Definition of God given here is most natural, logical,
rational and of common sense
स पर्यगाच्छुक्रमकायमव्रनमसनाविर शुध्दमपापविध्म | कविर्मनीषी परिभुः स्वयम्भुयीथात्थ्यतोर्थान व्यदधाच्छः श्र्व्तीभ्यः समाभ्यः || YV 40.8
Sa pryagaachchhkrmkaaymvrnamasanaavir shudhmapaapavidhm, kvirmneeshee pribhuh svymbhuyeethaatathyatorthaan vyadadhaachchhaachrteebhyh smaabhyh. YV 40.8
Meaning: The Supreme Soul is omnipresent, omnipotent, without body, without any flaw, pure, sinless, visionary poetic creator and omniscient, existent in the heart and mind of all, transcendent, self-existent, who for the infinite ages of eternity creates, organizes, reveals and sustains all the forms of existence as they are and ought to be.
अकामो धीरो अमरीतः स्वयंभू रसेन त्रीप्तो न कुतश्चनोनः |
तमेव विद्वान्न बिभाय म्रीत्योरात्मानं धीरमजरं युवानम || AV 10.8.44
Akamo dheero amatah svayambhμu rasena treepto na kutashchanonah. Tameva vidvanna bibhaaya mreetyoraatmaanam dheeramajaram yuvaanam. AV 10.8.44
Meaning: Beyond desire, constantly calm and resolute, immortal, self-existent, is all-supreme, self-blessed with the beauty and sweetness of his own creation, Brhad-Brahma no-way wanting or imperfect. Having realized and attained to that constant, unaging, eternally young and ever new Super-Soul, the sagely scholar, self realized, never fear death.
इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुनमन्गिमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान |
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्तयन्गिं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः || RV 1.164.46
Indram mitram varunam-agnimaahuratho divyah
sa suparno garutmaan. Ekam sadvipraa bahudhaa
vadantyagnim yamam maatarishvaanamaa.huh. RV 1.164.46
Meaning: Reality is one, Truth is one, Ishvara (God) is one and only one, not more than one. The learned and the wise speak of it in many ways. They say: It is Indra, glorious, Mitra, universal friend, Varuna, highest adorable, Agni, light of life, Divya, heavenly, Suparna, supreme beauteous, Garutman, supreme dynamic. They say: It is Agni, life and leader of existence, Yama, supreme controller, law and justice, and the judge, and
Matarishva, supreme energy of the universe.
Only one God of the universe
न दवितीयो न त्रीतीयश्चतुर्थो नाप्युच्यते | य एतं देवमेकवृतं वेद् ||
न पंचमो न षष्ठः सप्तमो नाप्युच्यते | य एतं देवमेकवृतं वेद् ||
नाष्टमो न नवमो दशमो नाप्युच्यते | य एतं देवमेकवृतं वेद् || AV 13.4.16—18
Na dviteeyo na treeteeyashchturtho naapyuchyte, ya etam devamekavreetam ved. AV 13.4.16
Na pamchmo na shashthah saptmo naapyuchyte, ya etam devamekavreetam ved. AV 13.4.17
Naashtmo na navamo dashamo naapyuchyte, ya etam devamekavreetam ved. AV 13.4.18
Meaning: God is one only one, without a second, neither third, nor fourth, nor fifth, nor sixth, nor seventh, nor eights, nor nineth, nor tenth, in fact only one.
अनेजदेकं मनसो जवीयो नैनद्देवा’आप्नुवन पूर्वमर्षत | तद्धावतो’न्यानत्येति तिष्ठत्तस्मिन्नपो मातरिश्वा दधाति || YV 40.4
Anejadekam manaso javeeyo nainaddevai apnuvan purvamarshat. Taddhavatoinyaanatyeti
tishthhattasminnapo maatarishva dadhaati.YV 40.4
Meaning: Brahma is constant, unmoving, One and only One, without a second, and faster than the mind. The mind and senses cannot attain It, although It is present everywhere, already and always. Though still, It surpasses and transcends others who are at the fastest move in nature. Within It the wind holds the waters of the universe. Within the Divine Presence the soul performs its actions. (If something moves faster than the velocity of light, it becomes omnipresent. And what is omnipresent, is still too, because there is no space to move through.)
There is one and only one God of the universe. He is the creator of sun, moon, stars, earth, humans, animals, birds, insects, trees, plants, etc. As we have sun, moon, earth etc., there are many more suns, moons, earths, etc. The same one God created them all.
God is Omnipresent
तदेजति तन्नैजति तद् दूरे तद्वन्तिके | तदन्तरस्य सर्वस्य तदु सर्वस्यास्य बाहय्तः || YV 40.5
Tadejati tannaijati taddμure tadvantike. Tadantarasya sarvasya tadu sarvasyaasya baahyatah. YV 40.5
Meaning: It moves, yet It does not move, (being omnipresent). It is at the farthest of space, even farther, and It is at the nearest. It is within this all, and surely It is outside of all this.
प्रजापतिश्चरति गर्भे’अन्तरजायमानो बहुधा वि जायते |
तस्य योनिं परि पश्यन्ति धीरास्तस्मिन्ह तस्थुर्भुवनानि विश्वा YV 31.19
Prajaapatishcharati garbheiantarajaayamano bahudhaa vi jaayate. Tasya yonim pari pashyanti dheeraastasminha tasthurbhuvanaani vishvaa. YV 31.19
Meaning: Prajapati, father spirit of the created universe, immanent deep in the soul, moves everywhere, and although ever unborn He variously manifests Himself with all the forms of life. Men of thought and wisdom feel His presence manifest all around. In Him alone do all the worlds of existence find their haven and peace.
विश्वतश्चक्षुरुत विश्वतोमुखो विश्वतोबाहुरुत विश्वतस्पात | सं बाहुभ्यां धमति सं पतत्रैर्द्यावाभूमी जनयन देव‘एकः|| RV 10.81.3, AV 13.2.26,YV 17.19
Vishvatachkshuruta vishvatomukho vishvatobaahuruta vishvataspaat. Sam baahubhyam dhamati sam patatrairdyavaabhμumee janayan devaiekah. RV 10.81.3, AV 13.2.26, YV 17.19
Meaning: Vishvakarma, the one absolute self-effulgent lord of the universe, with universal eye to watch, and universal mouth to reveal the Word, and universal arms for action, and universal feet for omnipresence, having created the heaven (celestial) and earth from dynamic particles of Prakriti, keeps the universe in constant motion with his mighty arms of omnipotence.
God is present in each and everything. He is present inside and outside of our bodies. He is present inside the earth and outside the earth. He is present inside and outside of all living and non-living things. He is present in the smallest thing as well as in the biggest thing. He is present in the sky, sun moon and stars. He is present in our mind and soul. He is present in the whole universe.
God is everywhere and in everything as an observer and an operator of the universe. Everything is inside of God, so He creates the universe from inside as nothing is outside of Him.
God is never born
God never takes birth. He never dies. He has no beginning or end. He is always living. He never gets old or sick. He does not have a father or a mother. Nobody creates Him. He is all by Himself. He is unique. There is nothing like Him or equal to Him. There is nothing greater than Him or bigger than Him. He is the greatest of all. He is the biggest of all.
God is formless
न तस्य प्रतिमा अस्ति यस्य नाम महद्यशः |YV 32.3
Na tasya pratima asti ysya naam mhdyshah, YV 32.3
Meaning: God has no form or shape, His name and glory is great. God has no shape or form of any kind. He does not take birth. Worshipping any human, living or dead, or idol thereof is totally wrong. God cannot be sensed with the 5 senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue or skin). He has no body. He does not have hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose or mouth. He cannot be measured. He is infinite. No picture or a statue can be made of Him. Eyes cannot see Him. Ears cannot hear Him. Tongue cannot taste Him. Nose cannot smell Him. Skin cannot touch Him. God cannot be seen with the help of any instrument like microscope or telescope. God can be realized only in the mind. Just as we feel pain, pleasure, love, separation, jealousy, attachment in mind only; similarly only a clear and sharp mind can realize God.
God is Omniscient
God is every where including our minds. He knows each and everything in the whole universe. He knows our minds from past to present. He knows all our works from past to present. He sees all. He hears all.
God is Omnipotent
He is All powerful. He is powerful to do all his works by Himself. He does not need anybody’s help to create sun, moon, earth etc. and run the universe, neither anybody can help Him. He does all His works by Himself.
All powerful does not mean that God can do anything and everything. God can’t go against His own dharma or attributes or nature i.e. He is Just so He can’t be unjust; All souls/Atma are equal to Him, so He can’t do favors to one over the other; He can’t create another God; He is infinite, so He can’t limit Himself to one place; He is Immortal, so He can’t die.
God is just
He does only justice never does injustice. He observes the deeds (karma) of all human beings. Based on each person’s deeds, He rewards him/her for good deeds and punishes him/her for bad deeds, exactly as per their own deeds. There is no recommendation system or bribery accepted in the justice of God. To do justice is His nature. God is Fearless, Flawless and pure.
God is the Source of all true knowledge. In the beginning of the universe, it is Him who gives knowledge to human beings. The Vedas are such knowledge.
God is always in a state of ecstasy. He is free from happiness and sufferings. He does not favor a person who prays to Him and does not disfavor anyone who does not pray. He is free from jealousy, attachment, desires, anger, greed and arrogance. Getting close to Him thru meditation gives comfort as fire gives comfort to the cold person. Meeting God is possible only in one’s soul. One can meet somebody only where they both are present. Soul is the only place where both God and person are present. Anywhere else though God is there, but person (soul) is not there. Soul is inside one’s body. Therefore, it does not do any good to look for God anywhere else. Lack of true knowledge keeps people away from God.
God’s field of work is to create and sustain the universe, run the justice system based on Karma (deeds). Humans’ field of work is to be virtuous, just, honest, kind, helpful, righteous etc.
Name of God
God has several names in Sanskrit language. Each name specifies His attribute or quality. He is called Brahm which means biggest of all. He is called Brahmaa which means creator of the universe. His name is Vishnu which means omnipresent. His name is Ganesh which means who nurtures all. His name is Shiv which means who does well to all. He is also Om, Ishwar, Prabhu, Parmaatma, Bhagwaan, Mahaadev etc. His real name is OM, the word ‘Om’ includes all His Qualities and Attributes.
ओउम् खं ब्रहम | YV 40.17 Om kham brham. YV 40.17
Om is the name of Omnipresent God.
Realization of God’s existence
In certain situations we realize the existence of God e.g. when one is in utter despair, help arrives and the circumstances start to change for the better or an idea flashes in the mind when in a critical situation. Secondly, when we plan to do something wrong; we get a feeling of fear, suspicion, and shame; and, when we plan to do something good we get a feeling of happiness, encouragement and fearlessness. These feelings come from God.
God’s existence can also be realized from His works. The marvelous intelligent creation of the universe, the regular, logical and mathematical motions of the planets, meaningful and rightful functioning of the universe, the beautiful creation and growth of the plants and the living beings – all are His works, hence proofs of some super intelligent living power – the God.
Why to know and remember God
Knowing and remembering God can save us from doing wrong. If we understand that God sees all our actions and there are consequences of our actions, we may stop doing bad deeds and engage only in good works. Human nature is to avoid presence of others while doing something wrong. If we know that we cannot avoid God’s presence we may not do the wrongs. Thus, who does not want bad consequences, may not do wrong.
There are three reasons for a man not to indulge in bad deeds. One — fear of social degradation. Two — fear of punishment from law enforcement. Three — fear of punishment from God. It may be possible to deceive the society and the government, but not at all possible to escape from God’s justice.
Worshiping God
हिरण्यगर्भः समवर्त्तताग्रे भूतस्य जातः पतिरेक् आसीत् |
स दाधार प्रीथिवी द्यामुतेमां कस्मै देवाय हविषा विधेम || YV 13.4
Hiranyagarbhah samavarttatagre bhutasya jaatah patirek aaseet,
Sa daadhaar preethivee dyaamutemaam kasmai devaaya vidhem. YV 13.4
Meaning: There is only One Creator and Maintainer of the entire Universe. He alone is sustaining the earth, sky and other heavenly bodies. He is Blissful. He alone deserves to be worshiped by us.
Worshiping God means thinking of His qualities like truthfulness, doing justice, kindness, wisdom, fearlessness, flawlessness, purity etc. and trying to adopt those qualities in ourselves. Anyone who pretends to be a worshiper of God, but does not adopt His qualities, is not a worshiper of God at all.
Anything and everything we do, we do for ourselves. God is not affected by our deeds. He does not eat. He does not drink. He is in everything and everything is in Him. He does not smell. He is the source of all light. Therefore pretending to feed Him, carrying incense for Him or lighting a lamp for Him are meaningless actions. All our actions should be guided by the common good of all living beings.
Everyone desires to be happy. The formula to be happy is to give happiness to others. Under God’s justice system, one gets as much happiness as much he gives to others. Similarly, one gets as much misery as much he gives to others.
Keep it Simple
स नः पिता जनिता स उत बन्धुः AV 2.1.3
Sa nah pitaa janitaa sa uta bandhuh. AV 2.1.3
Meaning: He is our father, life-giver and relative as well. AV 2.1.3
There is you and God, no one else in between. He is equally accessible to all. He is the father and mother of all living beings. God does not favor one over the other, nor does he disfavor anyone. Persons who call themselves to be God’s agent, His messenger, His only son or His incarnation, do that to promote their personal interests by misleading and deceiving others. Be beware of such people, they should not be entertained.
