Continuing with the Ethics, Morals & Spirituality series – I received the following question:
It seems more and more people no longer believe in God even as the source of ‘all good’. Some people say that the concept of ‘God’ was a creation of primitive man to try to explain things they didn’t understand. They say that now we have evolved, we no longer need to hold onto these ‘irrational beliefs’ and ‘superstitions.’

Some people also think God is a crutch for those who are weak.

Question: In relation to the subject of ethical conduct, when you talk of a higher authority is that the same as God (in whatever form one may relate to That/Him)? Does God really exist and how can we know that?

Also, if he does exist, can we know who He (or She) is or must He/She remain a mystery’?

While addressing the subject I used a few references which I will share here:
“Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.” – Bhagavad-gita 2.29

Robert Lanza (One of the 5 most influential scientists in the world according to Time) stated the following in relation to consciousness and the manifestation of the universe:
“Consciousness is not just an issue for biologists; it’s a problem for physics. Nothing in modern physics explains how a group of molecules in your brain create consciousness. The beauty of a sunset, the miracle of falling in love, the taste of a delicious meal—these are all mysteries to modern science. Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter. Our current model simply does not allow for consciousness, and our understanding of this most basic phenomenon of our existence is virtually nil. Interestingly, our present model of physics does not even recognize this as a problem.”

“But even putting aside the issues of consciousness, the current model leaves much to be desired when it comes to explaining the fundamentals of our universe. The cosmos (according to recent refinements) sprang out of nothingness 13.7 billion years ago, in a titanic event humorously labeled the Big Bang. We don’t really understand where the Big Bang came from and we continually tinker with the details, including adding an inflationary period with physics we don’t yet understand, but the existence of which is needed in order to be consistent with our observations.”