Another perception KR IRS On Wed, 28 Aug 2024 at 22:31, Markendeya Yeddanapudi < [email protected]> wrote:
> 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/CAL5XZoojF_-r%3DDMbhk1isZytEAdijm1YQKn%3D502QCeyQa9Ng_Q%40mail.gmail.com.
