Why does God demand faith?
If God exists, why does he not reveal himself to us?
Why does he first demand faith before we can know and see him?
“Show me God,” many people say. We hear this all the time. “OK, if God exists, prove it.
Show me God, right now”-as if seeing something was the only test of its existence. To demonstrate that God’s existence is every bit as objective as a brick wall, we will have to define what we mean by objective.
According to Webster’s dictionary, the word objective means “of or having to do with a known or perceived object, as distinguished from something existing only in the mind of the subject.”
To say that something objectively exists means that it has its own independent existence and is not the product of someone’s imagination.
So how do we demonstrate that God’s existence is not the product of our imagination?
When we ask a question like the above, we often forget that acquiring even worldly knowledge requires faith and training. Let’s consider a few examples:
- If we were to ask a group of people, “Do you believe in the existence of a lepton or a baryon?” most people would give us an uncomprehending look.
Those who know that these terms refer to subatomic particles will say, “Scientists say — and so I believe — that these particles exist.” Such deference to scientific authority for matters beyond ordinary jurisdiction is reasonable and desirable.
Yet to the question, “Do you believe in the existence of God?” almost all people in the same group will express some opinion;
The atheists will be assertive, even aggressive, despite the fact that this question is far beyond their jurisdiction. Worse, they will condemn deference to spiritual authority as blind faith.
2. Consider the incomprehensibility of the cutting-edge branch of quantum physics.
Actually, how difficult to understand, inconceivable and incomprehensible it is to anyone with just common sense is expressed in the words of Nobel Laureate physicist Richard Feynman,
“[our current physics] describes nature as absurd from the point of view of common sense. And it agrees with the experiment. So I hope you can accept nature as she is — absurd.”
A quantum physics student has to accept on faith that the universe is filled with particles that are intrinsically unobservable and undergo training for eight to ten years before he can begin comprehending quantum reality.
The humility of a genuine scientist can be seen perfectly in the case of Prof. Albert Einstein who says,
“We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books of many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know-how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn’t know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see a universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that moves the constellations.”
From the above, we can clearly understand that a bonafide scientist also accepts his limited perception and the power of inconceivable.
Yet when spiritual teachers ask for something similar: accept the existence of God and train yourself through material regulation and spiritual meditation to experience higher reality, objections abound,
“Why should I follow any rules? All this is unscientific.”
An atheist giving an argument like this is similar to a judge declaring the verdict before even starting the hearing of the case.
Such blatant double standards beg the question: Is no training, no qualification needed to pass judgment on spiritual matters?
When people ask, “Why we need faith to see God?” we need not be puzzled for answering.
We need only to point out that, “There is a process for understanding everything, and there is an appropriate process for understanding God.
You must enroll in an authorized course of study. Use the textbooks that have proven to be the most effective manuals for spiritual education and are recommended by the experts in the field.
Follow the proper procedures under controlled conditions, if you want direct perception of God Himself. It is as systematic and predictable as any science.”
Yet there is a difference between the process by which we can understand God and the process of understanding matter because God is a person.
Because matter is not alive, we can shove it around any way we want without difficulty. But who says controlled manipulation is the only process for getting knowledge?
Is it even reasonable to assume we can apply to our search for the Supreme Lord the same methods we use to investigate matter?
After all, God is a person who thinks and feels, and desires just like us. But unlike us, He is unlimited. He knows everything.
He is eternal. He controls everything. But He is a conscious person nonetheless. Now, if you want to know something about a person, the best way to find out is to ask him.
If you want to know, say, why a person is wearing a locket around his neck, you’d probably be well-advised not to take the same approach we use for examining matter.
You probably wouldn’t do well to walk up to the person, and without saying anything to him, grab the locket and start examining it, trying to pry it open. You’d probably get a knee in the ribs if you tried that.
With persons, it helps to be personal. You try to please them, and if they want they can tell you all about themselves.
Supreme Lord is a person, and He’s our superior. Why should He immediately respond to our demand that He appears on the spot?
If I were to call you up on the phone and say, “I command you to immediately come to my home,” would you feel obliged to do it?
I doubt it.
The Supreme Lord as Kṛṣṇa Himself tells us how to know Him in Bhagavad-gétä (18.55),
bhaktyä mäm abhijänäti yävän yaç cäsmi tattvataù:
“One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service.” -Bhagavad-gétä (18.55)
The process for understanding God is to please Him. Then, if He wants to, He can give us knowledge of Himself.
But how exactly do we go about pleasing God? What do we do? What do we say? How do we know if we are doing the right thing?
As in any field, to learn quickly without getting lost or sidetracked we need a teacher. We need someone who knows the science of God, someone who can guide us through our studies.
Don’t just pick any person who “looks spiritual.” We want someone who has been practicing the process for a long time and is an expert.
He should know all the standard spiritual texts. And most important, he should love God above all else.
A person obsessed with love for God will have no interest in catering to the demands of his body.
He is not looking for pleasure from his tongue, his eyes, his ears, or his genitals, because he is absorbed in a higher pleasure.
A spiritual teacher must also be free from anger and attachment-no fits of rage because someone dented his car in the parking lot.
And even if his house burns down, his wife runs off with another man, and he inherits a million dollars-all in one day still he should be calm and peaceful, because the one who knows God is with God, beyond this world. These are the qualifications of a genuine spiritual master.
Yet even if you find such a spiritual master, you as a student also have to be qualified.
You have to follow the instructions of the teacher. If you do so, then you will see God. If you don’t, you won’t.
Then you too will be able to honestly say, “God is an objective fact. I know, because I have seen Him,” as many have said before.
In fact, the Supreme Lord Himself as Lord Krsna gives the evidence of verifiability of this process in Bhagavad-Gita,
véta-räga-bhaya-krodhä man-mayä mäm upäçritäù bahavo jïäna-tapasä pütä mad-bhävam ägatäù
Being freed from attachment, fear, and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me-and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.
People who will not accept God unless we can immediately show them, God are just like blindfolded men demanding to see the sun without removing their blindfolds. Unfortunately, with such an attitude, such persons will never know that God is an objective fact.
Therefore, faith is essential to acquire the knowledge of God’s existence, as we can only achieve it by pleasing God and the first step towards this is by having faith in Him.
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