DO WE NEED GOD ? INTRODUCTION In this paper, I have tried to look at the centuries old question about existence of God. In the past many attempts have been made to answer this question by some of the brilliant minds that world has ever seen and this is just another humble approach to answer this perennial question. I would like to, however, mention two important things about the approach that I have taken to answer this question and those are: I have attempted to look at the question from the common man as well as the philosopher's point view. I have chosen to do so, as the question that we are dealing with is arguably the most important question that affects a common man's daily life and probably even drives how one chooses to act in a day to day life. Hence, it is only logical that I incorporate the view of God as is held by a common man. I have attempted to look at the existence of God from the need based perception of God that is to ask the question "why do we need God?" and "What role does the God play in our lives?" I have also attempted to answer the criticisms that might arise to an inquisitive mind. MAIN THEME For the centuries we have been asking the question: "does God exist? Or not" and it still remains unanswered. I strongly believe somehow that we have been asking the wrong question. The question shouldn't be whether God exists or not, rather it should be like "ok!! Let's assume that he exists. But do we need him?" Does he interfere in our lives? Let me put this in a simple argument: We all believe to some extent in the law of karma, i.e. whatever goes around comes around. You do good, you get good. "Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return." (Bible, Galatians 6:7) Be said that two things are very much evident. 1. Whatever is happening in your life right now is just fruit of your past karma and whatever will happen in the future it will be the fruit of your present karma. 2. It is agent-less law. So, in a way your karma defines your whole life. You be good, do good karma, you get good results. So the question that now arises here is that "if our whole life is determined by what we do (which is something that actually we decide) and if we get the result accordingly, then what is the role of God in our lives? Do we need him? Now, I know this argument arises a lot of question like those God-lovers out there will immediately say that "ya right! But who gives you this result? Who ensures that you get this result?" To them I would like to say two things: 1. Law of karma is an agent-less law. 2. Even if you don't believe it to be agent-less and think that God distributes the fruits of Karma to the individual concerned, i.e., the Karmic arrow is guided by God. The question that we are arising (just to remind you, if you have forgotten) is not whether God exists or not. The question is do we need him? What role does he play in our lives? God is only providing the fruits corresponding to the deed that I did. An agent can never bring about anything other than what is already a determined consequence of past conditions together with the laws of nature. (Van Inwagen,1975) Let's accept for the sake of the argument that God has made this system. "God is a clockmaker who winds up the clock of the world by creating its laws and then leaves it to run by itself." (Pojman, 2012 :40) It is like a watch where a small gear turns around and everything around it also turns eventually causing that gear to turn again. We can't, however, stop our karma, i.e. we can't just sit idle and do or think nothing. "We are constantly doing karma."(Bhagvad Gita: 3.5) So this cycle is never going to stop until we die and till then we are going to get fruits of our karma and this "perfect" system is going to provide us those fruits. God has nothing to do with it. He has made it and that's it! Now, some may even argue that O.K but God has made this system and how are we supposed to believe that it will work without God? My reply to them is: By asking this question, you are actually doubting the ability of God!! You are saying that God, who is perfect, even he isn't able to make a perfect system & has to continuously look after the system. And if you say that he isn't so perfect and then it means he is just like one of us, full of errors, then again the question arises; why do we need him? Conclusion After this small "Gedankenexperiment", as famous Physicist Albert Einstein would have called it, let's accept for a moment now that "There is something infantile in the presumption that somebody else has a responsibility to give your life meaning and point... The truly adult view, by contrast, is that our life is as meaningful, as full and as wonderful as we choose to make it." (Dawkins, 2006:360) That is to say that we don't need God and it's ultimately us who decide the course of our lives, whether good or bad. If I were to be very honest, however, I will say that to lead a life without the concept of God and saying that we do not need God would require a truckload of will power and is probably not even desirable. The reasons are as following: It is always commendable when a person does the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing and not to avoid punishment or to get some kind of approval from God. However, according to me it is not always possible to take that high road. We always require some kind of incentive or reward to do the right thing and to keep doing that right thing. That is how we have actually evolved and what better reward than companionship of almighty God and his help when one is in need. We, as a part of society always applaud the deeds by the people who face the mighty challenges thrown hard at them by the life and courageously overcome those challenges. If we were to, however, ask these people "what kept you going on?" The answer will be invariably "the faith". The faith in themselves, the faith in what they were doing and the faith in something more powerful than themselves i.e. "The God". Now, if this faith in God helps people in achieving the things that we as a society greatly celebrate, then how can we say "we do not need God"? REFERENCE BOOKS 1. Bhagvad Geeta, Gorakhpur by Geeta Press, 1997 2. Pojman, Louis & Rea Michael, Philosophy of Religion – AN ANTHOLOGY ,United States by WADSWORTH CENGAGE learning, 2012 3. Bible, Galatians (6:7), http://biblehub.com/galatians/6-7.htm 4. Van Inwagen, Peter, The incompatibility of free will and determinism, Philosophical Studies 27, 185-99 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01624156, 1975 5. Dawkins,Richard, The God delusion, United Kingdom by Bantom Books,