To engage the world or withdraw from it?

[Honza]

Originally Posted by HITESH SHAH

God is omni-present , omni-potent and omni-scient .

People say that but no one has ever proved it or even come close. Not even Jesus, Krishna or anyone else. It might just be our dream.

[green1]

Originally Posted by Honza

People say that but no one has ever proved it or even come close. Not even Jesus, Krishna or anyone else. It might just be our dream.

1. Omniscience (of God): People, via meditation, reached Nirvana and came to omniscient state, and proved to themselves that God is omniscient (i.e. they are God itself). I, personally, also experienced God knowing the smallest detail about me.

2. Omnibenevolence: People, including myself, experienced God as an unconditional joy/love energy.

3. Omnipotence: Since God is joy/love, we come to the conclusion that God is psychologically very stong since God is unconditionally in joy/love state.

Hope this helps.

[Starman]

The omnipresence of that which many call “GOD” only has to be proven to your self, and once you prove it to your self you can not prove it to another person because it is absolutely subjective. Science will never be able to prove the existence of God, although they have found something which they call the “God-Particle,” which is found everywhere. It is really about the objective-subjective perspective, and in my opinion life just may be 100% subjective.

I have had experiences which have proven to me the omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscience, of a supreme intelligence which is the composer, director, and manufacture of this whole thing. It is beyond words and thoughts and I accept it as a reality greater than this physical day to day reality.

This is one of the major problems in this objective oriented world. People have their own interpretation of God or feel there is no God, and many wars have been fought over the concept of God or no-god. It is the most intimate and personal thing which a creation can have, their relationship with a creator or no-creator, well then their relationship with the universe. How people relate to life and who or what will be anointed has been an ongoing vigorous debate since humans arrived on this planet.

[Honza]

I would say that enlightened people experience 'large numbers' of reality, but not infinity. There is a huge difference between a large number and the infinite.

[Starman]

When I was referring to “anointed” I was speaking of how people debate, argue, and even go to war over their version of God; which version of God, or Lord, is the one which will be anointed in the eyes of the masses. Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Yawed, Jehovah, Allah, etc., etc. etc. On earth there is a competition for God, no-god, or which version of God.

[Honza]

Originally Posted by Starman

On earth there is a competition for God, no-god, or which version of God.

Oh yes definitely. Humanity's God is a divided house. The religions struggle for power between themselves.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by Honza

My impression is that the great spirit is more involved with withdrawing from the world rather than engaging with it.

It is like the great spirit is recoiling from the harshness of the world and is huddling up within. I tried engaging the world and I did find it very hostile. I guess others do too.

So what can one do?

In a sense the distinction between inside and outside is arbitrary, and the world 'out there' is the world in here.

The world is objectively hostile, but many individuals' worlds are entwined into one, so as myself, I live in my own world, and in the world at large. The world of my own direct experience is not hostile, even though there is hostility in the world at large. I'm aware that hostility exists, but it's not something I encounter myself.

My view is the world of your own experience changes toward your attitudes, and I think the most positive transforming power is the completely sincere wish that everyone is happy. Then you will be motivated to be of benefit to other people and act with generosity, which is not a flowery concept in my mind, because there are many temptations that distract me with desires which can lead away from the true calling of one's own values - so you have to remember your truer, deeper motive, and not be led astray by selfish cravings.

For example, during a job I start assessing if the job is going the same as I quoted for, and if I'm falling behind, I'm tempted to cut corners so I can make more money. In the thick of things, that is a very persuasive temptation, so I have to remember that I have certain standards, and the whole idea is the customer will be happy, impressed, pleasantly surprised and appreciative. Generosity is the key to appreciation, and it is deep because it comes from the undying wish that people will be happy - the way of the spirit - but selfish thinking can be very distracting from the true cause.

In the long term, by persisting with generosity and appreciation, the world of your own experience starts filling up with it and replacing hostility, animosity and so forth, and in this way, what is inside you is outside as well.

[J_A_S_G]

Swami Vivekananda's take.

So, do your work, says the Vedanta. It first advises us how to work — by giving up — giving up the apparent, illusive world. What is meant by that? Seeing God everywhere. Thus do you work. Desire to live a hundred years, have all earthly desires, if you wish, only deify them, convert them into heaven. Have the desire to live a long life of helpfulness, of blissfulness and activity on this earth. Thus working, you will find the way out. There is no other way. If a man plunges headlong into foolish luxuries of the world without knowing the truth, he has missed his footing, he cannot reach the goal. And if a man curses the world, goes into a forest, mortifies his flesh, and kills himself little by little by starvation, makes his heart a barren waste, kills out all feelings, and becomes harsh, stern, and dried-up, that man also has missed the way. These are the two extremes, the two mistakes at either end. Both have lost the way, both have missed the goal.

A kind of Middle Way.

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by Honza

People say that but no one has ever proved it or even come close. Not even Jesus, Krishna or anyone else. It might just be our dream.

Proofs can be there for finite things. Infinity by itself is an stand-alone-by-itself an axiom in arithmetic .

Further God is to be experienced (and NOT to be proved/measured definitively ) like subjective matters like taste, beauty , aroma, melody etc. Insisting on proof for God is like asking proof for your own existence or parenthood of your own parents . Though I can give volumes of proof for God,His miracles and prowess, one has to have belief on those proof also .

God in human form is for demonstrating life on earth or inspiring seekers how to navigate this world gracefully / gratefully / powerfully in abundance and in scarcity yet be ordinary . God in human form is NOT for showing any arbitrary prowess or magical powers . God in human form is a miniature God who accepts a form (thereby accept a chain) of His own will along with all its limitations as part of His cosmic play to inspire /protect /nurture good , to kill/eliminate/mitigate bad and establish/nurture great order in our worldly life and thereby have the first hand fun/excitement of play in this world by Himself .

[Goldcup7]

It seems that the world is a flowing out and a flowing in, in equal measure. Imo it is within the Great Spirit that the world flows out and flows in. What flows always appears as less than the whole, less that the Great Spirit, to an extent that even the spirit of life seems to harden and die.

But I say rest assured that although this hardened world seems to restrict and deny the free spirit, there is nothing beyond the reach of the Great Spirit. Nothing lives without spirit in it, even though it may appear as a hardened dense world. Imo it is spirit in disguise.