A collaborative search for wisdom, at Middle Tennessee State University and beyond...
"The pluralistic form takes for me a stronger hold on reality than any other philosophy I know of, being essentially a social philosophy, a philosophy of 'co'"-William James
I think that it is one thing to believe in something and another to believe in the capabilities of it. God is real because he exists in the minds of people. He is the symbol of all things holy and good for them. Just like your invisible unicorn... it might not exist in my world but if it does in yours then it exists.
God has as much power as people give him. If I say my mom is the reason for all my success, it is because I want to make her proud, and that is what drives me to do the right thing. It is My will to push myself, but I attribute it to her. Same for God. People say, "with God all things are possible." replace his name with "good will." It holds the same meaning. God is not human. There aren't even google images for God. Its usually a beam of light. People may give him human characteristics to relate, and not realize what they are doing. His physical form does not exist, but the belief in him is what is so powerful.
Good will, love, and positive energy are all considered "Godly" to those who believe in him. Atheist believe in the same principles of living, they just refuse to use a symbolic character to identify it.
hi andrew. i met you the other day on campus with johnny ruhl. anyway i'm not sure if i can post here, but i'll try. i'm interested in such topics but short on time now. i'll try to view your video and reply when i get time.
It’s not a matter of believing or not believing in God. What value does our belief have? God cannot be known by logic or argument. Not that logic or argument is bad; just that ultimately one will not reach God through them.
It is a matter of Absolute Truth.
God, or the Absolute Truth, has many names as witnessed through time and cultures. For the sake of this discussion on “God and Goodness,” please at least theoretically consider the name Krishna as a name delineating God or the Supreme Being, and consider the possibility of the validity of the ancient (pre-dating Christianity) Vedic scriptures. Thank you.
From Prabhupada’s introduction to the Bhagavad Gita As It Is*: “There is no difference in the absolute realm between the name, form or person of the Absolute Truth because in the absolute realm everything is transcendental bliss. There is no difference between the body and the soul for the Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Thus He is different from the living entity who is always different from his outward body. Because of Krishna’s transcendental position, it is very difficult for a layman to actually know the Personality of Godhead, Krishna, His holy name and fame, etc. His name, fame, form and pastimes all are one and the same transcendental identity, and they are not knowable by the exercise of the material senses.”
Bhagavad Gita 11.38: “You are the original Personality of Godhead, the oldest, the ultimate sanctuary of this manifested cosmic world. You are the knower of everything, and You are all that is knowable. You are the supreme refuge, above the material modes. O limitless form! This whole cosmic manifestation is pervaded by You!”
Prabhupada’s purport to the above verse:
“Everything is resting on the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore He is the ultimate rest. Nidhānam means that everything, even the Brahman effulgence, rests on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. He is the knower of everything that is happening in this world, and if knowledge has any end, He is the end of all knowledge; therefore He is the known and the knowable. He is the object of knowledge because He is all-pervading. Because He is the cause in the spiritual world, He is transcendental. He is also the chief personality in the transcendental world.”
More Gita verses from the Bhagavad Gita As It Is:
BG 13.1-2: Arjuna said: O my dear Krishna, I wish to know about prakṛti [nature], puruṣa [the enjoyer], and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the object of knowledge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: This body, O son of Kuntī, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.
BG 13.3: O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its knower is called knowledge. That is My opinion.
BG 13.4: Now please hear My brief description of this field of activity and how it is constituted, what its changes are, whence it is produced, who that knower of the field of activities is, and what his influences are.
BG 13.5: That knowledge of the field of activities and of the knower of activities is described by various sages in various Vedic writings. It is especially presented in Vedānta-sūtra with all reasoning as to cause and effect.
I have above given some indication of a concept of God. As far as goodness and morality, they are subordinate to God insofar as spiritual or ultimate goodness and morality are concerned. Our mundane concepts of goodness or morality may or may not be accurate. Also what may be “good or moral” in one circumstance, may not be so in another circumstance.
I think that it is one thing to believe in something and another to believe in the capabilities of it. God is real because he exists in the minds of people. He is the symbol of all things holy and good for them. Just like your invisible unicorn... it might not exist in my world but if it does in yours then it exists.
ReplyDeleteGod has as much power as people give him. If I say my mom is the reason for all my success, it is because I want to make her proud, and that is what drives me to do the right thing. It is My will to push myself, but I attribute it to her. Same for God. People say, "with God all things are possible." replace his name with "good will." It holds the same meaning. God is not human. There aren't even google images for God. Its usually a beam of light. People may give him human characteristics to relate, and not realize what they are doing. His physical form does not exist, but the belief in him is what is so powerful.
Good will, love, and positive energy are all considered "Godly" to those who believe in him. Atheist believe in the same principles of living, they just refuse to use a symbolic character to identify it.
hi andrew. i met you the other day on campus with johnny ruhl. anyway i'm not sure if i can post here, but i'll try. i'm interested in such topics but short on time now.
ReplyDeletei'll try to view your video and reply when i get time.
bill
Hi Andrew. This is Bill.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not a matter of believing or not believing in God. What value does our belief have? God cannot be known by logic or argument. Not that logic or argument is bad; just that ultimately one will not reach God through them.
It is a matter of Absolute Truth.
God, or the Absolute Truth, has many names as witnessed through time and cultures. For the sake of this discussion on “God and Goodness,” please at least theoretically consider the name Krishna as a name delineating God or the Supreme Being, and consider the possibility of the validity of the ancient (pre-dating Christianity) Vedic scriptures. Thank you.
From Prabhupada’s introduction to the Bhagavad Gita As It Is*: “There is no difference in the absolute realm between the name, form or person of the Absolute Truth because in the absolute realm everything is transcendental bliss. There is no difference between the body and the soul for the Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Thus He is different from the living entity who is always different from his outward body. Because of Krishna’s transcendental position, it is very difficult for a layman to actually know the Personality of Godhead, Krishna, His holy name and fame, etc. His name, fame, form and pastimes all are one and the same transcendental identity, and they are not knowable by the exercise of the material senses.”
Bhagavad Gita 11.38: “You are the original Personality of Godhead, the oldest, the ultimate sanctuary of this manifested cosmic world. You are the knower of everything, and You are all that is knowable. You are the supreme refuge, above the material modes. O limitless form! This whole cosmic manifestation is pervaded by You!”
Prabhupada’s purport to the above verse:
“Everything is resting on the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore He is the ultimate rest. Nidhānam means that everything, even the Brahman effulgence, rests on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. He is the knower of everything that is happening in this world, and if knowledge has any end, He is the end of all knowledge; therefore He is the known and the knowable. He is the object of knowledge because He is all-pervading. Because He is the cause in the spiritual world, He is transcendental. He is also the chief personality in the transcendental world.”
More Gita verses from the Bhagavad Gita As It Is:
BG 13.1-2: Arjuna said: O my dear Krishna, I wish to know about prakṛti [nature], puruṣa [the enjoyer], and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the object of knowledge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: This body, O son of Kuntī, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.
BG 13.3: O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its knower is called knowledge. That is My opinion.
BG 13.4: Now please hear My brief description of this field of activity and how it is constituted, what its changes are, whence it is produced, who that knower of the field of activities is, and what his influences are.
BG 13.5: That knowledge of the field of activities and of the knower of activities is described by various sages in various Vedic writings. It is especially presented in Vedānta-sūtra with all reasoning as to cause and effect.
I have above given some indication of a concept of God. As far as goodness and morality, they are subordinate to God insofar as spiritual or ultimate goodness and morality are concerned. Our mundane concepts of goodness or morality may or may not be accurate. Also what may be “good or moral” in one circumstance, may not be so in another circumstance.
*http://vedabase.net/bg/en
Sincerely,
Bill (MTSU student)