Why God Is Confusing******************************People are extremely confused about God as every religion describes Him (or Her?) differently. Many religions portray God as Father since God seems to have some attributes of father like a strict disciplinarian who punishes men for their wrongdoings while rewarding them for their good deeds. However, often God is like a loving mother who provides unconditional love to their children. So the first confusion is whether God is Father or Mother? Whether God is He or She or It? ************************ In fact, the attributes of God are so divergent that often one wonders if these are the attributes of the same entity. At different times, philosophers, mystics, saints and prophets have made widely divergent descriptions of God, which have confused people no end. The confusion was so high that often, people fought wars in the name of the their “God” as they genuinely believed that their God alone was the true God and other peoples’ God to be false or Devil. Clever people have used the name of God to defend their evil acts. Politicians used have God to garner votes while Kings have used God to rule the masses. People commit crimes thinking that God will condone their act if they atone. Often God becomes a tool to make money and power. The power of Popes in Europe in the fifteenth century was no lesser than that of any king. In fact, Europe was called as Christendom in that period as Christianity de facto ruled Europe. ************************************************** *******India, too, was ruled by the Brahmins who acted as mediators between man and God. Some of the temples in India have wealth in billions of rupees. In Islam, too, the Imams and Maulavis control the fate of people and kings in many countries. The power and money often intoxicated the Popes and priests so much so that they often used and abused their power and wealth for doing many unholy acts. ************** Is there God?***********************The misuse of the name of God and religion has led many people to question the very existence of God. They seek proof and evidence of God. However, when people do not know the proper description of God, how can one provide a proof of Him? These people call themselves atheists and they openly challenge God and even abuse Him and blame Him for all the ills of the world. They question the power of God because evil still exists in the world. They question the good intention of God as He allows Devil to rule the world. They dare God to counter the power of science which has transformed the world in last few centuries. They have produced innumerable logic to deny the existence of God. Yet no convincing logic was forthcoming to prove the existence of God. Yet surprisingly, God has survived in the hearts of people like a miracle. Most of the people in the world still believe in God. Even in America, the land of scientific inventions, more than 90% people believe in God.********************************************** *********** The overall percent of believers in the world is still more than 95%. Atheists called the theists irrational, illogical and even fools. Communists think that religion is the opium of the masses. Man can do anything but he cannot willfully believe in what is false or untrue. There has to be some truth in God. But what is the Truth?**************************************** Which understanding of God is correct? Who will decide which God is correct and which is not? ************************************************** ****Little Knowledge is a Dangerous ThingHere is a question that was put to the students in a famous B-School in India.You have to elect a world leader and yours is the deciding vote. Here are the three candidates: **********************************Candidate A: He associates with crooked politicians, and consults astrologers. He has had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks up to ten Martinis a day. **********************************************Cand idate B: He was ejected from office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a large amount of whiskey every evening. ************************************************** **Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn’t had any extramarital affair. Which candidate, you will select as the world leader? The chances are that most of you would choose the Candidate C as the world leader based on the facts stated above. The Professor then shocks you by disclosing the names of the candidates asCandidate A: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Candidate B: Winston Churchill Candidate C: Adolph Hitler. Are you shocked to know this? Perhaps, yes. The Professor concludes that often rational thinking based on limited facts leads to wrong conclusion. ************************************************** *******The descriptions of all the three men were correct, yet they were too little to define a person comprehensively. The same appears to be true for the knowledge of God. In any case, God has to be bigger than the universe, if He has created it. When we know hardly anything about the universe, how much claim we may have to know God? Yet there are some common rules that govern the universe. It is, therefore, possible to know the universe from the little knowledge we can acquire about our planets and the solar system.******************************************* ****************** Einstein has rightly said that the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible. In the same way, God has been comprehended by different people differently. The truth lies in finding the synthesis of all the knowledge acquired in all religions. '********************************************One God: Many Manifestations God has been explained differently in different religions. Let us review some of the concepts of God in different religions. Judaism: God is described in the Old Testament. God is anthropomorphic i.e. similar to human beings. He has the attributes of a King or a Judge. His attributes are righteousness, justice, mercy, truth, and faithfulness. Christianity: Christians believe in the Trinity of God, i.e. the Father (God of Old Testament), Son (Christ) and the Holy Spirit that claims to have proceeded from Father to Son. Christ invoked Father to extend in love and compassion to mankind rather than in power and authority. The Christian God is full of love, sympathy and mercy for the living beings Islam: Islamic God or Allah is believed to be eternal, personal and unique beyond the conception of human knowledge. He is omnipotent, omniscient and all merciful. Since He is beyond the perception of Human mind, His portrayal in any form is prohibited in Islam. **********************************************Hind uism: Hindus see God in everything and everything in God. Therefore, Hindus worship almost everything in the universe including Sun, Moon, rivers, trees, mountains, snakes, cow etc. Since the Vedic period, there are believed to be 330 million gods. However, most Hindus believe in the Trinity of God and other gods are believed to be subordinate to the Trinity of Gods. The Trinity or the Supreme Gods are Brahma (The Creator), Vishnu (The Preserver) and Shiva (The Destroyer). Hindu Gods are married to Goddesses and believed to have offspring’s, who, too, are worshipped like gods. Hindus also believe in the concepts of avatars i.e. God taking birth in the world in the form of various specie to remove the evil and to preserve the dharma (moral order). Lord Ram and Krishna are believed to be incarnations of Vishnu. Some Hindus also consider God to be beyond the conception of human mind and consider Him to be Absolute i.e. Brahma who is not a person but an entity that is eternal, omnipotent and omnipresent that is the origin and the end of everything. ************************************************** *************Philosophical thoughts of God: In addition to the religious understanding of God, there are also philosophic exposition of God. Some people call God as Truth, Spirit, Energy or Love. He is also called as the Universal Soul (Paramatma) whose body is the universe. In advait (non-dualism) philosophy of India, there is no difference between God and His creation. The individual soul is nothing but a part or spark of the Universal Soul. Thus God is in everything and everything is in God. Yet Dvait (dualism) philosophy believes that God is separate from the mortals and only on salvation, the individual soul becomes one with God and becomes free from the cycle of birth and death. Can we know God?The advent of scientific knowledge has changed the world like never before. ************************************************** *******Science demanded material evidence for everything. Matter became not only more important than soul but it became the only important thing. Every creature is identified in science merely as a body. It is impossible to define a person in words because one can describe the body of the person but not his essence, which we call soul. However, unless you understand the soul, you do not understand the person as the body of the person is continuously changing. Therefore, those who understand the body of the person fail to capture the real person as they miss the soul. The understanding of God from the scriptures is quite confusing. It appears that people are describing different realities. Are they telling lies and fooling the people? Or is there some problem with our understanding? Before we answer this question, let us try to understand how much we know our friends or even our parents or the spouse. If someone asks you if you know your parents, the answer would obviously be yes. After all, we know them since our birth. Yet, it is difficult to describe them in words. They are good at one time and bad at others. They are sometimes kind, while ruthless at others. Yet our description may be totally different from how their bosses, subordinates or friends would describe them. The same can be said about all others whom we are sure to know well enough. Even after spending years with a person, we still know but a little about them and can never predict his actions in a particular situation. We know that we can never do it, even with our best friend. The reason is that a person is known differently by different people. A man may be an authoritative boss, a humble subordinate, a loving father, an indifferent husband, good friend and so on. If you ask the people, who know him for years, to describe them in words, it is certain that all descriptions are sure to be different. Yet, can we say that none of them knows that person? As is Your Feeling, So is Your GodIndian poet, Tulsidas, who authored Ramcharitmanas (The epic of Lord Ram) said “The way you feel about God, the way you will see God” (Jaki rahi bhavana jaisi, Hari Murat dekhi tin vaisi).******************************************* ***************** So, if a child finds his father kind, it is because he feels love for his father. If another person approaches the same person with the feeling of hate, he may find the same person to be cruel. If you seek knowledge, the same person can provide you the knowledge (if he knows). As a matter of fact, all attributes of the nature are hidden in every person. The difference of opinion is due to the feeling of the person who seeks to know him. The concept of God , therefore, depends upon your feeling towards Him. Hence, if you willfully commit evil acts, He acts like a judge and punished you. So He is like a king or judge. However, if you approach Him with the feeling of remorse and seek his forgiveness, He is like a loving mother who has all the mercy and desire to forgive you. If you doubt His existence, He is hidden in maya (the material illusion). Yet if you wish to see Him, you can see Him everywhere and in everything. If you wish to know him logically, you can see logic in everything. If you are truthful, He represents Truth. If you love people as you find goodness in all people, God represents love and compassion. If you are a just person, you can see the justice of God everywhere. However, if you are selfish and unjust, you can find God to be unjust and unfair. Truth of GodThe reality is that the world is a reflection of your own self as explained beautifully in the Upanishads “Aham Brahmasmi”(I am the universe). Nanak (Founder of Sikhism) also said in the words of the Lord “Where are you searching Me (God) outside, when I am in you.” If you search inside, you can find Him in you. The search for God has to be, therefore, done by oneself and not by reading scriptures. Scriptures can provide clues about God but the search has to be personal and internal. How can words capture God when they cannot capture an ordinary person? Still we never say that we do not know our friends simply because we know the person as a whole by the understanding of him as a soul and not merely as a body. Once we understand the soul of the person, we know the person as we know ourselves. God can also be known only by personal effort and self-realization. True understanding of God can, therefore, emerge only from personal understanding and not by the descriptions given by other persons who have understood God based on their own feelings. Just like one can never understand a person, if he tries to understand him by the descriptions given by other persons, the same is true with understanding God. However, once you understand Him by yourself, you realize that all understanding of God in words to be correct, though it can’t be a substitute for the true knowledge of Him, just like a photograph of a person can’t be a substitute for the person. At this stage of understanding, all confusion of God vanishes as you know Him from your own understanding and feelings. Science Of Soul
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