The Aryans of the ancient Indian subcontinent propounded the Vedas and Upanishads through the inner knowledge gained by their inner voyagers, the ancient saints and rishis. Those who went within and found the all-satisfying, blissful God then wrote the Upanishads and many other religious scriptures.  &&&

Through their grace they laid out the ways that others could come to know the inner blissful, all-satisfying God as something as real as an object in the palm of your hand.

Their knowledge later manifested in Christianity, the great bhakti-yoga of the White Europeans.  The Vedic rishis defined God in several ways. As Pure Consciousness, as Bliss (ananda), as the source of Creation, as the inner heard Aum (pranava), also experienced inner light (jyoti) -- and a few other definitions as well!

Indeed, these are only a few of the definitions-of-God found in the Aryan Vedas and Upanishads, but some of the profounder ones. Let me give those God-definitions again. The rishis who wrote the Upanishads defined God as:

 -- Pure Consciousness

and also

 -- Bliss (ananda)

and also

 -- The source of exterior phenomena, or the "creator," whether postulated as a theory and only thought about, or personally known

and also they defined God as

 -- Inner blissful sound (Aum) and light (jyoti)  experienced by those who succeed in stilling their minds (succeed in yoga).

The average man can easily prove two of the above God-definitions to himself, as existent; as real. All have experienced bliss. All experience consciousness. (We swim in consciousness as a fish swims in water. To think "I am, I think" is to experience consciousness.) And a few, less average, experience and know the inner Aum and inner jyotii through chastity and assiduous yogic effort. 

One of the absurd things about atheists, especially the juvenile variety running about today -- is that they usually have not studied religion, much less sought to experience religious truths within. The word "philosophy" references a multifarious variety of ideas. How much more the words "God" and "religion." They, likewise, refer to a multifarious variety of things. The modern amateur atheist -- and many of the professionals -- doesn't bother specifying which definition-of-God he is rejecting. He has in his head some concept of God thinking "This is swhat the word God means, everybody knows." Then he states his rejection of the Mickey Mouse idea. Maybe that of a particular religious sect or Sunday School teacher he encountered when he was a child, and he feels proud of himself. Most atheists are not even aware that God is defined as as such things as "bliss" in the venerable religions. 

Thus it is easy to say to the atheist: "Like the rishis, I define God as bliss. I have experienced bliss. So I know God exists." 

Atheism is the sandbox of neurotic children angry about past irritations or offenses from "religious" people. In other words, their atheist stance is emotional and not the product of sincere or strenuous inquiry. Aside from unfamiliarity with rich religious ideas or subtle definitions of God, the atheist has seldom sought out God himself. How should one expect to find any thing if he never seeks for it? Especially a thing that is mysterious or transcendental? Thus modern atheists are fools, neurotic, unimaginative men, and generally completely uneducated about the subject of religion. We have no need to bother with them. They have always been around. This site is for the God-seekers. Aum.

Thus the Aryan Vedas and Upanishads teach that we come from Bliss. We come from God; God is bliss; we come from Bliss.

It is for this reason, indeed, that all human beings continually seek happiness and joy. Bliss and joy are our original and true nature; thus we always seek it.

The White Europeans, in their religion, preferred to speak of "joy." But bliss -- another English word -- simply refers to joy in a more essential, rarefied aspect, as if a finer distillation of joy, that is all. "Joy" refers to an aspect of bliss, perhaps, that is more robust, emotional, and accessible in human life. Thus there are many words that are synonyms for bliss: Joy, delight, wonder, gratitude, beatitude. Notice White Europeans, in their Elegant Bhakti-Yoga that is Christianity, also liked to employ the term "glory." One can find the words "joy" and "glory" in a great many of the Christian church hymns (bhajans.) "Glory" is, in fact, an allusion to the state of blissful beatitude found in religious worship, and not just a trait attributed to God. The Christian ancestors spoke of the "glory" of God when they experienced that glory within themselves. Thus "glory" has often been one of the White European words for their own bliss, found in God-worship.

The reason Christian hymns contain the words "joy," "wonder," and "glory" is because orienting one's self to God and seeking God gives these feelings: It gives bliss. The churches were the places where our ancestors went to experience religious joy -- and bliss -- as they worshiped God.

It is inevitable that any focus on God will produce bliss in the religious person. Because, as the rishis stated in the Upanishads, God is bliss.

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