Namaste Jane, I am reading your post a second time and still cannot learn anything that changes my model of the world. In other words, I could have written your post as a description of what I believe. You seem to have come to the same conclusions that I did.. I should add that I believe all religions are ultimately seeking the same God, Allah, Yahweh, Brahman, or whatever name is used for the Higher Power. The religions may be following different paths and dogmas but according to Ramakrishna (the great Hindu mystic), all people no matter what their religion or lack thereof will arrive at the same Cosmic Consciousness. I believe he is right about the final outcome with at at least 95% certainty.
Since our (meaning yours and mine) beliefs are not radical or extremist one way or the other, they may be shared by a great number of people. They just never put the thoughts into written words. Edit: I really don't know what Cosmic Consciousness is. Explain please?
Hi Jane, By Cosmic Consciousness, I mean Brahman, which needs to be defined. I can give you some quick answers like 1. Brahman is the ultimate ground of all reality. 2. Brahman is creative principle which lies realized in the whole world. 3. Brahman is the Sanskrit word that refers to the highest universal principle. 4. Brahman is all that is. 5. The definitions are difficult and endless because we talking the Higher Power. But I recall reading better answers when I first started studying Hinduism. Tomorrow, I will check my notes and see if I can find a better answer. Defining Brahman is tough because it asking what do you mean by the Ultimate Reality.
Namaste Jane, Your question helped me to get a new insight into what I believe. Again you changed my model of the world. Thanks! Incidentally, that loud whooshing sound that you heard is Brahman (the infinite One). How can anyone understand infinity? It’s undefinable. The Upanishads have to use metaphors to convey the thought and feeling of what Brahman means. I read my notes and checked a few swami discussions and here are some more attempts at defining Brahman: Brahman is a Sanskrit word that means to expand, to grow, to emerge. Brahman is the ultimate reality, the ground of all being, the substratum that is beneath reality and also within reality itself. Brahman is formless. It is not a personal God. It is not a he or a she. Out of Brahman comes all the dualities of being and non-being, life and death, this and that, hot and cold, dark and light, man and woman, etc. All of the dualities emerge from Brahman and always remain connected to it. Brahman is the undefinable essence of everything. Brahman is all inclusive. There is nothing that is not Brahman. Brahman is the sacred formless source from which all forms arise and to which all forms return. In trying to understand the unknown, Einstein used to do thought experiments. Let us try some thought experiments about Brahman: 1. The Big Bang occurred 13.7 billion years ago. Try to imagine what was there before the Big Bang. Conclusion: Brahman was there. 2. The Universe has been expanding ever since. Try to imagine what is beyond the edges of the Universe? Conclusion: Brahman is there. 3. Now, think deeply about your own consciousness until you reach the final Observing Self. Conclusion: Brahman is there. Bottom line: The best definition of Brahman that I have found so far is this. Brahman is Divine Consciousness. Metaphorically, Brahman is like an ocean of all consciousness. Out of this ocean all forms have come and back into this ocean they will all return. The Upanishads teach that each and everyone of us is Brahman.
Thank you for taking the time to explain this. Before I respond, I need to mull this over for awhile to see if I have any understanding of it at all.
I think it is a question of John says to-may-to and we say to-mah-to. Brahman--The Force--The I am that I am-- and we will all understand this eventually.
I have read and reread your post and a little other reading trying to get a handle on this. In my mind, Brahman is a lot like our perception of God. Brahman...metaphysical concept Atma...the ultimate reality Maya...the perceived reality God...the father God the Son...Jesus God...the Holy Ghost (The Holy Trinity) The definition of Brahman seems to fit God as well. Both are supreme beings. Both are formless. Both live within us. Both are the beginning and end of all things. However, Braham seems to be a lot more self-introspective than Christian religion. I'm sure I'm being very simplistic here and I know there's a lot more that should be addressed. But it just seems to me that if a person believes in a supreme being, no matter what name we give that being, in the end we are all talking about the same one. I'm totally in over my head discussing this and ask pardon for my naivete.
Namaste Mary, to-may-to versus to-mah-to. Perfect! Love it! Gets my main point across. The words we use often are misunderstood. It may sound like we are disagreeing on some issue where a deeper look shows we are saying the same thing. Go figure.
Hi Jane, You said, “The definition of Brahman seems to fit God as well. Both are supreme beings. Both are formless. Both live within us. Both are the beginning and end of all things.” On this issue, I agree totally. I suspect we may even agree when we disagree. Words seem to be the problem. I read somewhere that Jesus is more interested in the content of our hearts than the contents of our minds. Rings true to me. At the heart level of understanding, I think we are in agreement on everything that is important.