Did Albert Einstein really say this?

Question

When I read the Bhagavad Gita and reflect about how God created this universe, everything else seems so superfluous.

Answer 1

Einstein being a scientist has clearly understood the most advanced scientific truths that Lord krishna revealed to Arjuna , of creation , sustenance and annihilation of the cosmos and the recycling of the universe in an eternal cycle of creation and annihilation at an interval of a thousand eons and how God continues to engage himself in the process without any expectaion of the fruits of any labour in order to inspire humanity to engage itself similarly in its duty as a sacred sacrifice to god ( that is dispassionately and without any aspiration for the fruits of the labour )
the revelation of the scientific facts of the Big Bang and the emergence of life in the universe , their sustenence and annihilation by the prcess of the Red giant ending in a block whole for re-emergence of the universe are all for ahead of the times the Bhagavad Gita was revealed some 6000 years ago. No wonder that Einstein as true and honest Scientist expressed an unbiased truth untainted by religous or racial prejudices of the British adminstators and historians who despite agreeing with the profound depth of the knowledge in it despised it for the very expression of the Theogany in the form of annihilation( due to lack of scientific knowledge ) When the Brtish ruled over Inidia .Thomas Babington Macaulay in his" Minutes on Education" written in 1835 to justif the Introduction of English as the medium of education in inida ,wrote
that "a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia ".
such was the ignorance and arrogance of the British rulers who were totally ignorant of any sceince . The minute of Macualay only revealed the depth of ignorance and the height of arrogance to pass such comments about some thing that he could not read and understand,the revelation is even today far ahead of its time in the exposition of the cosmic scientific prinicples .It is said there that what has been revealed ther is only th elower nature of his existence and the higher nature of his existence is yet to be known and seen . yes the scientists are making new discoveries in the space that reveal more about the secrets of creation.
Religious prejudice has blinded most people to the great scientific truth of the cosmic principles and the creation of the universe contaned in the teachings of Bhagavad Gita - the essense of the Hindu philosophy ..

Answer 2

Yes... but that was said in praise of the depth and beauty of the Bhagavad Gita, rather than as a commentary on God. Einstein was an atheist. The following quote more accurately reflects his views on God:

"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world (universe) so far as our science can reveal it." ~ Albert Einstein

Answer 3

Here is another quote by Einstein:

"I am a deeply religious nonbeliever. This is a somewhat new kind of religion. I have never imputed to Nature a purpose or a goal, or anything that could be understood as anthropomorphic. What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility. This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism. The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems even naive."

Its clear from statements like this that Einstein's meaning when he uses the word god, is different than that assumed by the typical christian, or hindu reader.

When Einstein calls himself a religious non-believer I see no reason to doubt him. Anyone who has read Einstein extensively and understands it is forced to consider Einstein at most a Pantheist ( ie. a Religious atheist).

Answer 4

He also said this:

"A man who is convinced of the truth of his religion is indeed never tolerant. At the least, he is to feel pity for the adherent of another religion but usually it does not stop there. The faithful adherent of a religion will try first of all to convince those that believe in another religion and usually he goes on to hatred if he is not successful. However, hatred then leads to persecution when the might of the majority is behind it.
In the case of a Christian clergyman, the tragic-comical is found in this: that the Christian religion demands love from the faithful, even love for the enemy. This demand, because it is indeed superhuman, he is unable to fulfill. Thus intolerance and hatred ring through the oily words of the clergyman. The love, which on the Christian side is the basis for the conciliatory attempt towards Judaism is the same as the love of a child for a cake. That means that it contains the hope that the object of the love will be eaten up..."

Answer 5

Dont know if anyone is interested in this quote.

"The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description .. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism." (Albert Einstein)

Answer 6

Yes
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=When+I+read+the+Bhagavad+Gita+and+reflect+about+how+God+created+this+universe%2C+everything+else+seems+so+superfluous.+&btnG=Google+Search

Answer 7

And here are some other quotes from Albert Einstein:

It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it. (Albert Einstein, 1954) From Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press

Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the action of people. For this reason, a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by a prayer, i.e. by a wish addressed to a Supernatural Being. (Albert Einstein, 1936) Responding to a child who wrote and asked if scientists pray. Source: Albert Einstein: The Human Side, Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffmann

A man's ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. (Albert Einstein, Religion and Science, New York Times Magazine, 9 November 1930

I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature. (Albert Einstein, The World as I See It)

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbour such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotisms. (Albert Einstein, obituary in New York Times, 19 April 1955)

I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings. (Albert Einstein) Following his wife's advice in responding to Rabbi Herbert Goldstein of the International Synagogue in New York, who had sent Einstein a cablegram bluntly demanding Do you believe in God? Quoted from and citation notes derived from Victor J. Stenger, Has Science Found God? (draft: 2001), chapter 3.

Answer 8

Yup. Numerous reputable sources attribute that exact quote to Einstein.

Answer 9

Does it really matter? Einstein was good at natural laws but God is way above all that.

Answer 10

That sounds more like something Emerson or Thoreau might say.