What is God to you?

Spirituality Religion
#21

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;37237]There are dozens of religions in the world: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Taoism, Shintoism, Shamanism, Paganism. If you lose faith in one, there are many others to choose from. Rejecting them all just because you lose faith in one, is akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Anyway it sounds like you are moving towards a more Hindu religious worldview. “God within, Yoga”[/QUOTE]

I would say the fact that there are so many religions IS an indicator that they are ALL rubbish.

#22

[QUOTE=YogiAdam;37254]I would say the fact that there are so many religions IS an indicator that they are ALL rubbish.[/QUOTE]

Or an acknowledgement of our feeling that there is a higher power and our inability to fully understand or quantify it? Humans are so very fallible and egocentric, its easy for us to misstep.

#23

[QUOTE=YogiAdam;37254]I would say the fact that there are so many religions IS an indicator that they are ALL rubbish.[/QUOTE]

There are so many kinds of fashion. So many kinds of music. So many kinds of games. So many kinds of literature. So many kinds of of number systems(decimal, binary) So many kinds of logic(classical, modal, quantum) So many theories in physics(Newtonian, Relativity, QM, String theory) So many approaches in Psychology(Behaviourism, Psychoanalytical, Learning, Cognitive-Behavioural, Social, Neurological)

All this proves is that there are so many ways a human can express and interpret things, some forms of expression and interpretation being better than others of course. Each field has its many expressions. Similarly, religion which is to do with morality, feeling and life has its many expressions.

Religion is just as necessary and essential in this world as any field is. It is part of what makes a human a human.
Humanity is all about morality, feeling and life.

#24

[QUOTE=Alix;37255]Or an acknowledgement of our feeling that there is a higher power and our inability to fully understand or quantify it? Humans are so very fallible and egocentric, its easy for us to misstep.
[/QUOTE]

Well obviously we can’t fully understand something that doesn’t exists.

#25

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;37258]All this proves is that there are so many ways a human can express and interpret things, some forms of expression and interpretation being better than others of course. Each field has its many expressions. Similarly, religion which is to do with morality, feeling and life has its many expressions.

Religion is just as necessary and essential in this world as any field is. It is part of what makes a human a human.
Humanity is all about morality, feeling and life.[/QUOTE]

I think (and I know this sounds like I may have changed my views a lot in the last few weeks), that what you are talking about, I would call philosophy. Morality, feelings, and expression, I think are all philosophical subjects. I tend to think of religion as faith, and asserting a belief in something supernatural. That’s just my interpretation anyway.

#26

something I dont reallly care to think about anymore. sometimes I say thanks for things, who am I saying thanks to, i dont know, sometimes I pray before food, who am I praying to, dont know

#27

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;37237]

Anyway it sounds like you are moving towards a more Hindu religious worldview. “God within, Yoga”[/QUOTE]
Geeze, shut up abut it already

#28

[QUOTE=YogiAdam;37271]I think (and I know this sounds like I may have changed my views a lot in the last few weeks), that what you are talking about, I would call philosophy. Morality, feelings, and expression, I think are all philosophical subjects. I tend to think of religion as faith, and asserting a belief in something supernatural. That’s just my interpretation anyway.[/QUOTE]

Philosophy consists of reasoned belief. Many religions are based on philosophy: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Taoism. Many philosophies are religious in character such as Platonism, Idealism, Stoicism, Epicurianism. Many philosophers make religious arguments such as Aquinas, Bergson, Schopenhauer, Kant, Descartes, Plato, Socrates, Spinoza.

Many philosophers have given rational arguments for the existence of the soul, afterlife, reincarnation and the god.

Philosophy is basically rational religion. Religion first begins as faith first by explaining morality, life and feeling using mythology, but later it develops into rational discourse. For example in Christianity sin is explained as the fall of man from grace with the garden of eden myth. In more developed religion such as Buddhism sin is explained as a philosophical concept of suffering - where one incurs suffering because of attachment to transient objects of desire.

Like I said some expressions are better, but what cannot be overlooked here is each religion deals with the questions about morality, life and feeling and answers it in its own way. This is why religion is an essential human institution. If it were not for religion we would not have philosophy, and if it were not for philosophy, we would not have science.

#29

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;37274]Philosophy consists of reasoned belief. Many religions are based on philosophy: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Taoism. Many philosophies are religious in character such as Platonism, Idealism, Stoicism, Epicurianism. Many philosophers make religious arguments such as Aquinas, Bergson, Schopenhauer, Kant, Descartes, Plato, Socrates, Spinoza.

Many philosophers have given rational arguments for the existence of the soul, afterlife, reincarnation and the god.

Philosophy is basically rational religion. Religion first begins as faith first by explaining morality, life and feeling using mythology, but later it develops into rational discourse. For example in Christianity sin is explained as the fall of man from grace with the garden of eden myth. In more developed religion such as Buddhism sin is explained as a philosophical concept of suffering - where one incurs suffering because of attachment to transient objects of desire.

Like I said some expressions are better, but what cannot be overlooked here is each religion deals with the questions about morality, life and feeling and answers it in its own way. This is why religion is an essential human institution. If it were not for religion we would not have philosophy, and if it were not for philosophy, we would not have science.[/QUOTE]

Fair enough. I’m not sure if I would really put them in the same boat. I really see philosophy as a replacement for religion. An important aspect of philosophy is questioning everything, and looking at everything through a skeptical, critical mind. Using this approach, I would have thought that religion would completely collapse into a meaningless pile of rubble…

But then again, we have astronomy that has replaced astrology, chemistry that has replaced alchemy, and still people often take the ancient, nonsensical explanations over the contemporary replacements. You can’t stop tradition I guess.

#30

There is very little I know about GOD and I would like to share it -

For me God is a power who run this world. He is there to listen when I have to say something, he look after me like a mother and protects me.

Yes I thank God and pray him to forgive my sins.

But I do not believe that my destiny is in God’s hand. Our Karma decides what our destiny would be!

#31

I try to remind myself that God is all pervasive intelligence which not only created the universe but is also residing in it.
'Kudrat kar ke vasya soe’
Meaning: After creating the Nature, He resides in it.

I try to remind myself that God is the intelligence which makes the grass grow, which runs my body systems, which runs everything.

Also Kabeer says:
‘Kaho Kabeer hum Raam ki Ansh’
‘Say O Kabeer, we are Ansh(parts) of Raam(all pervading Creator)’

So I also try to tell myself that just like waves have a shape of their own they are yet parts of the ocean. So are we.

Also:
'Munn tu Jot sarup hain, apna mool pacchaan’
meaning:
‘O mind! you are made up of Light, recognize your root’

So I try to tell myself that when mind is stilled(is this a word?) by a Sadhak’s effort and grace of Guru the true nature of mind, Light manifests. And that manifestation is manifestation of God.

But after all this, I am still lost, confused, angry, irritated and struggling. This proves that just thinking these nice thoughts does not transform me. I have to do things (or in buddhistic sense, stop doing).

#32

It has an opposite effect. Since the beginning of philosophy in ancient India and Greece, philosophical questions have forced man to look beyond the world of senses and see the world of senses critically and questionably. Almost all philosophers in all traditions have concluded that our sensory world is dubious and unreal, and there is a supersensible reality behind it. Plato argued the allegory of the caves that what we see is only phenomena(literally: appearance) but not noumenon(supersensible reality: things-as-they-really-are) Descartes argued that the sensible world is dubious and argued for the independent existence of the mind from the world. Berkeley argued the entire world is a mental construction. Kant argued that the world that we perceive is constructed in the mind, but we do not see the actual world beyond it, because we are limited to our rational mind. Hegel argued that there is a hidden spiritual force moving us towards a final end-point of evolution(telelogy) Schopenhauer argued that the world was produced through desire and it was endless suffering. Husserl argued that fundamentally our world is a “life-world” and not a physical one, produced by structures within consciousness. Modern philosophers of mind have argued for the independent existence of the mind from the world. Heideigger argued for the mystical being-ness that eludes us.

All of these are widely considered to be the some of the greatest philosophers in the history of Western philosophy. They are very critical and skeptical but in the end they argue religious conclusions. This goes to show that religious conclusions do not go away if one engages in critical and skeptical inquiry, but on the contrary, they become more reinforced, by reason itself.
Similar conclusions have been reached by Indian philosophers.

But then again, we have astronomy that has replaced astrology, chemistry that has replaced alchemy, and still people often take the ancient, nonsensical explanations over the contemporary replacements. You can’t stop tradition I guess.

Astrology and Astronomy are two very diffrent things. They both continue to exist and are used for different purposes.

#33

And just to show that there is no rift between religion, philosophy and science either. Einstein believed that the universe was an elegant order and explained this with reference to gods mind. Nicole Tesla accepted the Hindu cosmology and attempted to explain all matter and energy as emanations from Prana acting on the Akasha. Erwin Schrodinger accepted the the Vedanta theory of Brahman as the unitary consciousness that is present in everything in the world, and borrowed from Samkhya philosophy in formenting his famous cat paradox. Neil Bohr and Werner Heisenberg accepted the Eastern philosophical concept that the observer created reality to explain wavemechanics. Carl Jung likewise accepted many Eastern philosophical concepts in formenting his theory of the collective unconsciousness, and alluded to reincarnation and spiritual development. Maslow, likewise followed suit, in developing his theory of motiviation based on the ultimate purpose of self-realization. David Bohm and many other physicists have followed suit.

In my view I see the ultimate culmination of religion, philosophy and science in spirituality. They are all approaching the same ultimate reality but from different viewpoints. Religion approaches it from feeling, philosophy from reason and science from facts.

#34

Can we please direct this thread back to God.

…or begin a new thread on other interesting topics that may come up here.

#35

[QUOTE=omamana;37287]Can we please direct this thread back to God.

…or begin a new thread on other interesting topics that may come up here.[/QUOTE]

No worries… so yeah anyway, there’s ZERO evidence anywhere to support a god theory, so I would question what such a theory could be based on. Maybe emotional wanting? this is my view.

#36

[QUOTE=omamana;37287]Can we please direct this thread back to God.

…or begin a new thread on other interesting topics that may come up here.[/QUOTE]

I trust in God that any thread on yoga forums these days shall in a matter of few posts become a crusade; no offense.

#37

[QUOTE=Brother Neil;37272]something I dont reallly care to think about anymore. sometimes I say thanks for things, who am I saying thanks to, i dont know, sometimes I pray before food, who am I praying to, dont know[/QUOTE]

This…and I also find myself praying in times of distress, but to whom? I do not know. I chalk it up to habit (also a former Catholic who spent his entire childhood in Catholic school). But I also justify it in that I do think prayer exudes a special energy that the universal forces respond to in some way.

I’ve spent the past 20 years exploring my hobby in astrophysics - on a very rudamentary level. Recently, I read ‘God at the Speed of Light: The Melding of Science and Spirituality’ by T. Lee Baumann, M.D. I wanted to follow his logic, but found that he was definitely reaching on some points. It was an interesting read, and did provide some thoughtful ideas.

For me, God has always been a duality. On one hand, as one poster put it, a kind and loving father overseeing his creation, caring for his children - the human race. This always raises more questions than answers, and definitely relies heavily on faith. On the other hand, God is an enormous energy responsible for the massive universe, or universes (Hawking’s new book is on my ‘to read’ list). For me, this provides more answers than questions and is closer to what YogiAdam needs as evidence.

#38

“god” is a very dangerous concept with the potential to bring profound pain and suffering to people.

the term “god” is simultaneously powerful yet poorly defined. at best, god brings people away from reality and into a world of destructive hope. at worst god is a justification and motivation for murder.

#39

This is God. This screen, the being typing behind the screen, the computer in the room in the home in the state and the country on this planet in this galaxy in this universe are all threads of consciousness in the mind of God… So This is God

#40

[QUOTE=Trika_yogi;37317]This is God. This screen, the being typing behind the screen, the computer in the room in the home in the state and the country on this planet in this galaxy in this universe are all threads of consciousness in the mind of God… So This is God[/QUOTE]

But we already have a term for that. It’s called ‘everything’. If you want to change the definition of the term ‘god’ to mean ‘everything’, that’s fine, but it can get very confusing if you are conversing with others. What’s wrong with the term ‘everything’? Wouldn’t it save a lot of confusion just to say ‘everything’ when you are talking about ‘everything’? That way you could loose the word ‘god’ all together, AND you would make conversing with others much easier.