All-Loving God in Heaven – Part 35

In previous discussion 34, it was shown as long as we think we are finite individuals — the vastness of the universe will dwarf us. The smallness a person feels about oneself, reflects one's knowledge about the total reality.

If my knowledge can't see how “I” and God are not-two, then there is a subtle sense of isolation. Unable to connect with myself, others and world. Rebellious. Critical. Suspicious. Shallowly categorizing things into black and white.

“Mine” and “my” are considered normal.

My satisfaction. My dissatisfaction. My understanding or ignorance. This enlightenment is mine.

Firm individuality indeed.

Whereas if self-knowledge is properly assimilated as elaborated within the sacred texts, and further clarified by means of a teacher — then”Me” and “mine” continue because they're functions of the mind.

However this very mind ceases to forget, “Everything resolves into the One Cause of the universe whose nature is not different from this thinking-emotion individual”.

Having heard about Limitless Consciousness (Brahman) and God (Ishvara), the student brings up a valid argument, “The way you described the scheme of reality, it seems to me that the One (Brahman) merely watches the world. Whereas God  (Ishvara) in heaven, the Almighty father… feels for me… cares for me… loves me. One day when I depart this world, I shall be at one with Him and His glories. How can I replace this joy with the One whose is uninvolved?”

” The Limitless One (Brahman) with it's maya power is what we call God (Ishvara), the All-Pervading One with names and forms.

The entire universe reflects God's grand intelligent order.

This very order choreographed perfectly this vast interconnected universe, including time and space.

Thus His presence, His knowledge is everywhere observable through the cosmos, your own body… making them work, making them intelligible.

This is what we call God's grace and blessing. The fact that everything already works. Planets are revolving around the sun. Digestion is working. None of this is your doing.

Imagine our lives if the laws of physics turn volatile. What if fire turns cold. What if water flies. What if order of ends and means do no coincide. What if law of cause and effect doesn't match.

Without order, we would then wake up each morning with anxiety, not knowing what is the day's surprise. Maybe gravity will cease for a minute. We would be nervous wrecks.

Imagine waking up, worrying your heart could suddenly stop without prior notice. Or digestive juices suddenly don't activate. Or lung alveoli (air sacks) momentarily close.

If you think about it — there are numerous reasons for things to not work, whether in our own body or the world. Yet they do work around the clock.

It's nothing short of a miracle that grand order keeps functioning with absolute precision and predictability for billions of years.

Like the revolution of 8 planets around the sun — never late, never early by a single minute — in perfect symphony for millennia.If this is not grace, then what is!

Therefore how can we say God is away, when God is the very grand order witnessed at every level of creation.

If God is away, while at the same time He is supposed to be omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, eternal… then we can never be at one with Him.

Because He is located in a specific place, far away from our troubles.

Where He is, we are not. Where we are, He cannot be.

This certainly contradicts the meaning of omnipresent (all-pervading), as it does the word “eternal”.

Omnipresent and eternal mean — it is here and now, without time or change, ever present. That's what we call Limitless Eternal Existence.

There cannot be a separation or union.

We have to be the Limitless One, here and now.

There is neither a becoming nor a joining. Neither a now nor a later. Because this would mean a disjoining in the future. Which again contradicts omnipresent.

Furthermore, gaining and losing imply a time factor. For example, gaining heaven.

But time does not and cannot have a role where eternity is concerned.

The Limitless One is beyond time, as said earlier. It is the very basis of time and space.

And how are we going to be any better knowing that our “joining with God in heaven” is only for a short time?

Just as we spend hard earned money, it cannot be any different in heaven.

The only difference is, instead of money being depleted, it is your merits (puṇya-karma) gathered from good deeds performed on earth.

Once merits exhausted, back to entanglements of destiny.

Let me point out another flaw in your question…

Formless God has a location? How is this possible? It is against any logic or reason.

If He is omnipresent, He cannot have a form.

Formless as He is, how can you confine Him?

You have not thought through your definitions, else you would've not located him so far away, safe and secure.

Reality is, everything you perceive (color, shape, sound, thought, emotion, form)… is God, the All-Pervading One.

Turning us back to our initial explanation — the Limitless One (Brahman) together with it's maya power, manifests as multiplicity (world).

All the while, the Limitless One undergoes no change nor action, neither increases nor decreases. It remains as it is, indivisible, complete and full… Limitless-Existence-Consciousness.

The entire universe is the One Consciousness, which when seen from standpoint of creation, we call God (cause of the universe).

Understanding this, tell me… where is God not?

In creation, what is not God?

What can be greater joy then knowing there is only Lord. ”

 

In next conversation, student has accepted the Oneness vision, but can't understand how Brahman is without attributes. So he gives Brahman ‘divine-attributes'. Teacher corrects this.