If There Is No God , We Have To Invent One | Philosophy

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IF THERE IS NO GOD , WE HAVE TO INVENT ONE


It was,it is and it will be a never ending debate whether God is a reality,concept or

myth.Whatever may be the reality He plays an important role in human life.Those who

try to find a tangible proof,fail to find any but those who start with faith,find him in every

atom and every creation.There is unlimate reality,if we take our reasoning to its logical

conclusion;there is the final truth,if we purchase the idea of basic truth behind

apearances,to final end.

A scientist,without admitting God to be a reality,concedes His presence by reducing Him

to some inexorable and unchanging and ultimate laws;a mathematician may call Him

infinite; a religious pundit finds in Him some invisible power which is

omnipresent,omniscient,benevolent and just,an embodiment of moral virtue,all

powerful,controlling the natural phenomenon of the universe;an aesthete considers Him

ultimate beauty.Theists,despite their unflinching faith,may entertain doubts about His

existence and atheists,despite their disbelief perceive the glimmer of belief behind it.If

God is a concept,it is clever,ingenious stroke of imagination because many systems of

metaphysical philosophies,many moral principals have direct or indirect bearing upon

the idea of god.If God is a myth,it underlies the story of man's adventure,man's search

for a better life,man's relation with man and nature.If God is a reality,it is to be

discovered by science,percieved through senses,tested with reason and verified with

facts.Perhaps that stage will never be reached;if the mystery is unravelled man may

change into another Satan to claim equality and consequently will meet Satan's

fate.Whether concept,myth or reality God's significant role in man's life cannot be

discounted.
In the earlier times man was leading the life of savages;reasoning faculty

was stunted and subordinated to physiological needs.Sympathy was limited to personal

self and there was no society,no laws,no code of conduct and nothing else but animal

desires and personal demands.In such a state of affairs we will have to subscribe to

hobbes's belief-"life was poor,nasty,brutish and short".The dawn of reason,in the case

of a few,made them to formulate a code of conduct through the idea of religion.To a

man who was terrified by the forces of nature like rains,floods,hurricanes,volcanic

eruptions,earthquakes,etc.,reposed unqualified faith in the imagination,discovery and

invention of God.Fear of life after death,fear of the painful death due to long sickness or

disease,the idea of hell and heaven (even if God is a reality,heaven and hell seem to be

an idea only)the realisation that sinners are punished and saints are rewarded made

people God fearing and the relations were regulated according to the moral principles.It

is imposible to trace the history of the origin of the idea or reality of God but it played a

significant role in stabilising and improving community life.But for it,life upon earth would

have come to an end.God was considered to be above man's petty troubles,selfish

designs and earthly desires to his order were obeyed without demur.Moreover

all-powerful God cannot be cowed down.His laws are inexorable and this made man to

resign to His fate,which was God's agency to administer justice.

With the estabblishment of political organisations,the people in power found God a lever

to wield power without encountering opposite and to retain power without any

manouvring.The concept of the divine rights of the king's elicited complete faith from the

subjects.The king was supposed to be a privilaged citizen favoured by God.In

administering justice he was supposed to carry out the wishes of God;he was supposed

to commit no mistake because he executed the orders of the infallibli God;obviously

disobedience of the king meant defiance of God’s law.Whatever harm the theory might

have done,it was able to hold the people together and had created conditions for

political organizations and for inculcating the sense of duty and obedience to the laws of

the land.It was difficult to bring the people of different tribes under the one political

authority without invoking the name of God.At a later stage idealists like Hegel and

others considered state as a march of God upon earth and state is the ideal.This did not

have much impact and perhaps reference to God was to emphasise perfection.

Coming down from the political and social advantages to the concept of god to the

benefits reaped by the individuals,we have many to count.Life is a struggle,where the

fittest survives and as such involves risks of failure.Apart from determination,courage

and capability one should entertain hope to succeed.Once frustrated in one's effort,a

person may give up the desire to carry on with it.It is the faith in god that keeps the

spirits alive;a christian repents over sins and hopes to get pardon because God is

charitable;an optimist finds every thing alright,when God is in heaven every thing is right

with the world,sings the optimistic poet,Browning.Had this not been the case,sins would

have been hanging heavy over the conscience of the individuals as was the case with

Lord Jim,the hero of Joseph Conrad's novel.Such a person has a tendency to become

indifferent to social obligations and becomes abnormal in behaviour.Had optimism died

out there would have been no contribution to the deliberately managed social

effort.Tennyson correctly thinks "More things are wrought with prayer than the word

dreams of".Of course prayer gives confidence,and confidence,in its turn,gives sharper

edge to effort.Man works because he believes he is to be blessed;the moment man

starts disbelieving God's benign attitude and presence he will lose zest to work.Hope

sustains life and the struggle of life.An atheist's attitude will be inimical to effort and a

pessimist's wings are are often clipped by melancholy.So the belief that God exists

keeps us alive in terms of spirit,effort and confidence.

Realisation of the existence of God,as a superintending power,awakens the conscience

man and makes him God-fearing.Spiritual enlightenment,which follows meditation over

god,brings higher realities to light.Gautama Buddha discovered the futility of this life and

the significance of other worldliness.Non-attachment with earth kills anti-social

activities,make one to feel that earthly life is a preparation for another life,which is

higher,ultimate and everlasting.People undergo penance,do good deeds,acts of charity

and what not just to enjoy a better life in the other world.Meeting God is the sublimation

of the self and obedience to him,the highest duty.Blind Milton may feel much

handicapped to use one's talent which is death to hide' yet he consoles himself by

saying "they also serve and get served who stand and wait".

It is a complete resignation to God's will and such an attitude,in no case,generates

hatred for life.Fatalism,with all the inherent and implied defects,never saps the energy to

forge ahead.

B.Shaw,the famous english dramatist,propounded the theory of life force,which is

working,in more or less,an impersonal manner.Perhaps he discovers it is a scientific

minded man's substitute for God.His unconventional attitude makes him to decry the

conventional concept of God when he says-"beware of the man whose god is in the

skies".If God is not in the sky man will loose faith in Him because it is the mystery which

surrounds the concept of the God that keeps man's interest alive.Similarly Tennyson's

Lotus Eaters think that God from his watch towers is enjoying the tragic,sense of sinking

ships and praying hands.Even here the concept of god makes one to realise the futility

of man's arrogance,conceit and misplaced confidence.taking Wordsworth's words,out of

there context,we may say that god is the "anchor of our purest thoughts and the soul of

moral being".Fear of death looses its power to shake,zest for life gets newer

sharpness,community life becomes more disciplined,desire to move ahead never

becomes dull if God is the presiding deity of our thinking and actions.While passing

through sorrows and suffering,wails and travails one needs some booster for depressed

feelings,some support to lean upon, some pole star guide over the stormy sea and that

is God whether concept,myth or reality.

Bibliography :

G.W.F.Hegel,Stephen Houlgate(Editor) : The Hegel Reader (Blackwell Publishing,1998)

Chopra R. : Invention of God, (Cosmos Bookhive,1981)

G.W.F.Hegel,E.S.Haldane(Translator) : Lectures on the History of Philosophy (Univ.of Nebraska,1995)

G.W.F.Hegel,H.B.Nisbet(Translator),Allen W. Wood(Editor) : Elements of the Philosophy of Right (Cambridge Univ.Press,1991)


- DR.NAVRAJ SINGH SANDHU
P.A.H.S.1
www.navraj@gmail.com
+91 99157 75742

About the Author

DR.NAVRAJ SINGH SANDHU P.A.H.S.-1 www.navraj@gmail.com +91 99157 75742 Veterinary Doctor Freelance Writer

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