Defending something with a faulty argument causes more damage to that thing than the opponents can inflict.
Last week I came across a video on Youtube in which a saffron-clad, English-speaking sadhu was replying to questions of some students at a seminar.
A student had asked if there was a proof of God’s existence. The sadhu found the question irritating.
It wasn’t that the student was a non-believer in God; he just wanted to know if one had a concrete evidence of the divine power’s existence.
Such questions are usually difficult to answer.
One may give a religious or philosophical argument to convince a non-believer that God indeed exists. But one certainly can’t come up with a concrete evidence to prove the God’s presence.
Nobody has seen the God. He is a matter of faith. And for the believers, God is a matter of fact too. He exists just the way they exist.
I believe in God and you don’t believe in God. And it should be ok with us both. It is not a question to fight on, it is a matter of choice.
Instead of presenting a reasonable argument, the Sadhu fired a counter question. “You play a sport and follow all its rules. You don’t ask for a proof regarding who introduced that sport or framed its rules. Do you? You accept the rules and play by the book. But in matters of God, you demand a proof,” the sadhu thundered, triggering a pin-drop silence in the hall.
He continued, “Why can’t you first accept that God exists and just worship Him? If you do so, you will feel his presence too.”
The video was short and didn’t show if the student was convinced with the sadhu’s argument. But in the comment section below the video, around 5,000 viewers, almost 80% of the total, had given a thumbs down to the sadhu’s wisdom.
The majority was critical of the sadhu for going roundabout, and still not answering the actual question.
As said above that God is a matter of faith, and that there can’t be a concrete evidence to prove His existence, one must not try to force a faulty argument down somebody’s throat to prove a point.
Here, a faulty argument of the devotee (sadhu) did more damage to the concept of God, than a non-believer could inflict.
So one must never defend a point with a faulty reasoning. It turns suicidal.
Sunil Kr. Kumawat,
Assistant Professor,
Biyani Group of Colleges