Why should we believe in God ?
And what is God ? And who created God ?
—jayantkumar dhruv, india
Dear Jayantkumar,
These are deep questions!
I think anyone who has any sensibility realizes that there must be something beyond the finitude of what can be experienced through the senses. Having an understanding of the possibility of infinity, naturally leads one to tune into what we call “God”. It isn’t that we should believe in God, but rather it’s important to experience expanded consciousness, which is simply another description of God.
There’s a wonderful and insightful interview at Clarity Online, with Dr. Peter Van Houten, entitled, Meditation and Emotions: Their Impact on Your Brain and Health, which discusses the book, How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman. I suggest you read the article and also the book itself. I think you’ll find some very interesting scientific facts on how our brains are designed to include the idea of God in our lives.
The challenge for many people is that they think of God in only anthropomorphic terms, meaning only in human terms. Perhaps a more meaningful concept of God is the Sanskrit word, satchidananda, which Paramhansa Yogananda translated as, “ever –conscious, ever-existing, ever-new joy”.
I hope this is helpful.
Blessings,
Nayaswami Pranaba
