Formless GOD

One of my reader’s comments on my last article ‘O Rama! O Krishna!’ forced me to write this article. The reader advised me to believe in a formless GOD. The debate about the form of GOD has been happening since long. Here I would like to quote the great thinker and scientist of our generation Professor Stephen Hawking. “When people ask me if a GOD created the universe, I tell them that the question itself makes no sense. Time didn’t exist before the big bang, so there is no time for god to make the universe in. It’s like asking directions to the edge of the earth; The Earth is a sphere; it doesn’t have an edge; so looking for it is a futile exercise. We are each free to believe what we want, and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is; there is no god. No one created our universe, and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization; there is probably no heaven and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe, and for that I am extremely grateful.”

This was said by him just about a year back in April 2013, while delivering a lecture at Caltech, USA. One may also note that this was one of the most crowded moments in the history of this most prestigious Institution devoted to science and engineering. I do not know whether my ‘Sanskaars’ allow me to subscribe to the idea propounded by Prof. Hawking. What I definitely know is that, this new thought has augmented my mind’s capacity to think beyond what I have been thinking all these years. Since I studied engineering, management and medicine (naturopathy), I had been one of the luckier ones to get a feel of the world of science as well the world of practical aspects of everything. But! Whenever this question of GOD comes in front of me, I become like a primary school entrant. With the statement like Professor Hawking, I start asking myself whether even the primary knowledge about GOD is possible. Somehow! Whatever some people may argue, I have a faith in this concept of GOD. I feel whether He is formless or formed, this concept helps me in my day-to-day life. For me, this simply means that if I am a selfish person, I would definitely believe in GOD. Let me confront with people, who call their love for GOD as a selfless love.

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg