Proving the unprovable

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 05 November, 2024 This pertains to an outright vapid write up, " Faith and figures: Why many great mathematicians and scientists have believed in god." This appeared on the NAI site a few days ago. What does this article suggest and what does the writer want to prove? I'm clueless. If many great scientists and mathematicians have believed in god and religion then even more didn't believe in god. Scientists and mathematicians Francis Crick, Richard Feynman, Paul Dirac, Andrei Sakharov, Niels Bohr, Subramanyan Chandrashekhar, Ivan Pavlov, Fred Hoyle, Pierre Curie, Meghnad Saha, Hans Bethe, Stephen Hawking, John McCarthy (he was an American computer scientist and cognitive scientist who was one of the founders of the discipline of artificial intelligence) to name but a few, were outright atheists. So was Maharshi Kanad, who was an ancient Indian sage / scientist, who is considered the propounder of Atomic theory way back in the sixth century BCE. This sage philosopher also founded the philosophical school of Vaisheshika. Panini, the first descriptive linguist in the world and Sanskrit grammarian who wrote Ashtadhyai, was an atheist. That his descendants embraced Islam (or had to embrace Islam) is an altogether different story. Today, they're known as Panini Muslims. The 17th-century Maharashtrian Sanskrit grammarian Bhattoji Dikshit, who simplified Panini's rules of Sanskrit grammar and wrote Siddhant Kaumudi, was a non-believer. Sage Yagyavalkya never believed in god and had no faith in esoteric beliefs. At least a couple of great Persian mystics were closet atheists. Great Iranian poet Urfi, not exactly a mystic and who was in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar, was a non-believer who never shared his atheistic views with anyone so long as he was alive. Believers and non-believers have existed cheek by jowl right from the beginning. In fact, thinking people of all ages have atheistic and agnostic leanings. The great novelist and Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway famously proclaimed that “All thinking men are atheists." He not only disbelieved in god but also considered organised religion as a menace to human happiness. Mr Naseer's repeated glorification of theism and belief in divinity is delusional as well as monomaniac. He must understand that awe and wonderment have nothing to do with one's faith in something divine. Try to imbibe the spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright's famous quote, “I believe in god, only I spell it nature." Wright had no faith in your god and organised faith. In poetry and literature, one often resorts to god as a metaphor or an emblem. Remember Sahir's famous last stanza, ' Hum Log Khilaune Hain Ik Aise Khiladi Ke/ Jis Ko Abhi Sadiyon Tak Ye Khel Rachana Hai, ' from his immortal number, "Sansaar Ki Har Shai Ka Itna Hi Fasana Hai/ Ik Dhund Se Aana Hai, Ik Dhund Mein Jaana Hai” (Film: Dhund, 1973). Did the last stanza make an avowed atheist like Sahir a believer? Every coin has two sides. Don't try to prove things, ideas and concepts that are patently unprovable. You'll end up making a spectacle of yourself. …………. A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. ----- URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/proving-unprovable/d/133623 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism