Your God is too small

[ManSinha]

I shall re post something (apologies) that I posted earlier in a conversation I was having with a person whose views I have come to respect as balanced - even though I may not agree with all their beliefs

"River" is a translation - those familiar with Hindi / Punjabi may agree it can also mean "Sea" or "Ocean" - nonetheless - this is one perspective of how god may be viewed in some of the dharmic approaches -

and then someone asked me (in another separate conversation) - what is the end game here - here is what I know

 

[ManSinha]

There is a story from India about a bunch of blind men and an elephant. One blind man feels the elephants ear and says, "Oh this is a fan." One feels the leg and says, "Oh, this is a pillar." One feels the trunk and says, "Oh, this is a snake." And one feels the tail and says, "Oh this is a rope."

Enough said.

Love your example and its context - the final line of that poem / story is telling IIRC - "they each described what they knew - but they knew not the elephant at all" or something to that effect

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Love your example and its context - the final line of that poem / story is telling IIRC - "they each described what they knew - but they knew not the elephant at all" or something to that effect

Yes, how true. I often say of us and God, that the finite cannot fathom the infinite.

 

[Jeremiah Ames]

Sometimes people form a very narrow view of God. Perhaps they think of the God of Abraham as an angry vengeful God. Perhaps they see God as a old man with a beard who grants wishes the way Santa gives presents. Perhaps they see God as nothing but a giver of endless rules that bring them no joy in life. And then, they reject this God, because it is awful, or childish.

I say to them, your God is too small.

Be open. Seek God. Experience Him whatever way he comes to you, whether it is through sacred texts or the beauty of a sunset. God is infinitely bigger than our finite minds can comprehend. He can't be boxed in by any of our preconceptions. He is not worried by our questions, nor do they anger Him. He cares about us just the way we are, and calls us to something higher. Some people experience God as an intelligent being (I do). Others experience Him as the source underlying all existence. It's just turning the apple around and seeing things from a different direction.

I cannot think of any other pursuit so worthy as the seeking of God. He is the origin of everything else that is good and true and beautiful. Such an important question as the existence of God at least deserves our sustained and heartfelt search.

Don't you agree?

Yes. I agree completely.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Don't you agree?

No. I find other deities and spirits to be more worthy than the Jewish tribal deity, Yahweh.

 

[Milton Platt]

Sometimes people form a very narrow view of God. Perhaps they think of the God of Abraham as an angry vengeful God. Perhaps they see God as a old man with a beard who grants wishes the way Santa gives presents. Perhaps they see God as nothing but a giver of endless rules that bring them no joy in life. And then, they reject this God, because it is awful, or childish.

I say to them, your God is too small.

Be open. Seek God. Experience Him whatever way he comes to you, whether it is through sacred texts or the beauty of a sunset. God is infinitely bigger than our finite minds can comprehend. He can't be boxed in by any of our preconceptions. He is not worried by our questions, nor do they anger Him. He cares about us just the way we are, and calls us to something higher. Some people experience God as an intelligent being (I do). Others experience Him as the source underlying all existence. It's just turning the apple around and seeing things from a different direction.

I cannot think of any other pursuit so worthy as the seeking of God. He is the origin of everything else that is good and true and beautiful. Such an important question as the existence of God at least deserves our sustained and heartfelt search.

Don't you agree?

No. A life spent pursuing a concept that does not seem to have any basis in reality is not attractive.

 

[Sundance]

Sometimes people form a very narrow view of God. Perhaps they think of the God of Abraham as an angry vengeful God. Perhaps they see God as a old man with a beard who grants wishes the way Santa gives presents. Perhaps they see God as nothing but a giver of endless rules that bring them no joy in life. And then, they reject this God, because it is awful, or childish.

I say to them, your God is too small.

Be open. Seek God. Experience Him whatever way he comes to you, whether it is through sacred texts or the beauty of a sunset. God is infinitely bigger than our finite minds can comprehend. He can't be boxed in by any of our preconceptions. He is not worried by our questions, nor do they anger Him. He cares about us just the way we are, and calls us to something higher. Some people experience God as an intelligent being (I do). Others experience Him as the source underlying all existence. It's just turning the apple around and seeing things from a different direction.

I cannot think of any other pursuit so worthy as the seeking of God. He is the origin of everything else that is good and true and beautiful. Such an important question as the existence of God at least deserves our sustained and heartfelt search.

Don't you agree?

Hm...I’m in agreement with you. God is, truly, a mysterious Being beyond all human comprehension. He’s like the Universe that way, but immaterial and more personal. So much to know, so much to explore and learn!