Proof of God Existence
Technologically, scientifically and socially the world is so advanced but no one has ever and will never be able to unveil the mystery of God. People may deny the existence of God but they cannot deny that there is a force or a beginning that cause the existence of something. Spiritual leaders, philosophers, scientists, Schools, and Individuals from East, West, North and South of the universe have tried their best to proof the existence of God. Why people are so much affected by the notion of God? Why people spent so much time and money in performing religious activities? People yearn for God either because of their beliefs, experiences, Love, thankfulness for what they have received. People seek God because they perceive God as a closest friends, creator, sustainer, and protector and as a being that is generous and care for them. People are frightened of God because they perceive God as the one who punish them with sickness, bad luck, destruction, death and they are afraid that in their life after death or rebirth they will be miserable. It is therefore very relevant when we try to understand God better so that our faith or belief in this Mystery, or Force whom we called God may lead us to a better life.
Human understanding and intelligence is limited to understand the mystery of God. Different religions, groups, schools and individuals have different understanding and experiences about God which made them to define God. God is understood as the Creator, Sustainer, Protector and Friend. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. He is the Alpha and Omega and the Present, the Past and the Future. He is ‘I Am who I Am’. God is the care taker and the punisher. He is the healer and he causes sickness and bad luck too. He is known by different names like Brahman, Ik Om Kar, Allah, Jesus, etc. God is the being that existed, exists and will continue to exist. Western and Eastern philosophers have tried their best to proof the existence of God. So let us discuss some of them.
i. Proof of the Existence of God under Nyaya System
The Nyaya is one of the six Orthodox systems of Indian Philosophy. It was founded by Gautama in the year 400 BCE. Nyaya means argumentations or the science of reasoning. Nyaya is primarily concerned with the conditions of correct thinking and the means of acquiring a true knowledge of reality. Its ultimate en is liberation (absolute cessation of all pain and suffering).
God is recognized by the Nyaya philosophers as the ultimate cause of creation, maintenance and destruction of the world.[1] He is one, infinite and eternal. He is a particular soul endowed with knowledge, pleasure, desire, volition and merit. He is a perfect being (sadaisvarya) because in him the six perfections - majesty, almighty, all-glorious, infinitely beautiful, and infinite knowledge and perfect freedom from attachment - are present in full measure. He is the efficient cause of the world and He keeps in order the external entities like atoms, space, time, ether, mind and soul (atman). He is the moral governor of all beings (prayojaka karta). It is he who determines the pains and pleasures of the Jivas, provides their merits and awards their action appropriately.
The early Naiyayikas have written very little about God (Ishvara) which literally means ‘the Supreme Lord’. However, later Buddhists in India had become from agnostic to strictly atheistic. Buddhists severely criticized the ideas of the Nayayikas concerning God, particularly their proof for God’s existence.[2]As a reaction, the later Naiyayikas entered into disputes with the Buddhists and tried to prove the existence of God on the basis of inference. They made this question a challenge to their own existence.[3] There have been many Naiyayikas who have tried to proof and explain about the existence of God. Some of the more prominent arguments to prove the existence of God which is agreed upon my most of the Naiyayikas are;
1. The Causal argument:
Vacaspati gives the causal argument. In this argument the Naiyayikas stand that the universe consists of objects which are effects (Karyat) and so there must be an efficient cause and this is God. Matter in itself has no life and is inactive there is an efficient cause to form the composite things (ayojanat) and this cause is God. The principle or matter is unintelligent in itself, and it must therefore act under the direction of an intelligent power, who does not create it or alter its inevitable action but renders possible operations.[4] This intelligent being, God, creates, sustains, and destroys (dhrtyadeh).
2. The merits and demerits (adrsta) Argument;
People are not born with same capabilities. Some are born wise or Ignorant and some are born happy or miserable. Ethical merits and demerits (adrsta) according to Naiyayikas can be explained by the concept of Karma and reincarnation. The actions of an individual, whether good or bad, do not depend on an Individual alone but there should be an agent, God, who controls the fruits of the action. The impossibility of cessation in the process of the ripening of the fruits of the actions[5] is done by the agent, God. The atman or individual will receive just rewards or punishments for their own actions.
3. The Authoritative of the Vedic Scriptures:
The Vedas is infallible and so there must be an infallible author and this author is God. The author of the Vedas must be the supreme person who has a direct knowledge of all objects, past, present and future, finite, infinite and infinitesimal, sensible and suprasensible.[6] Any book which is written by human author will be fallible because human knowledge is limited. The validity of the human writing will be limited and succumbed to cultural background of the person. The author of Vedas cannot be a human person or Jiva because Jiva cannot be cognizant of their supernatural and extra-sensory subjects and does not have perceptual and actual knowledge of the past, present and future, atoms and cosmos. The author of Vedas is therefore God and Vedas is infallible. God is the author (pratyayatah) of the infallible Vedas.
4. Vedic Testimony through Sruti:
The Veda, Upanishads and the Gita have accepted the existence of God. Sruti proclaims God as the creator of the world and so God exist. When we look into the text of Sruti we find that it is written, "He is the lord of all subjects, omniscient, and knower of one's internal feelings; He is the creator, cause and destroyer of the world". The Bhagavad Gita also verified it when the Lord says, “I am the father of this world, the mother, the supporter, and the grandsire… I am the origin and dissolution, the ground, the resting place and the imperishable seed”.[7] If Vedas, in which Sruti is a part, is infallible then the proclamation of Sruti about God existence cannot be wrong, it will be true.
5. The meaning of a word (Padat):
Every word (Padat) has a meaning and the word has a tradition which finally goes back to God. The meaning of a word in reference to something will come to us only when we have knowledge about the word and the thing. Human being cannot know everything therefore there should be a source that gives meaning and knowledge to human being. That source of knowledge is omniscient and omnipotent and therefore God is that source.
6. The Moral commands or precepts (Vakyat):
Laws and norms that people need to follow in order to live in harmony are given in the Vedas. The do’s and don’ts or the injunctions and prohibitions are clearly given in the Vedas. Therefore there should be a moral law giver who gives the laws or precepts and that law giver is God. He has the highest command in moral laws. He is the creator and promulgator of the moral laws.
7. Numerical Existence (Sankhyavishesat):
According to Nyaya-Vaisesika the magnitude of a dyad is not formed by the infinitesimal magnitude of two atoms each but by the number of two atoms.[8] Only number ‘One’ is really perceived while all the other numbers are only products of our mental conception. During creation the soul (atman), atoms, space, time, minds and sensory objects are all unconscious. God alone is conscious and so the numerical conception is done by the conscious being, God. God is the first conceiver of the numerical conception.
8. Maintenance or Support (Dhrttyadeh);
Cosmic harmony prevails in the universe not nature but there is a source that harmonizes all the cosmos and that source is God. When no one maintains or supports the universe, everything in the universe will be in chaos. The universe begins from God and will end with His actions. He is the creator and destroyer of all things in the universe. If God does not exist the universe will not exists and even if it exists there will be disharmony and would not have remained integrated. The universe is within God’s plan and control. Everything that happen in this universe is because of God’s actions.
9. Combination of Atoms (Ayojanat):
Atoms are only matter and are static. Atoms cannot move, split or combine by itself there is a source or agent that causes them to act. The agent that causes them to act should be above the atoms and this agent is God. Atoms cannot only combine or split by itself but also when they combine by itself there will not be proper coordination and so only chaos will be results. There must be an organizer or a person who systematically combine the atoms so that they will be in proportion. The organizer need to be outside the organized things and this organizer is God.
ii. Proof of the Existence of God according to Pope John Paul II
God has revealed himself to us through the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. We believe in God because God has made himself known to us as the Supreme Being, the great "Existent".[9] In Scientific world only objects that can be perceived can be proved, God is beyond human perception it is therefore difficult to prove. Science must recognize its limits and its inability to reach the existence of God: it can neither affirm nor deny his existence.[10] Scientist can however provide reasons to prove the existence of God, who is the force that causes the atoms to combine or the force that make things come into existence. Cosmos and human being cannot come into existence by itself, there should be a being who is above cosmos and human being and who is the creator of all things and this Being is God.
iii. Proof of the Existence of God according to some western philosophers
Several philosophers have tried to prove the existence of God through reasoning and experiences. However there has been external impact that affects philosophers to proof God’s existence. Some of the Philosophers are;
1. St. Augustine opines that the ‘world is a perishable thing’ and so there must be someone who is all powerful, all embracing, infinite, and a non-contingent being, God who is not perishable.
2. St. Anselm gives the ontological proof for existence of God. According to Anselm God is the thought object and nothing greater can be thought of. Any thought that exists in reality is the thought of God; therefore, if thought of object exists in reality God exists.
3. St. Thomas Aquinas gives five ways too prove God’s existence.
a. From passivity—motion: Matter is passive in itself and cannot change or move. Matter cannot move or change matter. There are changes and movements in the world and so there must be an unmoved mover and this is God.
b. From activity—causality: Any activity in the universe is cause by something. There must be a cause who is the root of causes. The root cause is not an ordinary cause it is an efficient cause and that efficient cause of something is God.
c. From defectibility—contingency: Things in the world have their beginning and their end. But how come the world continues to exists? There must be a being as the source of existence of contingent being.
d. From perfection—participation: We see the goodness of things in comparison with other things. There will be good, better and best. Nothing in this world is perfect. From the degree of perfection no matter can ever be perfect and so only God is the best, truest, supreme being which itself is a pure perfection.
e. From order—finality: The complexity of the cosmos and human being directs us to a perfect designer, sustainer and controller. The perfect design of the earth with its gravity, the importance of the colorless, odorless and tasteless water, and yet no living thing can survive without it, and the uniqueness of the air and ether without which life will not be possible. Who design the earth, water, air, ether and human being? The designer is ultimately above the designed things and is must be an intelligent being. God is the designer who creates, control, sustains and protect the creation.
4. Blaise Pascal's Wager gives a pragmatic argument about God’s existence. He opines that whether God exists or not we need to believe in God as exists so that we will enjoy heavenly bliss. If we do not belief in God’s existence and engage in sinful pleasures then we will face eternal damnation.
5. Immanuel Kant opines that we could not know reality directly as thing-in-itself. What is real in itself is beyond our experience. Even if God exists, we can not know God as he really is.[11]
6. Rene Descartes proves the existence of God from our innate Idea of the Perfect Being. Neither the external world nor human beings are perfect. Human being is imperfects because they doubt everything. There must be a being, God who is perfect and does not doubt of anything.
7. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz tries to proof the existence of God by holding on to the opinion that human being are limited being and so there should be a another being, God. God is the ultimate power, source of knowledge, will and acts according to the principle of the best possible.
iv. My stance in proving the Existence of God
We are only created being, we are only a part of the whole therefore we cannot proof the existence of God. We cannot also disproof what others have tried to proof about God because what they have proof is what they have understood and experience about God. For me, if at all I am asked to give my opinions and experiences and not a proof on God’s existence I would hold the following points;
1. Beginner of the Beginning:
Things in the universe including human being, plants and animals cannot exist by itself. There should be a being that existed before the beginning of something and so God is the only being who existed and begin the things in the universe. Human beings have limited force, so God gives the force for one enormous explosion of energy and light, which we now call the Big Bang. God is not only the creator but He is also preserver, protector and destroyer. Everything that exists is from God and will be with God.
2. Master of the mystery:
We see perfect harmony in the universe. There is no clash between the heavenly bodies, the earth, air, water, ether, human being, plants, and animals. Life and death and the functioning of human body and in fact of the universe is a mystery. There has to be a master, force, and controller who is above things and mystery and that master is God. God alone knows the complexity of the universe and of life an death. He is the first spark of light, drop of water, blower of the air, atom of matter, and the first seed of life. God maintains the universe that’s why there is harmony.
3. Knower of the unknown:
God is omniscient. He is the understanding of our understanding and the intelligence of our intelligence. What we know is a part of what is yet to be known, the unknown. Human knowledge about heavenly bodies, flora and fauna, human beings, and science and technology in a very limited way otherwise there wouldn’t be discoveries or inventions now and all the problems in the universe will be solve. Therefore there should be someone, God, who knows everything in that is in heaven and on earth and reveal to human being as per the need of the time.
4. God of the gods:
People in the world yearn for God by using different ways and means. Different religions and groups of people believe in God and some individuals experiences God in their lives. God is known by different names like Brahman, Ik Om Kar, Jesus, or Allah. Some called God as their friend, savior, creator, destroyer and other names. While some consider wealth, elders, guru, animal, plants as their gods. Religion is only a means to experience God. If there are many gods, goddesses, names about God and many people have experiences God, surely there is one God who is above all the Gods and understood an experience it by people differently. God is the ultimate author of all holy books and general books. Religions, groups and individuals experiences and understand God differently and so different imagery, names is given to God but there is a God who is above all gods.
5. Supreme Degree:
Human being might reach the stage of perfection, best, first, greatest, mightiest, beauties, holiest, cleverest, strongest or any highest degree in human understanding but later we found it that the highest degree person will be overtaken by another. Therefore there must be a being that possess the supreme degree in everything that no human being can ever reach. The being with the supreme degree could be no one but God. He is the best of the best authors, scientist, leaders, teachers, administrators, CEO’s, engineers, doctors, financial experts, and best parents. He is the creator and promulgator of the moral laws because he is the perfect of perfects, holiest of holiest. God is the root of the degrees and numbers.
6. Timer of the time:
Time keeps changing and so we experienced the past, face the present and longing for the future. Matter is born today, die tomorrow and will die the day after. History reveals that things happened in the past, happen in the present and will happen in the future. Genealogy revealed that people have lived in the past, live in present and will live in the future. Matter is bound by time and so there is the beginning and an end. God is an independent being. There must be a being, God who is beyond the time and He is above time that is why things go on smoothly.
Critical analysis and personal reflection:
Can human being rightly proof God’s existence? God is in and beyond human mystery and so we cannot definitely proof the mystery of God. But what we proof about God cannot be judge as right or wrong by other people too because all of us are part of the mystery and limited in many ways. When we look from Naiyayikas view point about God’s existence they say that Vedas is infallible because God is the author, depending fully on God but when we look from the view point of human knowledge, God is dependent upon the Vedas because it is through the Vedas that the human beings come to know about God. Naiyayikas also opines that God created the world with a purpose, the purpose is to do good to others, but why there is so much of evil and suffering if the purpose of God is to do good? God has no limit and so He is not bound by anything. What the Naiyayikas, Religions, Pope John Paul II, Philosophers and what I experience and understand about God is only part of that part of God. He transcends everything in the universe.
Footnotes
[1] Dr. J. Thachil; An Initiation to Indian Philosophy, p. 188.
[2] John Vattanky S.J; Development of Nyaya Theism, p.3.
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyaya#Nyaya_on_God_and_salvation.
[4] Arthur Berriedale Keith; Indian Logic and Atomism. P. 267.
[5] Ibid
[6] Dr. J. Thachil; An Initiation to Indian Philosophy, p.192.
[7] Bhagavad Gita IX:17-18
[8] Dr. J. Thachil; An Initiation to Indian Philosophy, p.194.
[9] Pope John Paul II; ‘Proofs for God's existence’, General Audience, 10 July, 1985.
[10] Ibid.
[11] http://www.philosopher.org.uk/god.htm.
Bibliography
1. Thachil J: An Initiation to Indian Philosophy, Alwaye, Pontifical Institute of Theology and Philosophy.
2. Vattanky John S.J: Development of Nyaya Theism, New Delhi, Intercultural Publications, 1993.
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyaya#Nyaya_on_God_and_salvation...n.d. (accessed on 20 July, 2011).
4. Keith Berriedale Arthur: Indian Logic and Atomism: An explanation of the Nyaya and Vaicesika System, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1921.
5. Pope John Paul II; ‘Proofs for God's existence are many and convergent’, General Audience, 10 July, 1985.
6. http://www.philosopher.org.uk/god.htm...n.d. (accessed on 20 July, 2011).
7. Indian and Western Philosophy class notes.
