Why do we need God? Faith in God, Inquiries Into the Absolute, Digest 400
14 views
Skip to first unread message
ServiceTeam
Mar 9, 2013, 6:06:21 AM3/9/13
to Inquiries Into the Absolute
Digest 400, March 16th, 2013. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami
Maharaja
You are invited to send your questions to His Holiness Romapada Swami
at ma...@iita.info with the word "Question" included in the subject
line or submit your question at http://www.romapadaswami.com/?q=feedback/Question.
Why do we need God? Faith in God
````````````````````````````````
783) I have a question which is very basic, but very important too.
This question was put to me by a B. Tech student, a humble one with a
pious and ISKCON devotee family background. She accepts the Bhagavad
Gita, Krishna and his message, the Vedas and the scientific views of
our scriptures about the Creation, basic Hindu principles and all.
She asked "What is the need of GOD? Of what 'use' HE is to us in this
age of Modern Technology? Is it not enough to be a good, understanding
and techno-savy, work-focused and true human being? Why we should put
our limited time into HIS worship / seva and what benefit this seva is
going to give us?" She wanted a 'logical' answer and insisted that
since joys and sorrows are a part of life for everybody, what
difference will it 'practically' make if we do devotional service and
how do we know and measure the outcome of our efforts of Bhakti to
HIM.
Honestly I could not answer her, please help me.
Ans: We need God in our lived because His existence is Reality, as
opposed to illusion. He is factually the source of everything in this
world, including the intelligence behind all the technological
discoveries. Whether one accepts Him or not, it does not help to
attempt to put God out of existence or just ignore Him, simply on the
grounds that we don't understand Him and His energies. Truth can be
know by searching by proper means. God can be personally known and
experienced by each one of us if we take the time to do so by bona
fide methods. Illusion is the default position, and with it all sorts
of illusory experiences.
Modern technology may have given us temporary comforts and happiness;
however, if we look at the impact of this materialistic advancement,
we see rapid degradation of quality of life and all aspects of human
culture. The world may be at the tips of our fingers because of
technology, but, can technology provide permanent and satisfying
answers to the most vexing problems of life - namely birth, death, old
age and suffering from diseases? The honest answer is no. Moreover,
modern technologies are based on scientific theories that are
imperfect, myopic and ever-changing – how can one lead a stable and
happy life on such a shaky foundation?
This nice girl was asking if it is enough to be good and a true human?
Please consider: Who is to define what is good and true life? This is
a question asked by moralists and philosophers over the ages and none
of them have come a common ground of acceptance. What is good for you
may not be the same for someone else. And, how can you expect peace in
the world if everyone lives as per their understanding of good and
truth? The standards for what is considered as "leading a good life"
is totally subjective without an absolute point of reference. This can
be well appreciated by reflecting on the alarming moral decrepitude of
present society despite their clamor for universal peace and goodwill.
Without keeping God in the center, it is not possible to live a truly
moral, ethical, "good" life.
Human life is very short, but we have the unique capacity to inquire
and understand the deeper meaning of life. In fact, there is a great
need to do so. An intelligent person naturally asks these questions,
"Where did I come from? where am I going? what is the meaning of all
the orderliness in nature? Who has designed it that way? Why is there
suffering, when nobody wants suffering?” and so on.
A child may believe that a remote-controlled toy car is running by
itself, and may accept this as fact, and may have no need to inquire
further, but it is not so for a thoughtful adult. So it is important
that we use our valuable human form, time and energy to understand
God and to engage in His devotional service.
Engaging in devotional service to God is not just something nice to
do, but it is something that is essential and natural for our very
existence. You cannot separate devotional attitude from the soul just
like you cannot separate sweetness from sugar. So, the question is not
why should I engage in devotional service, but why am I not engaging
in it right now?
Devotional service to God, who is transcendental and all-pure, has the
full potency to destroy all material suffering, anxieties and worries
etc. And furthermore, it awakens transcendental knowledge, divine
qualities of the soul (such as tolerance, forgiveness, non-violence,
freedom from pride and false ego, detachment etc.) and the intrinsic
ability of the soul to transcend material existence (like a lotus in
water – you are in it but not affected by it!). These are practical
measures of the efficacy of devotional service that is properly
executed under the guidance of a bonafide teacher.
Yes, her understanding is right - joy and sorrow are part of life in
this world. Actually, Krishna says that in the Bhagavad-gita 2.14:
*matra-sparsas tu kaunteya / sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah
agamapayino 'nityas / tams titiksasva bharata*
“O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and
distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the
appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise
from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to
tolerate them without being disturbed.”
However, the point is one doesn’t have to simply accept this
compromised condition of mixed or impure happiness i.e. happiness
interrupted by suffering; one can transcend this material duality and
experience unalloyed happiness, which is our birthright – devotional
service offers that invaluable gift. Why should anyone settle for
something less?
The philosophy of Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam is
simultaneously devotional as well as philosophically sound. It is very
scientific, systematic, consistent and simultaneously very touching to
the heart and brings out the finest qualities of a human being. As
Krishna promises in Bhagavad-gita, simply by hearing His teachings
with an open mind, and by practicing this yoga in full consciousness
of Him, one can factually come to know and understand God in full,
free from any doubt.
*************************
Previous questions and answers are available with subject
classification at http://www.romapadaswami.com/inquiries
Digests 1-242 are included as a PDF file at:
http://www.romapadaswami.com/Inquiries/IITA_full.pdf
Lectures: http://www.romapadaswami.com/audio
Brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami:
http://www.romapadaswami.com/HHRPS_bio
**************************
To (un)subscribe please email ma...@iita.info with the word (un)
subscribe in the subject.
Maharaja
You are invited to send your questions to His Holiness Romapada Swami
at ma...@iita.info with the word "Question" included in the subject
line or submit your question at http://www.romapadaswami.com/?q=feedback/Question.
Why do we need God? Faith in God
````````````````````````````````
783) I have a question which is very basic, but very important too.
This question was put to me by a B. Tech student, a humble one with a
pious and ISKCON devotee family background. She accepts the Bhagavad
Gita, Krishna and his message, the Vedas and the scientific views of
our scriptures about the Creation, basic Hindu principles and all.
She asked "What is the need of GOD? Of what 'use' HE is to us in this
age of Modern Technology? Is it not enough to be a good, understanding
and techno-savy, work-focused and true human being? Why we should put
our limited time into HIS worship / seva and what benefit this seva is
going to give us?" She wanted a 'logical' answer and insisted that
since joys and sorrows are a part of life for everybody, what
difference will it 'practically' make if we do devotional service and
how do we know and measure the outcome of our efforts of Bhakti to
HIM.
Honestly I could not answer her, please help me.
Ans: We need God in our lived because His existence is Reality, as
opposed to illusion. He is factually the source of everything in this
world, including the intelligence behind all the technological
discoveries. Whether one accepts Him or not, it does not help to
attempt to put God out of existence or just ignore Him, simply on the
grounds that we don't understand Him and His energies. Truth can be
know by searching by proper means. God can be personally known and
experienced by each one of us if we take the time to do so by bona
fide methods. Illusion is the default position, and with it all sorts
of illusory experiences.
Modern technology may have given us temporary comforts and happiness;
however, if we look at the impact of this materialistic advancement,
we see rapid degradation of quality of life and all aspects of human
culture. The world may be at the tips of our fingers because of
technology, but, can technology provide permanent and satisfying
answers to the most vexing problems of life - namely birth, death, old
age and suffering from diseases? The honest answer is no. Moreover,
modern technologies are based on scientific theories that are
imperfect, myopic and ever-changing – how can one lead a stable and
happy life on such a shaky foundation?
This nice girl was asking if it is enough to be good and a true human?
Please consider: Who is to define what is good and true life? This is
a question asked by moralists and philosophers over the ages and none
of them have come a common ground of acceptance. What is good for you
may not be the same for someone else. And, how can you expect peace in
the world if everyone lives as per their understanding of good and
truth? The standards for what is considered as "leading a good life"
is totally subjective without an absolute point of reference. This can
be well appreciated by reflecting on the alarming moral decrepitude of
present society despite their clamor for universal peace and goodwill.
Without keeping God in the center, it is not possible to live a truly
moral, ethical, "good" life.
Human life is very short, but we have the unique capacity to inquire
and understand the deeper meaning of life. In fact, there is a great
need to do so. An intelligent person naturally asks these questions,
"Where did I come from? where am I going? what is the meaning of all
the orderliness in nature? Who has designed it that way? Why is there
suffering, when nobody wants suffering?” and so on.
A child may believe that a remote-controlled toy car is running by
itself, and may accept this as fact, and may have no need to inquire
further, but it is not so for a thoughtful adult. So it is important
that we use our valuable human form, time and energy to understand
God and to engage in His devotional service.
Engaging in devotional service to God is not just something nice to
do, but it is something that is essential and natural for our very
existence. You cannot separate devotional attitude from the soul just
like you cannot separate sweetness from sugar. So, the question is not
why should I engage in devotional service, but why am I not engaging
in it right now?
Devotional service to God, who is transcendental and all-pure, has the
full potency to destroy all material suffering, anxieties and worries
etc. And furthermore, it awakens transcendental knowledge, divine
qualities of the soul (such as tolerance, forgiveness, non-violence,
freedom from pride and false ego, detachment etc.) and the intrinsic
ability of the soul to transcend material existence (like a lotus in
water – you are in it but not affected by it!). These are practical
measures of the efficacy of devotional service that is properly
executed under the guidance of a bonafide teacher.
Yes, her understanding is right - joy and sorrow are part of life in
this world. Actually, Krishna says that in the Bhagavad-gita 2.14:
*matra-sparsas tu kaunteya / sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah
agamapayino 'nityas / tams titiksasva bharata*
“O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and
distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the
appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise
from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to
tolerate them without being disturbed.”
However, the point is one doesn’t have to simply accept this
compromised condition of mixed or impure happiness i.e. happiness
interrupted by suffering; one can transcend this material duality and
experience unalloyed happiness, which is our birthright – devotional
service offers that invaluable gift. Why should anyone settle for
something less?
The philosophy of Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam is
simultaneously devotional as well as philosophically sound. It is very
scientific, systematic, consistent and simultaneously very touching to
the heart and brings out the finest qualities of a human being. As
Krishna promises in Bhagavad-gita, simply by hearing His teachings
with an open mind, and by practicing this yoga in full consciousness
of Him, one can factually come to know and understand God in full,
free from any doubt.
*************************
Previous questions and answers are available with subject
classification at http://www.romapadaswami.com/inquiries
Digests 1-242 are included as a PDF file at:
http://www.romapadaswami.com/Inquiries/IITA_full.pdf
Lectures: http://www.romapadaswami.com/audio
Brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami:
http://www.romapadaswami.com/HHRPS_bio
**************************
To (un)subscribe please email ma...@iita.info with the word (un)
subscribe in the subject.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages