Einstein said belief in God 'childish'

[Sarva gattah]

 

 

Einstein said belief in God 'childish'

23:07 AEST Tue May 13 2008

 

Albert Einstein described belief in God as "childish superstition" and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer says.

The father of relativity, whose previously known views on religion have been more ambivalent and fuelled much discussion, made the comments in response to a philosopher in 1954.

As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they "have no different quality for me than all other people."

"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.

"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.

The German-language letter is being sold on Thursday by Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair after being in a private collection for more than 50 years, said the auction house's managing director Rupert Powell.

In it the renowned scientist, who declined an invitation to become Israel's second president, rejected the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people.

"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions," he said.

"And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people."

And he added: "As far as my experience goes, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."

Previously the great scientist's comments on religion - such as "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" - have been the subject of much debate, used notably to back up arguments in favour of faith.

Powell said the letter being sold this week gave a clear reflection of Einstein's real thoughts on the subject.

"He's fairly unequivocal as to what he's saying. There's no beating about the bush," he told AFP.

 

It just goes to prove that having so much brain substance and material knowledge can never alone reveal the existence of the Kingdom of God

 

Prabhupada was determined to expose these mundane scientists as rascals and fools

 

[AncientMariner]

Yeah these material scientists always have difficutly understanding the purport of these childish stories but that is just the way of things, no big deal.

[Kulapavana]

Einstein was certainly extremely intelligent, but his ethics leave a lot to be desired. His private life was full of affairs with much younger women and he is often accused of using other people's research and ideas without giving them any credit for it. He was a proud and often arrogant person.

[Baobabtree]

Einstein, considered the idea of God found in Christianity and Judaism to be childish, however he actually believed in a pantheistic and deistic God.

[Hari Bhakta dasa]

I wondered what kind of body he is encaged in now.

[Amlesh]

He is a liberated person and has attained the highest perfection.

 

He is one of the best student of the Gita that the world has ever known.

 

However his only regret was that he learnt it at later stage of his life...but I know, with Krishna, time factor does not count.

[Bishadi]

 

Previously the great scientist's comments on religion - such as "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" -

 

"He's fairly unequivocal as to what he's saying. There's no beating about the bush," he told AFP.

 

It just goes to prove that having so much brain substance and material knowledge can never alone reveal the existence of the Kingdom of God

 

Prabhupada was determined to expose these mundane scientists as rascals and fools

 

 

Except maybe if the true comprehension be recgonized

I wondered what kind of body he is encaged in now

We have schools, professor and even on this thread, people are honoring his contributions. His is still alive in his gifts; honor the man at least for the effort.

 

 

'science with religion is lame, religion without science is blind'

 

seems most would rather have their eyes.

 

honor what good and build from there.

 

at least, unlike some, he continued to work, even on his death bed ..... humble to the fact, he still did not have the full understanding of the truth

 

and throughout history, many stand up as being 'the one' but until the sciences and religions combine for a set of knowledge to combine both the physical and metaphysical, then not a one has finished the work.....

 

Try the focus of humility to learn rather than suggest one man knows the complete form of truth and you represent his teachings.

 

IN fact I was beginning to think this was a Jewish site with all that secularization of compassionate contributors....

[gHari]

http://www.quotedb.com/authors/albert-einstein

 

"God does not play dice with the universe."

 

"The more I study science, the more I believe in God."

 

"I want to know God's thoughts...the rest are details."

 

"God is clever, but not dishonest."

 

"Before God we are equally wise and equally foolish."

 

"The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion. Herein lies the germ of all art and all true science. Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of wonderment and lives in a state of fear is a dead man. To know that what is impenatrable for us really exists and manifests itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties - this knowledge, this feeling ... that is the core of the true religious sent iment. In this sense, and in this sense alone, I rank myself amoung profoundly religious men."

 

 

 

-- Albert Einstein

[krsna]

Einstein used to speak so often of God that I tend to believe that he has been a disguised theologian.

 

—Friedrich Dürrenmatt

in <CITE>Albert Einstein</CITE> (Diogenes Verlag, Zürich, 1979), p. 12, quoted in

Jammer

, p. 7

 

Short Comments on God:

 

Knowing God's Thoughts

 

I want to know how God created this world. I'm not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.

 

— From E. Salaman, "A Talk With Einstein," <CITE>The Listener</CITE>

54

(1955), pp. 370-371, quoted in

Jammer

, p. 123.

Could God Have Done It Differently?

 

What I am really interested in, is knowing whether God could have created the world in a different way; in other words, whether the requirement of logical simplicity admits a margin of freedom.

 

— C. Seelig, <CITE>Helle Zeit—Dunkle Zeit</CITE> (Europa Verlag, Zuürich, 1956), p.72, quoted in

Jammer

, p. 124.

<HR>The following comments are excerpted from Calaprice</CITE>. See pp. 145 - 161.

God's Punishment

 

Why do you write to me “God should punish the English”? I have no close connection to either one or the other. I see only with deep regret that God punishes so many of His children for their numerous stupidities, for which only He Himself can be held responsible; in my opinion, only His nonexistence could excuse Him.

 

— Letter to Edgar Meyer colleague January 2, 1915 Contributed by Robert Schulmann; also see CPAE Vol. 8 (forthcoming).

God and Goodness

 

Whatever there is of God and goodness in the universe, it must work itself out and express itself through us. We cannot stand aside and let God do it.

 

— From conversation recorded by Algernon Black, Fall 1940; Einstein Archive 54-834

God's worry

 

If God has created the world, his primary worry was certainly not to make its understanding easy for us.

 

— Letter to David Bohm, February 10, 1954; Einstein Archive 8-041

An Unperceivable Being

 

To assume the existence of an unperceivable being ... does not facilitate understanding the orderliness we find in the perceivable world.

 

— Letter to an Iowa student who asked, What is God? July, 1953; Einstein Archive 59-085

Awe of the Structure of the World

 

I don't try to imagine a God; it suffices to stand in awe of the structure of the world, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it.

 

— Letter to S. Flesch, April 16, 1954; Einstein Archive 30-1154

 

[Bishadi]

 

Whatever there is of God and goodness in the universe, it must work itself out and express itself through us. We cannot stand aside and let God do it.

— From conversation recorded by Algernon Black, Fall 1940; Einstein Archive 54-834

 

 

Simply brilliant!

 

 

So who is up for contributing (knowledge) for Understanding?

 

 

[suchandra]

 

 

Einstein said belief in God 'childish'

23:07 AEST Tue May 13 2008

 

 

He was surely influenced by those who presented "belief in God". And this you find almost anywhere.

 

Prabhupada: Not all of them were real Vaiṣṇava. That was my discrimination from the beginning of my life. I never liked these bogus swamis and yogis. I never liked. But my father had no discrimination. “Never mind whatever he is. He is a saintly person. Receive him.” He was giving fortnightly… There was one Mayavadī sannyasī in Kalīghata. So first of all the father was sannyāsī. Then his son was sannyasī. So we had very good relationship with him. I also used to… Because father was going… So he would carry gāñjā for him—in those days gāñjā was very cheap—so much gāñjā and so much butter. Whenever he would visit, he’d give some red cloth, gāñjā, and butter.

Tamāla Krishna: Your father would give him gāñjā?

 

 

 

 

Morning Walk Conversation

with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

February 10, 1976, Māyāpura

 

 

 

 

Beware of Fake Swamis and Hindu God Men

posted May 20 2008

http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/05/beware-of-fake-swamis-and-hindu-god-men.html

Fake Hindu swamis, sanyasis, babas, gurus and godmen thrive in a society which lacks awareness about the true essence of Hindu spirituality. Therefore Hindus and other sections of the society which provide the opportunity and fertile ground for fraudsters to thrive in the name of Hinduism are equally at fault. No fake swami can survive without ignorant and fortune-seeking followers.

 

The Bhagavad Gita which narrates the essence of Hindu spirituality contains only 700 verses. There are excellent translation and commentary of Bhagavad Gita which cost less than 100 rupees. But majority of the Hindus have no time to read the 700 verses but spend money, energy and time visiting ashrams and spiritual centers of such fake babas and gurus.

 

If you make this an issue, immediately comes the answer, Bhagavad Gita is hard to digest for common people like us, we are ignorant. It is for the common people that the learned men of yesteryears have translated the Gita into all regional languages. They have provided excellent translations and have interpreted the great dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna into the simplest language.

 

Is not understanding Gita the real issue? NO

 

The real issue is that Gita doesn’t talk about methods to become super rich overnight. Neither do Gita have mantras to find treasures hidden underground or to get promotions or provide miracle cure to diseases. Gita also does not recommend pujas to destroy your enemies. And above all Gita does not predict the future.

 

But the fake swamis and godmen only talk about future, money and predictions, pujas and innumerable homams to cure diseases where medical science has failed. Sadly, this is what many Hindus want to hear.

 

Daily we get to hear about such fake swamis and their notorious activities – which include rape, amassing wealth through dishonorable means – but this has not deterred many Hindus from approaching fraudsters. But, why?

 

Both the fake Godmen and his followers are fortune seekers. Godmen is using religion to become rich and conduct other antisocial activities. Followers are fortune seekers who want the help of an outside agency to reach God and bribe God and amass wealth and know future.

 

Shri Krishna never fought for Arjuna. Arjuna had to do all the fighting in Kurukshetra. The ultimate truth that we have to do our work and no God will come to do it is not still acceptable to many.

 

A true Sanyasi will never advertise. He/She is like a flower. People reach them following the fragrance. They will not even bother to talk to fortune-seekers. Silence is there best weapon which frustrate most fortune seekers in minutes. They might open up the knowledge treasure to a genuine seeker whom a true Sanyasi will easily identify – just like Ramakrishna identified Vivekananda.

 

No Sanyasi or Godmen has said anything new that is not found in the Upanishads, Gita, Ramayana, Yoga Vasishta and Mahabharata. All these texts are readily available in the market. Pick any of these Holy Scriptures and read a few pages daily. Soon we will realize the futility of going to such fake gurus.

 

Hinduism believes in individual self realization and not borrowed or rented or bought self realization. Always remember the Brahman that resides in the most respected guru or spiritual leader also resides in us. The only difference is that we have not bothered to realize it.

 

If we are falling into the trap of fake Sanyasis and Godmen, it is our fault. And if you find that a swami is fake, never hesitate to report it to the authorities. Such fake swamis and Godmen should not find protection in Hindu religion.

[Bishadi]

 

He was surely influenced by those who presented "belief in God". And this you find almost anywhere.

 

Seems like any person alive would be influenced by beliefs.

 

Just the same, since peace and equality is not upon this earth than most all the religions are still held in complacent beliefs by so many of the current 'fakes'........

 

 

Fake Hindu swamis, sanyasis, babas, gurus and godmen thrive in a society which lacks awareness about the true essence of Hindu spirituality.

As the true spirit 'of' is not by maintaining rituals and sayings just to appease the like believers by the prime rules must be 'golden'.

 

Such that to "This is the sum of duty: do naught to others which if done to thee would cause thee pain "

 

which shares responsibility to each person and that in itself maintains no furtherance of material knowledge that is not grounded in truth. as to mislead a mind with selfish imput of failing doctrine to global peace, then ill regard for the 'other' ruins the golden truth.

[Bishadi]

It seems when Einstein mentions the childish aspects of beliefs, it is quite easy to recognize that honesty and integrity is where the error is.

 

Meaning when one side suggests 'miracle' or 'omnipotence' or 'it's a phenomenon'...... that nothing is of magic but that the understanding of the evidence is incorrectly described.

 

it is childish to ever become complacent to a belief over reality.

 

Words from another contributor

 

 

“To live in accordance with the essence of things, as Socrates said, is the premise of the moral life. One cannot live in peace of mind without at the same time being in harmony with reality.” Also, “The premises of a moral life is based on a covenant with reality.” “No life is authentic that is in conflict with the order of the universe.”

 

And not knowing the order of the universe constitutes a serious handicap in living a moral life!

 

the truth lives in absolution...........all else is speculation

[krishnadasa]

 

He is a liberated person and has attained the highest perfection.

 

He is one of the best student of the Gita that the world has ever known.

 

However his only regret was that he learnt it at later stage of his life...but I know, with Krishna, time factor does not count.

 

Must have been re-born as a devotee somewhere in the world then,,,, hari bol

[Amlesh]

 

Must have been re-born as a devotee somewhere in the world then,,,, hari bol

 

To serve the purpose of Hari, then may be yes.

 

But not to attain liberation, which he already has.

[Bishadi]

 

Must have been re-born as a devotee somewhere in the world then,,,, hari bol

 

to simply represent the words shared by another gives them a rebirth.

 

the 'good' that supports life to continue lives longer

 

the 'bad' that may appear good but literally a 'loss to the common' based on the selfish tangent; will eventually all become extinct.

[krsna]

 

God does not play dice with the universe; there is an order and reason for all of life.

 

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

[Bishadi]

this one much cleaner

 

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

 

- Albert Einstein

 

 

so think in reality.......... what has the evolution of knowledge shared with all of the really honest people of humanity?

 

that magic does not exist!

 

That in order to comprehend we must continually learn rather than fall to complacent beliefs.

 

how about a little help from a contributer...with this....

 

 

“To live in accordance with the essence of things, as Socrates said, is the premise of the moral life. One cannot live in peace of mind without at the same time being in harmony with reality.” Also, “The premises of a moral life is based on a covenant with reality.”

 

“No life is authentic that is in conflict with the order of the universe.”

And not knowing the order of the universe constitutes a serious handicap in living a moral life!

 

and then the greatest truth any teacher could reach

 

 

"virtue was the most valuable of all possessions; the ideal life was spent in search of the Good. Truth lies beneath the shadows of existence, and that it is the job of the philosopher to show the rest how little they really know." Socrates

[Bishadi]

borrowed wisdom:

 

 

The devotee who now resides in these two worlds begins to gradually integrate all experiences, within and without her conscious awareness. Rather than tear down that which exists in the lower world, she integrates it; knowing well that ritual and religion serves its purpose for those who have not yet risen.

 

 

We are responsible to our future. Is it good to sit on faith?

 

is it good, to combine the truth of each; for tomorrow?

 

Shall we defend our now, or prepare our children?

[krsna]

 

 

Who is actually worthy of knowing the most confidential knowlege (bhakti) of the innermost thoughts of God (KRSNA)???

 

 

 

 

 

"I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are details." - Albert Einstein

 

 

[Bishadi]

 

 

Who is actually worthy of knowing the most confidential knowlege (bhakti) of the innermost thoughts of God (KRSNA)???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Worthy?

 

that is the tough one to chew on.......

 

 

as in each case past or present; still a man

[jinglebells]

 

Einstein was certainly extremely intelligent, but his ethics leave a lot to be desired. His private life was full of affairs with much younger women and he is often accused of using other people's research and ideas without giving them any credit for it. He was a proud and often arrogant person.

 

All said and done, he'll go down in history as the smartest man ever. And this upsets white supremacists terribly, because he's Jewish.