that world. I was sure only death would put an end to his

misery. God was nearby, comfortably ensconced in his sanctified surroundings.

What did He feel about that beggar's wretchedness? I doubted God ever thought

about that hopeless

creature, abandoned by everyone. I was certain there was no God in that temple.

It is just that his followers thought he was there.

Bharat