Image of God

[Guest guest]

Om Namah Sivaya

 

”if according to the christian scriptures " man was

built in god's image " then logically god must be a

person.”

 

According to doctrines CREATED by CHURCH God is a

person. Salvation is ONLY possible through Jesus and

others will be barbecued in hell eternally. I wonder

what would have happened to billions of souls who

existed before the birth of Jesus?, unlucky souls!!!

They also say that ONLY man has soul (Mind?), do not

believe in reincarnation and animals do not have soul

(simply created by God for human consumption?). They

talk about a being called Satan who is the enemy of

God! & responsible for evil.

 

However if God is a person then He must have

limitation (body is simply a cage for the soul). The

following extracts taken from Volume I : The complete

works of Swami Vivekananda describes the theory is

flawed.

 

“In this country [America], there are millions who

believe that God is (has?)a body. Whole sects say it.

[They believe that] He rules the world, but there is a

place where He has a body. He sits upon a throne.

 

But in India they are sensible enough never to make

[their God a physical being]. You never see in India a

temple for Brahma. Why? Because the idea of the soul

always existed. ….

 

The Indian idea is that the soul is formless. Whatever

is form must break some time or other. Their cannot be

any form unless it is the result of force and matter;

and all combinations must dissolve. ….

 

God is omnipresent. Without hands [he grasps]

everthing; without feet he can move. He is the

formless, the deathless, the eternal. The idea of God

came. He is the Lord of souls, just as my soul is the

(lord) of my body. If my soul left the body, the body

would not be for a moment. If He left my soul, the

soul would not exist. He is the creator of the

universe; of everything that dies He is the destroyer.

His shadow is death; His shadow is life.”

 

The ancient Rishis of India and the seers have

prescribed Linga for being installed in the temples of

Lord Siva. This represents God is formless. He has no

form of His own; and yet, all forms are His forms. All

forms are pervaded by Siva. He is infinite

consciousness. He is eternal, changeless, formless,

independent, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, one

without a second, beginningless, causeless, taintless,

self-existent, ever-free, ever-pure and perfect. He is

not limited by time. He is infinite bliss and infinite

intelligence. He is free from defects, the all-doer

and the all-knower. He is the undying soul seated in

the chambers of your heart, who is your Indweller,

innermost Self or Atman and who is identical with the

Supreme Brahman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Selva,

 

May i ask from which lecture or section of Volume 1, this extract of Swami

Vivekananda is from. Thanks.

 

Also to the question about Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he was a living example

of Bhakti and he exhibited the highest form of bhakti rasa throughout his

life, constantly going into trances, dancing weeping at the thought of

Krishna..

..He expressed the ecstay felt of the seperation of Radharani from Krishna

and hearing the verses of the srimad bhagavatam or gita govinda expressing

the love of krishn and radha, he used to go into raptures and often fall

down in a faint acutely feeling the seperation from Krishna..

he was a most amazing saint, often considered as an incarnation of Krishna

himself to teach ppl the virtues of Bhakti and chanting hari nama.

 

No wonder sri ramakrishna held him in such a high regard...caitanya who was

well learned in nyaya philosophy gave away everything for the love of god.

he held that bhakti was the highest form of worship, which i have heard

echoed in certain parts of swami vivkenanda's work as well, when he talks

about the love of the gopis for krishna, before which nothing else

mattered...all philosophy etc were thrown away in that madness of love, that

utter drunk madness of love where one swims in the ocean of ecstasy of that

living God....goodness, i have goosebumps the gopis did not care about

anything but krishna...they would come running when they heard the divine

melody of his flute, leaving husbands, children, houses everything (which

ramakrishna used to always remind, was temporary) and when they were not

able to do so, they would weep uncontrollably thinking of Him..and that

misery borne of separation, it is said, burned away all their prarabdha

karma....

 

and the rasa lila is considered by Chaitanya mahaprabhu as one of the most

elevating parts of the srimad bhagavatam, although it is often misunderstood

by ppl who try to understand it through their material view of life...

 

 

Cheers,

Sudheesh

 

_______________

Dhoom ya Humtum? http://server1.msn.co.in/sp05/iifa/ Which is your fav

movie?

[Guest guest]

OM Namah Sivaya

 

" --- Sudheesh Sree <sudheesh007 wrote:

May i ask from which lecture or section of Volume 1,

this extract of Swami Vivekananda is from. Thanks. "

 

The Soul and God (delivered in San Francisco on 23/3/1900).

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Ramakrishna , Selvaratnam Selvakumar

<selvauk> wrote:

> OM Namah Sivaya

>

> " --- Sudheesh Sree <sudheesh007@h...> wrote:

> May i ask from which lecture or section of Volume 1,

> this extract of Swami Vivekananda is from. Thanks. "

>

> The Soul and God (delivered in San Francisco on 23/3/1900).

 

Comment:

 

Namaste,

 

RE: The Soul and God: Volume 1 - Lectures & Discourses

 

The lecture is accessable here:

http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_1/lectures_and_discour\

ses/the_soul_and_god.htm

 

Om Shanthi Om