Quick Poll - Do you believe in God?

[pocaracas]

Imagine that this spiritual master is just conveying what his own biases have provided him with.
Imagine that this master's master, or some other master higher up on the scale was just full of crap, but people liked that crap, and they wanted to be taught that crap... and, since it confirmed their biases and shortcomings, they accepted it and taught it to their pupils.
How can we, today, discern if the teachings of the master are real, or just fantasy, if these teachings keep agreeing with people's wishes?

Yoga started 7000 years ago.
After all this time people who follow yoga would have found out whether yoga is crap or it is beneficial.
The quality last for ever while the crap last only for a short period.
There are however exception to the rule here and there but not very many.

Yoga, as a discipline of body and mind is alright.
Yoga spiritual BS as reality is nonsense.... but it feels alright, because of the discipline part.
Like I said before, if the thing agrees with people's wishes, how can those people tell it's BS?

(BTW, this is one form of something usually called Confirmation Bias).

[Tonus]

There is no way that God would reveals to people that believe that he does not exist so you will not perceive him ever.

In that sense, god is like everything else that does not exist-- he will never reveal himself, and I will never perceive him.

However, I would point out that I was a theist for some 30+ years, and god never revealed himself during this time either. Usually when I point this out, someone explains that I need to do more than believe. And if I point out that I did more than just believe, they say that I needed to do something else. And if I tell them I did something else, they keep moving god further and further out of reach.

So we eventually reach the point where it becomes clear that what they are trying to tell me is that I cannot believe in god until I believe in god. Which is a very round-about way to explain the obvious.

The best way to go at your stage is to take it easy and believe that the unbelievable is sometime possible.

We all have things that we believe, and that we do not believe. At least some of them are beliefs that we did not hold at some point, or doubts that we overcame at some point. Everyone is capable of changing beliefs. My lack of belief in god is not due to my unwillingness to change my beliefs: that is how I became an atheist in the first place, after all. My lack of belief is based on a distinct lack of god in any place, physical or otherwise, where I searched.

[Little Rik]

There is no way that God would reveals to people that believe that he does not exist so you will not perceive him ever.

In that sense, god is like everything else that does not exist-- he will never reveal himself, and I will never perceive him.

However, I would point out that I was a theist for some 30+ years, and god never revealed himself during this time either. Usually when I point this out, someone explains that I need to do more than believe. And if I point out that I did more than just believe, they say that I needed to do something else. And if I tell them I did something else, they keep moving god further and further out of reach.

So we eventually reach the point where it becomes clear that what they are trying to tell me is that I cannot believe in god until I believe in god. Which is a very round-about way to explain the obvious.

The best way to go at your stage is to take it easy and believe that the unbelievable is sometime possible.

We all have things that we believe, and that we do not believe. At least some of them are beliefs that we did not hold at some point, or doubts that we overcame at some point. Everyone is capable of changing beliefs. My lack of belief in god is not due to my unwillingness to change my beliefs: that is how I became an atheist in the first place, after all. My lack of belief is based on a distinct lack of god in any place, physical or otherwise, where I searched.

Interesting how you make me connect to one very short talk that Sarkar had when he was alive.
He said......I came here (in this physical body) to teach spirituality but most of the people only want material and physical things.
When you say that you were a theist for such a long time and you never felt the presence of God this remind me of Sarkar words.
Religious people as well pray all the time in the hope that God can sort out their own physical-material problems but God is not really interested in this sort of desires.
There is the karma law that take care of all this so God in a way get disconnected to these worldly desires.
He is only interested in uplifting people spirituality so you may well be a theist for 30 or even 300 years but until your desires change from worldly to spiritual your chances to perceive God are zero.

[Alex K]

One should have added the third option "I am God". Maybe we would have gotten lucky.

[Little Rik]

Yoga started 7000 years ago.
After all this time people who follow yoga would have found out whether yoga is crap or it is beneficial.
The quality last for ever while the crap last only for a short period.
There are however exception to the rule here and there but not very many.

There is absolutely no evidence that yoga started 7000 years ago.
Stop making shit up.

Your stupidity is just behind believe. (As if i wouldn't already know)
Benares or Varanasi which many describe as the older city on planet earth is full of temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and these temple were build thousand of years ago.
But in India there are evidence of Shiva that lives thousand years ago everywhere.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/banga...602326.cms
Here you can't go really wrong.
The evidence that this temple was 7000 years old are all there and in it there is evidence that Lord Shiva was worshipped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingam
In here you also find out the meaning of Shivalinga as the symbol of Lord Shiva.

[Tonus]

When you say that you were a theist for such a long time and you never felt the presence of God this remind me of Sarkar words.
Religious people as well pray all the time in the hope that God can sort out their own physical-material problems but God is not really interested in this sort of desires.

See, this is what I referred to in my previous post. I say that I searched for god and did not find him, and you assume that I searched in hopes of physical or material gain. When I explain that this was not the focus of my search, you will find another reason for why god did not appear. No matter how I explain it, there will be something to excuse god for not being there.

I am at peace with this. For one, I am not unsatisfied with the results of my search; it led me where it led me and I am able to make the best of it. Also, I understand that this is how our minds work. Our personal views and experiences require far more evidence and reason to overthrow than to retain. Some people simply take it very far because overthrowing a theistic/spiritual belief system can have have significant ramifications.

[genkaus]

Your stupidity is just behind believe. (As if i wouldn't already know)
Benares or Varanasi which many describe as the older city on planet earth is full of temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and these temple were build thousand of years ago.
But in India there are evidence of Shiva that lives thousand years ago everywhere.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/banga...602326.cms
Here you can't go really wrong.
The evidence that this temple was 7000 years old are all there and in it there is evidence that Lord Shiva was worshipped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingam
In here you also find out the meaning of Shivalinga as the symbol of Lord Shiva.

Let's see some of that evidence which shows the temple is 7000 years old. Then lets see some evidence that yoga is 7000 years old.

[Little Rik]

When you say that you were a theist for such a long time and you never felt the presence of God this remind me of Sarkar words.
Religious people as well pray all the time in the hope that God can sort out their own physical-material problems but God is not really interested in this sort of desires.

See, this is what I referred to in my previous post. I say that I searched for god and did not find him, and you assume that I searched in hopes of physical or material gain. When I explain that this was not the focus of my search, you will find another reason for why god did not appear. No matter how I explain it, there will be something to excuse god for not being there.

I am at peace with this. For one, I am not unsatisfied with the results of my search; it led me where it led me and I am able to make the best of it. Also, I understand that this is how our minds work. Our personal views and experiences require far more evidence and reason to overthrow than to retain. Some people simply take it very far because overthrowing a theistic/spiritual belief system can have have significant ramifications.

I can not read your mind nor now nor when you were a theist so i wouldn't know exactly why you didn't perceive anything.
The physical and material desires that overcome the spiritual desire are usually the main reason that prevent that from happening but other than that i wouldn't know.
If at this stage in your life you think that you are doing ok. than good on you.
Maybe the time in which you may think that what you are doing lead you nowhere and you need to look elsewhere will come at a later stage in your life.

[fr0d0]

God is the wood. You can't see him for the trees.

[Little Rik]

God is the wood. You can't see him for the trees.

Gee, your highly sophisticated philosophy got me.
I am speechless.