Dear Orcel
Your post proves to me that my communication skill in english is awful.
"I Am" is the name of the Hebrew God. When Moses spoke to God on Mt Sini he asked God specifically what His name is. God replied "I Am that I Am" Which in Hebrew is Yahweh.
In asking God's name Moses was asking God to define Himself for the people of Israel. God did just that, well as best as He could using human language and fitting God into human logic. God basically said, I am exactly what I am.
"I Am" is also the name and essence of God in Veda. But not in the way you understand in the blue highlighted part above.
In Veda, "I Am" is "A-U-M" (when seen as three states of existence: waking, dream, and sleep) and is "Om", when known as indivisible substratum that is the creator and Seer of "A-U-M" (the existence). In "Om" everthing exists but "OM" is not parted or altered because of that. This can be approximately understood when we consider that air exists within and without and is not really divided by objects that exist in it.
"I AM" is the primordial awareness which operates in all of us -- but we do not often recognise it. "I Am" is the awareness at the substratum of every existing being who says "I am this". While the "OM" (I Am) is whole, we who more easily identify with "I am this" see a fragmented world.
I think atanu's post and question is about God stating that he is greater then lesser gods. And if this shows God supporting others (non-jews) worship of non-existing gods or idols. And to atanu this is hard to meld with the reported vaules of the Jewish/Christian God.
No. The main mis-understanding has arisen here ( of course due to my lack of skill of language).
When I said "--worship-attachment to objects created due to the very existence of "I Am" is idolism--", I meant that "I AM" is that which creates and is at the source of all other perceptions.
We do not know the "I AM", which operates equally in all of us. But we worship "I am this" -- that is, we worship our body more than we love our source "I AM" . Further, we worship other objects of mind-senses, such as our attachment to forms of opposite sex, our attachement to sensual objects of taste, touch, form, hearing etc. etc.
For example, Quagmire's attachment to 5 pots of coffee every 8 hours.
We give life to the sensual objects and forget the source "I Am". This I consider to be IDOL Worship -- starting with attachment and worship of the perishable body as 'me' -- going out of the way to please the mind-body -- which is a temporary apparition at its best.
There is a verse in
Brihadaraynaka Up. which says that anyone who declares "
I love so and so more than my Self/Heart" will surely cause the love object to perish and the self will also perish.
