A Beautiful Definition of God

-

























God has been defined in this blog in several places as everything there is, the entire universe and even beyond if there is anything beyond the universe, both the seen and unseen aspects of the universe. However that is a rather bland definition, perhaps a bit scientific. A new beautiful definition of God by Vincent has appeared at http://perpetual-lab.blogspot.com/

A Presence, an attentive Presence, there in times of need; the need to give thanks and the need to beg, and the need to surrender one’s life to something higher.

I fully agree with this definition and cannot  improve upon it or perhaps a just bit by adding the additional words “A loving, truthful and attentive Presence, all powerful and fully in control of everything that happens in the universe” instead of just an attentive presence. But perhaps then the definition would become cumbersome and lose some of its beauty. There is much older post in this blog about God here or if one is an atheist over here



The photo is from http://publicdomainpictures.net

Comments

Vincent said…
Well, thanks Ashok, but taking it in context I was only defining my god, which I did not even grace with the dignity of a capital letter. Not any public God, because then you get into politics: the Lord God of the Children of Israel, the God of the American Dollar ("In God we trust") and so on. I abjure any attempt at a public definition. God with a capital "G" is a battleground. Enough.

(You see, I can go on arguing even when you thought you agreed with me.)
February 2, 2011 at 8:04 AM
ProfAshok said…
Vincent, I did see your loer case g but I take that as one of the infinite descriptions of God. Even earthly beautiful things like Himalayas have many different descriptions and God definitely has, each definition describing an aspect of the Infinite. I quoted your description because it is one of the more beautiful ones I have seen
February 2, 2011 at 8:28 PM
Vincent said…
Well thanks again, Ashok. I must try and be more gracious.
February 4, 2011 at 10:05 AM
ProfAshok said…
You already are very gracious Vincent. I do not object to your contentions at all since they help to clarify and improve ideas.

All our thoughts on such deep matters can only be provisional and subject to revision. I reserve my faith (non- revisional ideas) to only the barest minimum - i.e belief in God and a soul that oulasts death.
February 4, 2011 at 8:37 PM
raymond said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
February 15, 2011 at 11:23 AM
raymond said…
(deleted the first so I could request the email)

I agree that Vincent has nailed it, the concept of this experiential God. I would just add that finding this God is a crap shoot. Many have not found it through no fault of their own. So is it really universally loving?
February 15, 2011 at 11:34 AM
raymond said…
"God with a capital "G" is a battleground."

Indeed. Meister Eckhart: "I pray God to be rid of God."
February 18, 2011 at 6:26 AM
ProfAshok said…
Raymond, You may find my new post " How Humans punis --- " interesting.
February 18, 2011 at 9:24 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Birds to Telepathy

-
Image
  Sparrow by  Laitche T he house that I live in presently was built in stages  beginning in 1991 during  vacations and sabbaticals in my career. By 1995, the ground floor of the house was more or less complete except for some finishing that continued later. In the center of the roof of the living room was a hole meant for a center light. To hide the protruding wires a small round plastic sheet covered it with another circular hole in the center of it for the light. A similar one existed in the front porch of the house. I lived in the house through most of 1995 with frequent visits of three or four days to Delhi. At this time a pair of house sparrows occupied the porch roof cavity and made it their home. There were no complaints about that since it was not intended to fix a light there in a hurry. Sparrows are cute little birds anyway and I often leave seeds out for them in the garden. Sometime later the female of the pair moved into the living roo...
Read more

The Palash Tree - Magic of Medicinal Herbs and Flowers and Back Pain

-
Image
The Palash Tree Flower B efore modern medicines became prevalent, humans treated many ailments with flowers, leaves, roots and barks of plants and trees. Ayurveda,  an ancient Indian medicinal science, makes use of many herbs and plant materials without substantial extraction of active ingredients as modern medicine does. The idea is that additional compounds in a medicinal or edible plant is an organic whole and a part of life that supports other life.  The complimentary compounds appear to play a useful balancing role whereas individually extracted and isolated compounds can be harmful. A modern example in wide use as food is sugar, a pure chemical isolated from the juice of sugar cane. Indeed there is no food or herb that does not contain a compound or two that could be from mildly to extremely dangerous if isolated and consumed but is beneficial as a group with other compounds. That is the reason why alcohol distilled from a natural fermented fruit juice and ...
Read more

You are what you eat, and drink

-
Image
C onsume an ounce of whiskey and you will notice the change in mood and behavior immediately. However, it is not just whiskey everything we drink, even the quality of water, or anything we eat has some subtle or significant influence on our behavior. Consumed over a period, not just the weekend binge, the type of food we consume literally shapes our personality prompting ancient thinkers like Hippocrates to remark, “You are what you eat”. Some question this by saying that it is our experiences and habits that shape our personality but the two are linked because it is our habits that shape our tastes and food choices. In another post in this blog it was  mentioned that a human personality is shaped by memory and experiences and one might ask which of the two is more significant - food or experiences?. My understanding is that humans gravitate towards the foods and actions that agree with their inner inclinations and personality and so in the end both causes are two sides of th...
Read more