My own armchair write up cannot equal in the impact and enlightenment given above.But the following was a piece of mine which was posted in 2016. YM Sarma
*The concept of God* *There are as many concepts of God as there are people. The number of designations may be a few hundred, but the personal concepts differ. Your Jesus is not my Jesus, your Rama is not my Rama, and in fact your atheism is not my atheism. God or absence of God is both personal and particular individual concepts. Prayer practices, rituals, customs, traditions etc may be standardised but the actual contours of belief are particular to each person. In fact there is belief flows.Beliefs change mainly with the needs of the moment.* *God is mainly experience. So is atheism. In the case of the former, religious texts provide rough paths to lines of belief. In the age of belief, the existence of the ever vigilant God was taken for granted. That God defined a strict time table, routine, dos, don’ts, and deviations were punished instantly. The believer actually spoke with God for hours together. God was available for consultation. Earth quakes, cyclones etc indicated God’s anger. Belief motivated the building of huge temples on the inaccessible peaks of big mountains and sculptors spent life times doing sculptures of the God on the peak. People trudged thousands of miles to get the darsan of the God on the peak risking their lives. The pilgrims had rest houses and receptions in every village.IN THOSE DAYS GOD WAS NOT A PERSONAL CONCEPT AMENABLE TO LOGIC AND REASONING. Religion and the priests defined and people followed.* *With the advent of science and the acceptance of the need for personal liberty, belief has become particular, personal, vacillating and changing. In India for most criminal devotees, God is an accomplice that connives. For the priests, ministers and MLAs are more powerful than the Gods in their temples.Economics; the dismal science has eliminated belief, but has created a big market for the God concepts. Temples have become engines for urbanisation. Today 99.9 percent of the urban population really do not believe in a good and noble God. They just try prayer for the fulfilment of a need or want. Wants and prayer go together.* *Strangely while the belief in God is low, the fear of God to do harm is great. Most people believe in the capacity and actual implementation of harm by God.* *YM Sarma* *Chat GPT* *The text by YM Sarma, "The Concept of God," explores the highly subjective and personal nature of belief in God, emphasizing how individual experiences and contexts shape one's understanding of divinity. * *### Key Points:* *1. **Personalized Belief**:* * - Sarma highlights that the concept of God varies greatly between individuals, even within the same religious tradition. For instance, one person's understanding of Jesus or Rama can differ significantly from another's, even if they share the same religious background. This idea is extended to atheism as well, suggesting that even the rejection of God is a personal concept influenced by individual circumstances and experiences.* *2. **Historical Perspective on God**:* * - The text contrasts the historical conception of God, which was more communal and dictated by religious authorities, with the modern, more individualized understanding. In the past, religious practices and beliefs were often dictated by tradition and reinforced by societal structures. Believers often saw God as a strict, omnipresent force that actively intervened in the world, demanding adherence to a set of moral and ritualistic codes.* *3. **Modern Belief and Rationality**:* * - With the rise of science and the emphasis on personal liberty, beliefs have become more individualized and fluid. Sarma suggests that in modern times, belief in God is less about adherence to strict doctrines and more about fulfilling personal needs or desires. The concept of God has become less about absolute truths and more about personal experiences and needs.* *4. **Economics and Religion**:* * - Sarma discusses how economics has influenced modern religious practices. He suggests that temples and religious institutions have become engines for urbanization and that the relationship between believers and God is often transactional. In this view, prayer is less about spiritual connection and more about seeking favors or material benefits.* *5. **Fear of God**:* * - Despite a decline in genuine belief, Sarma notes that the fear of God's potential to cause harm remains strong among many people. This suggests a paradox where the influence of religious belief on daily life has diminished, yet the fear of divine retribution persists.* *### Reflection:* *Sarma's text invites reflection on the evolution of religious belief in the modern world. It raises important questions about the role of religion in a world increasingly dominated by science and rationality, while also highlighting the enduring power of religious concepts, particularly the fear of divine punishment. It suggests that even as people move away from traditional religious practices, the psychological and cultural imprint of these beliefs remains significant.* On Thu, Aug 29, 2024 at 7:05 AM Rajaram Krishnamurthy <[email protected]> wrote: > > > *The Concept of God in Hinduism* > > The earliest statement of the Nature of Reality occurs in the first book > of the Rig-Veda: *Ekam Sat-Viprah Bahudha Vadanti.* *“The ONE BEING, the > wise diversely speak of.”* > > The tenth book of the Rig-Veda regards the highest conception of God both > as the Impersonal and the Personal: The Nasadiya Sukta states that the > Supreme Being is both the Unmanifest and the Manifest, Existence as well as > Non-existence, the Supreme Indeterminable. > > The *Purusha-Sukta* proclaims that all this Universe is God as the > Supreme Person – the Purusha with thousands of heads, thousands of eyes, > thousands of limbs in His Cosmic Body. He envelops the whole cosmos and > transcends it to infinity. > > The *Narayana-Sukta* exclaims that whatever is anywhere, visible or > invisible, all this is pervaded by Narayana within and without. > > The *Hiranyagarbha-Sukta* of the Rig-Veda declares that God manifested > Himself in the beginning as the Creator of the Universe, encompassing all > things, including everything within Himself, the collective totality, as it > were, of the whole of creation, animating it as the Supreme Intelligence. > > The *Satarudriya or Rudra-Adhyaya of the Yajur-Veda* identifies all > things, the high and the low, the moving and the unmoving, the good and the > bad, the beautiful and the ugly, nay, every conceivable thing, with the > all-pervading Siva or Rudra as the Supreme God. > > The *Isavasya Upanishad* says that the whole Universe is pervaded by > Isvara or God, who is both within and without it. He is the moving and the > unmoving, He is far and near, He is within all these and without all these. > > The *Kena Upanishad* says that the Supreme Reality is beyond the > perception of the senses and the mind because the senses and the mind can > visualise and conceive only the objects, while Reality is the Supreme > Subject, the very precondition of all sensation, thinking, understanding, > etc. No one can behold God because He is the beholder of all things. > > The *Kathopanishad* has it that God is the Root of this Tree of world > existence. The realisation of God is regarded as the Supreme blessedness or > Shreyas, as apart from Preyas or temporal experience of satisfaction. > > The *Prasna Upanishad* says that God is the Supreme Prajapati or Creator, > in whom are blended both the matter and energy of the Universe. God is > symbolised in Pranava, or Omkara. > > The *Mundaka Upanishad* gives the image of the Supreme Being as the One > Ocean into which all the rivers of individual existence enter and with > which they become one, as their final goal. > > The *Mandukya Upanishad* regards the Supreme Being as the Turiya, or the > Transcendent Consciousness, beyond the stales of waking, dreaming and deep > sleep. > > The *Taittiriya Upanishad* regards the Reality as the Atman, or the Self, > beyond the physical, vital, mental, intellectual and causal > aspects(sheaths) of the personality. It also identifies this Atman with the > Supreme Absolute, or Brahman. > > The *Aitareya Upanishad* states that the Supreme Atman has manifested > itself as the objective Universe from the one side and the subjective > individuals on the other side, in which process, factors which are effects > of God’s creation become causes of individual’s perception, by a reversal > of the process. > > he *Chhandogya Upanishad* says that all this Universe is Brahman Manifest > in all its states of manifestation. It regards objects as really aspects of > the one Subject known as the Vaishvanara-Atman. It also holds that the > Supreme Being is the Infinite, or Bhuma, in which one sees nothing else, > hears nothing else, and understands nothing else except the Self as the > only, existence. > > In the* Brihadaranyaka Upanishad* we are told that the Supreme Being is > Pure Consciousness, in which subjects and objects merge together in a state > of Universality. > > The Supreme Being knew only Itself as ‘I-Am’, inclusive of everything. As > He is the Knower of all things, no one can know Him, except as ‘He Is’. > > The *Svetasvatara Upanishad* says, ‘Thou art the Woman’, ‘Thou art the > Man’, ‘Thou art Girl’, ‘Thou art Boy’, ‘Thou deceivest us as the old man > tottering with the stick’, ‘Thou movest everywhere, in the form of > everything, in all directions’, ‘Thou art the dark-blue Butterfly, and the > Green Parrot with red eyes’, ‘Thou art the thunder cloud, the Seasons and > the Oceans’, ‘Thou art without beginning and beyond all time and space’, > ‘Thou art That from which all the Universes are born’. ‘That alone is Fire. > That is the Sun. That is Air, That is the Moon, That is also the starry > firmament, That is the waters, That is Prajapati, That is Brahman.’ > > That Divine Being, who, though Himself formless, gives rise to various > forms in different ways with the help of His Supreme Power for His own > inscrutable purpose, and Who dissolves the whole Universe in Himself in the > end – may He endow us with pure understanding. > > *He is the Great Being who shines effulgent like the Sun, beyond all > darkness. Knowing Him alone one crosses beyond death. There is no other way > of going over there.* > > The One God, Creator of the heaven and earth, is possessed of all eyes, > all faces, all hands, and all feet in this Universe. It is He who inspires > all to do their respective functions, as if fanning their fire into flames > of movement. > > *Manu* says in his* Smriti:* In the beginning, all this existence was one > Undifferentiated Mass of Unmanifestedness, unknown, indefinable, unarguable > and unknown in every way. From this Supreme Condition arose the Universe of > name and form, through the medium of the Self-existent Creator, Swayambhu. > > The *Mahabharata* says that Narayana alone was in the beginning, who was > the prius of the creative, preservative, and destructive principles, the > Trinity known as Brahma, Vishnu and Siva – the Supreme Hari, multi-headed, > multi-eyed, multi-footed, multi-armed, multi-limbed. This was the Supreme > Seed of all creation, subtler than the subtlest, greater than the greatest, > larger than the largest, and more magnificent than even the best of all > things, more powerful, than even the wind and all the gods, more > resplendent than the Sun and the Moon, and more internal than even the mind > and the intellect. He is the Creator, the Father Supreme. > > The *Bhagavadgita* in the Mahabharata, says: The *Supreme Brahman* is > beyond existence and non-existence. It has hands and feet everywhere, > heads, mouths, eyes everywhere, ears everywhere, and it exists enveloping > everything. Undivided, it appears as divided among beings; attributeless, > it appears to have attributes in association with things. It is the Light > of all lights, beyond all darkness, and is situated in the hearts of all > beings. > > He is the sacrifice, He is the oblation, He is the performer thereof, He > is the recitation or the chant, He is the sacred fire, He is what is > offered into it. He is the father, the mother, the grandfather, the > support, the One knowable Thing, He is the three Vedas, the Goal of all > beings, the Protector, the Reality, the Witness, the Repository, the > Refuge, the Friend, the beginning, the middle and the end of all things. He > is immortality and death, existence as well as non-existence. He is the > Visvarupa, the Cosmic Form, blazing like fire and consuming all things. > > According to the Bhagavata and the Mahabharata, God especially manifested > Himself as Bhagavan Sri Krishna, who is regarded as the foremost of the > divine Incarnations, in whose personality the Supreme Being is fully > focussed and manifest. > > *Srimad Bhagavata says*: He is Brahman (the Absolute), Paramatman (God), > Bhagavan (the Incarnation). > > According to the *Pancharatra Agama* and the *Vaishnava theology*, God > has five forms: the Para or the Transcendent, Antaryamin or the Immanent, > Vyuha or the Collective (known as Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and > Aniruddha), Vibhava or the Incarnation, and Archa or the symbolic form of > daily worship. > > According to *Saiva tradition*, God is Pati, the Lord who controls the > individuals known as Pasu, with His Power known as Pasa. > > According to the *Sakta tradition*, God is the Divine Universal Mother of > all things, Adi-sakti, or the original Creative Power, manifesting Herself > as Kriya-Sakti or Durga, Ichha-Sakti or Lakshmi, and Jnana-Sakti or > Sarasvati. But the Supreme Mother is beyond all these forms. She is One, > alone, without a second. > > According to the *Bhakti tradition*, God is the Supreme Object of Love, > in respect of Whom love is evinced as in respect of one’s father, mother, > friend, son, master, or one’s own beloved, in the five forms of affection, > known as Shanta, Sakhya, Vatsalya, Dasya and Madhurya. > > To the Vaishnavas, God is in Vaikuntha as Vishnu. To the Saivas, God is in > Kailasa as Siva, or Rudra. To the Saktas, God is in Manidvipa, as the > Supreme Sakti or the Divine Mother. To the Ganapatyas, God is Ganesa, or > Ganapati. To the Sauras, God is Surya, the Sun. To the Kaumaras, God is > Kumara, or Skanda. > > To the saints like *Tulasidas*, God is Rama; to those like Surdas, He is > Krishna. To those like Kabirdas, He is the Impersonal, Attributeless One, > known by various names for purposes of worship and meditation. > > All the Vaishnava saints worship Him as either Rama or Krishna, Narayana > or Vishnu. The Saiva saints worship Him as Paramasiva. The Saktas worship > Him as Adi-sakti. The philosopher-saints worship Him as Brahman, the > Absolute, as Isvara, Hiranyagarbha, and Virat or the Cosmic Being. > > The *Virat-Saivas* worship God as Siva, especially manifest as the > Linga(symbolised in the rounded sacred stone which they wear round their > necks). > > The symbol of Vishnu is the *Saligrama*, the symbol of Siva is the Linga, > and the symbol of Devi is the Yantra(sometimes, a Mantra). > > According to the* Nyaya and Vaiseshika school*s, God is the instrumental > cause of creation, like a potter fashioning a pot of clay, but not the > material cause of creation. > > The *Samkhya school* holds that there are only two Primary Principles, > Purusha and Prakriti, and creation is only a manifestation or evolution of > the constituents of Prakriti due to the action of Purusha’s consciousness. > There is no other God than these two Principles. > > The *Yoga school of Patanjali* accepts God’s existence as a Special > Purusha free from all afflictions, Karma the effects of Karmas and > impressions or potencies of a binding nature. But this Purusha, known as > Isvara, according to Patanjali’s Yoga System, is not the creator of the > world, but a Witness thereof. Nor is He the goal of the aspirations of the > Jivas or individuals. > > The *Yogavasishtha* defines Reality as the Consciousness which is between > and transcends the subjective and objective aspects in perception and > cognition, etc. Consciousness is the Absolute, Brahman, the only existence, > of which the world is only an appearance. > > The *Brahmasutra* states that God is That from Whom this Universe > proceeds, in Whom it subsists, and to Whom, in the end, it returns. > > *Kalidasa*, in his Raghuvamsa and Kumarasambhava, points out that God is > the Supreme Being, is prior to the forms of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, who > are three aspects or phases of God, and that Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, being > three forms of one and the same Reality, are equal to one another in every > respect, without inferiority or superiority among them. > > *Bhartrihari* prays to that Infinite Consciousness, which is Peaceful > Effulgence, which is undifferentiated by the interference of space, time > and causal relation, etc., and whose essence is Self-Experience alone. > > *Madhusudana Sarasvati* blends Advaita Vedanta and Bhakti-Rasa, and he is > the author of the most polemical and authoritative Advaita text, known as > the ‘Advaitasiddhi’, and of an unparalleled compendium of the various > processes and stages of devotion to God, known as ‘Bhaktirasayana’. His > commentary on the Bhagavadgita is a monument of a fusion of knowledge of > the Impersonal Absolute with devotion to the Personal God. > > Religions are founded on a metaphysical rock-bottom. There is a > philosophical import behind every ethical canon. > > Generally, the tradition of worship of Deities in India is according to a > sort of protocol which the devotees associate with the importance of the > Deities. For instance, worshippers of a particular Deity, such as Ganesa, > Siva, Vishnu, Surya or Skanda, will place their own Deity as the first in > importance and every other Deity as secondary. There is another tradition > according to which the order of worship places Ganesa as the first, to be > worshipped on any occasion, and then Devi, Siva, Vishnu, Surya and Skanda. > This order may get slightly changed in different circles of religious > belief. But the discourses recorded in this book do not follow any of these > patterns but a chronological arrangement according to the festivals that > come one after the other, seriatim, during the course of the calendar of > the year, that is, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. > The functions and festivals repeat themselves every year on specific days > or dates. Thus, the order in which the functions or the Deities of worship > are mentioned here follow their calendar-wise chronology. > > *K Rajaram IRS 28824 29824* > -- *Mar* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHC%2BYkXDGAi6WZeZvs%2BkZij7rBO_o7xvddm8oxz4W7ajm-g%40mail.gmail.com.
