G O D

By

Achala Bhakthan

This word is understood by all but does any one know what it refers to?  Does anyone realize the literal meaning?  Does anyone probe into this entity, if I can call so?

What we know or heard about God is that He appears in different forms and role and functions differently.   The One who creates is known as BRAHMA, the One who sustains (maintains) is known as VISHNU and the One who annihilates is known as SHIVA.  This is all our understanding and what we have heard. God is personified here.   There are three different Gods mentioned here as above. But what I am referring to, is  the One, the only One, doing all these three functions. When the Vedas say you are That, TAT TWAM ASI, what it means?  You are the embodiment or you are having God in you or you yourself are the God.  OK? 

In this sense, to me this word refers to GIVER, ORDAINER, DESTROYER – all in ONE.  What He gives, what He ordains and what He destroys?  Let us think the possibilities and let us analyse the functions.   God means the life principle in us, which functions in three different aspects creating, maintaining and annihilating the world of objects.   I feel this explanation or understanding well fits with the declaration in our Vedas as stated above.  Thou art That.   Why I am describing this thus is that God does not do anything.  He exists for ever as a Super Power, Supreme Consciousness, SELF, “I”, whatever you call.  He never gives nor ordains nor destroys.  Then why it is said God gives, ordains and destroys.  Anything expressed in words has limitations.  God is beyond words and cannot be understood through explanations but through self-experience only.  God is not something to be understood but experienced.  If so, He is within us.  Then why are we not able to see Him?  This is the problem, which is facing us.  If God is within us or if TAT TWM ASI is true, then the Super Power, Supreme Consciousness is in us or to put it the Supreme Consciousness functioning through the Body, Mind and Intellect layers due to Avidhya (Maya) is perceived differently by us and the real nature is not seen by us.  Thus, are we GOD?.  Let us see this for a moment.

Are we not able to create things in the world?  Are we not ordaining things to happen?  Are we not annihilating objects?  Of course.  We are living in the world of objects, which is absent in Godhood.  That means we are different from God.  A contradiction to what I said above, isn’t it?  Let us see.  I have already explained in my earlier articles about GADAAKASA.  The unlimited space being limited by the raising of pot in the open space.  The limitations, upaadees or attributes covering the “I” (let us say the God principle) limits the understanding or perception and seemingly appears as different.  This is called Maya or avidhya.  Thus, the Dwaitha Bhaava comes.  Now, I am not referring to this second entity in us (different appearance).  Let us take the Godhood or the Life Principle in us, which is attribute less, unlimited and unconditioned.  This is the energy or power, which expresses through the vehicles Body, Mind and Intellect, which are always extrovert and deal with the world of objects.  This power or energy principle in us Gives us the vision of world of objects, Ordains our Mind and Intellect to respond to the stimuli coming from outside and Destroys our ignorance (Avidhya) when we are ripe enough for attainment.  It is this Life principle in us that is referred to as TAT TWAM ASI, which is the Supreme Consciousness or SELF-real.   Does this not sound logical?  Don’t you agree that this explanation goes a long way in understanding GOD?  This never proclaims that we are God nor it says God is away or separate from us.  A paradoxical statement, isn’t it?  What I mean is, when we are functioning through the attributes or upaadees and deal with the world of objects due to avidhya, we are not God.  When we go beyond these limitations and perceive the Reality and exist as the Reality, then we are GOD. This is called Brahma Sathyam Jagat Mithya, which means we are the essence and not the matter.  The best example from our own experience to bring this point home is the Electricity functioning through different electrical apparatus gives different effects; but the Electricity never transforms, never changes and never converts itself.  It remains as the focal power that is drawn by these apparatus and it is these apparatus that give different effects to us depending on the mechanical or electrical principles embodied in them. 

Let us study this from another angle.  We are seeing the apple fruit but not the essence in it, because essence is abstract and cannot be seen but only tasted.  To experience the taste we have to chew the Apple.  Once we chew, the essence go into us, which we taste and the apple disappears.  Similarly,  to realize God, we have to go beyond form, i.e. lose our identity with the form of not only externalized  Gods but the entire world outside including our Body, Mind and Intellect apparatus.   This shows “Experience” is beyond form.   So far as we are attaching ourselves to the form, we do not get the taste (experience) of the SELF.  Once we get the taste of SELF, our knowledge of the form is lost. This is when  we see Godhood within us.

To sum up, GOD is, thus, the Life Principle (ESSENCE) in every one of us functioning through the vehicles (attributes) and dealing with the world of objects, always with extroverted ness, caused by the characteristics of the attributes. When we functions in the world outside, and deal with the world of objects through Body, Mind and Intellect, we are in Dwaitham and when we remain as the Supreme Consciousness without these attributes or limitations, we are in Adhwaitham.  In Dwaitham the Godhood is covered by Maya (avidhya) and in Adwaitham, it is pure Existence or pure Knowledge.

Now the question comes, if so why are we worshiping God externally and that too different Gods.  I have explained this in my article on DWAITHAADHWAITHAM and hence do not want to test your patience.  Please read that article, if not yet done so.  To answer in short, I would like to put it that they are all our projections conditioned by the Mindset of each individual and due to our extroverted ness.

Hope I have made my point clear.  Now it is for you to decide,  “Are we GOD?   Is God away from us or outside of us? Is God separate from us? etc. etc.”

I can write pages after pages on this topic but it will be of no use, since the more we talk or write the more others get confused because words have limitations and can be interpreted in different ways by different people.  If any one has any specific doubt, they may be referred to me and I shall try to analyze and explain it in the way required to satisfy the questioner, to the best of my understanding and knowledge.  Please go to the home page and click on the Post Office icon to send me your Email.

 :    OM TAT SAT  :