Do we really need God? An atheist will answer ‘no’ because God, according to him, does not exist. An agnostic will also answer ‘no’ because according to him, God, even if He exists, cannot be known. An existentialist is also likely to answer ‘no’ because even if God exists and can also be known, He is of no use to him. As such, in order to establish the need of God for us we must examine Him under the parameters of existence, knowledgeability, and real use for us.
Fortunately the majority of mankind believes, in some way or the other, in the existence of God that forms the core theme of all theistic religions and faiths all over the world. Some people, who do not extrovertly follow any religious practices and rituals, somehow entertain a vague consciousness of an invisible cosmic power that may be variously described as Cosmic Energy or Life Force or Supreme Intelligence. As regards proof for the existence of God, this question is inevitably related to what sort of conception we have of God. If we conceive of a Personal God, all-powerful sitting on a throne over the sky and ruling over the universe, rewarding some and punishing others, such a God is really a matter of faith, mostly blind faith. However, if we conceive of God as Pure Existence (Sat), its existence cannot be denied because how can one deny the Principle of Existence that lends sustenance to all that exists. Its denial will amount to self-denial and doubting it would be self-contradictory, since doubting is a process of thinking in which the existence of the doubter is presupposed. Viewed in this light, the existence of God as Pure Existence is self-proven.
Is God as Pure Existence knowable? It is not an object of perception by the sense –organs, nor can it be penetrated by intellect, nor can it be grasped by inference. It is so subtle, abstract and formless that it cannot be known like other objects of the physical phenomena. It can be known by intuition only and grasped as Bliss-consciousness. Intuition is an immediate experience wherein there is no mediation of senses, and ‘Truth’ is seen face-to-face like the self-effulgent Sun. Can a common man partake in this experience? Why not? The relevant question in this context is as to how fervently one seeks it. If the seeking is genuine, it should come to us as naturally as breath. Almost all of us, in some intimate moments of our life, in the deep inward silence of our being, must have had the experience of this unalloyed peace and joy bordering on Bliss i.e. God.
Even if God exists and is knowable by intuition, is He of any use to us in our day-to-day life? Let us examine this question in the light of the basic motive that prompts human beings to various endeavours in life. That seems to be avoidance of pain and attainment of happiness. All their pursuits and struggles end in this ultimate goal – happiness without the tinge of pain. Is it not the same as Bliss-consciousness, the very nature of God? So, are not all human endeavours and struggles but indications of a secret urge and craving of the human soul to seek God, the ever blissful conscious existence (sat, chit, anand) that permeates our whole being? More genuinely we seek Him, closer He is to our heart.
Dinesh Singh |
