by Saybhan Samat
(November 05, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In recent times the print media has given considerable space to the debate whether God exists or not. The arguments to refute the existence of God have been very aggressive. Mr. Carl Muller with reference to the book ‘The God Delusion’ by Dawkins is one in many who rejects the existence of God on account of his own reasoning, intellect and understanding.
I wish to submit my humble opinion to the presence of God Almighty, Compassionate, Merciful, and Resplendent in all His glory which the rejecters cannot see. They are those whose hearts cannot understand, whose eyes cannot see and whose ear’s cannot hear; they are like cattle,-- nay more misguided! (Holy Quran 7: 179). God can be known principally by two methods. Firstly verification of God’s existence in the Islamic tradition can be done by a science called “irfan” or “tasauwuff” whereby by a process of purification of the heart one will realize the presence of God. The Quran says Surah 2:115
“To God belongs the East and the West: whither so ever Ye turn there is the presence of God. For God is all pervading.”
Even all other religions except Buddhism have disciplines to verify the existence of God by mystical methods. The methods and traditions in all religions for the greater part are very much alike, because the same absolute, eternal one God sent several messengers to humankind to verify His existence. Of course human-beings were given a free- will, they could choose to accept God or to reject Him. However God warns that humans who reject Him will be misguided, led astray and wander in distraction never finding fulfillment in their life. The consequences on the life after death in purgatory and after the Day of Judgment subsequent to resurrection will indeed be very painful.
The pain in Hell is vividly described especially in Islamic, Christian and Jewish scriptures and traditions.
Besides the mystical method which is an empirical science known to gnostics, mystics and saints of all faiths there is a more simple method for us laymen. It is the contemplation, reflection and ponderence on the subtleties of creation, its perfection and refinement, to the extent that it is in human power. Such contemplation leads to the intellection of its Perfect Source and its Wise Maker without an ounce of doubt.—“The contemplation of the subtleties and the marvels of creation and the firmness and finesse of the system of creation belongs to the category of beneficial knowledge; it is the most meritorious of the actions of the heart and superior to all worships, since its result is the noblest of all results. Although in all forms of devotional rites the main aim and the real secret is the acquisition of transcendental knowledge, yet the likes of us find no access to such secrets and such results. They are for their own people, to whom every devotional rites is like a grain of one or several revelations.”
“In any case, man has not been able to acquire the real knowledge of the subtleties and secrets of creation. So subtle are its foundations and firm its design, so beautiful and perfectly planned is its system that if we consider any creature, however insignificant and humble it should appear to be, with all the scientific development acquired during centuries of studies man has been unable to discover even one of its thousand secrets, let alone the majesty of the cosmic system of creation whose intricacies and mysteries are beyond the reaches of our vision and inaccessible to our imperfect, limited ideas.
I shall now draw your attention to one of the subtleties of creation which is relatively near to understanding and comprehension and is considered to lie in the realm of the sensible.”
“Observe and reflect on the relationship between the earth and the sun, the fixed distance and the suitable speed with which the earth spins on its axis and revolves in its orbit around the sun, causing day and night and the seasons. What a perfection of creative skill and what a work of immaculate wisdom it is that had it been not exactly so- that is had the earth been a little away or nearer to the sun – there would not have been any vegetation and animal life, on account of chilling cold due to the former and excessive heat due to the latter. And, similarly, had the earth remained static, there would not have been any days and nights and seasons either, and the earth would have been without any trace of life despite possessing everything else to support life. Yet He did not suffice at this; He made its north furthest from the sun (in the northern hemisphere) so as to ensure that excessive heat does no harm to the creatures; the point nearest to the sun was situated towards the south, so that coldness should not harm the inhabitants of the earth.”
“This was also not enough; the moon, which also influences the earth’s creatures, was assigned a different course than the earth, in such a way that when the sun is the northern region of the earth, the moon appears in the southern, and vice versa. This was for the sake of the utmost benefit of their positions relative to the earth. These are essentially sensible phenomena, yet to compass their subtleties and secrets is not possible for anybody but their omnipotent Creator.
Why should we go so far? If one contemplates his own creation, according to the scope of his knowledge and capability, beginning external senses he will see that they have been contrived according to the kind of sensations and sense perceptions they receive. For every group of sensible objects a separate faculty of perception has been created, and that too with what astounding propriety and skill! And –for matters of a supra-sensible nature, which cannot be perceived through the outward senses, internal senses have been fashioned to perceive them. Let alone the knowledge of the soul and its spiritual faculties, which the human intellect cannot comprehend, and contemplate upon the human body, its anatomy, its physical constitution and the functioning of each and every external and internal organ. See what a wonderful system and what a striking order they constitute! In spite of a hundred centuries of scientific study, man has not been able to understand a thousandth fraction of it, and all the scientists declare their inability in this regard in unambiguous terms, although this body of man is no more than an insignificant speck in comparison to other creatures on the earth’s crust, and the earth with all its inhabitants is of little significance as compared with the solar system and our complete solar system is of no consequence when compared with other solar systems and galaxies; and all these macro and micro systems are parts of a disciplined and orderly system, no speck of which can be found faulty by anyone and all the human intellects are unable to understand even a single secret of its myriad recondite subtleties and secrets.”
“Does your intellect still need something more after this reflection to believe that an Omniscient. Omnipotent and All-Wise Being, who does not resemble any other being in anything has created all these creatures with their firm orderliness and subtlety?”
“All this orderly and systematic artistry, whose general laws no human mind can comprehend, has not come into existence by itself and spontaneously. Blind be the inner eye that fails to perceive the truth and cannot observe its beauty in these creatures! Perish the man who is skeptical and doubtful despite seeing all these effects and signs! But, what else can helpless man, captivated by fantasies, do? If you take out your rosary and claim that its beads got assembled on the thread by themselves, without anybody arranging them, everyone will laugh at your intelligence. You will invite a calamity if you take out your pocket watch and make similar claims about it; if you do such a thing will you not have stuck off your name from the list of the sane and wouldn’t all the sane people of the world consider you a lunatic? If one who considers this simple and small mechanical system too originate without a cause and as being outside causality is considered insane and is likely to be stripped of all the rights belonging to men of reason, what is to be done with the person who claims not the whole cosmic system but even man and the complex system of his body and soul alone to have come into existence by itself? Is he still to be reckoned among men of reason? What fool is more stupid than such a man?”
Finally I wish to conclude, by quoting Hadith Qudsi in which God says “ I was a hidden treasure, I wished to be known, so I created mankind that they may know Me”. So the supreme achievement of man is to know God after which he/she will attain Divine knowledge, peace, harmony, dignity, honour and happiness. A supplication to Almighty God will not be out of place in this concluding paragraph. “Lord! Grant brightness of sincerity to the mirror of the heart. Cleanse the rust of hypocrisy from the tablets of the heart, and show the path of virtue and salvation to the helpless wanderers in the mazes of the bewilderment and error and confusion. Endow us with the nobleness and generosity of character. Reveal to us your glory and splendor, that you have reserved only for your chosen servants. Expel the legions of Satan and ignorance from the realms of our hearts, implant the divine hosts of knowledge and wisdom in their stead. Enrich our hearts with the profusion of your love and that of your chosen, in this transitory world, this ephemeral lodging place. Shower your choicest blessings upon us at time of death and thereafter. Extend to us your mercy and grant us proximity to the highest good and to you. - Sri Lanka Guardian
(November 05, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In recent times the print media has given considerable space to the debate whether God exists or not. The arguments to refute the existence of God have been very aggressive. Mr. Carl Muller with reference to the book ‘The God Delusion’ by Dawkins is one in many who rejects the existence of God on account of his own reasoning, intellect and understanding.
I wish to submit my humble opinion to the presence of God Almighty, Compassionate, Merciful, and Resplendent in all His glory which the rejecters cannot see. They are those whose hearts cannot understand, whose eyes cannot see and whose ear’s cannot hear; they are like cattle,-- nay more misguided! (Holy Quran 7: 179). God can be known principally by two methods. Firstly verification of God’s existence in the Islamic tradition can be done by a science called “irfan” or “tasauwuff” whereby by a process of purification of the heart one will realize the presence of God. The Quran says Surah 2:115
“To God belongs the East and the West: whither so ever Ye turn there is the presence of God. For God is all pervading.”
Even all other religions except Buddhism have disciplines to verify the existence of God by mystical methods. The methods and traditions in all religions for the greater part are very much alike, because the same absolute, eternal one God sent several messengers to humankind to verify His existence. Of course human-beings were given a free- will, they could choose to accept God or to reject Him. However God warns that humans who reject Him will be misguided, led astray and wander in distraction never finding fulfillment in their life. The consequences on the life after death in purgatory and after the Day of Judgment subsequent to resurrection will indeed be very painful.
The pain in Hell is vividly described especially in Islamic, Christian and Jewish scriptures and traditions.
Besides the mystical method which is an empirical science known to gnostics, mystics and saints of all faiths there is a more simple method for us laymen. It is the contemplation, reflection and ponderence on the subtleties of creation, its perfection and refinement, to the extent that it is in human power. Such contemplation leads to the intellection of its Perfect Source and its Wise Maker without an ounce of doubt.—“The contemplation of the subtleties and the marvels of creation and the firmness and finesse of the system of creation belongs to the category of beneficial knowledge; it is the most meritorious of the actions of the heart and superior to all worships, since its result is the noblest of all results. Although in all forms of devotional rites the main aim and the real secret is the acquisition of transcendental knowledge, yet the likes of us find no access to such secrets and such results. They are for their own people, to whom every devotional rites is like a grain of one or several revelations.”
“In any case, man has not been able to acquire the real knowledge of the subtleties and secrets of creation. So subtle are its foundations and firm its design, so beautiful and perfectly planned is its system that if we consider any creature, however insignificant and humble it should appear to be, with all the scientific development acquired during centuries of studies man has been unable to discover even one of its thousand secrets, let alone the majesty of the cosmic system of creation whose intricacies and mysteries are beyond the reaches of our vision and inaccessible to our imperfect, limited ideas.
I shall now draw your attention to one of the subtleties of creation which is relatively near to understanding and comprehension and is considered to lie in the realm of the sensible.”
“Observe and reflect on the relationship between the earth and the sun, the fixed distance and the suitable speed with which the earth spins on its axis and revolves in its orbit around the sun, causing day and night and the seasons. What a perfection of creative skill and what a work of immaculate wisdom it is that had it been not exactly so- that is had the earth been a little away or nearer to the sun – there would not have been any vegetation and animal life, on account of chilling cold due to the former and excessive heat due to the latter. And, similarly, had the earth remained static, there would not have been any days and nights and seasons either, and the earth would have been without any trace of life despite possessing everything else to support life. Yet He did not suffice at this; He made its north furthest from the sun (in the northern hemisphere) so as to ensure that excessive heat does no harm to the creatures; the point nearest to the sun was situated towards the south, so that coldness should not harm the inhabitants of the earth.”
“This was also not enough; the moon, which also influences the earth’s creatures, was assigned a different course than the earth, in such a way that when the sun is the northern region of the earth, the moon appears in the southern, and vice versa. This was for the sake of the utmost benefit of their positions relative to the earth. These are essentially sensible phenomena, yet to compass their subtleties and secrets is not possible for anybody but their omnipotent Creator.
Why should we go so far? If one contemplates his own creation, according to the scope of his knowledge and capability, beginning external senses he will see that they have been contrived according to the kind of sensations and sense perceptions they receive. For every group of sensible objects a separate faculty of perception has been created, and that too with what astounding propriety and skill! And –for matters of a supra-sensible nature, which cannot be perceived through the outward senses, internal senses have been fashioned to perceive them. Let alone the knowledge of the soul and its spiritual faculties, which the human intellect cannot comprehend, and contemplate upon the human body, its anatomy, its physical constitution and the functioning of each and every external and internal organ. See what a wonderful system and what a striking order they constitute! In spite of a hundred centuries of scientific study, man has not been able to understand a thousandth fraction of it, and all the scientists declare their inability in this regard in unambiguous terms, although this body of man is no more than an insignificant speck in comparison to other creatures on the earth’s crust, and the earth with all its inhabitants is of little significance as compared with the solar system and our complete solar system is of no consequence when compared with other solar systems and galaxies; and all these macro and micro systems are parts of a disciplined and orderly system, no speck of which can be found faulty by anyone and all the human intellects are unable to understand even a single secret of its myriad recondite subtleties and secrets.”
“Does your intellect still need something more after this reflection to believe that an Omniscient. Omnipotent and All-Wise Being, who does not resemble any other being in anything has created all these creatures with their firm orderliness and subtlety?”
“All this orderly and systematic artistry, whose general laws no human mind can comprehend, has not come into existence by itself and spontaneously. Blind be the inner eye that fails to perceive the truth and cannot observe its beauty in these creatures! Perish the man who is skeptical and doubtful despite seeing all these effects and signs! But, what else can helpless man, captivated by fantasies, do? If you take out your rosary and claim that its beads got assembled on the thread by themselves, without anybody arranging them, everyone will laugh at your intelligence. You will invite a calamity if you take out your pocket watch and make similar claims about it; if you do such a thing will you not have stuck off your name from the list of the sane and wouldn’t all the sane people of the world consider you a lunatic? If one who considers this simple and small mechanical system too originate without a cause and as being outside causality is considered insane and is likely to be stripped of all the rights belonging to men of reason, what is to be done with the person who claims not the whole cosmic system but even man and the complex system of his body and soul alone to have come into existence by itself? Is he still to be reckoned among men of reason? What fool is more stupid than such a man?”
Finally I wish to conclude, by quoting Hadith Qudsi in which God says “ I was a hidden treasure, I wished to be known, so I created mankind that they may know Me”. So the supreme achievement of man is to know God after which he/she will attain Divine knowledge, peace, harmony, dignity, honour and happiness. A supplication to Almighty God will not be out of place in this concluding paragraph. “Lord! Grant brightness of sincerity to the mirror of the heart. Cleanse the rust of hypocrisy from the tablets of the heart, and show the path of virtue and salvation to the helpless wanderers in the mazes of the bewilderment and error and confusion. Endow us with the nobleness and generosity of character. Reveal to us your glory and splendor, that you have reserved only for your chosen servants. Expel the legions of Satan and ignorance from the realms of our hearts, implant the divine hosts of knowledge and wisdom in their stead. Enrich our hearts with the profusion of your love and that of your chosen, in this transitory world, this ephemeral lodging place. Shower your choicest blessings upon us at time of death and thereafter. Extend to us your mercy and grant us proximity to the highest good and to you. - Sri Lanka Guardian
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