How can we know God exists?

[Mr_Galaxy]

I was raised Christian, became an atheist in high school and now identify as a Buddhist. One of the biggest difficulties I have is the notion of "God".

How is God viewed in Hinduism? As a literal metaphysical being in the sky? As a state of being? As a force that transcends all? Not literally real, but a symbol that points to something beyond what we can comprehend?

Is there any evidence for God? Scientific, anecdotal or otherwise?

I want to believe that there is something. I certainly have a spiritual heart, but I also have a skeptics mind.

[satay]

namaste,
How can we know the pudding taste good?

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

Often ones experience in relation knowledge that God exists will vary from soul to soul and their circumstances, but is achievable by all and isn't anything really that difficult. I am guessing you are a Westerner, born in the West like me, that may not be the case but you noted you were born a Christian (then later became Buddhist). But for me, I wasn't born a Christian. Perhaps California is very different then, let's say Georgia or Southern States where things are much more Christian-centric. There were already temples here starting in the 1950s and then a huge explosion of "Hindism", Indian based Spiritality, and such in the 1960s. I became a Hindu when I was 8 years old, it started with meeting Ganesh.

But for me, knowing God exists wasn't a matter of really reaching out, as much as "bumping into" Deva and Devi. And as shocking as this may sound, not as much about advanced Buddhi or things such as enlightenment, as just the pure joy of Personalities who, for reasons I don't fully understand, are very nice to me, and frankly I have a lot of fun being with God.

I know "fun" sounds shocking. It is not the sort of fun one thinks about in terms of entertainment. Oh no, this is very, very different from that. I admit, it is not "intellectualism" as might be found in Buddhism. God for me is a relationship. I know God exists because even if I would ever think of avoiding God, I cannot. God is sort of, in one way, always "bugging" me, which is a horrible word to use. I guess, there isn't a word I can use - God is very personal, and again always being very nice to me even though I don't deserve it.

So the way it happens is different from one to another. You mentioned Buddhism, my Mother who is ethniclally in body "Swedish", she was in some ways like you. She liked the Indian form of Buddhism. She changed over time. But for those like her, maybe for you, a way to understand if God exists is not the path that happened for me. You may take an inner approach. And in that regard, there is a member of this forum called Indaspirituality. He (or she) has an interesting website, there is a link there you mayday be interested in:

http://indiaspirituality.blogspot.co...harananda.html

For me, right now, I just enjoy eating the pudding.

Om Namah Sivaya

[Shuddhasattva]

Namaste

You will find the same God of Hinduism in Buddhism as well.

In the nikayas, it is called the luminous mind. Prabhasara-chitta.

In the mahayana turning, it is called Prajnaparamita, Tathata, Dharmakaya, etc.

In the tathagatagarbha turning, it is called just that - Tathagatagarbha, dharmadhatu, etc.

What is this God? It certainly bears little resemblance to the Abrahamic concept.

1. We regard God as ultimately inconceivable. Though we may consider god with perfect attributes, and/or without attributes at all, both of these are conceptual impositions, one grossly, the other subtly. God is inconceivable, mental processes however refined are composed of very limited pieces of information which cannot in any way actually describe god or even reality.
2. God is a useless belief unless there is some practice that actually takes it beyond a belief to experience, whether that's communion with god, or merger as god. The futility of mental process - circumscribed bits of information attempting to penetrate or encompass the sheerness of unbounded Reality is paramount here - the goal is then nirvakalpa samadhi, the divine absorption that is without any mental construct. Unmodified awareness is God.
3. God is within and without. God is not some being"out there." God is the Supreme Being by virtue of composing all beings, and being composed of all beings, and yet beyond - God is the Ground of Being, beyond being a being, he is that Power of Being by which eternal beings are illuminated and transient beings emerge from.
4. God generates and pervades, and with his lower energies, composes all things, even space and time, being the Consciousness that is before the before. As personal awareness is not substantially different from awareness itself, human beings have individual access to god, without any intermediary. Anything external is a means to inward realization.

Namaste

[Eastern Mind]

How is God viewed in Hinduism?

Vannakkam: In Hinduism, God is viewed through the third eye, the organ of mystic sight, and is as real as anything you can see through the other two eyes. Those of us who have unawakened third eyes, cannot see God, but we can sense God.

Aum Namasivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namast�

One of the biggest difficulties I have is the notion of "God".

Please first define what your definition of God is or what you think the general consensus is on this definition... then we can talk a bit more succinctly on the matter.


praṇām

[Mr_Galaxy]

Please first define what your definition of God is or what you think the general consensus is on this definition... then we can talk a bit more succinctly on the matter.

Well, if there is a God, I don 't think it's a literal man in the sky like so many Christians believe. It has no gender and goes way beyond what we can can imagine. To me, it would be more like a state of being than a literal one.

Also, while we can search to our heart's desire, I don't believe we can ever fully know.

[philosoraptor]

God is described in the Vedas as the supreme person (parama purusha), and the origin and sustainer of all. I don't think you can conclusively prove or disprove the existence of God using empirical methods, because such methods are only useful for learning about entities within our sensory perception, whereas God is by definition a suprasensory entity (atIndriya). This is not to say that we must necessarily disbelieve in suprasensory entities. We did not discount the existence of atoms or subatomic particles prior to developing the methods for detecting these, for example.

Of all the answers given to date, I think Satay's is particularly apt. How do you know that pudding tastes good? You have to try it. Participating in a genuine spiritual path should accomplish your goal, but it requires that you at least accept for the sake of argument that there is a reality that is beyond sensory perception. Of course, this also requires some understanding of what is a genuine path and what is not.

[kallol]

Let me put it up with some scientific flavor. These are cut and paste from my inputs in other threads.

"For an aethist it would be better to go in scientific logical way.

If you take all physical matters are out of energy (as of now we believe that only), then this energy (energy and physical matter form the gross matter) is also out of subtle matters. Minds, Intellect and others are part of these subtle matter.

Subtle matters cannot be proven by gross matter and 2 are different existence level.

The subtle matter is out of the ultimate or purest form i.e. consciousness.
Being the ultimate subtlest form, it can pervade anything and everything. Being the ultmate subtlest and pure, this conscousness is attributeless, changless and permanent.

Others are because of it. Again others are temporary in attributes. In permanent state the others merge into the conciousness.
The whole system is brahman. All the three states are simulteneously present. Human have physical, subtle matter and conscousness. Same is with all living and non living matter.

You are set to get into the apparent chaos. The chaos called hinduism - it looks like so from outside.

Now what will you call the earth teeming with millions of creatures in forms of plants, monocell, animals, tiny creatures, man, trees ? This is a chaotic scenario - all stay together in the same space and time. They are all different. You want to start - from where ? You will be exhausted.

However there is one common thread that binds all - Life. Break down the bigger creatures like man, plants, elephants, etc. Then also there will be that common thread passing through all cells, organs, etc - Life.

Yes the starting point is that. What is the common thread which binds us (not only living beings) all ? What is behind creation and life ?

That search is the starting point. Search for that answer in all scriptures. What is that binding thread called as ? To what level it binds - ist it cell or much finer ?

There is much search and research needed for these answers. The answers will give you the answers to all your questions - many gods, many line of thinking, chaos, etc.

I would suggest - 2 levels - Epics - Ramayana & Mahabharata. Scripture - Gita.

The movement, you will find, will be from "I and God" to "God in all" to "All in God"."

As an aethist, you can terms this whole live phenomenon as God or you can term it as natural science but one thing is sure, being a part of it, we cannot ignore it. Better that we understand it and try to find how we fit into the overall scheme.

[shiv.somashekhar]

Is there any evidence for God? Scientific, anecdotal or otherwise?

What kind of evidence would work for you? As I see it, no evidence is possible for the abstraction called God - which means different things to different people.

I want to believe that there is something. I certainly have a spiritual heart, but I also have a skeptics mind.

if you want to believe, you should not be looking for evidence. Belief is about faith and does not require proof. From your statement, it appears that you already know all of this, but are unable to accept it - which may be the real problem.