Understanding God
Understanding God
Existence of God
There are many beliefs about God. As a result, everyone understands God in his or her own way. Some people think there is no such entity as God, their main argument being that there is no proof of His existence. Because God cannot be seen with the physical eyes doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist. Like wind, which cannot be seen but can be felt, God’s presence can be experienced through spiritual knowledge and meditation.
Who is God and What is His Form and Name?
God is called the Supreme Soul, which means He is supreme among all souls. Like souls, God is a subtle point of light invisible to the naked eye, but unlike humans He is beyond the cycle of birth and death and the effect of actions in the form of experience of pleasure or pain. God is the Supreme Father, Mother, Teacher and Preceptor of all human souls.
Being incorporeal, God is represented by an oval-shaped stone or light in many religious traditions. Hindus worship an oval-shaped stone called Shivlingam or Jyotirlingam, meaning a symbol of Shiva or symbol of light. Muslims revere an oval-shaped black stone called Sang-e-Aswad (holy stone), which is placed in the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
The founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, said God is light. The sanctuary lamp that burns before the altar in many Christian and Jewish places of worship symbolizes God’s eternal presence. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, also sang the praise of the One who is ‘all light’ and incorporeal, while Zoroastrians worship God in the form of fire.
God is a giver, serving all beings altruistically and without discrimination, because of which He is remembered in some countries and cultures by the name Shiva, The Benevolent One.
His Virtues
God is the Supreme Father of all souls. He is called the Creator. His many names make His virtues apparent – He is the Ocean of Peace, Ocean of Knowledge, the Blissful One, and the Truth. He liberates humans from bondage to vices, and bestows salvation on them. He dispels our sorrows, showers us with mercy and, while doing all this, is absolutely detached.
Many are the religions and paths that souls take to reach God. But He does not exclusively belong to anyone. He belongs to everyone equally.
The Abode of God
Where does God live? Is there somewhere one can go to see Him and be with Him? God is a subtle point of light, and He does not pervade the physical universe. Nor does he live in the heart of any human being or in matter. His home is the incorporeal world, an infinite expanse of golden-red light beyond the sun, moon and stars. It is the original abode of all souls as well. By practice, we can travel to that abode by thought and experience its purity and stillness and the silent, luminous presence of our Father, which makes the soul feel truly at home.
The Divine Descent of God
God descends into this world when it is enveloped in the darkness of ignorance and unrighteousness. This is a period when humans are groping around for want of clear understanding of their true identity and the purpose of life, and are acting under the influence of vices. The Sun of Knowledge appears at the darkest hour in human history, to dispel the darkness and herald the dawn of a new age of truth, peace and happiness. He reveals to humans eternal truths about the self, God and the vast drama taking place on this stage we call Earth. Empowered by this knowledge, and their connection with Him, souls free themselves from the influence of vices such as lust, anger, greed and ego and work to achieve their highest potential. Such effort by a critical mass of humanity eventually brings about positive change in the whole human family, and the night comes to an end and a new day dawns.