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MIRA AND MAHAVIR
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who acts consciously and deliberately (Chit); and is
supremely happy (Ananda). MAHAVIR---This seems to be all right. It did not occur
to inc. But I am somewhat confused. And have you rcally proved the existence of God? Is not this God an imaginary Bcing, the creation of my own mind, mcant to satisfy me? Has hc any existence apart
from my mind ? KRISHNAHe satisfies a need common to all men. Ex
istence is not mcrcly physical; the inind is more than matter, and ideas more real than anything clse you can feel with your senses; and it is they that shape the course of human life. Such is this idea of God. It is necessary for Man's own happiness, and satisfies an innate urge within him. Without it he cannot live. If he believes in Nature alone, Nature conceivcd as something purely physical, purposeless and blind, he must put an end to his own life. And so this idea of God, this belief in his existence is a reality; it satisfies his mind, reason and innate consciousness even more than the objects you
perceive with your senses. MAHAVIR-But can we conceive of this God as a person,
as they say ? KRISHNA-You can conceive of God both in his personal
and impersonal forms. When you think of him as Nir-guna Purusha, beyond Nature, beyond attributes beyond Time, and beyond thought, you think of him