“But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.40)

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अज्ञश् चाश्रद्दधानश् च
संशयात्मा विनश्यति
नायं लोको ऽस्ति न परो
न सुखं संशयात्मनः

ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca
saṁśayātmā vinaśyati
nāyaṁ loko ‘sti na paro
na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ

It has been a constant. As steady as the passage of time, throughout history we are guaranteed to find people who ponder the larger questions in life. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? Why do I have to die? These questions are based on the result of birth, but the wise person extends their inquiry further out. Just who is responsible for everything? What is the original cause? There was so much stuff going on before I was born, and so what is the reason for it all?

सर्वतः पाणि-पादं तत्
सर्वतो ऽक्षि-शिरो-मुखम्
सर्वतः श्रुतिमल् लोके
सर्वम् आवृत्य तिष्ठति

sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat
sarvato ‘kṣi-śiro-mukham
sarvataḥ śrutimal loke
sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati

“Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes and faces, and He hears everything. In this way the Supersoul exists.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.14)

To that end, there is this inherent understanding of something bigger than ourselves. Some refer to this abstract concept as God. They consider this almighty figure, who is a grand coordinator, who has the most intelligence, whose purview must extend throughout the infinite time and the infinite space. His eyes must be everywhere, since it seems that every person’s life has important moments and proper consequences, delivered right when most deserving.

अवश्यं लभते जन्तुः फलं पापस्य कर्मणः
घोरं पर्यागते काले द्रुमाः पुष्पमिवार्तवम्

avaśyaṃ labhate jantuḥ phalaṃ pāpasya karmaṇaḥ
ghoraṃ paryāgate kāle drumāḥ puṣpamivārtavam

“Just as a tree starts to blossom during the proper season, so the doer of sinful deeds inevitably reaps the horrible fruit of their actions at the appropriate time.” (Lord Rama speaking to Khara, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 29.8)

For as many people as we find who make the proclamation, who declare belief in this higher figure, who is otherwise invisible, there seems to be just as many who oppose. They put down the idea. They challenge the concept of intelligence behind the creation. Their strongest argument is the lack of physical evidence. They propose the following, in response to the open expression of faith:

“Can you stop with the make-believe? If there really was a God, you could prove His presence. He would have evidence for His being. You cannot rely on faith, alone. Children follow that route. They have faith in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. They make up stories to explain that which they cannot understand. No one is going to save you. No one is watching your every move. Just deal with the reality, already.”

This seems rational enough. There are certain myths and legends that children tend to believe. They let go of the ideas through maturity, from growing up. Granted, the skepticism towards faith does not solve the mystery of the universe. There is still no explanation offered for how the seed of a tomato will only grow tomatoes, while the seed of a cucumber will only produce cucumbers. In appearance, the seeds do not look that much different from one another. Any sane person would acknowledge that there is incredible intelligence embedded within the seed. In the manner of the computer chips produced on an assembly line in a factory, these seeds are perfect in their ability to produce as predicted. How could something so perfect be the result of pure chance, accident, or some unknown factor?

That is really at the heart of the matter. The dismissal of the belief in God is due to ignorance. This concept of “chance” is merely the absence of knowledge of the factor of causation. As Lakshmana describes in the Ramayana, every result has some action [kriya] as the initial cause. This is always the case, whether the result is something long-term like that tall tree in the backyard or something fleeting, like the cloud forming in the afternoon sky.

अदृष्टगुणदोषाणामध्रुवाणां तु कर्मणाम्
नान्तरेण क्रियां तेषां फलमिष्टं प्रवर्तते

adṛṣṭaguṇadoṣāṇāmadhruvāṇāṃ tu karmaṇām
nāntareṇa kriyāṃ teṣāṃ phalamiṣṭaṃ pravartate

“Unseen and indefinite are the good and bad reactions of fruitive work. And without taking action, the desired fruits of such work cannot manifest.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 66.17)

There is still the issue of a lack of empirical data. How will the believers prove their case? If brought into the courtroom of public opinion, what tools will they use to convince the jury? What exhibits will be entered into the record? It appears that whatever the believers say can be nullified through a simple response of, “That doesn’t prove anything.”

Of course, in this case the framing of the argument is entirely wrong. If the one side insists on empirical evidence, have them configure experiments to achieve the desired outcome. In other words, think of ways to produce that empirical evidence. What would the information-gathering look like? Just what is it that they are looking to see?

If they respond along the lines of the amazing, then we can easily dismiss that notion. This is because the amazing occurs all the time. Moreover, a single individual doing something extraordinary does not automatically prove that they are God. After all, they still have to die. They still succumb to the forces of time. They cannot prove that they have lived forever.

न तु मां शक्यसे द्रष्टुमनेनैव स्वचक्षुषा
दिव्यं ददामि ते चक्षु: पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम्

na tu māṁ śakyase draṣṭum
anenaiva sva-cakṣuṣā
divyaṁ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ
paśya me yogam aiśvaram

“But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give to you divine eyes by which you can behold My mystic opulence.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.8)

In the Bhagavad-gita conversation, we have Shri Krishna showing a vision of the universal form to Arjuna. This is only after Arjuna receives a special set of eyes. The vision is direct empirical evidence. That evidence is documented by Vyasadeva in the lengthy work known as Mahabharata. That evidence has since been preserved, as it is available to us today. Still, people will say that it is a myth. They will say that Sanskrit words on paper are insufficient for taking the leap beyond faith and into reality.

A similar vision of the universal form, which includes everything in the creation, was shown to Duryodhana. Of a different nature than Arjuna, Duryodhana was antagonistic. He was a doubting soul. His objective was to bind Krishna, as a sort of humiliation to the Pandava side, which were viewed as rivals. This vision of the universal form did not change anything. It is not that Duryodhana suddenly withdrew his challenging spirit and developed the outlook of a believer.

अर्जुन उवाच
परं ब्रह्म परं धाम पवित्रं परमं भवान्
पुरुषं शाश्वतं दिव्यमादिदेवमजं विभुम्
आहुस्त्वामृषय: सर्वे देवर्षिर्नारदस्तथा
असितो देवलो व्यास: स्वयं चैव ब्रवीषि मे

arjuna uvāca
paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma
pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān
puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam
ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum

āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve
devarṣir nāradas tathā
asito devalo vyāsaḥ
svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me

“Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.” (Bhagavad-gita, 10.12-13)

The reality is that due to our limited understanding of infinity, there is no experiment or corresponding empirical data that can sufficiently convince us of events that took place billions of years ago or those which are set to occur in the future. To make any meaningful progress in this area, there is always an element of faith involved. In the case of the Vedic tradition, we have authority established through the highest character of individuals such as Hanuman, Vyasa, and Narada to support the idea that we have deep-down always believed, that there is an all-benevolent God who is the cause of all causes, sarva-karana-karanam.

In Closing:

From this make-believe desist,
On empirical evidence I insist.

Not just words written on page,
Or teachings from respected sage.

But burden on skeptic who,
To create experiment through.

Because even amazing not to prove,
That life before me not to lose.

Categories: science

Tags: dailyprompt, evolution, poem, poems, poetry, proving god, science