who is your god?

Kali

 

Definitely Krishna for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PYa4ZUzPWE

 

Lord Shiva, with homage to Kali

 

Oh gosh. That is a picture of terrence hill from my name is nobody movie huh.?? One of my favorite movies. The picture of the cowboy with holes in his socks picture is what im talking about. It didntncopy n paste right

 

Hell yeah

 

I've always been drawn to Ganesha. I have a statue of him that I always keep near me in my home. I used to be very devout, then disillusioned with religion for a while, but still he stays there watching over me.

 

The idea of a God can be exciting, but when I take a look at the world - it makes me very much doubt the existence of one.
Hinduism has always look appealing, but yeah.....

So, at the moment - I have no God.

 

It's really interesting how people can see different things by looking at the world Because when I see everything in the world I only find it more plausible.
I'm not thinking about an intervening or punishing God though, I can understand how other people can be strenghtened in the believe there isn't a god because of all the human suffering or natural disasters that strike us but that never quite made sense to me. Just because shit happens there can't be a god?

 

I don't believe 100% that there is no God, however, I don't believe that if there is, he/she/ it is particularly kind and loving.

I guess when you're told that God is a kind, loving gentle God and you see the things that happen in the world you have to question what this kind, loving and gentle God is doing. In the Bible- for example, it talks about how much god loves his people - yet he doesn't do anything to help us now. And original sin, and Eve eating the apple so god punishes every single woman for thousands of years to come. I just find it strange.

I guess its all the big, but natural, questions that stump me - Hell etc

It's more the Abrahamic religions, I suppose. Just have never been able to see past the bad and see the good - at least not for a long period of time.


There are differences within each religion though, I get that. I like the idea of Karma. The Bhagavad Gita is a great read, you can also learn a lot from other religious texts.

 

I'm not 100% certain either (also not trying to convince you or anything, just sharing my opinion ). The concept of God is bigger than the bible or religion. Who cares about Adam and Eve, and hell when you're not a christian I've been raised with the belief in a christian loving God as well by the way, but when I ponder about God I do not think about hell or Adam and Eve. I regard those aspects of religion as trivial compared to God.

 

And I'm happy to hear your opinions!

True, but if the concept of God is so big - shouldn't these be the things we question? You can't even begin to understand God otherwise.

I hear a lot of people say that those aspects are not as important, but they are pretty big parts of it. I can't focus on one part of God, without thinking about the idea as a whole. Wish I could!

A lot of it is also that I hate being told how to be - which can often be a big part of believing in a God.

 

Well, I can see those aspects are important to other people but I don't regard them as divine aspects or necessarily related to God. So they are not important to me when I think about God. They may be more relevant when thinking about the bible or christianity. God transcends any religion for me personally, hence why I can easily seperate those parts. They are, for me, simply not part of God.

Should the suffering in the world be the things we question? Yes. Also in regards to God's actions? Well, who am I to decide that for others But to me personally I don't get why God's existence is less plausible because of it. That's probably because I don't see Him as a humanlike entity that helps us by divine intervention in the physical world.
I myself think we can understand God without the symbolic story of Adam & Eve, but surely it may still benefit a lot of people as well. Hell on the other hand, imho, has nothing to do with God AT ALL. It's a completely human invention that is unlikely to exist in the afterlife. The idea of a deity is a human concept as well of course but I personally think there actually can be a Creator. I can understand other people who think the idea of a deity is just as unlikely as hell too, but for me there is a difference.

Who's telling you how to be? Are you thinking of the 10 commandments for instance? They are just guidelines to me Often very sensible, but not always doable (for example if one has extremely shitty parents you don't have to honor or respect them).

 

So, how exactly do you see God?
I'm guessing you don't follow one of the main religions out there.

 

I have no exact perception of God. I try not to picture God (as has been advised in several religions :biggrin. I do sometimes think what exactly God might be but don't force myself to a conclusion I'm not sure of I mainly like to praise God and give thanks. I was raised with the idea of a christian loving God (protestant), then became quite anti in my adolescent years (typical critical and know it all teenage approach, you know them Im sure ), then happily mellowed out. I do not consider myself a follower of a religion anymore since I was about 15. I wish I could find such a comfort in one religion like some of my family members and me in my youth, but I think that won't ever happen on a serious level (best I can do is on a traditional/cultural/superficial level, which I can enjoy at times since I am still sincerly intrigued by religion).

 

Im not religious.. but my favorite concept of god is the rasta version : JAH!

 

Including the human counterpart in the form of emperor Haile Selassie?

 

No....
I dont really know.. I hang out with jamaican dreadlocks and I shout jah in teh air when I pass the spliff Thats all I know about the religion....

 

If I were to choose one religion, it would probably be Hinduism, in particular Krishna Consciousness. Though, I'll probably just continue to 'pick and choose.'

 

Interesting discussion guys.

I think I see what you mean here Asmodean. I'd put it like this - every religion and every culture has its myths. For Christians, the myth of original sin etc is important because it explains to them how come we are in a world of sin and why redemption is necessary.

For Hinduism, it's more a world of ignorance, and 'sin' comes out of that.

Some Hindu schools, notably Advaita Vedanta say that God is beyond the capacity of the mind to conceive of. It is said that God can only be said to be 'not this, not that' (neti neti). Ultimately the idea is that God has to be realized - perceived in a kind of supra-rational intuition. Mukti or liberation.

Other schools, mainly devotional, say that is too difficult for people to comprehend or realize. Hence they say God appears in various incarnations or avatars so that people can have something to focus on. Trouble with them IMO is that they then focus exclusively on their favoured avatar and ignore the more primal formless and undefinable idea of the Divine.
Also tend to be fully immersed in a particular mythology surrounding the avatar, whether Krishna, Rama or some other form.

Anyway, I think the essence of Hinduism is interesting, as is the essence of Christianity. But I think it's probably a mistake to get too caught up in a particular religious culture or mythology.

My advice would be to be careful with Krishna Consciousness as it exists in the west. Probably its main attraction is that it's relatively well known in Europe and the US, Prabhupada's books are readily available and they give away nice food.
But it ignores a huge amount of Hindu philosophy, or else simply tries to rubbish it.
Also be aware that ISKCON is very divided internally, and has had massive scandals going on over the years.

 

Very interesting. One can take a lot from individual religions and faiths.

Yeah - as do different denominations in most religions, I'm sure.

I have looked into so many different religions over the years and so far always find 'faults' in them. Whether they are faults that are visible to others, or just something I don't agree with personally, I don't know.

For me, generally, the idea of religion and God is better than the (possible) reality of religion or God.