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 ultimate reality, If we take our reasoning to its logical
conclusion; there is the final truth, if we purchase the idea of basic truth behind
appearances, 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 un ravelled 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 realization that sinners are punished and saints
are rewarded made people God fearing and the relations were regulated according to
the moral principles. It is impossible 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 establishment 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 infallible 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 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 often clipped by melancholy. So the belief that God exists
keeps us alive in terms of spirit, effort and confidence.
Realization 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
realize 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 :
Hegel, Stephen Houlgate. The Hegel Reader. NewYork: Blackwell Publishing,1998.
Chopra Rani. Invention of God. N. Delhi: Cosmos Bookhive,1981.
Hegel, Ellis Soma Haldane. Lectures on the History of Philosophy. Nebraska: Univ. of
Nebraska,1995.
Hegel, Allen Wood. Elements of the Philosophy of Right. London: Cambridge Univ.Press,1991.
– DR.NAVRAJ SINGH SANDHU
P.A.H.S.1