Is God a He or She ? & Miscellaneous Musings

02/06/2004

Asathoama Sadgamaya Thamasoama Jyothirgamaya Mrithyoama Amrithangamaya
( Lead me from untruth to Truth, from darkness unto Light, from death to immortality )

Let us consider for a while the term 'Divine Pronoun' for God. We often say "Trust in Him ---
He will come to your rescue ---". Some other times we invoke the Mother Deity. We say "Trust in Her--- She will take good care of thee, as doth a mother her child---". Sometimes we recite " Om Namo Narayanaya ---". Other times "Saranyeh Triambakeh Gouri ---". In every case we wish to invoke God. Is God a he or she ? Or, is there a He-God and also a She-God (Goddess) ? Are they a Couple, a Perfect Divine Couple ? However, if there be two Entities, then there would be relativity
that could lead to mutual problems, One interacting with and limiting the Other. There would not be Poornathva, Paripoornatha, the Fulness and Supremacy of the Divine. Apart from this, mythology mentions so many Gods and Goddesses. Who is the 'Real God' that everyone talks of and prays to?
It is here that the Seers of Wisdom, the Vedantins come to our rescue to clear the confusion. They state that there are no He-God and She-God, nor many Gods and Goddesses. They reveal that the entire universe is an illusory manifestation of One Supreme Consciousness, the One without a Second, a Nithya-Sudhdha (Ever-Pure), Nithya-Budhdha (Ever-Conscious), Nithya-Muktha (Ever-free), an Omnipotent, all-pervading nameless, Niraakaara (Formless), Nirvikaara (Changeless), Nirguna (without attributes and qualities) Agency (in the absence of a better term to use ! ), beyond the concepts of time and space. There is nothing that is not 'That', from the tiniest sprouts of thought in the innermost recesses of our mind, to the yonder mammoth galaxies even a million light-years away. The Potential Aspect of that 'That' is termed Siva, and, the Dynamic Aspect of the same 'That' termed 'Sakthi' (Energy) which is also called the illusory 'Maaya'. These two Aspects are also referred to as 'Purusha' and 'Prakrithi'. Not two Entities but One, Prakrithi being the Manifest Energy Aspect of Purusha. The word 'Purusha' is often misunderstood as 'male' in common use. But in Vedantic parlance, Purusha is synonimous with 'Pureesa' which stands for 'Pura + Eesa' (Lord of the city, the In-dwelling Soul within the body). Gita states: "When at all gateways of the body shines the Lamp of Knowledge, then may one see well Soothfastness settled in that city reigns". That Existence-Consciousness-Bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda) alone is the 'Real God' (if one likes to call it so)
the Eternal Truth, birthless and deathless. All other names and forms are but fleeting and Its mere appearances, and, all the various Gods, Goddesses and their stories, are but the fertile but ignorant human mind's imaginative creations, sometimes perhaps symbolic, and sometimes may be helpful in the evolutionary process of realising the True Self.

THE ONE LIGHT

Poem: ( Random Musings )

Behold the globe of universe
And the myriad pin-holes on it ;
The brightly shining Lamp is its centre.
Oh ye mind ! Delude not thyself
That those are a myriad lamps ;
It is the One Divine Light
That shines through the myriad outlets !

Musings

Now, some of my musings from 'Pearls of Wisdom' and 'Random Musings' :

The test for right living is peace with oneself.
* * *
The beauty and thrill of life lie in its very unpredictability.
Know your future, and life is not worth living !
* *
In the game of cards, one has no other choice but to play with the cards on hand.
So too in life, one has to live with the constraints imposed by Providence. Play the game,
and live the life as best as you can.
* * *
It does not matter where you live. What matters is how you live.
* * *
Luck is merely a relative word. Everyone is less lucky than more lucky people, and
more lucky than less lucky people !
* * *
Envy not other's luck. Know that there are others who are envying yours !
* * *
Ah, the incredible Computer capability !
At the click of the 'mouse' ,
the whole world is at your house !
*
I may not live the way you like, and
you may not live the way I like;
but, problems will be less if both realize
no two in this world are alike !
*
Howsoever dissimilar the two sides of a coin be,
they both together constitute the coin.
So also are husband and wife,
who together constitute the coin of life !
*
Rays of the sun cannot just light a piece of paper; but the same when focussed by a lens, can do so. So also, Faith when made deep and intense, by prayer and meditation, works wonders in this world.
* * *
You should be like a gyro. In whatever way you are tossed, turned and oriented in your life,
your axis pointing towards Him should remain constant !