How does God respond? Your views/experiences

[gautamk]

Hi all,

I'm having this primordial question bugging me, how does God respond to your prayers/distress signals/your happiness/sorrow other emotions etc...

This is my experience, he has never answered a single good meaning prayer of mine, never responded to my distress signals, no amount of mantra or chanting helped me. I have gone to many gurus, astrologers and you name it, almost became an atheist/agnostic.

Is this simply my karma payback or is it divine will? If at all it is divine then why doesn't it show up? I have simply resigned and now do not pray God to do anything for me as there is no point. I simply do not have the experience to say Yes God exists!

Have you experienced mantras, tantras, and all that Hinduism offer help you in times of distress and when no body stands with you? Request you to share your experiences.

 

[StarryNightshade]

I can't speak for everyone, but I have experienced and felt God's essence. As far as answering prayers/chants/mantras go, I do believe God has answered them. By showing me which direction to go; in terms of my actions and choices.

I don't believe God is a micromanager who controls every little detail of ones life. As such, we ultimately have to take responsibility and take action for what we want; even if God can point us in the right direction.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Have you experienced mantras, tantras, and all that Hinduism offer help you in times of distress and when no body stands with you?

Rather than mantras, tantras, gurus and astrologers; have you tried action according to 'dharma' and non-attachment? I think that will give you better results.

 

[Makaranda]

Hello gautamk,

It's my understanding that God provides the fruits of our karmas in the form of positive and negative experiences, but does not really intervene otherwise in our lives (except perhaps to draw us closer to him). When I pray, or do Puja, or chant, I may pray for the welfare of myself and others, but I don't pray necessarily for that which is beyond the scope of furthering my chitta shuddhi- mental purity, and nor do I pray for that which I presume to be outside the bounds of my punya/papa. That which I have earned through my actions, may I experience that, without pride or without sorrow, with your grace and according to your will.

I simply do not have the experience to say Yes God exists!

What do you believe God is, that you could say you have not experienced his existence?

My advice is to take refuge in the scriptures for solace and guidance when you are distressed.

 

[gautamk]

Hi, thanks for all your replies. I understand that the "God" in in itself has no desires to do anything, "he/she is just is" it's a kind of a force that simply "is" "nirguna brahma". However, I would like to quote Sri Ramana Maharshi, he says "unless and until you beleive that god and you are different you will see lot of ambiguity, the moment the answer for Whom am I is found, there ends your quest, because you and him are not different or you and I are not different" somthing like that... but he also says "nothing happens without His grace" can some one explain how this is.. I hope im not being meaningless.

When the action is done by my volition how can god say i did it? or how can i say i did it?

Question: Why is samsara- creation and manifestation as finitised- so full of sorrow and evil?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: God’s will!

Question: Why does God will it so?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: It is inscrutable. No motive can be attributed to that power –no desire, no end to achieve can be asserted of that one infinite, all-wise and all-powerful being. God is untouched by activities, which take place in his presence. Compare the sun and the world activities. There is no meaning in attributing responsibility and motive to the one before it becomes many.

Question: Does everything happen by the will of God?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: It is not possible for anyone to do anything opposed to the ordinance of God, who has the ability to do everything. Therefore to remain silent at the feet of God, having given up all the anxieties of the wicked, defective mind, is best.

 

[gautamk]

What do you believe God is, that you could say you have not experienced his existence?

My advice is to take refuge in the scriptures for solace and guidance when you are distressed.

At the same time, when one is in crisis, one goes in refuge to God, sometimes it results in a positive reaction, sometimes negative, sometimes nothing happens. I understand that karma plays a big role in our lives, but if karma is all powerful, what is the necessity of a force which overlooks it, when it does not intervene? What is the necessity of asking someone something which he/she is unable to provide or help with? If god does not intervene or micromanage us then can God change one's karma? if so how?

 

[chinu]

I don't why some people think that its very easy to interact with God.. loll.

 

[Aupmanyav]

.. but if karma is all powerful, what is the necessity of a force which overlooks it, when it does not intervene?

You have to earn the intervention, and that is by following 'dharma'.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Question: Why is samsara- creation and manifestation as finitised - so full of sorrow and evil?

Taking 'maya' to be the truth?

"Matrā-sparshah tu Kaunteya, sitoshna-sukha-duhkha-dah;
agama apayinah anityah, tam titikshasva Bharata." BG 2.14

It is only sensory perception, O Son of Kunti, like summer and winter, that gives happiness and pain, the impermanent comes and goes, learn to tolerate them, O descendant of Bharata.

 

[Vinayaka]

Namaste: I don't think we can ascertain with logic that God helped us, because there is no way to compare praying versus not praying for the same thing.

But we can intuit that God helped us, feel that he did. Only occasionally do we feel it as a 'message'.

You mention the great saint Ramana. There are other approaches, you know, besides self-analysis.

 

[Jainarayan]

Hello gautamk,

It's my understanding that God provides the fruits of our karmas in the form of positive and negative experiences, but does not really intervene otherwise in our lives (except perhaps to draw us closer to him). When I pray, or do Puja, or chant, I may pray for the welfare of myself and others, but I don't pray necessarily for that which is beyond the scope of furthering my chitta shuddhi- mental purity, and nor do I pray for that which I presume to be outside the bounds of my punya/papa.

Thank you for getting to this before I did. it's pretty much what I would have said. I pray in the sense of talking to God and to the deities, and asking them for simple things like guiding me, protecting me (usually from myself) and so forth. I believe they know what we need, and provide what we need, not what we want. Even though we may want a friend or relative to recover from an illness for example, if it's not in the karmic cards, so to speak, I don't think any amount of praying, begging, pleading or supplicating is going to change things. This is just the way I believe.

 

[Poeticus]

Hi all,

I'm having this primordial question bugging me, how does God respond to your prayers/distress signals/your happiness/sorrow other emotions etc...

This is my experience, he has never answered a single good meaning prayer of mine, never responded to my distress signals, no amount of mantra or chanting helped me. I have gone to many gurus, astrologers and you name it, almost became an atheist/agnostic.

Is this simply my karma payback or is it divine will? If at all it is divine then why doesn't it show up? I have simply resigned and now do not pray God to do anything for me as there is no point. I simply do not have the experience to say Yes God exists!

Have you experienced mantras, tantras, and all that Hinduism offer help you in times of distress and when no body stands with you? Request you to share your experiences.

I do not incant mantra-s to ease a stressful situation. Nor do I chant them for personal gain. I incant them for the purpose of just incanting them. I see it as a civic virtue, a duty. I do not expect the gods to respond. Nor do I ask them for anything, other than stating that I acknowledge them and not One.

 

[Vinayaka]

Even though we may want a friend or relative to recover from an illness for example, if it's not in the karmic cards, so to speak, I don't think any amount of praying, begging, pleading or supplicating is going to change things. This is just the way I believe.

But you could pray for an easy transition, less suffering in it, and clarity for the soul as he/she hits the astral.

 

[gautamk]

Thank you so much for your replies. Any book you would suggest on these lines in simple English?

 

[Jainarayan]

But you could pray for an easy transition, less suffering in it, and clarity for the soul as he/she hits the astral.

Yes, that is true. My b-i-l passed away this past week; I recited the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra for him and the Gayatri Mantra for us. In fact I do that at anyone's funeral even though virtually 100% of the time they are not Hindu (my family, friends and acquaintances). Jivas are jivas.

 

[Aupmanyav]

This forum would be the best for questions on Hinduism. I think you would not say that we did not try.

 

[Vinayaka]

Thank you so much for your replies. Any book you would suggest on these lines in simple English?

Not sure what you mean by 'on these lines'. Sorry.

 

[ratikala]

namaskaram prabhu ji's

I do not incant mantra-s to ease a stressful situation. Nor do I chant them for personal gain.

jai jai , no more perfect answer could there be , ....but there is a most beautifull unexpected efect of this chanting is the releif from stressfull situations , as such releif comes from simply selflessly focusing .



http://uk.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

I think for me, whether my prayers go unanswered or not, much peace of mind and even contentment lies in surrender. By that I mean, when you find yourself in a desperate situation - something you have no control over (an illness, financial troubles, death etc) sometimes you just have to say, "God, here are the reigns. I've been holding them too tightly and getting nowhere". I try not to ask God for anything but I do express my trust that no matter what happens, everything will be for the best and that I will be strong enough to handle it. It's sort of like "leaving it up to the professionals". When you put your trust in the professional, you save yourself a lot of anguish and chances are, even if things don't come out perfect, they are never as bad as you fear.

:camp:

 

[gautamk]

Not sure what you mean by 'on these lines'. Sorry.

I meant on this subject, like clarifications on what we discussed, some scriptures or works of great masters etc.