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Shri Datta Swami

Jnana Saraswati – Parabrahma Sutras

    

5. God's existence is different from worldy existence


ज्ञेयपुर्वास्तित्वाभावश्च विद्यते च श्रुतेः।५।
jñeyapurvāstitvābhāvaśca vidyate ca śruteḥ|5|

The existence of Parabrahman is not the existence of non-God items, in which the knowledge of the non-God items is a prerequisite condition. Parabrahman exists as per the statement of the Veda.

Explanation:

All the non-God items are worldly objects, which are parts of creation. All these items are known first and only then is their existence mentioned. When you say that a pot exists, it means that you are stating its existence only because you already know the pot. Hence, mentioning the existence of any worldly item requires the knowledge of that item beforehand. If you do not know anything about an item, you will not say that it exists. Hence, mentioning the existence of worldy items always requires prior knowledge of the item. But God is beyond the world and is unimaginable since God is not known. Hence, the existence of God is not similar to the existence of worldly items.

The existence of worldly items requires prior knowledge of the item. This prior knowledge is absent in the case of God. So clearly, God cannot have the existence of worldly items. You say that the pot exists. This means that you already had the knowledge of a pot. Now you say that God also exists. Does it mean that you had prior knowledge about God? No! It is impossible to know God (Yasamatam tasya matam—Veda; Maam tu veda na kashchana—Gita). Thus the existence of God is different from the existence of worldly items in that there cannot be prior knowledge of God. Hence, God can be said to be an item not having the existence similar to that of worldly items. God is non-existent (asat) in this sense. It does not mean that God is really non-existent because God really exists as per the Veda (Astityeva…) and hence, God exists (sat).

Note:

How does God exist according to the Veda?

In the Bible, Jesus said that He had come to fulfill the statements of the scripture. It is told that He came to fulfill the scripture. So, the scripture is not simply a book that came from God. It is fulfilled or proved in this world itself. As per the Veda, the only information you can get about God is that God exists. You cannot know how God is. God is unimaginable. Now if He exists, then why do you say that He is non-existent? It only means that if you take the existence of any worldly object, you know it first and you then say that it exists. Here, you do not know anything about God and still you say that God exists. Thus, God’s existence is not like the existence of any worldly item, where prior knowledge of the item is necessary to say that it exists.

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