History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c95.15

v7.c95.15

Though there was almost universal agreement about the existence of God among the Dharmaśāstra writers, there was (as in the²⁴³⁷ West) divergence about the names, nature and attributes of God. Most were agreed that God is one without a second, is spiritual (and not physical, though several people worshipped Him in the form of Śiva or Viṣṇu or Devī), immutable, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, creator, holy, good and just &c. Difficult questions arise about belief in God. One or two may be mentioned: Is God omniscient in the completed and strictest sense viz whether he could do anything whatever as he likes or whether there are certain things which he cannot do. Another question is whether all existing things other than himself have been created by him or whether there are some things whose existence is as ultimate as God's. All religions are faced with difficulties and therefore religion is a matter of faith.