Asking who made God is like trying to draw a square circle

“Who made God?” This question betrays a fundamental lack of understanding about the very definition of God.

Every subject begins with certain foundational definitions; if we don’t accept those definitions, we can’t progress in that subject. Suppose a geometry student learns about squares and circles, learns to draw them and then asks, “How can I draw a square circle?” The question betrays a dearth of basic understanding – a circle by its very definition can’t be a square. To address the question, a wise teacher will clarify the underlying misdefinitions.

Similarly, to address the question about God’s source, we need to examine the underlying misdefinition. Bhakti philosophy defines God as the cause of all causes. The Bhagavad-gita (10.08) stresses through a double assertion that God, Krishna, is the source of everything – everything emanates from him.

So if “God” came from something, then “God” would not be God – the thing from which he came would be God. And if that thing came from something, then that something would be God. Wherever the causal chain of origination stops, that originating source would be God. Does the chain have to stop somewhere? Yes, just as a multi-story skyscraper needs to rest on the ground, so too does everything need to have an ultimate source. That source of all sources is by definition God. Asking why that ultimate source can’t be something other than God is like asking why a circle can’t be square – it’s an illogical question stemming from ignorance of basic definitions. Geometry students who open-mindedly accept such definitions grow in their education. Similarly, if we open-mindedly accept the definition of God, we can grow in our life-education as we increasingly appreciate how bhakti philosophy answers life’s deepest questions cogently. Then we realize that the question about God’s source is illogical.