By Himanshu Guru: This is the biggest all time question for the non-atheists. Since time immemorial there is a conceptual conflict between the atheists and non-atheists regarding the existence of God.
When the former believes the world to be a complete work of science, the later believes in the existence of a super power, which actually makes everything done in this world.
As per Hindu philosophy, each living being is an ‘Atmaa’ (soul) which has taken birth as a separate soul but originated from the ‘Param-aatmaa’, the supreme divine soul. Hence, spontaneously the soul is attracted to the supreme one. (Found in texts of Saint Kripaluji Maharaj).
This divine attraction leads to a lot of stimuli, including a mental status to get closer to the Supreme power. This supreme power is known as God.
People, following different religions call the God with different names, who they believe to be the ultimate supreme power. Hindu philosophy provides manifold answers to this question. However, devotion with the God is regarded as the finest one.
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In great epic Ramayana, it has been scribed that ‘Shabari’, a simple devoted forest lady got a chance to witness and nourish the Lord, when he was in hermitage with brother Laxmana and wife Sita. The Lord blessed her with ‘Navdhaa Bhakti’, the nine tenets of devotion.
Again, in another great epic ‘Ram Charit Manas’ a stanza tells about the God’s answer about availing Him, or how to get closer to Him. It says “nirmala mana jana so mohi pàvà | mohi kapata chhala chhidra na bhàvà |”. It means “a pure mind can only have me; I don’t like complexity in thinking”. Hence it can be summed up that the God prefers pure, pious and simple minds (to get closer to Him), to the minds with fraud and complexity.
Now let’s discuss this verse. “Naham tisthami vaikunthe, yoginam hridaye na cha. yatra gayanti mad-bhaktah Tatra tisthami Narada” (from Shrimad Bhagwat). Here Lord Krishna answers to Naarada that “I do not stay in Vaikuntha-loka ( the permanent abode of the Lord) or within the heart of the yogis,(which can be thought as the best place for His existence as the Yogis are the best performers of the God’s rites). I stay there where My devotees chant about Me and My glories.” Hence the God is, “Omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.” So singing and chanting is also another recommended path to get closer to God.
Another canto of Ram Charit Manas says “Kali Yug kebala Naam Adhara, Japat japat muni huai uwara”. It avers that in the Kali Yuga, (one of the four ages, where the effect of God and His rites have believed to be minimum) other rites are too hard to be performed for their strict norms and so only chanting the names of God will make the devotees attain the ever cherished salvation.
Holy Christian texts prescribes that heart is the best element to get closer to God. It says, “For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.”(Jeremiah 4:3) which means that heart is the part where the Word of God isn’t finding root, where it isn’t flourishing and growing, hence it needs to get rid of those things in the heart which are contrary to the Word of God.
It is quiet difficult to get to the solution of the ever treasured hope of the God-lovers within the geography of an article, still these findings can be a small aid to the devotees to get closer to the God.