Different
religions and their own versions of God have evolved in different isolated
pockets around the world at different times. Exchange of ideas and debates on
the various concepts of God were physically impossible during yesteryears.
Vested interests in each society kept their own concepts of God in isolation
and prevented all forms of challenges to their own supremacy for obvious
reasons. With the unprecedented growth in Science and Technology in the past
two centuries, many such limitations have vanished. Details about any religion
or any concept of God are freely available in the internet now. So also the
latest in Science and Technology. But religious bigots are still trying to
retard the progress of mankind by preventing free enquiry and debate. We should
not allow this to happen and all progressive sections must make the debate
continue without any break.
Need
for God
The
Big Bang theory and all pervasive Higgs-Bosons (God Particles) have been
confirmed by Science. We now know for sure that our universe is 13.7 billion
years old, our beloved planet about 5 billion years and Man a few million years
old. All these unquestionable facts have serious implications. It will take
some time for its effect to percolate into all fields of human knowledge. But
it will definitely change everything we can think of. The simplicity of having
everything originating from a single entity and having something that is
present everywhere cannot be ignored. Though some scientists may sound over
confident in their explanation of everything, the fact still remains that there
is indeed ‘something’ which maintains order and evolution of universe in a
particular direction. But equally important is the fact that, as a bare
minimum, the very ‘something’ has to be omnipresent, omnipotent and permanent
in order for everything to be as it is. All variables can be appreciated and
measured only against something that is invariable in every sense.
Need
for God becomes inevitable in the context of the order we see in the universe. Scientists
believe that everything started off from zero energy and it was a slight tilt
in the universal plane just after the Big Bang that created all the various
particles constituting the universe which is still of zero energy. Then the
question remains as to who or what created the ‘slight tilt’ that resulted in
all that we see around. Why not attribute it to something known as God? Another
important aspect is the fact that Science can talk with absolutely certainty only
about physical aspects of the universe. How about all other aspects of the
universe like relationships between various animate and inanimate objects? What
about the social, emotional and evolutionary aspects of those with life,
especially of humans? And what about the most certain and yet the most
misunderstood aspects of birth and death? All these unknown aspects call for a
need for God, which is nothing but the ultimate answer to everything.
Use
of God
Most
part of most religious thoughts deal with human issues. Makers of religions put
forth their own theories that can provide answers to various problems that
confront humans. God is an essential content in all religious thoughts and each
of them define it in their own convenient ways. And then they forget the simple
fact it is the very same God that they have reinterpreted. Clash of religions
starts from that point. It was understandable in old days because only the
religion makers thought about God and claimed to have understood it. That is
not the case anymore. In this age of information everyone can know about
everything if one wants to. Once all of us realise the simple fact it is the
very same God that we are talking about, there will be nothing more useful to
us than the concept of God.
An ideal
world would be one when each human being will have his own religion with a
version of same universal God. This would sound an impossible dream but the
concept of personal God in ancient India refers to such an ideal state
of affairs. There are many who ridicule the talk about 330 million Gods in
Hindu Sanatana Dharma (HSD) with out realizing the fact it is something much
above their own understanding. Having a God of your own who can teach you, make
you realize things, scold you, pamper you and even play with you will make all
the difference in any human being, who is nothing but a bundle of flesh with
ego, emotions and maximum helplessness that only he or she knows. All great men
are those who have effectively used such Gods to get the best out of themselves
and had immense faith within. This would include even the most acclaimed atheists
among us.
A
General Theory of Theology assumes great importance in contemporary context.
The best definition for God is that it is an Energy, Matter or Consciousness
(all interchangeable) that is omnipotent, omnipresent and permanent. And more
importantly, God is definitely not something that is making, managing and
monitoring everything (especially humans) for providing rewards and punishment.
It is possible to have other universes where the same God is in control but it
does not matter to us. All things in this universe are evolving against the
background of a permanent and unchanging God. Morality and righteousness are
something that is natural in the make-up of evolved humans. While certain
collective virtues take us forward in the path of evolution, the negative
elements impede our progress. And ultimately it will all end up gradually only
to be reborn again because the entire universe is cyclic, symmetric and of zero-energy
in nature.