Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Is there a God? No? Yes? Nos?

I happen to read somebody quoting Stephen Hawking. It read as follows:

“I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization that there probably is no heaven and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that, I am extremely grateful.” Stephen Hawking


This lead me to think this way – An atheist and a fanatic/religious zealot has something in common – they both believe in the same God concept.


It is not a good idea to call a scientist an atheist just because he/she do not currently believes in God (or unless he/she explicitly says so). Because, they usually change their opinion/view based on new findings and discoveries. But it looks like, even many scientists (but not Albert Einstein, Dr.Michio Kaku etc) fits into the category I mentioned above. - they have the same God concept, somebody who created this world in 6 days and now lives in his mansion up in the sky. If anybody thinks that is the only possible God form, it is nothing but ignorance.


Who or what is God according to Sanatana Dharma (modern day Hinduism)? Let us take one scripture, Srimad Bhagavat Gita, and two clues from it (amongst over a hundred given).


God is (but not limited to):



Atman, the soul of all entities, the Cosmic Soul...that 'something' without which we are said to be dead or without which we start to decay (Bhagavat Gita 10.20)


Cosmic Consciousness or a Super-consciousness (B.G 10.22)


God is the knowledge and the intelligence contained within E=Mc². It is intelligence that beautifully kept unbelievably heavy objects in the Akasa/space. They are all in motion, with the highest level of precision. God is there in that divine beauty, orderliness and intelligence (isn't amazing that even a tiny water creature like a Tardigrade has a built-in mechanism to absorb oxygen from water in a subtle, smooth eco-friendly way? Look at those migrating birds and butterflies, ants, spiders, weaver birds, corals...)


This consciousness can only be experienced/felt and not experimented/seen. And when one achieves that, that experience can not be communicated or converted into a formula/scientific method using which another scientist can experience the same.


Srimad Bhagavat Gita says:


Mayi sarvamidam protam sootre maniganaa iva.” Gita 7.7


Meaning, there is absolutely nothing beyond me/God. Everything in this cosmos is connected with a common string (or particle/energy/consciousness/'whatever') like beads are connected in a rosary using a thread or like a thread goes through all the beads in a rosary.


This is the reason why there is this belief in the East that God is present everywhere and in everything....and this is the reason why Lord Buddha did not speak about a God form; not because he had no idea about God. A drop of water in an ocean, a bubble, a wave...all are nothing but the ocean itself though they are different. There is an ocean that goes through every single drop in a subtle way.


Creation happens in God and entire creation dissolves in God. All creation evolves from His two Prakrithi or nature/energy - Para (higher nature) and Apara (lower nature) - Shakti and Shiva or Cosmic Body and Holy Spirit or Yin and Yang..they are the womb of all creations in this entire cosmos.


(Apara prakrithi or Ashtamoola Prakrithi or the lower nature consists of Earth (does not literally mean planet Earth),Water, Fire, Air, Ether, (cosmic) Mind, (cosmic) Intellect and (cosmic) Ego. Para Prakriti is the supreme soul/spirit. And we can find and extension of all these in every one of us; meaning we all are made of these stuffs).


When an atheist could contemplate God in this dimension, the atheist would possibly become a believer and when a traditional /conventional God believer finds out this, he/she might turn into an atheist!!