Quote:
Originally Posted by Honza
Many people claim that reality is only and nothing but the "I". Which is the general gist of Hinduism and Buddhism. My question is; can or does The God exist as well? I'm talking about the EXTERNAL God. The HIGHER God. The God who is not *just* "I".
For a real God to exist He would have to exist alongside the "I"; as a reality separate from and independent of the "I".
Is this possible? This is what the Abrahamic Religions suggest; that it is possible. I'm not so sure what the Eastern Religions suggest......
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Namaste Honza.
I'm bumping up this very old thread because I need to relate something to you and this is the
only way I can help you to understand what it is you are feeling and going through, for you see, I have also been through it.
I've noticed recently you are still having problems with I AM and want to raise the whole issue again. The question you asked here and my subsequent reply will settle this once and for all.
http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/sh...9&postcount=23
My dear soul, I AM, You ARE and everything IS!
I once believed as you, that both the "I" and "God" could not exist simultaneously once I 'became God' or 'merged in God'. Thus I became
very scared because I didn't want to become that which I loved.
I also thought that 'I AM' meant 'God was NOT' because saying 'I AM God' or "I AM" and by being so, would totally nullify the existence of God as being something/anything
other than what 'I AM'.
It is a mental conundrum and one that is solved only through
direct experience.
See, there is 'I' or the Ego, then there is God, which is not I nor Ego, then there is that which is neither myself/I NOR God. There are no concepts nor relative terms involved here whatsoever.
When we exist within our own self-awareness, there is the "I" and there is "God" and when we exist in God awareness, there is
still the "I" and there is
still "God", but who we are, who that little "I" is, is totally insignificant by comparison - to such an extent that the "I" is no longer important because ALL is God and yet, the "I" still remains.
Before I merge into Shiva, There is "I" and there is "Shiva" we are separate, we are lover and beloved. When I fully merge into Shiva, ALL is Shiva, and that
includes but does not
exclude what "I" am.
However, because this state is so exquisitely wonderful and profoundly intense, full of so much love and joy my heart wants to implode from extreme bliss, just a few moments is all this poor soul can stand whilst still remaining alive. At that time, for those few minutes, there is NO Shiva and NO Necro...there's just pure, ecstatic, indescribable stuff going on.
Once that is over and I come down a notch, still in a total bliss state but not in the full absorption into bliss (which I doubt anybody can fully sustain at the topmost level for any longer than about 5 minutes IF that), it goes back to being "I" and "Shiva" again, but things have changed a bit since before the bliss...everything is glowing from within. Everything is alive with energy and moving fluidly throughout about 6 different dimensions at once, but throughout the whole experience basically, both God and I exist simultaneously!
The ocean becomes the drop, but the ocean is still the ocean and the drop is still the drop.
When people say "I AM" it's just a rather crude way of describing it all and yes, it's a bit egocentric in a way.
What it is, in a nutshell, is the Mano Sharira (Mind Sheath) identifying with the Jivatman (Embodied Soul).
This of course has
nothing to do with the Ananda Sharira (Bliss Sheath) identifying with the Paramatman (God-Soul). That is a whole different ball-game and it's like comparing chalk and cheese, my friend.
I hope this answers your question and you can see how:
1. God and I can exist both independently and simultaneously &
2. When people say "I AM" it usually means "I have the same stuff inside me that the universe is made from, but I'm not the universe".
So, please take this from a Hindu who once was against the whole "I AM" notion, until I discovered that "I AM AND God IS".
Om Namah Shivaya
Om Shanti Shanti Shantih