An intriguing topic for sure; and interesting to ponder, I guarantee.
I am not sure, how many among us may have heard or read about Baruch Spinoza and his philosophy.
Baruch De Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher, of Portuguese Jewish origin, born in Amsterdam in the 17th century of a businessman father who was successful but not wealthy.
His philosophy encompasses nearly every area of philosophical discourse, including metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science, earning him an enduring reputation as one of the most important and original thinkers of the seventeenth century.
Spinoza’s philosophy of religion is based on his view that we should interpret scripture solely on its own terms by carefully studying it, not with any concepts or doctrines that cannot themselves be derived from the text. If we do this, he thought, it would turn out that many things we believe or are told by religious authorities about God and the universe could be shown to be false (e.g., miracles).
In Spinoza’s Ethics, he has written a section titled “Treating of God and What Pertains to Him,” in which he discusses God’s existence and what God is. He states, “Whether there is a God, this, we say, can be proved”. His proof for God follows a similar structure as Descartes’ ontological argument, wherein he attempts to prove God’s existence by arguing that there “must be some one thing that is supremely good, through which all good things have their goodness”.
After stating his proof for God’s existence, Spinoza addresses who “God” is. He believes that God is “the sum of the natural and physical laws of the universe and certainly not an individual entity or creator”. He further attempts to prove that God is just the substance of the universe by first stating that substances do not share attributes or essences, and then demonstrating that God is a “substance” with an infinite number of attributes, thus the attributes possessed by any other substances must also be possessed by God.
My substance of God:
This, according to me, is the nature of the God of Spinoza:
God would have said:
Stop praying and giving yourselves blows on your chests, what I want you to do, is to go out into the world to enjoy your life.
I want you to enjoy, you sing, have fun and enjoy everything I’ve done for you.
Stop going to those gloomy, dark and cold temples that you built yourself and that you call my home.
My house is in the mountains, in the forests, the rivers, the lakes, the beaches. That’s where I live and express all my love for you.
Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you that you were a sinner.
Stop being so scared. I do not judge you, nor criticize you, nor ever is angry with you, nothing bothers me, nor do I devise punishment. I am pure love.
Stop asking me forgiveness, there’s nothing to forgive.
If I made you, I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies of free will, how can I blame you if you do or say something out of that what I put in you?
How can I punish you for being as you are, if I’m the one who made you?
Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who misbehave, for the rest of eternity?
What kind of God can do that?
Forget about any kind of commandments, of any kind of laws; those are wiles to manipulate you, to control you and only to create guilt in you.
Respect your peers and don’t do to others what you don’t want for you. The only thing I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that your alert status is your guide. This life is the only thing there is, here and now and the only thing you need.
I have made you absolutely free, there are no prizes or punishments, there aren’t any sins or virtues either, no one carries a marker, and no one carries a record.
You are absolutely free to create in your life a heaven or hell.
I couldn’t tell you if there’s anything after this life, but I can give you a tip. Live as if there wasn’t.
As if this was your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.
So, if there is nothing, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you.
And if there is, be sure that I will not ask you if you behaved well or not, I will ask you. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?
Stop believing in me; believe is to assume, guess, imagine. I don’t want you to believe in me, I want you to feel me when you kiss your beloved, when you play with your little girl, when you love your dog, when you bathe in the sea.
Stop praising me. What kind of egotistical God do you think I am? I’m bored of your praise; I’m fed up with thanks.
Do you feel grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, and the world around you.
Do you feel overwhelmed? Express your joy! That’s the way to praise me.
The only thing sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.
What do you need more miracles for?
Why so many explanations?
Don’t look for me outside, you won’t find me. Find me inside… there I’m beating in you.”
That’s my substance, dear Humans. That’s the substance of God!
True said sir that God must have said enjoy ur life .
Fan of ur writing sirji. Thanks for sharing
Everyone should read this on God.
I loved the line- Do not find me outside, find me inside.
So true
I absolutely love reading this post. Such true words in a simple way you described.
Love reading your post.. Very true an interesting topic to ponder
I have never heard about such theories. Thank you for letting me know 😉
This is really awakening post, do not find God outside. See inside everyone
Find me inside there i am beating for you, so perfectly explained and something that every individual should understand for the greater good
Such interesting points to ponder on, yes.. God definitely didn’t tell us those things. Its mans own I interpretation.
Well This is the right way to understand about the Almighty. No point going for mass when you don’t believe in it.
You rather do a good job, be good with people and soon you’ll feel connected with the almighty. I guess God would be happy then no.
Thats such a thought-provoking post … truly makes you question about things around us.
I personally believe in cosmic consciousness, the universal power, rather than Gods or our definition of what a God is…
Nice post! ❤️
It was so deep and intense. I too believe we should feel the Supreme power rather merely believinh there is a God . Hats off to you for such beautiful content.
This interpretation seems to be wrong.. spinoza was actually trying to give proofs for the existence of of God following Aristotle, Aquinas and Descartes…
Even Kant who came after Spinoza was not an atheist.
Especially in his Ethics Kant speaks of the Universal Moral law within us . And he puts it that God is the law giver..
Such a meaning full write up. Especially the line , do not find me outside , find me inside … great one , keep it up with good work.
God always there in the nature, in the gratitude, in the heart, in pure love , God is everywhere .We only need proper eyes to see him
Absolutely loved reading this post… Your choice of words is brilliant
Amazing. Even I believe we should read from books, everything being told is not truth about religion
I must have read Spinoza’s book Ethics years ago and cant remember reading the above text. Is this your spin on his work as I have also seen the same content on Facebook. These days everything has to be checked if true or false. There is so much false information. Just saying.
Interesting blog.
God is everywhere but the best way to search god is inside you. Such an amzing writeup. I just love these lines – ‘I don’t want you to believe in me, I want you to feel me when you kiss your beloved, when you play with your little girl, when you love your dog when you bath in the sea’
Insightful and thought provoking…a different kind of read!
This is indeed a very interesting take on the aspect of God. Actually at the end of the day, all the philosophies and religions of the world aim tofoster such a state of esistence where you realized the existence of God within you. Personally, I feel the presence of God in the silence of nature, in the smile of an innocent child, and so many other simple ways.
Such a beautiful and inspiring post, Sanjay! When I saw the topic, I was expecting a long technical post on God and Finance. You surprised me with such a FANTASTIC point of view. I truly hope that more and more people read this post and understand the true substance of God just the way its supposed to be.
An interesting take o God and his/ her existence… or me God is within me and always my guiding light
Best approximation of my “spiritual” beliefs I’ve seen. Thank you. If you or anyone else can provide a link to this quote of Spinoza, I would be much appreciate that. Thank you so much.