I
believe in God. Nothing unique. Most people do. Yes, there are some who may
not. Very few among them would be non-believers right from childhood though
unless they were brought up in strict non-believer households. In most cases, I
guess the atheist belief starts during adulthood when they are influenced by
other non-believers. In any case, Hindu doctrine has a place for everyone.
Non-believer does not mean outcast. As long as one is following societal mores
and basic Hindu philosophy, he is the same as any of us. One can believe
consciously or subconsciously, it does not matter.
But,
we digress. Let’s come to the point. What or who is God? To me He is Supreme.
He is Creator (Brahma), He is Caregiver (Vishnu) and He is also Destroyer
(Shiva). Basically the three faces of God. If He is Supreme, He is One. There cannot
be other. Multiplicity of Supreme is not possible.
We
all know about the Big Bang theory. It is not conclusively proved yet, but most
probably true. Our universe is a result of that and all life form evolved from
there. All good. But are we sure there are no parallel universes or
multiverses? There may be billions of other universes, for all we know. So, were
there other Big Bangs? Or did a single Big Bang create all the far flung
universes? Hard to tell. Now, think of the total energy required to create just
one universe, the bounds of which are ever unknown, let alone multiverses. What
a colossal mass of energy (energy has a mass, E=MC2)! Where did this
Energy come from? This is God, to my mind.
Many
spiritually uplifted persons, who have realised His manifestation, have spoken
of the dazzling light that is difficult to see with the naked eye. So, if this
Energy is “Swambhu” then God also is “Swambhu”, as the Vedas and the Upanishadas
have mentioned. And then He created this Energy which resulted in our universe
and maybe others.
Who is God? What does He look like? We, the common people imagine Him as we like.
All who claim to have seen Him or felt Him though, describe the experience in
different ways. This is no surprise. Let us imagine we observe Mt.
Kanchenjunga. It can be seen from many places. Darjeeling, Kalingpong, Siliguri,
Pelling, maybe even as far away as Raigunj if luck is on your side. It will
look different from different places. Different shape, different size. So, God,
who is altogether a vastly different and superior phenomenon, will definitely appear
different to the different people, who may have seen or visualised Him. That’s
why there is all this confusion. Some enlightened persons may have seen or
visualised Him but they have definitely not described His appearance. They have
propagated His other aspects but not His appearance. This leads to us the next
question.
If
He is Supreme, why is there is a multiplicity of god & goddesses in our Hindu
culture? Believe there are various factors behind this. Firstly, it is very
difficult for the masses to visualise or accept “One God” concept, because the
form or appearance is missing as a construct. In the primitive ages, men were
helpless against all natural forces i.e. Sun, Rain, Wind et al. So, they prayed
to these forces to keep themselves safe. That’s why deities like Barun, Agni,
Pawan came into the picture initially. Then we have to consider the mix of
cultures in our land. When the Aryans spread to other corner parts from the
north-west of India, they came in contact with the Adibashis or the original
inhabitants of the land. After some initial conflict, they stayed together
harmoniously and slowly a mixed culture evolved. Both sets of beliefs were
accepted. So, many non-Aryan beliefs entered the main stream and led to
multiplicity.
And
we needed rituals and festivals in a community setting. For bonding and for entertainment.
Which was important for mental well being. As people started to live in a
community for protection against external forces, and villages came into
existence, festivities were required to celebrate life. Marriages and such life
events were few and far in between. So, Puja (worship) of deities came into
fore. Different local deities were enshrined.
Puja
involves rituals. But it is also a festival. Community festivities back in the
days led to multiple pujas, and multiple deities. For puja or festival purpose,
we have multiple gods, but eventually we pray to Him. Now, sages had said that if
you have difficulty in imagining Him as “Nirakar” (no form), then imagine Him
in any form and that becomes your “Ishta Devata”(own God). Pray to Him and seek
His blessings. Only those who have attained higher echelons, philosophically or
spiritually, can imagine or pray to Him as “Nirakar”. Others may find it easier
to pray to their respective “Ishta Devata”s in the form we like.
Spirituality
is not the same in everyone. Nor is intellect. Only at the higher levels of
spirituality or intellect or both, one can conceptualise “One God” or
“Nirakar”. For others it may be difficult. Slowly and eventually, they turn
towards Him, but it comes through stages. Slowly, from the many facets of the
“One God”, the roads converge towards the singular, which is difficult to
comprehend at one go. That is another reason of multiple deities in our
culture.
All
through the ages, the wise sages have said “All roads leads to Him”, meaning
spiritual roads. So, the journey of faith may be different, but the Goal is
One. God is One. Even, recently Sri Ramakrishna said “Joto Mat Toto Path”
meaning “Different Faiths are Different Paths, leading to Him only”. Swami
Vivekananda has simplified it more to say “Serve all the Creatures, thus you
will serve Him”. Simplest way I feel.
Mother
and God is probably the only multiplicity that remains, or you can say two
sides of the same coin. Mother is the nearest thing to God in our earthly life.
Mothers clearly represent two of the functions of Him, Creation and Caring. The
selfless love of Mothers is like His selfless love for all His creation. Mothers
can also destroy all that threatens His creation. That is why mostly we worship
God as a motherly figure, Durga , Kali, Chandi. This way Mother and God becomes
one. We pay homage to both. Another thing to note is that the deities Durga,
Kali, Chandi are all described in our Puranas as “Shakti” which again means
“Energy”, the origin of the Universe.
How
do you serve God? Once, Narada had asked Sri Krishna “Who is your greatest
follower?” expecting to hear his own name. But to his utter surprise, Sri
Krishna pointed to a farmer returning home from his field and said, “That man
is. He goes to the field at the crack of dawn, toils all day, has his frugal
meal there, and comes back home at sunset. After returning, he washes himself,
has dinner and before going to sleep, remembers Me, and thanks me for his two
square meals. He does his duty wholeheartedly and honestly and also remembers
Me in his gratitude. He is the greatest follower of God. If everyone all day
long only takes my name, prays to me and tries to reach Me through meditation,
then how will my creations survive and flourish? For that, I require simple God
loving men and women, who perform their allotted duties honestly and sincerely,
and remember Me even once a day”.
That’s
all for now. Namaskar.
Posts
