God – A Therapy
Taking cues from the new-gen philosophers.
God is a Therapy. Yes, you read it right!
God is good and makes so many things happen. as a psychology student, I trust in God. He can perform miracles.
Does he exist? Yes! in our minds.
How to prove his presence? Simple, look around you. Can you explain everything? In the absence of a reasonable explanation, i.e., in vague situations, if anything brings you peace (calm), then, you are with God. Peace is The God with the capital “G”.
This discussion is all about keeping us alive. Have we not seen so many religions raise and fall? Can any one of us vouch for one God: without being arrogant at displaying our belief system? Then, why do we fight with one another over whose God is bigger or better?
Disclaimer: These are solely my thoughts inspired by a discussion with the younger generation. I do not hold anyone accountable or responsible for this stream of thoughts. However, credits are due to the intellectuals who were part of these discussions, which happen so infrequently, though I wish it happened more often.
Faith, Expect, or Placebo.
I read long ago that faith is a one-word philosophy. “Expect” too is the same. The placebo is quite aligned with this line of thought.
The intensity of thought drives action. Unabatedly, action derives results. I am sure there are no challenges in comprehension or agreeing to these basic tenets of human Life.
If human actions are predictably aligned to one’s affiliations or to one’s faith, it is natural to pre-judge beings for their behaviour in line with their school of thought, religious beliefs; clan, cult, or community, that they are part of.
In other words, labeling people is quite natural, and we do it relentlessly. Is it right? No! Wrong!
We are made of our Thoughts!
Hard to believe, this is our being. Our half-beliefs or quarter-faiths do not matter. From the inside, if we think we are Winning, we are. No matter what the world around us thinks about us. And so goes if we think otherwise.
Our mind does matter the most. It makes or breaks us all. Think good, we shall be good, the Holy Cow. Think evil, so we become! Hence, our elders preached positive thinking. Now, resistant to everything, we have taken to “avoiding toxic positivity”. It’s easy to avoid goodness for oneself.
Who had taught this? None! We pick all adversities. We chose them! The law of attraction is more inclined to the negative side; hence, the miseries that we live in today are our chosen path.
GOD is a positive thought that we cling to. Just in case we fail, which we very often do. A belief that can lift us or prevent us from diving into a deep depression, or anxieties, or stress; and more importantly, keep us sane, despite our vulnerabilities.
I have started believing firmly, God is Therapy.
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May be you are right! But there’s something or someone beyond our beliefs,thoughts, even this ‘therapy’ a hidden thing such as the fragrance in a flower or the sweetness in a fruit hidden but omnipresent in and out of you and me/ surrounding us, may be.
You are looking from a higher plane. Do appreciate your viewpoint. Thanks for sharing, Murugesan.
Let us start from this:
I have started believing firmly, God is Therapy.
a) Belief… this in itself is a difficult word. Belief is lack of knowledge of the truth… and firm belief is a commitment to laziness … not wanting to put the effort to find the truth.
The way I explain this in the class is: I close my hand and ask the student “do you believe I have a coin in my hand”… some say yes and some say know. Answer is immaterial. I then open my hand and ask the same question. The answer is always, I know you dont have a coin in your hand… the belief is gone when knowledge about the truth is revealed.
God is a Therapy… This statement is also not fully baked. Have you defined what is God? Or is it like to make God a therapy you have limited the term God to identify those values which comes across as a therapy to you? Perhaps you need to ponder on this one.
As per our shastras… Everything is God. Which means, the poison is as much a God as the nectar. Thorn is as much the God as the Rose. Happiness is as much the God as sorry. Thought is as much God as the speech. That which I know is nothing but an expression of God. That which I dont know too is nothing but an expression of God.
Well with this intro let us look at your blog.
He can perform miracles. Ah! man why do you feel so. What makes you think that God can perform miracles? In our teaching, we say for every knowledge, there has to be a means called Pramaan. There are 6 Pramaans … the first being our sensory organs (Ear, nose, tongue, eyes and feeling of touch)… the other five are: Logical Analysis (artaa-patti .. it rained earlier because the road is all wet), Possibility thorugh examples (upamaanam .. Bison looks like the buffallo but is more ferocious and has a hump in the forehead), estimations (anumaanam … the building is as tall as the pine tree)… there are two other pramaans … Anupalabdhi… this is the sense that’s inborn in you… for example you know there is no elephant in your room. The knowledge that something doesnt exist also needs a pramaan or a means of knowledge. The last of the pramaan is called shabdha pramaan.. and this includes all the books you read, the TV you watch or the words that you hear…
Now for you to say “God Can Perform Miracles” … check out what is the Pramaan. And analyze which aspects of the pramaan are based on your belief and which ones are based on concrete source of knowledge.
And then you go on to say, God exists in our minds!!!
Have we not seen so many religions raise and fall? I think the minds have been poisoned by the organized religions who see the world only from a religion point of view. Sanatana Dharma is not a religion. The truth is there is no fight in terms of whose God is bigger or better. Be it Allah, be it God or Jesus as the son of God, be it Trinity or ParaBramham, Be it Rab or Khalsa… each claim the same thing that the God is one who is the superior-most. The problem is in the faith and practices which enforces followership. That’s what every religion does.
Why is Sanata Dharma the supreme. It says, anything when Objectified is always limited .. that which is limited cannot be God. The subject is God. I is God as in the indeterminent I is God. Anything that is associated with I is not God. For example, my mind, my thought, my hands, my pen, my house… that which is an objective can only have an associated relationship with I. That which cannot be attributed with a possession … or assuming my is the pointer and that which the pointer refers to is God. Aham Bramhaasmi, Tatwamasi, Aatma Va Idam… and that aatman is swayam jyothi:. You dont need any Pramaan to know you exist and anything you use a pramaan will make it an object.
So, how does Sanata Dharma or Vedic Curlture approach existence.
Ask yourself the question: Do you need a proof to know that your Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great …. Grand Father existed? You dont need. Did this family have some practices… naming the child, upon death cremating them, marriages… yes must have. Things would have changed could have been altered and revived … but the tradition in the family continues. What does Sanatana Dharma do, it says, your duty is to keep this chain going. This is your biggest debt in this birth. To this the shastra says, you borrow the existence from this lineage. Why, to get liberated from the cycle of birth and death. So what is your duty… learn about God and let that knowledge liberate you. But because you have borrowed the existence, repay to the heritage by continuing your kuladharma. You are free to have your own Ishta Dhevatha… you are free to be a non-believer too.. you are free to practice that which like. But don’t foget you owe your current existence to a heridity and you have the obligation to help it continue. While helping the Kul to continue in its practices and traditions, you work towards liberating yourself. To that you have three tools. Karma… that which purifies and prepares you as well as enables you to take care of your obligation to your kul; Bhakthi… objectify the the supreme and develop the devotion … here too you serve your Kul Devata, Grama Devata…. and you are free to have your own ishata devata. Bhakthi helps you neutralize the the ego that comes in your way of acquiring knowledge about Bramhan or the Subject or the I; and the last is the Gyaan… this is very complex … because you can learn anything only by making it an object. But you are to learn about subject. So, the technique Veda uses is… introduce object, negate it and show the self revealing concept behind it … and help you identify it as God and as You Yourself.
So… getting back to your question “does God Exist”… Existence is God, but that which exists is not God… We use the example of light to explain this. Light is not visible, but when it reflects on an object, the object shines. Similarly existence (Sad Swaroopam) can be experienced unless it reflects on an object. And of course, the object is not God, but the existence of the object became possible due to God. We use similar stuff for Chaitanyam or the conscious principle.
Have we not seen so many religions raise and fall? The truth is I have not see religions fall. But religions makes the humans fall. In my theory, world was free of religions. Be it Vedic, Egytian, Mesopotamian, Mayan, Persian, Mongolian or any of the aborigins… they can never be categorized as a religion. Jainism and Buddhism perhaps fall into a special category …. a guided path to salvation… but perhaps, they can be classified as a religion. There are only three religions that comes to my mind right now… Christianity, Islam and Sikhism + Jainism and Buddhism. From the olden times, only the Vedic culture prevails. Thanks to Vedic traditions, Persian thrives too.
“I read long ago that faith is a one-word philosophy.” That would be a misrepresentation of Philosophy. The term “philosophy” means, “love of wisdom.” That which seeks to understand foundational truth about us – the life, the world in which we live, the relationships that bind us, creation etc..
“The intensity of thought drives action.” This is again a matter of deep contemplation. Just a teaser, isn’t thought an action as well?
Thank you for such a brilliant response, Naresh. Glad for your explanation of the complex concepts with such ease. Brings so much clarity to the concept. I admit, my blog wasn’t well-researched. My point is God is in the mind. Realisation is very much perspective. Keen to learn more from you.