Vedanta

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Mis-understanding God 

           The term "God" is severely abused and misused in all religions. God is pure Consciousness. But this is initially difficult to comprehend for the Ego-Mind. Hence God has been given names and forms so that the mind can grasp the concept. When the mind and Ego is purified, then there is no need for the names and forms of God.

           When a child begins to learn alphabets, it cannot comprehend  the words and therefore forms and names are attributed for easy grasping. "A" for Apple, "B" for ball, "C" for CAT, "D" for dog etc. The child can only grasp alphabets in names and forms. But the very same child when reaches enough maturity drops all the names and forms attributed with the alphabets and can read and write without those symbols.

         Similarly most of us cannot grasp the concept of Pure Consciousness and so it is given name and form in religions. In Vedic tradition which talks about one God, however has innumerable Gods and Goddesses to represent the various attributes of Awareness which leads to the understanding of Consciousness. Ironically, these symbolic representations are taken for granted resulting in confusions and mis-understandings. In the section of festivals you will read in detail how these symbolic representation of Gods and Goddesses help in the purification of Ego to realize Pure Consciousness.

          Only for a lay man language, God is represented as someone sitting and controlling us and is the one who (he or she) takes care of all beings on Earth, creates and destroys and gives punishments and rewards. All these are required for the immature Ego to mature. Like we frighten the kids with ghosts and kidnappers to prevent them from doing mistakes or to obey the parents.

       As we purify our Ego we understand that it is our thoughts that create the world. The world is just the play of thoughts, like the shadows created in the presence of light. Vedanta say the whole world is an illusion and only Consciousness is the reality form the stand point of the view that it is in the presence of  Light that all shadows are formed. The mind when is away from the light of Consciousness, creates reality to  the shadows. When the mind gets closer towards the light of Consciousness the world of shadows disappear and understand that everything is only Consciousness. The illusion was in taking Consciousness as different objects instead of "ONE". This is the illusion or "Maya".

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