Conception of Godin the various Schools of Hindu Philosophy (By Swami Dayanand) Under the strong influence of the Kali age the isreligious world of today has for some time past been locking forward to demolishing the existence of God, the sustainer and controller of the universe. Soviet Russfa has gone to the length of deciding the fate of God by ballot and has discarded Him by a majority of votes. As a result of this the cathedrals there have either been dismantled o- converted into workshops. Institutions are not wanting even in this county where God is being declared_as redundant. “Theism has been responsible for the promotion of class animosities which have so far delayed the political emanci- pation of India. People are impai national solidarity by engaging in frait- Jess party strife. Beliel in God would mean courting perpetual mental slavery for one who prefers an independent life, free from all restrictions and disabilities. Mere recognition of His existence would entail restrictions of seligion, restric tions of morality, restrictions of social Jaws and numerous other restrictions which rob the mind for ever of its independence. We therefore hardly require any God to enable us to lead a happy life, no matter whether He exists or not” Such obnoxious ideas are poisoning the minds of our preseat day fellow- ‘beings who are already endowed with a Godless materialistic nature. We shall therefore discuss in the present article the veality of God’s existence and then give a brief resume of what the different orthodox schools of Indian philosophy say in regard to Him, ‘To doubt His existence is simply to throttle one’s own reasoning facalty. On calmly consulting one’s own inner self one can easily understand that this creation, which has no beginning nor end, must have an efficient cause behind it All the seriptures that follow the Vedas declare Matter to be insentient ‘The Devi Bhagavata says— srt oer enfaere mei ea | TerOS TRTRTCRET Fa | ‘Just as procimity with a magnet makes lifeless icon active, ven 50 Matter, though insentient, is endowed with the powers of creation, maintenance and dissolution, that generally belong to an intelligent being, through its contact with God. ‘This insentioncy or incapa- city to function independently is perceptible not only in primordial matter, taken as a whole, but also in every particle of substances formed out of it, Earth, water, ais, fire, ete., ench of which isa product of Matter, are all ‘unintelligent: none of these can function independently. Earth, for instance, can- not bear fruit of various kinds of its own accord, water cannot pour on earth by itself, winds cannot blow by themselves and fire cannot discharge its manifold functions of its own initiative. There must be an undercurrent of all-pervasive intelligence, running through them all,‘under whose directions these insentient substances discharge their respective functions. That all-pervasive, intelli gent power which controls everything and guides matter is God. It may be contended that it isin the very mature of the diferent products of matter sich as earth, water, air and fire, to yield corm to pour as rain, to blow and to burn respectively, ‘To this our rejoinder is ‘that the nature (inherent property) ofan evolute of matter can function in a systematic way only when there is some intelligent power to rezulate it. True, it is im the very nature of earth to yield com: but who is to determine as to what kind of com should grow in a particular place anda partiewlar time and in a particular season. ‘This is surely more than what the insentient earth can be expected to do. We must therefore postulate an intelligent principle under- lying the earth and regulating its func- tions ‘The effect or function of blind nature must itself be blind. The exis- tence of some intelligent principle alone can replace blindness by system. Tt may hein the very nature of water to pour down as rain; but the regular Gistribution of rainfall accorting to different seasons and according to the requirements of a particular place is possible only when there is some intelli- ‘gent power underlying water. Similar! winds may be said to possess the blind nature of blowing. ‘This blind nature, however, cannot regulate the disturbance in the atmosphere in such a way as to make the winds blow from 2 southerly direction in the vernal season, from an estetly direction during the rain fcom a westerly or northerly direction during the cold weather and from a westerly direction in the hot weather. ‘We must therefore postulate an intel gent power which causes regular dis- turbance in the atmosphere. Even in the ordinary affairs of the world we observe that no material substance can function in a systematic way without the help and guidance of some intelligent being. Let us, for instance, take the case of fire, which, of course, has the power of turning water into steam and of propelling machines and engines thereby. It cannot, however, determine how such steam will be requir- ed to propel a machine or engine, nor can it generate the steam and connect it with the machine or engine. This power lies in man alone, whois a sentient steature and who generates steam by boiling a quantity of water to a certain degree and then utilises it in due pro- portion for propelling the various ma- chines and engines. There is one thing more to be considered in this connection. Although steam has the power of propel ling the engine and the engine, of pull ing the train, the engine cannot by ifselt enable the train to run according to a fixed timetable, to stop at particular stations, (o leave stationsat a fixed speed, to accelerate of Jessen the speed, when required, and so on, without an intelli- rent driver to ply it. Blind force will, of course, set the engine into motion; but once started, it will run on without any stoppage; and once it stops, it will never start again. For regulating its speed, stoppages, ete. an intellivent controlling gency isindispensable. Thus it is clear that whea an intelligent being is neces sary for conducting even the ordinary affairs of this world in a systematical way; it is shecr madness to suppose that the creation, maintenance and dissolution of this vast universe, which has no be- ginning nor end, and which is evidently governed by such rigid laws that even aJeaf cannot move against them, are carri- edon withoat an allpervadiag intelli. gent power to controlthem, Had blind nature not been governed and presided over by an intelligent God, the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the countless millions of solar systems would not have been carried on in a regular order. In that case nature with its creative force would have gone on with. its work of creation ad infinitum and would not have allowed destruction to set in, And had dissolution ever taken place, it would have been impossible for the universe to evolve out of it again according to fixed laws and after a fixed interval. All natural phenomena, such as the progress or otherwise of the soul according to past actions, regular appear- ance of the sum and the moon, reguler change of seasons, regular production of corn, etc. according to the nature of soil and the variation of seasons, the rotation of day and nignt and the alternation ‘of full moon’ and ‘no moon! days, the gradual waxing and waning of the moon, the transition of the sum from one sign of the zodiac to another and so on would not have vecurred. All this is the au- spicious result of the all-pervading, eternal existence and subsisteace of the gteat God, who is the origin, the creator and the protector of this universe, who is an illimitable ocean of mercy and the Supreme Father and who is the very embodiment of knowledge and intelli- gence,inthe heart of nature, which is also without beginning or end. His faithful devotees realise this every moment and are transported. ‘This roy of divine illumination penetrates the gloomy hearts of the ignorant, whose intellect is petverted by fallacious reasoning, with dificulty, and can do so oaly through His grace, ‘We shall now endeavour to show how Jar and how each system of Indian philosophy bas beem able to reveal His existence according to the stage of its development. God is all-pervading and without asecond, ‘The charms of nature do not affect Him. ‘There are systems in wich salvation has been connected with nature or its products or what is Known as Ww (viz, the universe which is an effect, even though it isa mani- festation of Ged). ‘These schools do not deal primatily with God,nor do they hold that salvation has any direct beating o2 God, According to them liberation from the trammels of nature, which consist of pleasure, paia and ignorance, is the ouly road to salvation. Their belief is all right, looking to the stage of their development. There are other systems, however, which lead one who is desirous of salvation to something beyond nature and its effects. ‘They treat salvation as directly connected with Ged. Heuce they do not declare mere cessationsof pain wccrulag from the products of natate as conducive of salvation, and pronounce ccnmunion with the all-bliss- ful God to be the best means of attais ing salvation. We shall now discuss in the light of the above classification kow the varios systems of Indian philosophy treat of God. In the Nydy2 Philesophy the soul (era) has been recognised as an object of correct knowledge (F), and desire (F=), aversion (3%) volition (7), pleasure (3), paia (g*) and knowledge (#™) have been declared to be its distinguishing marks (we). As amatter of fact, desire etc, are mental states. Hence the fact that desire, ete. have licen declared as connected with the self, shows that the stage of develop- ment represented by the Nydya Systemis closely associated with the effects of nature. ‘The Naiydyilas declare atoms to be eternal and trace the osigin of the whole creation to a concatenation of these atoms. An atom is, however, nothing but am effect of nature; hence the Nyiya Philosophy, the plane of whichis connected with nature and its effects, cannct have any direct relation with, or propound the existence of, God, whois all-pervading and one without a second. ‘Phat is why, according to Nrdya Philosophy, salvation depends on 2 thorough knowledge of the sixteen categories such as proof (m™), ete. In other words, a perfect knowledge of these brings about acomplete cessation of pain and thereby leads the aspirant to final beatitude. This type of deatitade has no direct counection with God. Since, however, the Nyéya Philo- sophy is a theistic system, it tas declared God to be instrumental in awarding the fruit of actions. It has also indirectly admitted the connection of the universe with God on the basis of Inference. Ia this connection the following aphorism of Maharshi Goutama deserves mer- tlon— dat SOR, TeRReTRHTT | ‘God is the cause {of dispensation of the fruit of actions}, since human efforts are seen miscarrying? The sage Vitsyayana, the com- mentator of Goutama, explains the above as below:— Toa Sere reid = bee | certtac ary | "He who awards the fruit of actions of individuals, who are not independent, is God. Hence He isthe awarder of the fruit of actions of human beings? Thus, the Nyaya Philosophy has given proof of its theistic tone by acknowledging God as the intelligent prompter (#*) of actions, which are themselves insentient, and standing as an efficient cause in selation to them, Viswanitha, the well-known author of ‘Nydya Vritti’,a gloss on the Nydya Stitras, while explaining aphorism 21 of ‘the same Abnila (section) says— fronts ads, wien e7a | “The earth, etc. were made (by some oe) being effects likea pitcher’ He has thus proved God to be responsible for the creation of the universe. Just as a potter is the efficient cause of the pitcher, even so is God the efficient cause ofthe Universe. Just 2s by seeing an ‘effect we are led to conclude the exis tence of its cause, even so does a sight of this world, which is an effect, lead us to infer the existence of God, its efficient cause. Thus, the sacient Nytya Philo- sophy establishes the existence of God. The Vaiseshika System ‘The stage of development reached by this system is almost the same as that represented by the Nydya System. Here as well the sonl has been described as connected, through the ming, with plea- sure, pain, ett, which are the effects of nature, and a thorough knowledge of the six categories (124), viz. substance (=), quality (9%), action (wi) and so on brings about a complete cessation of all woes and this latter constitutes what they characterise as salvation. ‘This type of salvation is associated with the mere absence of painard has therefore nothing todo with Brahm (God), who is all bliss. Hence the type of salvation held out by the Vaiseshika System cannot have anydirect connection witia God, nor can the stage of development represented by this system have anything to do with God. However, in order to give proof of their theistic tendency the Vaiseshikas like the Naiytyikas have by means of inference proved God to be responsible for the creation of the universe. ‘Phe following two aphorisms of Maharshi Kanada are significant in this connection— ‘Séaret crebefinerad Rog? Srerengsrer, dare: Sankara Mista, author of the well: known commentary on the Vaiseshika Stitras, known as the ‘Vaiseshika Siitre- paskira? sa Sat arm, ot of Realy, egai an fromt davretial easit fom | severfcem- Prema dacegurttata a: aed a9 Sato agfeee a orang: | ear a Peet dara baie wa | wa Fait wih dat foe) Ta HE Pend wads, ardeng, szaq eh | That is to say, epithet or name and effects such as earth, water, and so on point to the existence of some being higher than ordinary men, may it be God or some sage, The fact that words suck as ‘pitcher,’ ‘cloth’, ete. signify the objects denoted by them also points toa usage or convention for which God alone is responsible. Earth, water, and so on are effects quite as much as a pither, etc. They must therefore have an efficient cause and that fs Cod. Thus it is established that God is the efficient cause of the universe, just as the potter is that of a pitcher. This constitutes the theistic element in the Veiseshika System. The esteemed Prasastepida Achdrya, the well-known author of the Vaiseshika Bhashya, con nected many other aphorisms of Kanda with God and has thus established the theistic tone of this profound system. In connection with the theory that a thorough knowledge of the six categories (97%) leads to salvation, he says:— aracienteaarg, wits | “That (perfect knowledge) results from righteousness inspired by God? He has in this way established a remote connection between God and salvation as understood by the Vaiseshikas While discussing the theory, emrinciatee in the Vaiseshika Stitras, that the conjunction of atoms is responsible tor the creation of the universe and their disintegration for its dissolution, he says that the willpower of the great God, whois the Lord of the whole universe, engenders activity in the minute atoms, which enables them to bring about creation and dissolution. Hence” the theistic tone of the Vaiseshika System is proved beyond all controversy and doubt. The later writers on this system have proved the existence of God with greater force by means of inference and have in some places even associated Him with knowledge and other attributes. The Yoga System In the seven stages of evolution of philosophical thought the third stage is represented by the Youa System. Nature is described herein as the abode of me- science (=), egotism (*¥7n), attraction (=), repulsion (3%) and other aitictions, and the emancipation of the sou! from the thraldom of nature is stated to be a sime qua nom of salvation, whichconsists inthe complete cessation of ail woes. ‘This has been spoken of as the greatest achicve-ment of Yoga, Since the cessation of pain and sorrow is regarded as the mean- ing of salvation, the level of knowledge attained by this system does not touch God who is all bliss. According to the ‘Yoga philosophy one who has attained salvation becomes seli-possessed and severs all connection with nature, which nolonger keeps him under bondage. He does not, however, lose sight ofthe exis- tence of nature: hie simply repudiates his connection with nature asan agent or enjoyer and remains an unconcerned spectator of nature. Hence in the stage of knowledge represented by this system salvation has no direct connection with God. Yoga Philosophy, which is preemi- nently theistic, has nevertheless given to usawonderiul exposition of God, whom it cegards as a means of ottnining salva- tion, The following aphorisms of Maba- tshi Pata are relevant in this connection:— teoitrerara | sraitoemiars: yortrts tae | am Pred erdeaston | wee: arate ae: Saree er Ter TE: | qeanern a7, | ae ee Ren seeTEPATATTA | onfateetoretnarart | The above-quoted aphorisms of Patanjali describe the nature of God as understood in the Vora System and point out the fruit of devotion to, and fixing one's mind on, Him and the repe- tition of His sacred name. The revered Vedavyisa, the com- mentator on the aphorisms of Patanjali, explains the aphorism “ovrwan as follows — strerrafekaereraie faces zet safreerrariin, aafrerereht Prt sires: aanfiesrr: coe acta | “Pleased with the man who adores Him with intense devotion, God enter tains the wish that His devotee may attain the object of lis desire. The Youi thereby attains what is known as gwerment (i.e. absorption in which he forgets his own self) by silencing his mind, Having thus declazed devotion to God as a means of silencing the ming, the sage Patanjali proceeds to define God in the next three Siitras. God, says he, is a Superior Being, free from the five afflictions such as nescience, ete. and detached from actions as well as their fruit and impressions, He is thus higher than the soul as described in the Simkhya philosophy. In the stage of thought represented by Yoga philosophy relation with nature plays an important part. Hence the universality and ope ness of God cannot be propounded there- in as in the Veddnta System. But in order to point out His superiority to the soul, as described in the Sémkhya System, the respected sage Patanjali calls Him a Superior Being ( ge3 ), The latter has a seed of the highest form of omniscience and is unbounded by time. He is the teacher even of the holy sages. However wise the sages may be, they are limited by time and cannot be said to have acquired the wisdom of God, who is eternal. That is why God has been called the teacher even of the great sages, ‘The next three Sitras point out the means of attaining God. For instance, the syllable ‘OM’ stands for His name. It stands in the same relation to Him asa name does to the object signified. Hence the repetition of ‘OM’, coupled with contem-plation on its meaning leads toa percep- tion of the Universal Soul and the removal of all obstacles such as doubt (ere ), ailment (=n )and so on. ‘Thus devotion to God leads to the attainment of Somadhi ( absorntion ) and an insight into the true natuze of the Spirit. This isan unmistakable proof of the theistic tendency of Yoga philosophy. Apart from this, the value and importance of devotion have also been discussed in the Yoxa Sttras along with several other esoteric and exoterie methods (of attaining Samadhi ), For instance, Patanjali: says:— seegrerraarantorerarie — firaratn: | teaedieerserear treatin ea: | ‘The practical Yoga recommended in the Yoga System as a means of at ing Samadhi and dziving away ne science and other affiictions includes, besides austerity and study of scriptares, ete. devotion to God as well. Here devotion to God has been explained by the sage Vedavyisa as below:— tecatrest sdieaai seat aie eas ead at | ‘Devotion to God means dedication of all our actions to the Supreme Master or teliquishing their fruit? The second Sutra enumerates the five Niyamas of observances which constitute one of the cight items (#9) of practical Yoga. These include, besides parity, content ment, austerity and study of scriptures, etc. devotion to God as well. He as swell the sage Vedavyisa have construed devotion to mean dedication of all our actions to the Supreme Master ( aR" 1% uf witex). Hence the theistic tone of ‘Vora philosophy is proved beyond all doubt and controversy. The Samkhya Philosophy Like the Yoga System Sémbhya, too, hag not been able to establish a direct relation between God and sah tion; for here also nature plays 2 prot nent part. Ignorance, which has 20 beginning, establishes an indirect (Frees) relaition between nature and spirit, which gives tise to the three kinds of pain, viz. that arising from Dodily disorder (wre) that inflicted by others (mf) and that inflicted by supernatural agencies (nA), and the spirit is infatuated by these. The Spirit is liberated only when it comes to fedlise that it is by its very nature eternally pure (3p), intelligent (a) and liberated (a7) and this is possible only when real knowledge dawns ‘on it. Hence complete cessation of the three kinds of pain, brought about by the severance of, all connection with nature is what the Siwkhya System calls salvation. Salvation here has no connection with stead- fastness in Brahma which is all bliss. Hence salvation, according to Simkhya, cannot have anything to do with a Knowledge of the universal existence of God. The Spirit which, according to the SAmkhya System, is liberated through a knowledge of its real nature is the immutable intelligence (re Ye") dwelling in the body of a living being. The unaffected, immutable and intelli- gent aspect of the all-pervading God, which abidesin every organism, is tenm- ed as the immutable intelligence (7 re) or Spirit by the Sémkhya philoso- phy. ‘That being apart and parcel of God, though confined within a body, is unaffected (S64) and eternally pure, itelligent and free by its very nature. The Simkhya philosophy holds the in- direct relation between Nature andSpitit, which has no beginning and has been likened to the reflection of ared object on a crystal, as responsi- ble for all bondage and even for the creation of the world. The cessation of this indirect connection, brought about by real knowledge (sm), is considered as constituting salvation Hence salvation, according to Simkhya, isattained through realisation of the immutable intelligence dwelling in the body of living beings. Man then comes to realise that he is not connected as an agent (4) or an enjoyer (wr) with any aspect of nature, the gross ("#) the subtle (ae) or the causal (wer), bat that in reality he is altogether unconnect- ed with nature and an unconcerned {w0é) onelooker (rm) of the same Therein lies the salvation of the Simkhya philosophy. Evidently, there- fore, the universal existence of nature femains intact even after salvation, as understood by the Sémkhya philesophy, is attained, while that of God is not apparent. It is only the intelligence of God, as abiding in one's own body, that is perceived, Tae Simkhya System, therefore, recoznises the existence of a separate spirit in each body and thus believes in the plurality of souls. It re- cognises matter to be eternal and does not regard belief in the existence of God as essential for the attainment of salva tion. All this is quite in the fitness of things, looking to the stage of thought represented by the Sdmkbya System. ‘The Samkhya System bas nevertheless perceived the existence of God with the help of supersensual vision, which shows in particular the th Simkhya, ‘The following aphorisms of Maharshi Kapila deserve mention in this connections— Dereneersae Ve | Srrrgeraerrerrerat se ‘rata: | geaaiteanrarars aftefe: | TETTSTETEL | Tere: HRT, SET TAT aT | ‘Apart from the ordinary perception of objects throuzh the senses the Yoris are also able to perceive, through their power of Yora, things which are beyond the ken of the senses. Even though such perceptions are not called for according te Séinkkhya, still there is no harm in securing them. ‘The Yogis utilise this supersensual vision in per- ceiving things of the past and the future and objects that are very minute or screened from view. God, for instance, is something exceedingly subtle and beyond the range of common perception and beuce disproved in the eyes of the Simkhya System. Still the Yosis are able to know Him with the help of their supersensual and transcendental vision. God canact be proved by ordinary commonsense in the Samkhya System, for He can neither be regarded as Hberated aor taken to he under bondage. Tn the former case absence of egoism would not enable Him to create the world, whereas in the latter case He cannot be endowed with the power of creation. Hence from the commonsense point of view we cannot prove His existence’ ‘The above discussion is followed up in the Sdmkhya Sitras by the following remarks— ‘Even though the existence of God cannot be proved by commonsense, fiberated son's as well as those who have attained perfection through devotion to Him have repeatedly extolled Him in the variousscriptures. Hence His existencebeen called infinite (#4) in the sense that it is all-pervading, whereas the Sémkhyas refer to Him aa infinite in number since His omnipresence is of little ase to them, The Karma Mimamsa School ‘Tue Mimimsi Schools have in an ascending degree proved the snpremacy {Ref}, the loving nature (™) and the knowledge-aspect of God. In His aspect of supremacy He is the controller of destinies, the rewarder of meritorious acts, the chastiser of sinners, the establisher of righteousness and the omnipoteat Lord. Sacrifice constitutes His being, the Vedes stand for His breath or speech and the various deities are sutbordinate to His will and mani- lestations of His divine glory. That is why the Vedas and the different sacrifices recommended therein, as also the various gods have been so highly spoken of in the Karma Miméinsi School. The following aphorisms of Maharshi Jaimini are significant in this sae ¢ 3 srasennie: aad wale | widuaat, at ah, wa ae, Raemt wis Hsatia aa | "The texts which inculcate the par. formance of sacrifices, are the only important texts of the Vedas. Sacrifices Jead the way to immortality. ‘Those who perform the Chaturmasya (lasting tor four months) sacrifice earn ap inexhaust- ible store of merits. The performance ofthe Aswamedha sacrifice enables one to conquer the world, to conquer death and to conquer sins, even sins of a hein ous natare sitch as the murder of a Brahmin? ‘Thus, by extolling sacrifices the Karma Mimamisi School as indirect ly extolled gods who inspize actions the Lord Visnu in the form of sacrifices and God, the author of the Vedas which teach us how to perform sacrifices. That is how the Karma Mimimsi School deals with the supremecy of God. The Bhakti Mimamsa School ‘The Bhakti Mimimst School contains an exposition of the loving nature of God. Goll has deen described here as full of merey, love and affection. He is depicted as having sold Himseli, so to say, te His devotees. His mercy flows like the streams of the Ganges and Jumnd. He undertakes to suffer endless pain (in the eves of the world) in order toalleviate the sufferings of His creat- ures. He beats the scar left on His chest by the kick of Bhreuas an opna- ment. He regards itas an act of velour to save the modesty of Draupadi from being outraged. And He looks upon it asthe greatest achievement to sacrifice al) His greatness at the altar of mercy. According to this conception He is a Kind Lord, a mereiful mastes, a devoted friend, an affectionate son and a loving husband. It was in such a mood of unmsual kindness that He begged pardon of Prablida in the following words— Fg 6 aT ETAT Ser eerererarnreet | ards’ fmnhaxyard errors ate Ha Pee: ‘0 dear! you were too tender of age and too delicate of body to stand the terrible tortures inflicted om your person by your hot-beaded father A parallel