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Originally Posted by Honza
Then surely that is the greatest gesture of Interfaith. If everyone is accepted as God and accepts themselves as God then we would have a one world religion, and a one world spirituality.
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I think the proper word instead of God is Spirit, and God is distinct from Spirit.
We souls are all Spirit including God, but we do have our distinct individualities, imho.
As per Hinduism, Brahman is pure consciousness as the Vedas point out. Nirguna Brahman is pure consciousness of an impersonal nature, while God as Saguna Brahman and the jivatman or soul are pure consciousness of a personalised nature, with the Jivatman in bondage due to karma or unconscious impressions. This bondage, when wiped off through spiritual exercises and meditation, results in the soul or jivatman being purified of karma and regaining its original state as pure consciousness.
Paramahamsa Yogananda also states in this regard, "The word 'God' means the manifested, transcendental Being beyond creation, but existing in relation to creation. Spirit existed before God. God is the Creator of the universe, but Spirit is the Creator of God."
Here Spirit stands for Nirguna Brahman, while God stands for Saguna Brahman.
In the yogic philosophy, the Shivalinga as Saguna Brahman is considered the first form to arise when creation occurs, and also the last form before the dissolution of creation.
The Hindu scriptures Kashi Vishwanath temple considers the Shivalinga as representing a cosmic pillar of light.
Interestingly, as per the Shaivite monotheistic religious sect called the Prajapita Brahmakumaris, the form of the Shiva linga denotes God as a
point of light, and who is known as Jehovah, Allah, Ahura Mazda in other religions.