Introduction

IN SEARCH OF SUPREME GOD

(In search of God particle – part-II)

Since the topic for this article is “In search of Supreme

God”, the first question that will be asked is “whose Supreme God”.  Is it the God of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs etc.,

It is a fact that most of the religions believe in only one god. And we have seen in “In Search of God particles-part-I” that the entire universe started from a point of singularity, signifying one Supreme power.  Probably every religion is talking about that one god only! My intention is to take the views of many religions and try to understand their philosophies. Every religion has two parts namely Rituals and Philosophy.  I am going to discuss only the philosophical part to the extent I know.      

Before you start reading this blog, it is highly recommended to read the part-1. To view the article “In search of God Particle” – part-I please visit my blog – http://insearchofgodparticle.blogspot.com

 In the previous part we were discussing four questions for which  both the scientists and Philosophers are seeking an answer. 

“Where did we the man-kind come from? Where are we? Where is our end? and Why are we here?”

Science had come to an end while going back into time, at the 13.7 billionth year point.  We saw that 13.7 billion years ago the entire Universe started from a point of singularity, the size of less than an atom, which was an ultra hot super energy. 

Now let us see what the various schools of philosophy say about this one by one, Aristotle, Christian, Vedas, Jain, Buddhist … etc., and also compare it with the latest discoveries of Science and see to what extent things are true.  

Albert Einstein’s quote:

“I want to know God’s thought; the rest are details”

Now let us see what the various schools of philosophy say about this one by one, Aristotle, Christian, Vedas, Jain, Buddhist … etc.,  and also compare it with the latest discoveries of Science and see to what extent things are true.  

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, believed the universe had existed forever.  He believed that if creation of Universe was accepted then a creator has to be accepted, which will lead to the argument for existence of God, which he did not like. And subsequently all the Scientists believed in this theory for a very long time.   

Christian Philosophy:

The book of Genesis placed the creation of the world by God at 9 in the morning on October, 27^th, 4004 B.C. which we know is not true. 

(However, there are some very high philosophical interpretations in the ‘Bible’ which I have liked very much and I will quote the same at appropriate place in this article.)   

Ptolemy (100 to 170 CE)

Ptolemy believed that the earth was the center of the Universe and proposed this geocentric model theory in his book “Almagest”.

According to this theory, while the earth was in the center of the universe, the sun, moon, planets and the stars went around it. The church supported this view, since beyond the sphere of stars there was place for heaven and hell.    

  This theory was believed for 1500 years, with the support of the church, before Galileo Galilei discovered the telescope.

Vedic Philosophy: 

The philosophy of the Vedas gives a very detailed description of “Srushti, Sthithi and Samhara”, which means “Creation, sustenance and annihilation”. 

(From this point onwards, I will quote from the Vedas, Puranas and Bhagavat Gita, in Sanskrit, giving its exact meaning and my explanation to it.)  

Bhagavat Gita – Chapter-2 – verse -28:

अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत । अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना ॥ २८ ॥

English transliteration- avyaktaadeeni bhootaani vyaktamadhyaani bhaarata. Avyaktanidhanaanyaeva tatra kaa paridaevanaa.

Anyava - Word to word meaning- O Bharata (Arjuna, descendant of Bharatha): bhootaani-of created beings: avyaktaadeeni- before birth is unknown: vyaktamadhyaani – between birth and death is known: avyaktanidhanaanyaeva – and after death is again unknown: tatra – therefore: ka paridaevanaa – what cause for lamentation.

Translation- O Arjuna, of created beings, before birth is unknown, between birth and death is known and after death is again unknown: therefore what is the cause for lementation?

The above statement of Lord Krishna holds good for the birth and death of Universe also.  Just because it is unknown to us, it does not mean that it does not exist. Trying to know that unknown is the highest of all knowledge and hence it is classified in Vedas and Paravidya.  In next verse Lord Krishna tells how surprising and wonderful this knowledge. 

Bhagavat Gita – Chapter-2 – verse -29:

आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति कश्चिदेनं आश्चर्यवद्वदति तथैव चान्य: । आश्चर्यवच्चैनमन्य: श्रृणोति श्रुत्वाप्येनं वेद न चैव कश्चित् ॥  ॥२९॥

English transliteration- aashcharyavatpashyati kashchidaenam aashcaryavadvadati tathaiva chaanyaha, aashcharyavachchainamanyaha shrunOti shrutvaapyaenam vaeda na chaiva kashchit.

Anyava - Word to word meaning- Kaschit- some: pashyati-see: enam-this: aashcharyavad-as amazing: tathaeva- similarly: anyaecha-others also: srunothi-hearof: enam-this:  aashcharyavad- as amazing: kashchit cha-and some: shrutva api-even after having heard: eva-still: na veda-have no knowledge of it.

Translation- Some see this as amazing and others describe this as amazing: similarly, others also hear of this as amazing and some even after having heard, still have no knowledge of it.

I am definitely sure that after reading the first part of “In search of God particle” you will agree with what is said in this verse-29. 

As I had mentioned to you earlier, Vedas is like an ocean and we have to take only what we want.  We have to selectively see where in the Vedas, it is mentioned about creation and Para Brahman (Supreme God).  We have to first understand that the scriptures of Hindus have been written in such a way that it caters to people of all levels of intelligence. 

Puranaas have been written in story form and are the simplest, which can be understood by most of the people.

Next come Bhagavat Gita. Bhagavat Gita is a part of the great story of Mahabharata. It consists of 700 verses divided into 18 chapters and contains the greatest of all philosphies.  In fact it is nothing but the essence of the Upanishad part of the Vedas, naratted in a much simpler form to be understood by ordinary people. 

Upanishad part of the Vedas deals with the highest part of the Vedas, the ParaVidya, which deals with the unknown like soul, the reason for our existence, a detailed description of the Para Brahman the Supreme God etc.,  

To be continued.....