Who God is – in the Expanding-understanding of a Seeker
By Dr. Gita Ponnuchamy
Who is God? We might call God by different names – Ishwar, Allah, Father God, Bhagavan, Shiva, Narayana, etc., but God is God by any other name. As Shakespeare would put it, a rose is a rose is a rose by any other name. Hindus generally believe God is the omnipresent Supersoul (Paramathma/Brahman) or all-pervading supreme light (Paramjyothi).
Agathiyar, a Thamil poet who lived in the 6th or 7th century BC wrote that God is someone that can have form, or no form, someone that is the infinite presence inside the entire universe and outside it, the life force of living forms, the director of life forms, the absolutely unmatched (Agathiyar Vaidhya Sadhagam – Kaappu):
அருவுருவா யரூபமுமா யடங்காத பொருளாகி அடங்கலாகி
அருவுருவா யண்டபகி ரன்டத்து உள்ளுமாய்ப் புறத்துமாய்
ஒருவுருவா யுயிர்க்குயிரா யுயிரில்நிறைந் தியங்கிநிற்கு மொப்பிலானே
கருவுருவாய் வைத்தியத்தின் சதகமிதை வழுத்தவுநீ காப்புத்தானே.
அருவுருவா யண்டபகி ரன்டத்து உள்ளுமாய்ப் புறத்துமாய்
ஒருவுருவா யுயிர்க்குயிரா யுயிரில்நிறைந் தியங்கிநிற்கு மொப்பிலானே
கருவுருவாய் வைத்தியத்தின் சதகமிதை வழுத்தவுநீ காப்புத்தானே.
Ninth century Thamil poet Maanikkavaasagar described God in similar terms: God is the ether, earth, air, fire, the physical body, the life force, the concrete matter, the abstract matter, the ruler of everything and the puppeteer of ego-filled humans (8th Thirumurai, Thiruvaasagam):
வானாகி மண்ணாகி வளியாகி ஒளியாகி
ஊனாகி உயிராகி உண்மையுமாய் இன்மையுமாய்
கோனாகி யானெனதென் றவரவரைக் கூத்தாட்டு
வானாகி நின்றாயை என்சொல்லி வாழ்த்துவனே
ஊனாகி உயிராகி உண்மையுமாய் இன்மையுமாய்
கோனாகி யானெனதென் றவரவரைக் கூத்தாட்டு
வானாகி நின்றாயை என்சொல்லி வாழ்த்துவனே
In another poem (Thiruvempaavai), Maanikkavaasagar referred to God as a supreme magnificent light that has no beginning or end: ஆதியும் அந்தமும் இல்லா அரும்பெரும் சோதி ....
Thus, most Hindus understand God as the Supersoul (Paramathma) or supreme radiance (Paramjyothi). Hinduism also refers to the divine feminine, creative energy of God as Parashakthi. Hence the concept of depicting God as a glorious blend of masculine and feminine energies and the tradition of lovingly worshipping Him as Ardhanaareeshwara, Ammaiappa (Mother-Father God), Lakshmi-Narayana or Radhe-Krishna – the half male and half female forms.
If God encompasses all energy, including feminine energy, why do most of us refer to Him as He?
Probably because of our patriarchal tradition, which believes in the man being the protector.
While Hinduism is monotheistic and regards God as the Supersoul, why would most Hindus worship God in different forms, mostly human? The Vedic Hindus understood God through His different qualities and responsibilities, so they created deities for each of the most important aspects of God. For instance, Brahma [not to be confused with Brahman the formless Supersoul] personifies the creating-aspect of God, Vishnu, the preserving aspect, and Shiva, the destroying / transforming aspect. Adhi Parashakthi is the primordial divine motherly aspect. A concrete form is usually easier for people to connect with, pray to or meditate upon than abstract energy. What the human mind finds easy to grasp, it accepts; the rest is ignored if not rejected.
Originally stones of different shapes must have been used to represent some of these deities. Even today it is not uncommon to see stones representing deities in some old temples. As the world saw avatars with divine abilities - Ram, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, to name a few, Hindus must have started to assign the all-too-familiar human form (which occupies the highest place in the hierarchy of God’s creations on this planet) to the deities, just as how the androgynous energy orbs of arch angels and angels are often pictured as winged humans with different colored auras and halos.
Thus the Hindus created statues of deities with stone, clay, wood, or metal in human forms, but with many heads, to signify God’s omniscience, many arms to symbolically represent His omnipotence, and many weapons to indicate His protection, many hand gestures showing ways of surrender and sometimes with a lotus flower to denote enlightenment. They placed these statues under trees, on hill-tops, on river banks, on sea shores, in temples, inside homes, outside homes, in workplaces, in street corners and at village entrances to symbolize His omnipresence and to remind humans of Him.
There are 33 types [sometimes interpreted as 33 crores] of deities who are assigned God’s different responsibilities and prayed to for the procurement of those specific benefits. It would seem as if the Hindus are trading their devotion for material and spiritual benefits to enhance prosperity and reduce suffering in this earthly life. My grandmother would tell me, it does not matter which form of God you pray to as long as your devotion is genuine.
To a non-Hindu, Hindus might appear to believe in many Gods, i.e., deities. However, as a Hindu I know that I have the freewill to pray to any aspect of God depending on my needs knowing full well that there is but ONE God. He is the same God in all our religious beliefs. In fact, He gave the freewill and inspiration to the people who started the various religions so that we could appreciate the pluralistic differences, and evolve towards the realization that He is ONE and since He is omnipresent, He is inside every one of us. In other words, we each are a part and parcel of the Supersoul. This realization, to me is the ultimate purpose of human birth(s).
Note: I’ve tried to spell Indian words phonetically so that Westerners will get an idea of the correct pronunciation. My name is pronounced Geetha although spelt Gita. Going by my spelling, my Western friends call me Geeta or Geeda. An American friend in an ashram in the US, was talking about how much she enjoyed the ‘curtans’ because it was spelt ‘kirtans.’ What she meant was ‘keerthans’ (songs in praise of God). I did not blame the sweet girl.
