Journal of Gyansagar Science Foundation 2013 04 01

Author(s): Sanjeev Sogani, Vimal Jain
Publisher: Gyansagar Science Foundation

Page 109

Er. Piyush Jain, Volume 1 Issue 1 April 2013
"If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."...Albert Einstein
"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist....It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going." - The Grand Design (Hawking and Mlodinow 2010)
the earth. So, if they were wrong on most of the facts of this universe, isn't it questionable that the so called agents of God, saints etc. were mere marketing tactics of a few shrewd against ignorant masses? Concepts like earth being a flat disc, earth being supported on Sheshnag's hood, creation of Adam and Eve, Six Days of creation and settling down on the throne etc. are all seem to be figments of imagination. For all religions, the universe starts with earth as centre and a few planets and sun complete the entirety. We now know that very many galaxies are out there and who knows how many civilizations inhabit those celestial bodies! With authenticity questionable, let us put the God hypothesis to litmus.
"Ignorance of nature's way led people in ancient times to invent gods to lord over every aspect of human life." - The Grand Design (Hawking and Mlodinow 2010)
Broadly, therefore, two categories emerge - They: as believers and I and others like me: as non-believers. They relied on the vulnerable oral or written word dating just a few thousand years back, while the others relied on non- vulnerable fossilized movie of facts dating back to the time of inception itself. For them the sources of information are ancient treatises and for others the sources are science and logic. All concepts and philosophies including the one of God start with a hypothesis. If proved right - it becomes science; if not - it becomes belief.
An ostrich's belief is ignorance.
A scientific truth is prudence. After classifying various ideas, as above, about God in ancient canons, I set on to establish their authenticity. In each case it turned out that due to lack of printing and data storage capabilities, most of the information got corrupt in the due course of time. Even when the texts were inked, prevailing beliefs were freely distorted to suit the reigning authorities and to get rid of the uncomfortable questions. And, I am sorry to observe that the process is still on. Besides, if I keep historical background in perspective, I find that the human knowledge was in its infancy in the era dating a few thousand years back. We are knowledge-adults today. How, therefore, an infant knew more than an adult?
Chapter 2: Inherent Paradox They say-He is Universal! I ask-then how is He perceived differently by each individual? Everyone has his own idea about the appearance, personality, powers and manifestations of God. If He is omnipresent, why do we need to worship His idol in designated places only? Why loudspeakers are deployed to communicate with him when a whisper could be good enough? Paradox needs resolve. Quoting from Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion', "Not surprisingly, since it is founded on local traditions of private revelations, the God Hypothesis comes in many versions." There are as many gods as the number of brains. At times even within one's conscience the perception of god keeps on changing. Besides, universality of any thought is not the guarantee of its truthfulness. Just a few hundred years back, entire humanity believed as earth being stationary and sun along with planets revolve around it. It was universal yet far from truth! Before the onset of modern medicine, all diseases were attributed to one or the other god/ goddess. Today, several diseases have been eradicated for good. What happened? Has the goddess of smallpox retired after causing enough agony for thousands of years? In India it was prevalent to hold the mother responsible for the birth of a girl-child, while the truth is just opposite! If a belief is widely accepted, it does not automatically become true. We must accept that we as human race have collected as much knowledge in past 5-6 hundred years as was never done in the preceding millions of years, thanks to science.
A pet reply that the religious texts were invariably narrated or dictated by the agents of God themselves was also scrutinized by me. When I read them in their totality, I was amused by the fact that they knew everything about Atma-Parmatma terming them as invisible and intangible but pathetically ignorant about everything tangible in this world. They were either silent about the internal body organs, extent and constitution of universe, composition of matter, or were miserably off the mark in stating that the sun revolves around
Even today there is no direct evidence of His existence or presence. Just hearsay! Yet, an overwhelming majority believes in Him, one way or the other. Two reasons are responsible for this - first, yearning to possess more than others - the sheer greed, and second, apprehension of ominous - the fear of unknown. A seed of fear is sown in every child's mind that if he denies the existence of
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