"May I bow down to that Supreme Being whom Brahma, Varuna, Indra, Rudra and the Maruts praise with divine hymns; whom the Sama-chanters methodically sing about throughout the Vedas and Upanishads; whom the yogis see with their mind absorbed in 'That' through meditations; and whose end or beginning neither the hosts of gods nor demi-gods know."
Even though Sanatan Dharma ultimately leads to one Supreme Being, most of us can't visualize God in the beginning without our sense organs. The concept of all gods and demi-gods is a mere attempt to give a form to that Supreme Being.
As a king rules through various ministers, so does the Supreme King rule through saints and avatars (Gita 4:7-8). This concept extends to all religions. There is only one sun and one ocean for the entire earth regardless of how it is divided by nations, cultures, races or religions. And, so is there only one Supreme Being (Brahman) who exists externally through various manifestations as experienced all around us. There is nothing but one existence, eternally unchanging, immovable, imperishable, and indescribable by either by the human mind.
Therefore, let us seek unity in diversity and diversity in unity. A tree is nothing but a conglomeration of various parts such as the trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. The tree doesn't not have an identity without them, and without the togetherness of the tree the same components have no value. Similarly, God exists or manifests through all of us. And we all belong to that one God, the Creator.
No matter what name or form we assign to the Lord, God will always remain immaterial and incomplete. Any attempt to define God will be futile. It is only wise not to establish any material concepts or try to enforce it on others in the name of religion.
Such a Creator is best described as Sat-Chit-Ananada, or Existence-Awareness-Bliss.
-- Swami Radhanandaji
-- Swami Radhanandaji
No comments:
Post a Comment