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Does God exist ?. Lets discuss
Does God exist & if there’s a God should we believe in him merely because the scriptures & saints say so or are there any proof of his existence ?. This question has been asked innumerable times in history. It’s being discussed today & it shall be debated in the future as well. So let us ponder over it. There are 3 kinds of evidence to establish the existence of an entity. . The 1st is experiential or perceptional. It’s direct evidence. You see something & so you believe it. The 2nd is inferential evidence. You see something & from that, you infer another. The 3rd is testimonial evidence. You accept his or her authority as somebody has experienced it.
Does God exist ?. Evidence
Let us see how these 3 apply to the concept of God. Scientists would say, you show me the proof of God through perceptional evidence. Let me see him. Let me dissect him in the laboratory & then I shall accept his existence. The problem is that this kind of evidence is very limited. Currently, there are so few things that you can see or perceive.
If I were to go out at night then I would see those stars. Should I conclude that there aren’t any stars because I cannot see them ?. For example, I’ve never seen my great-great-grandfather. Should I conclude I never had a great-great-grandfather just because I’ve never seen him ?. The Prime Minister of a country administers a huge area. If he says that he’ll only accept what he has seen how will he be able to administer his country ?. The Prime Minister needs other kinds of evidence as well.
Let us say that I show you a container of milk & ask you is there butter in it ?. It’s not reduced-fat milk. What will you say ?. There’s butter in it. Can you see it ?. No. Then how do you know there’s butter in it. You’ll say there is a way of proving it. If I transform the milk into yogurt & then churn the yogurt then I’ll extract the butter. So there’s a way of seeing things even though they may not be perceptible immediately.
Does God exist ?. Follow the process
The mere fact that we cannot see God at present does not prove the non-existence of God. If you wish to see God then there’s a process. Follow the process & you’ll see him. The process is described. Learn to cleanse the heart. Purify your mind. Now, if you’re not willing to do the process & you say I cannot see him. So there’s no God. That’s an unrealistic expectation.
Testimonial evidence
Do you believe there is a place called Oymyakon ?. Yes. Have you ever gone there & seen it ?. No. Then why do you believe ?. You say, well some books explain there’s an Oymyakon & people who’ve been there have come & told me there is such a place. The books could be wrong. The people could be lying. But if you don’t believe them then you buy a ticket. Take a flight & go & see it for yourself. Similarly for the existence of God the saints who’ve seen him have told us. The scriptures are telling us. If you disbelieve their authority what they tell us to do is to cleanse the heart. You do it. At the end of it if you don’t see God then say that God doesn’t exist.
But without putting in the effort we shouldn’t say that there’s no God. Only that person can deny the existence of God who’s all-knowing. Who knows everything in the universe. Because if somebody is not all-knowing in that case maybe the 1 thing about the universe that he doesn’t know may be God. And since nobody is all-knowing nobody can establish that God doesn’t exist.
Inferential evidence
A higher kind of evidence is inferential evidence. What is this ?. From 1 thing you infer another. For example, there is electricity in the wire. How do you know ?. Can you see it ?. No. But there’s a light that’s burning. The fact that the light is burning indicates there’s electric energy reaching it through the wire. So from the light, we infer the existence of electricity in the wire. This inferential evidence is utilized by our scriptures & saints to establish the existence of God.
The creation & the creator. Inferential evidence
We see this amazingly complex world. The fact that this world is so intricately patterned & organized leads us to believe that there must be a creator behind it. A great scientist in history was Maxwell. He was a firm believer in God. Maxwell had a fellow scientist who was an atheist. He believed in the Big Bang Theory that the world was created by an explosion. Maxwell to open the eyes of his friend scientists created a model of the solar system & put it into motion in a study room. When his friend came & saw that he was amazed. He said wow. He asked who made this ?. Maxwell said nobody made it. What do you mean nobody made it ?. Maxwell said that he was working on his study table when there was an explosion. When he turned around this had got made.
The friend said whom are you kidding ?. How can such an astounding thing be made by an explosion ?. Maxwell retorted & said it seems implausible to you that a little model of the solar system can be made by a bang. And you want me to believe that the real world consisting of innumerable such solar systems is made by a bang ?. Doesn’t it go against common sense ?. It’s more plausible to accept the hypothesis that this amazing world must’ve got a creator behind it. Scientists realized the existence of laws in every little thing. Physical laws, chemical laws, mathematical laws & yet they’re not willing to accept the existence of the lawmaker. Isn’t it more commonsensical to think that if there are laws there must be a lawmaker ?.
Another example of inferential evidence
There was once a geography teacher. He taught his students & said look this world was created by itself. He later gave them the homework to make a map of the world & bring it. 1 of the students was of a philosophy end of mind & would think a little more deeply. He filled a paper with scratched lines through colors into it & submitted it on the teacher’s desk. When the teacher reached the class & saw the homework assignments he started evaluating them 1 after the other. Then he came to that scrap of paper. Seeing that he became annoyed. Who has submitted this ?. He shouted. The class was silent. He repeated himself. Tell me who has made this ?. Again nobody responded. He blew over in rage. He said tell me who made this or I’ll punish all of you.
The boy who had submitted it stood up. He said Sir, I think, nobody has made it. What do you mean said the teacher ?. The boy said, I mean the paper flew & fell on your desk. The pencils flew & the lines got scratched. The colors flew & filled up in the paper. The teacher said what rubbish are you speaking ?. Somebody must’ve made it. And I doubt it seems like you’re the boy who’s responsible for this. The student replied, Sir you’re not willing to believe that the 3rd class-map of the planet Earth can be made by itself. And you wanted us all to believe that the real world is made by itself & on its own. Doesn’t that also require a creator ?.
Utilization of inferential evidence
So this inferential evidence is utilized by some people to establish God’s existence. They say the world is so amazing it must’ve got a creator behind it. And finally testimonial evidence. You accept the authority of somebody more knowledgeable & experienced. Now on the spiritual side, we’re never willing to submit our intellect in this way. But all the knowledge field from grade 1 up to post-graduation was with the help of testimonial evidence. The teacher made a shape & said this is – A. All students say – A.
We submitted our intellect to the higher authority & we learned. This is the simplest way of getting information. We did not reinvent the wheel while learning physics. We accepted the authority of the previous physicists. That is how we became virtuosos in physics. How do you accept somebody as your father ?. There were no DNA tests 30 years ago. We merely accepted our mother’s authority. She said, son, this is your father. We said all right mother. On your testimony, I’m accepting him. Similar to the Scriptures, the Vedas are like the mother. They’re reliable & unblemished sources of divine knowledge that are coming down since eternity.
Does God exist ?. Conclusion
They’re telling us that this world is made by a creator. Beyond creation is the creator. So with the help of experiential, inferential & testimonials, we can deepen our faith & conviction in the existence of God. Further when we follow the process of purification & we experience the bliss of God from inside. We experience his existence through realization. that will then be the proof that we are looking for.
