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Old 23-10-2019, 06:44 AM
ajay00 ajay00 is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,291
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Honza
Hinduism has taught me the importance of self respect, the truth of the Universal "I", and that I Am God.

However where it worries me is that in Hinduism there is no "you". There are no others. Everything is my own self. That worries me because I am so used to treating everyone else as their own self and as real people in their own right.

Hinduism also has no real "we are", since you are not real then "we are" cannot be either.

Finally Hinduism has no objective God who has the last say on any matter. Everything is ones OWN self in Hinduism and not an objective reality in its own right.

So I have learned that I AM. But I cling onto my Western understanding of others and a separate and objective God.

The Shivalingam is considered to be a divine pillar or point of light in Hinduism, which corresponds to the idea of Allah, Ahura Mazda, Jehovah, Bahá in other religions as a separate and objective God.

Theoretically speaking, this may be how a personal God emerges from the impersonal Brahman !


As per the ancient Rig Veda...

Prajñānam brahma - Brahman is pure consciousness (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)

This implies that Brahman or Spirit is of the nature of pure consciousness.

Nirguna Brahman is pure consciousness of an impersonal nature.


Saguna Brahman is pure consciousness of a personal nature.


Paramahansa Yogananda states thus: "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. Nirguna means attributeless , formless and impersonal. Saguna means with attributes, qualities, form and personalized nature.

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. This bondage, when hacked off through spiritual exercises and meditation, results in the soul or jivatman being purified of karma and regaining its original state as pure consciousness.

In the yogic philosophy, the Shivalingam as Saguna Brahman is considered the first form to arise when creation occurs, and also the last form before the dissolution of creation.

The Shivalingam is considered as the greatest personification of Saguna Brahman, and was worshipped by the likes of the Avatars Rama and Krishna themselves.

An oval shaped stone is worshipped as a symbol of God or Shivalingam in Shaivite temples. The Vedas and Shaivite scriptures consider the Shivalingam to a be a cosmic pillar or point of light. Another name for the Shivalingam is Jyotirlingam with Jyoti meaning light.

As per the monotheistic religious sect called the Prajapita Brahmakumaris, the form of the Shiva lingam denotes God as a point of light.

I have created a thread in this regard showing the correlation between God and light in various world religions.

http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/sh...d.php?t=127748

The Prajapita Brahmakumaris associate the Shivalingam with Jehovah, Allah and Ahura Mazda of the other monotheistic religions.

The Prajapita Brahmakumaris is also the only spiritual organisation in the world run by women leaders, administrators and teachers. They have teaching centres in almost every country around the world where they teach 7 day courses on yogic philosophy and meditation free of charge.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Honza
Finally Hinduism has no objective God who has the last say on any matter. Everything is ones OWN self in Hinduism and not an objective reality in its own right.

So I have learned that I AM. But I cling onto my Western understanding of others and a separate and objective God.

So, as mentioned earlier, the Shivalingam can satisfy your religious understanding of a separate and objective God, which would be more easier to focus and meditate upon.
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When even one virtue becomes our nature, the mind becomes clean and tranquil. Then there is no need to practice meditation; we will automatically be meditating always. ~ Swami Satchidananda

Wholesome virtuous behavior progressively leads to the foremost.~ Buddha AN 10.1

If you do right, irrespective of what the other does, it will slow down the (turbulent) mind. ~ Rajini Menon
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