Univeral Form of God

Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao

The world religions by and large claim that the world has been created by the God who is identified as the infinity, absolute and omnipotent and omnipresent force of unmatching capabilities. Some claim God to be out of universe (Dualistic) who has created the universe, while others are of the opinion that Universe is a part of God but not entirely constituting God. Few claim that God is within Universe but separate and this is monotheism. The word God is also invariably associated to a male. There is another theory that claims that God is complete universe and this is panenthism coined by German philosopher Karl Christian Freidrich Krause (1781-1832).The aspects of Panendeism can be traced all of the way back to Plato, the Neoplatonism of Plotinus, Meister Eckhart, and Giordano Bruno. Fuller elaborations of panentheistic beliefs can be found in the development of German Idealism, starting with Immanuel Kant and Johann Gottlieb Fichte, but particularly in the work of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, as well as in the Transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and in the development of Process Theism in the 20th century, in the work of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne (1).

Every one claims he is rather right and with so many religions being practiced in the world today, critics summarize that none is hundred percent correct, or else, so many religions and theories would not have come up thereby causing great confusion and chaos among humanity on the religious front. The word Panendeism was coined by Larry Copling in late 2000 in Ft, Lauderdale, Florida. Wikipedia in general gives the background of this ( 2). It is also claimed that the concept constitutes of very old concepts and facilitates modern concept and relation with God. "'pandeism' or 'pan-en-deism,' is something believed to be very close to the Native American concept of the all- pervading Great Spirit..."

In this context, it is worthwhile to deliberate the concept in relation to the ancient Hindu philosophy. The writings of Bhagavad-Gita the most revered Hindu scripture which is claimed to be the fifth Veda and the summary of entire Upanishadic Vedic literature are relevant. Lord Krishna having put valiant and the most brave Prince Arjuna to wisdom on the battle field at Kurukshetra ( Near present Delhi) decides to reveal his divine form that was not seen by any one earlier and the divine form can not be seen by the physical vision of a human being. One needs divine vision and it was granted to Arjuna. Lord Krishna says (3)”

“ Behold my form in hundreds and thousands, countless in kinds and colors and shapes. Behold the adityas, Vasus and Rudras, the ashvinis and Maruts,behold these marvels; many are they never seen before. Now and here in my body behold this universe, mobile and immobile and see whatever thou desirest to see with these physical eyes. I shall give you the divine vision. With it, see my divine yoga” (Bhagavadgta 11.8 ).

With the divine sight, Arjuna then saw the universal form of God with countless faces, mouths, eyes, heads and weapons, ornaments. His faces were turned in all directions. The splendor of the divine form was like million suns blazing. The universal God within him consisted of all celestial beings, demigods, angels, entire universe, cosmos and limitless infinity. Arjuna said in great reverence :

“Oh God in thy form I see gods and the orders of beings. I saw Brahama( one of the trinity)seated on lotus, rishis ( Sages) and divine Nagas ( serpents) too, I see thee everywhere with millions of eyes and arms and breasts but I do not see the beginning or middle of this limitless form. There is a mass of radiance everywhere. Thou art that. Thou art the immutable, the treasure of the universe. Thou art the guardian spirit that protects the eternal Dharma… Thou has filled the earth, the heavens and the regions of the mid air, the three worlds dwindle before they terrible manifest form. With open mouths thou touchest the firmament. Seeing thee I am quaking”.(Bhagavad-Gita 11:15- 23)

Thus Hinduism has spelt out clearly that the entire Universe is part of God. He is not only the loving, caring and benevolent protector Vishnu, but also the violent, terrible destroyer Rudra (Shiva). The Universal form was revealed to Arjuna to finally drive out the ignorance in him about his doubts regarding him being the cause for deaths in the battle field. In fact, the deaths are already destined and have been ordained by the God. Various prominent and brave warriors were seen swallowed by the universal God in the divine form and this was revealed to the Prince. Thus Arjuna had to only do his duty and he was not the cause for the deaths on the battle field. This universal form can not be seen even by the highest Veda, Tapas (penance) or meritorious act. Only by devotion, one can perceive the God and know and see him in essence and enter him. Lord Krishna has recommended certain methods for reaching him. It is known that those who practice much disciplined lives do reach bliss. But normal men can not enforce on them such great disciplined lives. The path is acceptable to Krishna is the path of renunciation of all works in him. He said:

“Therefore place thy mind in me. The teacher says, enter thy reason into me , then doubtless wilt thou be in me for ever.If thoiu can not fix your mind in me then praise yoga and learn to get at me. If thou art unable to do even the sadhana(Practice) do works for my sake. If even her thou art weak, take shelter in union with me …….” (Bhagavadgita 12: 3-20)

Thus spake Lord Krishna to establish relation between him and the worldly being. Hindu scriptures in order to drive home the truth of absoluteness of God has resorted to identifying the God into some form or shape which is the simplest form of understanding by a normal man although God is believed to have no form or shape. This aspect has been narrated several times in the scriptures from time to time. When the lord has revealed the limitless glory of his manifestation, it shows that he has no real form or shape that subscribes to the theories of other religions too. The scriptural contents should be actually taken in metaphorical way and draw essence that is very close to Panendeism that also claims that universe is part of the God. The metaphorical descriptions in Hindu scriptures are the result of imaginative descriptions of past sages who probably have penned these to impress common folk who are not capable of understanding higher spiritual doctrines that are invariably abstract. Such metaphorical writings are found in every scripture of the world religions. Islam says that the entire universe was made by Allah and does not say that universe is part of him. Old Testament says that God has created entire universe. But they also subscribe to the concept of God being omnipresent (every where). It amounts to God being in every thing and every where. Thus religions point out to the fact that the entire universe is part of God and God is slightly more than the Universe that subscribes to Panendeism. Panendeism differs from Monodeism, which only postulates a god separate from nature. Or a god that transcends but does not include nature.

Deism is a category of belief in god (or Spirit, Deity, ground of being, etc...) based on reason, experience, and the observation of nature. Panendeism is a sub-category of Deism. It is based on the speculation that the universe is a part of god, but not all of god and literally means "all in god". Any deist, who believes that the universe is a part (but not the whole) of god, can be considered a panendeist. It is very close to the Native American concept of the all- pervading Great Spirit...". Then what is the new concept that is being made out of the word coined as Panendeism in the late 2000 by Larry Copling? How this is going to help us in establishing our identity in this world as being claimed?

According to Hartshorne, Panenthism can best be understood through a simple analogy. Consider a single organism which exists as a collection of semi autonomous, individual cells and it also exists as an autonomous individual organism existing more than just a collection of cells. Similarly, god can be seen as both a collection of all the constituent parts of reality and as "something more" than the universe itself. We, along with the rest of existence, can be thought of as part of god's "body," while God’s mind or consciousness extends beyond that body and causes God to be more than just a collection of parts. That means God consists of entire universe and more than that.

Deism differs from Atheism in that Atheism is a Post-Mythic or Rational based category of belief that asserts that God doesn't exist (Strong Atheism) or simply a lack of belief in god, gods, or any higher power, ground of being, etc... (Weak Atheism). Deism is a Post-Mythic or Rational based category of belief in god. Deism differs from Theism in that Theism is a Mythic based category of belief in God, where Deism is a Post-Mythic or Rational based category of belief in god.

As parts of god, our freedom is not absolute - just as the freedom of cells in our body is not absolute. At the same time, our actions and thoughts are not dependent upon or controlled by god any more than we are able to consciously control and direct the actions of our individual cells. We may be more than our cells, but we depend upon our cells acting independently of our minds in order for us to grow and even to "be" in the first place.

The theology (or "Deology") that is based on Panendeism is known as Process Deism- A Technology of Mind , and is actually a modern re-vamp of "America's forgotten religion", Classic Deism. Process Deism combines ideas of "PanenTheism", "Process Theology" and "Classic Deism" to provide a unifying and updated theology for the 21st Century thinker and beyond. It contains very little doctrine. Instead, it offers only a handful of unifying principles that attempts to "point the way" towards self-evolution and to allow for the unhindered, spiritual growth and development of the individual citizen (4). Panendeism postulates that the universe is contained within god and not god in the universe, Panendeists believe in a god who is present in everything but also extends beyond the universe. This concept is identical to the revelations in Bhagavad-Gita in which Lord Krishna has revealed the Universal form of God containing the entire universe with in him and yet limitless without any beginning and middle or end. It also identifies with the fact that God is present in every form with in the universe and beyond. Now coming to other important aspect of the relation with the God in reference to the analogy described above, this needs careful discussion and elaboration

.

One of the most important aspects in Hindu philosophy on soul is about the feeling of “I”. In each individual there is an individual soul called Jeevatma which is within the Super soul that is identified as God. All these souls form part of the God. However every human being is covered by an illusion or veil or Maya and is unable to identify himself. He is overtaken by the feeling of I, me, we and mine etc. He feels that the body he possesses is identified as he and this is the greatest illusion or Maya. The souls under cover of illusion are not recognized by the human beings who are obsessed with feeling of “I” identifying with the physical body and pursue various activities in their own way in the materialistic world. They have free will and their pursuits could be in the wrong direction and towards evil and materialistic pleasures. This continues till the veil of ignorance is removed by self discipline and knowledge. Some may not be out of ignorance and would perish in course of time. However, the limiting factor in Hinduism is that the soul undergoes birth and death again and again till he attains bliss. Panendeism is silent on this aspect and states that we are dependent on our inner cells although we do not control them which act independently and contributes to evolution and the very existence.

In the analogy discussed above, the cells within ourselves can not be influenced by us. Similarly, the human beings are given free will to decide the path to be taken and not directed by the God. They may choose the path of evil or path of virtue. This is one of the reasons for existence of evil and the path being taken by the individuals. Some question, “If God is so loving of his subjects, why evil is not being destroyed? Why evil is being allowed to exist? Why natural calamities take place in which humans suffer greatly? A loving God should not allow such things. Therefore God also has evil side”. Human beings have free will and hence it is up to them to choose the path (5). As per Panendeism God does not control the actions of individuals as we do not control the actions of our inner cells. Thus the actions of individuals are found to be independent of Gods directions and this would subscribe to the existence of evil and various calamities the sources of which are part of the God and they are not influenced by God. Panendeism to certain extent explains this aspect reasonably convincingly without referring to any scriptures based on reasoning and taking recourse to science and logic.

However there is an interesting point to note. The inner cells in us keep functioning independently and results in evolution and sustains life as per Panendeism. On similar theory, human beings evolve independently of God but within him and have to sustain him. How it is possible? God is absolute and contains entire universe, God if presumed to be existing as per the theory under discussion, he has to be sustained by the continued life and evolution of these beings. This some how does not appear to be logical.

Religions preach that all human beings are answerable to god finally for judgment and during the life time God extends a helping hand and people must have full faith in him. These are as per religious beliefs. Those who do not subscribe to religious beliefs, the theories have no meaning. Panendeism appears more reasonable to those who believe in rationality and reason than scriptural faiths. At this juncture the orthodox religious and Panendeism theories differ fundamentally. Adwaita however is closer to the concept of self evolution and guidance that is the hall mark of Panendeism. I am Brahman, Aham Brahmsmi of the Vedic seers, Jesus’ words concerning his divinity, I am the truth, and al-Haaq of Al Hallaj, have a family of resemblance. Truth is existential. To know it, we must live in it. It must be part of our being, a source of personal depth. . Truth is not truth until the seeker personally appropriates it. Every thing is known to us through experience. This is Adwaita preached by Sankaracharya as preached in Hinduism. Thus Panendeism tends to be really close to Adwaita philosophy ( Hinduism) of self elevation by inner knowledge and looking inwards (6) that rejects dualistic faiths, idol worship and various religious rituals.

Bibliography

1. www.panendeism.org

2 www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panendeism. http://72.14.235.104

/search?q=cache:B6CPf7HJhSoJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panendeism+panendeism&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2

3. T V Kapali sastry, Gospel of the Gita, DIPTI Publication, Sri Aurobindo ashram ( Monastery),

Pondicherry-2, Fourth Edition, 1969, PP 69-72

4. http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:VJW- v_qQi_AJ:groups.yahoo.com/group/panendeism/+panendeism&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=in

5. Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao, Can God have evil side? www.faithcommons.org, February 21, 2007, 22:27

6. S Radhakrishnan, Recovery of faith, Orient papaerbacks.Hind Pocket Books. GT Road, Shahadara, Delhi, India, 1955, PP 98-99

RELATED LINKS

1.Panendeism website

Submitted by bill on www.faithcommons.org, Mon, 04/02/2007 - 17:58

2. http://www.panendeism.com/

Note. This article is in response to a small article on Panendeism on faithcommons

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