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GOD: THE SUPREME BEING
God’s
Attributes
God Realisation (eight vital steps of yog)
God’s Actions and Obedience to God
Prayer
Introduction
God is the Supreme Being.
He creates the universe and also maintains and regulates it. One creation is for
4.32 billion years. The process of creation, maintenance and destruction is an
ongoing cyclic process. The process of disintegration of the universe takes its
natural cause in accordance with rules of God. Since God, Soul and Matter are
never created or destroyed, the resultant after the disintegration or the
Universe would be that three eternal entities namely God, Soul and Matter will
remain.
God’s Attributes
God has many names according to His
attributes. The all encompassing name is ‘AUM’ which is comprised of
three letters ‘A’, ‘U’ and ‘M’. ‘A’ represents creator, ‘U’ operator and ‘M’
annihilator or destroyer. God is formless. He exists in the form of energy. Just
like the inanimate energy in the electromagnetic form is all-pervading,
similarly God is all-pervading, even in the minutest thing.
According to science, time and space are two things which are eternal and
pervade everything, but according to Vedic texts, both of them are temporary and
the only Omnipresent Eternal element is God. Just like the omnipresent space
does not have any motion, but everything in the world moves inside it, similarly
all the things in the world and the world itself move inside God. He not only
exists in them but also envelopes them from outside. Because He is within
everything and is an Omnipotent Animate Being, He puts things ranging from a
minute particle to the largest object like the sun, into motion.
Just like the soul, (which
is conscious) in our bodies puts our legs, fingers, eyes, mouth and all other
limbs into regular motion by working within them and we do not need any external
means to raise our hands or to wink our eyes and are able to put them into
action whenever we desire, similarly, the particles in the world as well as all
stars and planets are put into motion by that Supreme Being according to His own
will.
The scientific formulae do emphasise that there is a law in nature, but when the
question of a maker of that law arises they are silent. There must be a maker of
these laws which are so regular and perfect and he must possess all the
knowledge. This Omniscient Law Maker is called God. Some scientists, out of
their ignorance of the spiritual knowledge and arrogance, may not confirm His
existence in words, but their approach and behaviour with confidence approves,
beyond doubt, of the Wisdom of that Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent
Supreme God.
God is formless. God cannot be realized through our senses. We cannot see God
through our eyes, we cannot hear God, we cannot touch God, we cannot physically
feel God.
All human beings are equipped with free will and intelligence. The inanimate
things do not have any brain or their own will. They are controlled directly by
one Supreme Being and that is why we do not see any irregularity with them.
God Realisation
The Yogdarshan (book on yog) states
that to realize God a person has to practise eight vital steps of yog in the
order shown below, namely:
1. Yam: This includes five social disciplines as follows:- (i) satya -
truth,
righteousness, (ii) ahinsa -
non-violence, (iii) astey - non-stealing, (iv)
brahmcharya - celibacy and (v) aparigrah -
non-hoarding (to accumulate all
those things and ideas which are
unnecessary and harmful is hoarding and
to give them up is non-hoarding).
2. Niyam: This
includes five personal disciplines as follows: (i) shauch - purity, (ii) santosh
- contentment, (iii) tap - austerity (to face difficulties cheerfully without
giving up), (iv) swadhyaya - study of virtuous books and (v) ishwar pranidhan -
accepting the presence of God everywhere.
3. Asan (Posture): This means the
sitting position in which the body and the soul are in peace. The postures which
give such a condition include Padma Asan, Sukh Asan, Sidh Asan, Bhadra Asan,
Swastika Asan and Dand Asan. One has to practise one of these postures,
whichever one finds comfortable.
4. Pranayam (Breath control): This
is the speed and sequence of inhalation and exhalation and is done to control
the mind so that it can concentrate only on God.
5.
Pratyahar (Reversal of the Senses):
This means disengagement of the senses from their sensual pleasures and worldly
objects of engagement and experience and concentrating inwardly on God.
6. Dharana (Concentration):
This involves restraining the mind from wondering here and there and
concentrating it on one of the following spots:- navel, heart, forehead, nose or
tip of the tongue and chanting AUM and its meaning.
7.
Dhyan (Meditation): In this process
the practioner meditates on Omniscient and Omnipresent God. The practioner
submerges oneself into the enlightenment and bliss of God with deep thought and
love, like a river entering the ocean. At that moment apart from Omnipresent God
nothing else is to be thought of in the mind. In this step the soul, mind and
God all exist, together in concentration.
8. Samadhi (Communion): In this step
the soul attains a state of deep meditation and totally experiences the bliss of
God. No difference is experienced between soul, mind and God. Just as when steel
is heated in a furnace becomes like fire, similarly during communion the soul
only experiences bliss of God and nothing else.
Human beings are given
intellect to see and discriminate and they should use this to control their
senses. Soul is not part of God. God, soul and matter are three eternal separate
entities. Soul and matter are subject to God’s rules and are guided by His
rules. God is existent, conscious and blissful. Soul is existent and conscious.
Matter is existent only. Soul is free to act but the soul must face the
consequences (bad and good) of its actions. In soul’s pursuit of excellence
inspiration from God is always with it. In acts of evil God withdraws His
inspiration and induces elements of fear, shame and guilt. Under both
circumstances the soul remains free to discriminate and act according to its
will.
Whether a human believes in God’s existence or not, it does not make any
difference to God. It is the human who benefits if he has faith in God and is
harmed if he disbelieves Him. Just like a kind father, God is always there to
guide the mortals. A person who has faith in Him and is sure of His grace, sees
His grace at every step in his/her life.
God’s
Actions and Obedience to God
God is the provider of spiritual and
physical inspiration. Those who worship God and carry out God’s orders receive
God’s grace. Disobedience of God’s orders is the cause of all pains and
sufferings.
The Vedas say that there is only one God - Eko Devah - and only God has
created this world and is the sole controller. Vedas clearly say that God has no
sexual entity- God is neither male nor female. Just like our soul is neither
masculine nor feminine, in the same way God too is genderless. Thus when God is
referred to as ‘He’ in this book, this is done merely for convenience in
writing.
Hinduism is supposed to be based on Vedic religion. The Vedas do not talk of
various Gods. There is only one God and as such, everyone must believe in one
God alone. But God has a number of qualities and God acts in a number of ways.
For example, God creates this world and once it is created, God maintains it and
so on. Similarly, God is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, beginningless and endless and
has a number of other qualities. These qualities and actions have been described
through various names given to God. For example, as a Creator God is called
Brahma, as a maintainer God is called Vishnu, as a Destroyer God is called
Mahesh and as the giver of happiness and peace God is called Shiv.
Everyone should obey God. When you obey God you gain God’s love, blessings,
satisfaction, mental and spiritual strength, purity of the soul, freedom from
darkness of ignorance and clear and correct vision and thought. These would
always save one from the drawbacks of life and give peace of mind which is so
important to lead a smooth life desired by everyone. This peace cannot be
achieved by worldly wealth and means. One cannot progress in this world without
the support which one can have only when one obeys God without any reservation.
One could compare the above by saying what do you gain when you obey your
parents? The answer is one gains love and affection and progress and happiness
through such obedience. However, one should not weigh the “gain” only in
financial and worldly benefits. There are so many other things which are much
more essential for the uplift of a person.
One may ask why some people who do not believe in God seem to live without any
problem. The position is that whatever one enjoys in the present life is the
result of the deeds one did in his/her previous life. People who do not face any
problems now are reaping the good harvest sown in the last birth. If they do not
obey God now they are sinners and will receive the fruits of their
ungratefulness in the next birth. Then again, it is also wrong to say that they
do not have any problems, because there are a number of problems which do not
show up in the open.
According to the Vedas God has no beginning nor an end. God is never made,
created or manufactured. There are two main arguments in this respect. Firstly,
God is not material. God is a Supreme Power. Secondly, if we say that there is
someone who made God, the next question will be “who made that maker?” In this
way, there will be no end to the arguments. The argument will have to stop at
some point. Therefore, the creator who created everything, but was not created
by anybody and exists since eternity is called God.
God is not transformed from anything and as such the question of a human being
becoming God after doing good deeds does not arise. A person possesses a soul.
He/ she can elevate it to the highest status by doing good work, but he/she will
remain as a soul only. For example, a son will not become a father of his father
even if he is educated more and earns more than him. He is son only. God and
soul are two separate entities. God never becomes a soul and a soul never
becomes God. A noble soul, however, may be a godly person if he/she possesses
godly qualities.
God has built this world for God’s children, i.e., souls with bodies. Even
before the creation God exists pervading the whole universe. God does not move
or die. God is like the energy spread everywhere in the universe. When the world
is not in this form it remains within God in the form of the Prima Materia (Prakriti).
Although God has prescribed that all humans should follow the path of
righteousness at all times, God has at the same time given everyone the liberty
to do whatever actions they wish to do. If one follows the righteous path in
one’s actions, the result will be good. However if one chooses to follow the
evil path the results would be bad for that person.
Prayer
Prayer to God is an essential activity
in the life of humans. However, it is not true that God forgives a person’s sins
if he/she prays to God. This is because:
1. God is impartial, God does not show any kind of partiality towards anyone.
2. Unlike the common
person, God can never be flattered.
3. It is not God who gives punishment. It is
the God’s Law which is at work and God never interferes with that Law.
4. If one rests assured that one will be
forgiven for all sins by prayer alone, instead of improving oneself by avoiding
sins, one will continue committing sins. Human being is aware of the
consequences of committing sins, but when human being thinks that he/she will be
forgiven by praying to God, he/she has the tendency to commit more sins and is
reluctant to give up the enjoyment resulting from these sins.
Prayer is essential so that
one does not repeat one’s sins. It is through prayer that we can acquire some of
the qualities of God and become a good person. Prayer gives a person the power
to endure the sufferings caused by sins committed by him/her. The person’s mind
becomes strong and while on the one hand, he/she courageously faces the
punishment resulting from the sins committed, on the other hand he/she
consciously refrains from committing the same sins again. Prayer brings the
person under the shelter of God and consequently, he/she is never allured by the
evil; He/she is thus never tempted towards sins. It is not necessary that we
should know the nature of the sin we are getting punishment for. It is enough to
realise that we are being punished because we committed a sin, because this
general realisation will keep us away from all kinds of sins. Prayer makes a
human being a child of God (Arya) in the real sense.
Many people pray when they are in difficulties. Their attitude towards God
resembles the one they normally have towards their friends in daily life that is
approaching friends only at the time of troubles. God does not defy His own law.
The common human defies his own laws for his selfishness. God does not forgive
any body just because he prays to God. Therefore, one should pray to God at all
times - whether they are good times or bad. While praying, one should have as
recipient an alert soul so that one can experience God speak in one’s soul and
can act upon God’s guidance and advice. This is the way for a successful prayer.
Vedic mantra (verse) is a like formula, similar to science which is based on
various formulae consisting of the basic principles. Similarly, the Mantras
consist of the principles of life and religion.
People who memorize the
formulae of science and mathematics are successful not only in explaining the
scientific and mathematical implications but also in discovering and inventing
new things and ideas. Similarly, those who memorize these mantras and understand
their meanings, achieve a successful life through the principles contained in
the mantras, which guide them at critical times. The mantras are not merely the
hymns meant for prayer. They are the source of religion and moral teachings
given by God for success in life.
One should pray to God for spiritual prosperity and bliss, and the words of
prayer should be full of self-confidence. It is needless to say that
self-confidence is the result of truthfulness, faithfulness, honor, sincerity,
honesty and righteous life. One must therefore make every effort to achieve
these qualities so that the prayer is successful.
According to Vedic texts one should pray to God daily two times - morning and
evening. This prayer is called Sandhya. Sandhya means to meditate
properly and to have communion with God. This is done at the time when the day
meets the night and vice versa. These twilights represent the communion of soul
and God. As they fall twice a day, Sandhya should be performed twice.
In case one does not have enough time to pray twice, one must pray at least once
a day. The real prayer requires that we should never disregard God’s existence
and all our deeds, actions and behaviour should confirm our faith in God. We
should always feel God in our mind and do not forget God even while engaged in
worldly affairs. This is what is meant by prayer.
The Vedas do not sanction the use of idols for worship because God does not have
any shape or size hence cannot be reduced to an idol. The formless God can be
achieved only by the formless soul through the formless way, i.e. meditation. It
is essential for a person to gradually become an introvert to succeed in
meditation.
The only way to get the full benefit from prayer is to approach God with all
sincerity and elevate the soul so that it is in tune with God.
Adapted
from ‘Dharmic Shiksha (Vedic Religious Knowledge) – Form Six & Seven’, Arya
Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji, 2005.
Copyright:
Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji
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