Harimedia Forum

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People have a lot of questions about God, like for example: What is the right image of God? Should we all have the same image of God?

I personally think it's unlikely that we can ever find on religious questions a consensus. The natural sciences influence the image of God because the biblical image of the Judeo-Christian God but also the Vedic, the Far East image of God, were from the very beginning integrated or involved ones in certain worldviews, beliefs or convictions. If we read the Scriptures, if we read the creation accounts, the biblical one or that described in the Vedic tradition we can see, that there exist certain ideas about the nature of the world. And when these notions change then also the image of God changes.

Why all this wars, why this suffering, as now in Ukraine? I can't believe in a God who allows something like that? Now what should one tell people who ask something like that?

That depends, in my opinion, on the image of God, and of what we believe about the intentions of God with the creation. If we assume that God wanted to create free beings, then he gave liberty to all of his creatures, and this freedom includes the freedom, theologically speaking, to sin, or to evil.

If we however understand and see God as the great string puller, who determines everything and spins his threads from behind so to speak, it is difficult to reconcile this concept of God with the experience of bad experiences.

I personally don't understand God as the great puppeteer on whose threads we all hang, but I rather understand God as someone who gave the freedom to all in the creation of the universe, the autonomy to determine themselves personally, at least in a certain extend.

Thus I stand in direct contrast to Drpta who recently wrote: "God creates us perfectly; He gives us senses, intelligence, body and field of action. ... All ... are manifestations of God! Even if we are not aware of this, there is nothing changing. They remain the same manifestations of God."

Another question one may ask is: How do you recognize what is Gods will with you and with the world around you, what does he wants you to do?

Apart from authoritative prophecies, which I personally have never met in my life, I recognize it through my experience. My history with God is one in which God reveals his way with me and other people. Our certainty, our security as believers, Christians, Vaishnavas, Spiritualists, Mystics or whatever, is not based on individuals being able to know already the way, but that we are not alone on this way - with God.

Who or what is God?
"Do not I feel heaven and earth? declares the Lord" as one can read somewhere, at least in the German version of this book. In the English one it is translated sometimes also as: "Do not I fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” (-) God is nowhere in the universe, but the universe is in God - everywhere and in every part. And God is the larger entity, currently the last one, the absolute. God encompasses the universe, the universe does not encompass God.

Another opposing view of this my own understanding is that of Drpta, who writes: "But in ultimate state ... my awareness of that “I am” is the manifestation of the same spiritual energy or essence. Manifestation means “how it becomes apparent” or in other words this is structured appearance of the essence." In other words for Drpta the "Essence" is God and not that God, the personality, does encompass that "Essence" - of his or her (take your pick

Now I fully know that we, I and Drpta, will not convince each other here on what is, could be, the right understanding in this regard. My intention is more to show the readers another view of God and the Universe, his or her creation. A view I am convinced of, or rather do believe in.

By the way, Harshi, please do not throw out words from sentence when citing me. It changes sense of what I wanted to say!

Dear Drpta, you are welcome to clarify for us whatever misinterpretation you feel I have commited. In this way everyone of us can learn more about each others' view of God or each others' understanding of ones essential being.

Isn`t what we get involved here on Harimedia all about the immediate experience of the recognition of the essential being?!