Damayan-Buluseño Gazette Online Edition - Vol. XVI No. 2 Printables

DAMAYAN-BULUSEÑO GAZETTE ONLINE EDITION

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LIGHTHOUSE

by: Starbhen

“God, The Supreme Soul”

In the last issue of this Gazette, we dealt on the topic of the three levels of consciousness also called the three worlds. The soul or incorporeal world is that dimension of golden-red light, where we came from and will eventually return to. It is a dimension of complete silence and stillness, where nothing changes and time has no reference. This is our home, and home indicates a spiritual family of all souls, in which there is a spiritual parent: GOD, the highest among souls, the Supreme Soul. This is our topic for this issue.

The basis of forming a relationship with anyone is knowledge of who they are, what they look like, where they are from, and what they do. In the same manner, if I am to have the awareness of myself as a soul, and emanating from that a close relationship with God, the Supreme Soul, then I must know: Who He is; What His form is; Where He is; What His attributes are; What His acts are; and Where I stand in relationship to Him.

God is living and real, not a matter of theological speculation. To re-establish a connection with Him, it must be based on the knowledge of Him, not on the basis of fears and superstitions of the past.

Nature and Identity of God

All of us recognized that God is infinite and limitless. Infinity implies vastness, but it has another aspect which is infinitesimal, meaning no size or beyond dimension. God is a soul. As a soul, He has the same form as human souls. The difference is in the degree and intensity of qualities, not in the size. We all believe that God is great, but His greatness does not mean that He is all over the universe. The power of a soul has no connection with its physical dimension.

His Form: Some say that God is formless. Others say He is omnipresent, i.e. all forms. Anything that exists has a form. Qualities are formless, but the source of those qualities has a form. For instance, fragrance has no form, but the flower has. The sun has form, but the light and warmth it radiates do not. God has a form. God is not love, but the source of love; God is not truth, but the source of truth, etc. If He is formless, communication with Him is impossible. The very word “Yoga” meaning connection, union or link implies a meeting between two entities.

God is a tiny point of conscious light energy, surrounded by an oval-shaped aura. He is a microstar, the same as each individual soul. Mystics and saints throughout the ages have had visions of God as this point of self-luminous light with an oval aura. Knowing His form, one can bring that image onto the screen of his mind and begin to experience powers and qualities by associating them with that beautiful form. There’s so much value in meditating on God’s form and attributes.

In all cultures and religions, there’s some special memorial or ritual in which light is always associated with what is holy and sacred. It is a reminder that the form of God is light. Candles, flames and other light sources have always held importance in religious practices. The near-death experience, in which the soul (the conscious entity) leaves the body, usually due to some traumatic happening, lends a meaning to this point. The individuals related how they pass through a long tunnel at the end of which they perceive a light, which is self-luminous and conscient. The light gives them a sense of relationship and warmth, possessed of non-judgmental love and compassion. The interesting thing about all these reports on near-death experiences is that, independent of their background – religious or even non-religious – their experiences of this Being of light and love is identical.

Most religions have images or memorials to represent God as light or as an oval shape. Throughout India there are statues of an oval-shaped image known as Shivalingas and are thought to represent the seed of fertility, but actually they represent the Creator Himself.

In the old testament, Moses had a vision of light as a “burning” bush in the desert. Jacob, after having a dream-vision of a ladder to heaven, with angels ascending and descending, took the stone he was using for a pillow, set it upright and poured oil onto it in adoration. It was oval-shaped. St. Paul had a vision of light on the road to Damascus. Jesus referred to God as light, while Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism called Him “ Ek Omkar” the one Incorporeal Being.

According to Islamic legend, when Adam left paradise, he came to a low hill upon which he saw a shining white oval shape stone. Around this stone, he circled seven times praising God. He then built the Kaaba. By the time of Abraham it needed to be rebuilt as a temple to honor the one God. The town of Mecca grew around this spot. This oval stone, later called Sang-e-aswad is the only object of worship in the whole of Islam. The Zoroastrians worship God as fire. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the sun as God. The Jews have the Menorah which when lit is a memory of this form.

It seems that human beings without realizing have all been worshipping and trying to discover the same God. There is only one God and His form is light. If union between the soul and the Supreme Soul is to take place, it is only possible if there is knowledge of that form.

(To be continued next issue. Source: Brahma Kumaris Teachings.)

Vol. XVI No.2 (March - April 2004)