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What is the first thing that you visualize when you hear/read the word "God" ?
- Thread starter chinu
- Start date
stvdv
Veteran Member
That is nice.
Do you visualize, as in thinking yourself about Nataraja, or does it spontaneously pop in your mind?
My eyes rolling.
I grew up in a very Christian community as the only "out" atheist.
It all seemed so very very strange.
A wonderful word it is.
Would everything in this perceived reality fall under this, though? Do you think the same thing when you hear or read the words 'boy' or 'girl' or 'dog?'
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
It does, I feel that way to the other things associated with the word God - creation, soul, heaven, hell, judgment, deliverance. Though the words like boy, girl, dog, may not register on my radar that quickly or get my antennae vibrating. When we talk of boy, girl, dog, we are clearly in the 'Vyavaharika' domain. They are not that significant. Nice question, though. 
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mikkel_the_dane
My own religion
I can't visualize. That is one of my disorders, so I don't do that. To me God is a word about an idea of what reality really is.
It actually depends on if it is heard or read.
If I read the word "God" in proper case, it's referencing the one-god of Abrahamic religions, so I visualize one of their sacred spaces.
If I hear the word "god," which is ambiguous in reference, all I really think is "which one?"
If I read the word "God" in proper case, it's referencing the one-god of Abrahamic religions, so I visualize one of their sacred spaces.
If I hear the word "god," which is ambiguous in reference, all I really think is "which one?"
As you know, for me, God and Siva are synonyms. Because Nataraja is the center of my shrine, and my sampradaya, he's just there.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
How did you feel when you came out the closet?
PureX
Veteran Member
The Supreme Bramh is the ultimate reality for me, which I call Bramh or ParaBramh rather than anything else.
A calm and extremely capable Super-Intelligence with a basic property of Sat-Chit-Ananda (existence - consciousness - awareness - bliss)
-- that is Self-expressed as the phenomenon called Uni-multi-whatever-verse as its existence and a glimpse into Its nature (svabhAv).
-- that confines everything that IS inside IT. There is nothing outside IT yet IT pervades all.
TLC (tender loving care) is its WAY with and natural unbiased approach to everything from galaxies to creatures at global, intermediate and local levels.
Fractals is its strategy to exists in and as everything - as BramhAnDa so pinda (its inherent property to replicate the universal in the local-individual at each recursive hierarchical level.
IT is what it IS
A calm and extremely capable Super-Intelligence with a basic property of Sat-Chit-Ananda (existence - consciousness - awareness - bliss)
-- that is Self-expressed as the phenomenon called Uni-multi-whatever-verse as its existence and a glimpse into Its nature (svabhAv).
-- that confines everything that IS inside IT. There is nothing outside IT yet IT pervades all.
TLC (tender loving care) is its WAY with and natural unbiased approach to everything from galaxies to creatures at global, intermediate and local levels.
Fractals is its strategy to exists in and as everything - as BramhAnDa so pinda (its inherent property to replicate the universal in the local-individual at each recursive hierarchical level.
IT is what it IS
galaxies SPIN and IT at the center ATTRACTS
stars have the life cycle they do.
laws and properties of mathematics ARE
laws of physics ARE
Intelligence EXISTS
Care, gentleness, affection are inherent to IT
parameters are INTERDEPENDENT / CONNECTED
Time FLIES
hearts BEAT
earth ROTATES
energy TRANSFORMS
Generates places like earth that has water and environment to support LIFE.
These verbs are ITS svabhAv - its natural way to BE.
The best part is that this Supreme Bramh , this most loving Supreme Intelligence is willing to walk with you -- who are just a tiny ego inside its vastness and its large "heart" -- and hold your hand. Yes, you. If you turn towards IT -- then you are no longer some insignificant spec, but live in ITS heart which is in turn intrinsic to the real you.
The real you in hidden deep under layers of thoughts that make the ego-you.
This is what the Ved-VedAnta, Upanishads of the Hindu dharma say with a portion of it being the inspiration installed by this Super-Intelligence itself, and the Upanishads being the follow-up from the minds of the fine Rushis - seers of this truth -- in human-understandable form.
It can be experienced, and has been experienced.
However, it can only be understood and experienced after putting the ego aside first. The ego cannot understand it. If all phenomena are looked at from the universal standpoint, cause-effect can be seen with detachment and non-bias.
Walk With Mukunda
stars have the life cycle they do.
laws and properties of mathematics ARE
laws of physics ARE
Intelligence EXISTS
Care, gentleness, affection are inherent to IT
parameters are INTERDEPENDENT / CONNECTED
Time FLIES
hearts BEAT
earth ROTATES
energy TRANSFORMS
Generates places like earth that has water and environment to support LIFE.
These verbs are ITS svabhAv - its natural way to BE.
The best part is that this Supreme Bramh , this most loving Supreme Intelligence is willing to walk with you -- who are just a tiny ego inside its vastness and its large "heart" -- and hold your hand. Yes, you. If you turn towards IT -- then you are no longer some insignificant spec, but live in ITS heart which is in turn intrinsic to the real you.
The real you in hidden deep under layers of thoughts that make the ego-you.
This is what the Ved-VedAnta, Upanishads of the Hindu dharma say with a portion of it being the inspiration installed by this Super-Intelligence itself, and the Upanishads being the follow-up from the minds of the fine Rushis - seers of this truth -- in human-understandable form.
It can be experienced, and has been experienced.
However, it can only be understood and experienced after putting the ego aside first. The ego cannot understand it. If all phenomena are looked at from the universal standpoint, cause-effect can be seen with detachment and non-bias.
Walk With Mukunda
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Jimmy
King Phenomenon
An infinite unobservable universe
^This.
It does, I feel that way to the other things associated with the word God - creation, soul, heaven, hell, judgment, deliverance. Though the words like boy, girl, dog, may not register on my radar that quickly or get my antennae vibrating. When we talk of boy, girl, dog, we are clearly in the 'Vyavaharika' domain. They are not that significant. Nice question, though.
I don't associate any of those things with God, other than maybe 'soul'.
It does, I feel that way to the other things associated with the word God - creation, soul, heaven, hell, judgment, deliverance. Though the words like boy, girl, dog, may not register on my radar that quickly or get my antennae vibrating. When we talk of boy, girl, dog, we are clearly in the 'Vyavaharika' domain. They are not that significant. Nice question, though.
As I see it, everything above (God, creation, soul, heaven, hell, judgment, deliverance, boy, girl, dog) is in the domain of vyavaharika and is an appearance. Even Saguna Brahman is an appearance of Nirguna Brahman in vyavaharika.
PureX
Veteran Member
Interesting: the storm of neurons that light up when we hear or see the word "God". Its one of those "loaded" words, as they say; meaning that it's loaded with personal and emotional associations, all with attached memories and emotions of their own. A virtual labyrinth of charged cognitive bits and pieces. Mostly adding up to confusion, and maybe some fear, too.
All in all, a good thing, I would say.
All in all, a good thing, I would say.
I was never in the atheist closet.
Fitting in that way never occurred to me.