Thank you for your comment.

You are right. Ishwar is closer to the Abrahamic God because they don’t have the absolute level.

Yet from their viewpoint, God signifies the Absolute, Highest. So in this sense, we need not lower our “Highest” if I can say so. Most of them may not understand though.

Calling it Ishwara is of course not lowering. Just a different viewpoint, or rather a broad viewpoint seen from being within Maya/mind. There is not really a viewpoint for Brahman because it is beyond mind.

Of course I am in agreement with your arguments that should out to rest any atheist sincere enough to accept the limitation and invalidity of that concept – which itself is based on a shaky premise, namely the absence of definition of what/who is God and soul, which one would think that such a – I presume – rational writer like Noah Harari would realise is the starting point of any discussion on atheism.

My caveat is that the closest equivalent of God in our framework is Ishwara – the One who is the active ruler in Existence, and not Brahman, who is immutable and actionless, and is so to say the driver of the process carried out in practice by Ishwara. Trying to understand for myself this concept more clearly to others, especially the youth, I have come up with this analogy: imagine a family where the grandpa is still living. He is the driver of the family in the sense of being its inspiration and possessor of the wealth and knowledge of how to live. But he sits in silence and allows his children to take charge, organise and plan actions which are then executed by the grandchildren and others.
So it’s like this: Brahman= gandpa/ma; Ishwara = next level parents/uncles/ aunties aka devis and devas; grandchildren = those who carry out activities.

Please check out on YouTube Shraddhallu Ranade’s “The Panchmahabhutas” who introduces the driver concept. In my book on Hinduism I have referred to Ishwara being the closest equivalent og the Abrahamic God, without detailing as I you have given me the opportunity to do here.

My other problem with Abrahamics is that in their frame work is incomplete, because they only speak about the creation – but what about preservation ( sustenance, maintenance) and destruction – which is the complete cycle that obtains in nature, and which we are taught in science eg carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, Krebs cycle etc etc.

I am also posting this as a comment on your blog.

Kind regards
Radha

I fully agree with your analysis.
Yet I can’t really blame the parents, because their tradition was since long under heavy attack and those who went through the English education system didn’t actually know any longer why one should hold on to Hindu Dharma. Yes, Dharma, doing the right thing, is still deeply ingrained. But very few could explain to their children why their tradition is superior to the Abrahamic religions. Or do i see this wrongly?

Thank you Krishna ji

While I completely agree with your article , I have a different perspective on the cause & hence the solution to the issue of atheism.
Just as is difficult to uproot, a grown up tree , whose roots have gone deep into the soil, even in a storm; no belief with a strong foundation can be shaken easily , even under peer pressure
I believe if an investment is made in early growing up of a child by way of setting foundation of this Sanatan wisdom in its mind , with greater clarity & reinforced through the child’s growing up ( call if Sanatan Sanskar ) – it is difficult for any peer ambience or even missionary influence . Those who get affected invariably have a zero or weaker understanding of traditional wisdom – it has not taken roots in the mind.
The right place & source to do it is Child’s Home.
This used to happen in earlier times , till if/as you may know about the Indian /Asian Joint family system …it had many knowledgeable & dedicated family members across generations who would do this job .
With breaking down of Joint family system and today’s parents overwhelmingly preoccupied with amassing material assets to the exclusion of everything else — Sanatan Sanskars has become a cruel casualty ( yet may not be so for a Muslim family )
This is a result of degenerated parenthood , who have disowned their obligation to ‘ bring up a child as a responsible citizen’ & that is where is the source for solution . For better fruits , we need to work at the roots of the issue

maybe it’s just Bliss experiencing itself?

the Abrahamic Gods are basically within Maya. like Devas and Asuras, but Devas and Asuras are based on and one with Brahman, like everything else in Maya. the Abrahamics don’t know about that absolute level, it seems.

If I lose my ‘self’ identity, who remains to experience this bliss? This has puzzled me for a long time.

Also, I thought it was the purpose of human birth – to ‘real’ise one’s self..