6

 

 CONCEPT OF GOD IN MAJOR RELIGIONS

INTRODUCTION

One of the distinguishing features of our civilisation is the presence of a large number of religions and ethical systems. Mankind has always sought to understand the reason for creation and his own place in the scheme of things.

Arnold Toynbee studied the history of man through the ages and put his findings in a monumental work consisting of ten volumes. He summarised that in the history of man, religion stood as the centre. In an article in The Observer on October 24, 1954 he wrote:

"I have come back a the belief that religion holds the key to the mystery of existence;"

Religion according to the Oxford dictionary means "belief in a superhuman controlling power especially in a personal God or gods entitled to obedience and worship".

A common feature of all major religions is the belief in a Universal God or Supreme Divine Authority that is Omnipotent and Omniscient. Followers of all major religions believe that the God they worship is the same God for them as well as for others.

Marxism, Freudianism and other 'non-religious' beliefs tried to attack the roots of organized religion. But these in turn, developed into belief systems themselves. For instance, when communism was many countries of the world it was preached with the same commitment and fervour that characterizes preaching and propogation of (Characterises the act of preaching) religions.

Thus religion is an integral part of human existence.

The Glorious Qur'an says in the following verse:

"Say: 'O People of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; That we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah'. If then they turn back, Say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will)". (Al-Qur'an 3:64)

The study of various religions has been an extremely rewarding experience for me. It has reaffirmed the belief that God created every human soul with some knowledge of His existence. The psycological constitution of man is such that he accepts the existence of the Creator, unles he has been conditioned to believe the contary. In other words, belief in God requires no condition, while a rejection of God does.

CATEGORISATION OF MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS:

Religions of the world can be broadly categorized into Semitic religions and non-Semitic religions. Non-Semitic religions can be divided into Aryan religions and non-Aryan religions.

Semitic religions

Semitic religions are religions that originated among the Semites. According to the Bible, Prophet Noah (pbuh) had a son called Shem. The descendents of Shem are known as Semites. Therefore, Semitic religions are the religions that originated among the Jews, Arabs, Assyrians, Phoenicians, etc. Major Semitic religions are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All these religions are Prophetic religions that believe in Divine Guidance sent through prophets of God.

Non-Semitic religions

The non-Semitic religions are further subdivided into Aryan and non- Aryan religions:

Aryan Religions

Aryan religions are the religions that originated among the Aryans, a powerful group of Indo-European speaking people that spread through Iran and Northern India in the first half of the second Millenium BC (2000 to 1500 BC).

The Aryan Religions are further subdivided into Vedic and non-Vedic religions. The Vedic Religion is given the misnomer of Hinduism or Brahminism. The non-Vedic Religions are Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc. Almost all Aryan religions are non-Prophetic religions.

Zoroastrianism is an Aryan, non-Vedic religion, which is not associated with Hinduism. It claims to be a prophetic religion.

Non-Aryan Religions

The non-Aryan religions have diverse origins. Confucianism and Taoism are of Chinese origin while Shintoism is of Japanese origin. Many of these non-Aryan religions do not have a concept of God. They are better referred to as ethical systems rather than as religions.

Most Authentic Definition Of God in any Religion

1.CONCEPT OF GOD IN CHRISTIANITY:

Christianity is a Semitic religion, which claims to have nearly two billion adherents all over the world. Christianity owes it name to Jesus Christ (peace be on him). Jesus (pbuh) is also a revered figure in Islam. Islam is the only non-Christian Faith that prescribes faith in Jesus (pbuh):

Before we discuss the concept of God in Christianity let us examine the position of Jesus (pbuh) in Islam:

(i) Islam is the only non-Christian faith, which makes it an article of faith to believe in Jesus (pbuh). No Muslim is a Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus (pbuh).

(ii) We believe that he was one of the mightiest Messengers of Allah (SWT).

(iii) We believe that he was born miraculously without any male intervention, which many modern day Christians do not believe.

(iv) We believe that He gave life to the dead with God's permission.

(v) We believe that He healed those born blind, and the lepers with God's permission.

One may ask, if both Muslims and Christians love and respect Jesus (pbuh), where exactly is the parting of ways? The major difference between Islam and Christianity is the Christians' insistence on the supposed divinity of Christ. A study of the Christian scriptures reveals that Jesus (pbuh) never claimed divinity. In fact there is not a single unequivocal statement in the entire Bible where Jesus (pbuh) himself says, "I am God" or where he says, "worship me". In fact the Bible contains statements attributed to Jesus (pbuh) in which he preached quite the contrary. Consider the following statements in the Bible, attributed to Jesus Christ (pbuh):

"My Father is Greater than I"

(John 14:28)

"My Father is Greater than all"

(John 10:29)

"...I cast out devils by the spirit of God...."

(Mathew 12:28)

".... with the finger of God cast out devils....." (Luke 11:20)

2. CONCEPT OF GOD IN JUDAISM:

Judaism is one of the major Semitic religions. Its followers are known as Jews and they believe in the prophetic mission of Prophet Moses (pbuh).

(i) The following verse from Deuteronomy contains an exhortation from Moses (pbuh)

"Shama Israelu Adonai Ila Hayno Adna Ikhad"

It is a Hebrew quotation which means

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" [The Bible, Deut 6:4]

(ii) Consider the following verses from the Book of Isaiah:

"I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour."

[The Bible, Isaiah 43:11]

(iii)"I am lord, and there is none else There is no God besides me."

[The Bible, Isaiah 45:5]

(iv)"I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me."

[The Bible, Isaiah 46:9]

(v) Judaism condemns idol worship in the following verses:

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor see them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God..."

[The Bible, Exodus 20:3-5]

(iv) A similar message is repeated in the book of Deutoronomy:

"Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is inheaven above, or that in the earth beneath, or that is in the water beneath the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God..."

[The Bible, Deut 5:7-9]

The concept of God espoused by a religion cannot be judged by merely observing the practice of its followers. It is quite common for the followers of many religions to be ignorant of the concept of God in their scriptures. It is therefore better to analyse the concept of God in any religion by referring to its holy scriptures.

Let us understand the concept of God in major world religions by analysing what their scriptures have to say about it.

CONCEPT OF GOD IN HINDUISM

The most popular among the Aryan religions is Hinduism. 'Hindu' is actually a Persian word which stands for the inhabitants of the region beyond the Indus Valley. However in common parlance Hinduism is a blanket term for an assortment of religious beliefs, most of whom are based on the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagwad Geeta.

Common Concept of God in Hinduism:

Hinduism is commonly perceived as a polytheistic religion. Indeed, most Hindus would attest to this, by professing belief in a multitude of Gods.Some Hindus believe in the system of three God while Some Hindus actually believe in the existence of thirty-three crore i.e. 330 million Gods. However learned Hindus who are well versed with their scriptures insist that a Hindu should believe in and worship only one God.

The major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim perception of God is the common Hindus' belief in the philosophy of Pantheism. Pantheism considers everything, living and non-living to be divine and sacred. The Hindus therefore consider the trees, the sun, the moon, the animals and even the human beings as manifestations of God. For the common Hindu, everything is God.

Islam, on the contrary, exhorts man to consider himself and his surroundings as examples of divine creation rather than as divinity itself. Muslims therefore believe that everything is Gods' i.e. God with an apostrophe 's'. In other words we believe that everything belongs to God. The trees, the Sun, the Moon and everthing in this (Universe belong to God.)

Thus the major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim beliefs is difference of the apostrophe 's'. The Hindus says everything is God. The Muslim says everything is Gods', i.e. God with an apostrophe 's'.

The Holy Qur'an says:

"Come to common terms as between us and you". The first common term is "that we worship none but Allah".

The first common term is "that we worship none but Allah".

So let us try and find commonality by analysing both Hindu and Islamic

CONCEPT OF GOD IN HINDUISM

The most popular among the Aryan religions is Hinduism. 'Hindu' is actually a Persian word which stands for the inhabitants of the region beyond the Indus Valley. However in common parlance Hinduism is a blanket term for an assortment of religious beliefs, most of whom are based on the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagwad Geeta.

Common Concept of God in Hinduism:

Hinduism is commonly perceived as a polytheistic religion. Indeed, most Hindus would attest to this, by professing belief in a multitude of Gods.Some Hindus believe in the system of three God while Some Hindus actually believe in the existence of thirty-three crore i.e. 330 million Gods. However learned Hindus who are well versed with their scriptures insist that a Hindu should believe in and worship only one God.

The major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim perception of God is the common Hindus' belief in the philosophy of Pantheism. Pantheism considers everything, living and non-living to be divine and sacred. The Hindus therefore consider the trees, the sun, the moon, the animals and even the human beings as manifestations of God. For the common Hindu, everything is God.

Islam, on the contrary, exhorts man to consider himself and his surroundings as examples of divine creation rather than as divinity itself. Muslims therefore believe that everything is Gods' i.e. God with an apostrophe 's'. In other words we believe that everything belongs to God. The trees, the Sun, the Moon and everthing in this (Universe belong to God.)

Thus the major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim beliefs is difference of the apostrophe 's'. The Hindus says everything is God. The Muslim says everything is Gods', i.e. God with an apostrophe 's'.

The Holy Qur'an says:

"Come to common terms as between us and you". The first common term is "that we worship none but Allah".

The first common term is "that we worship none but Allah".

So let us try and find commonality by analysing both Hindu and Islamic

Bhagwad Geeta

The most popular among all the Hindu scriptures is the Bhagwad Geeta. Consider the following verse from the Geeta :

"Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures."

[Bhagwad Geeta chapter 7 verse 20 (B.G. 7:20)]

The Geeta is referring to people who are materialistic and therefore worship demigods i.e. besides the True God.

Upanishads:

The upanishads are also considered sacred scriptures by the Hindus. Consider the following verses from the Upanishads:

i) "Ekam evaditiyam"

"He is One only without a second"

[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]

ii) Consider again, the following verses from the Upanishads:

"Na casya kasuj janita na cadhipah."

"Of Him there are neither parents nor Lord"

[Svetasavatara Upanishad 6,9] ['part II page 263.]

iii) Consider the following verses from the Upanishads:

"Na tasya pratima asti"

(There is no likeness of Him.)

[Svetasvatara Upanishad chapter 4:19]

"Nainam urdhvam na tiryancam na madhye na parijagrabhat na tasy pratime asti yasya nama mahad yasah."

"There is no likeness of Him whose name is great glory"."

[The principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg 736 & 737]

[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, the Upanishad part II page no 253]

Compare the above verses with the following verses of the Holy Qur'an

"And there is none like unto Him."

[Holy Qur'an, 112:4]

"There is nothing whatever like unto Him."

[Holy Qur'an,42:11]

iv) The following verses from the Upanishad allude to the inability of Man to imagine God in a particular form:

"Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canaiam. Hrda hrdistham manasa ya enam, evam vidur amrtas te bhavanti".

"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye. Those who through heart and mind know Him as abiding in the heart become immortal".

[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]

The Holy Qur'an refers to this aspect in the following verse:

"No vision can grasp Him But His grasp is over All vision: He is Above all comprehension, Yet is acquainted with all things".

[Holy Qur'an 6:103]

The Vedas

Vedas' are considered the most sacred amongst all the Hindu scriptures. There are 4 main vedas. Rig Ved, Yajur Ved, Sam Ved and Atharvaved.

1. Yajur Ved

1) Consider the following verses from the Yajur ved:

"Na tasya pratima asti"

"There is no image of Him"

[Yajurved 32: 3]

It further says "as He is unborn, He deserves our worship."

"There is no image of Him whose glory verily is great. He sustains within Himself all luminous objects like the Sun etc. May He not harm me, this is my prayer. As He is unborn, He deserves our worship"

[The Yajurveda by Devi Chand M. A. pg 377]

ii) "He is bodyless and pure." Is mentioned in Yajurved 40: 8:

He hath attained unto the Bright, Bodiless, Woundless, Sinewless, the pure which evil hath not pierced. Far-sighted, wise, encompassing, he self-existent hath prescribed aims, as propriety demands, unto the Everlasting Years".

[Yajurved 40:8]

[Yajurveda samhita by Ralph I. H. Griffith pg 538]

iii) It is also mentioned in the Yajur Veda :-

"Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste"

"They enter darkness, those who worship natural things", for example air, water, fire etc "They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc".

[Yajurved 40: 9]

iv) It also mentions a prayer stating

"Lead us to the good path and remove the sin that makes us stray and wander"

[Yajurveda chapter 40:16]"

2. Atharva ved

Consider the following verses from Atharva ved :-

i) "Dev maha osi"

"God is verily great"

[Atharvaveda 20 58 :3]

"Verily, Surya, thou art great; truly, aditya, thou art great. As thou art great indeed thy greatness is admire: yea, verily, great art thou, O God".

(Atharveda Samhiti vol 2 William Dmight Whitney pg 910)

A similar message is given in Qur'an in Surah Rad:

"He is the Great, the most High".

[The Holy Qur'an 13:9]

3. Rig Ved

i) The oldest of all the vedas is Rig veda. It is also the one considered most sacred by the Hindus. The Rig Ved states that "Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names".

[Rigveda 1:164:46)]

ii) The Rigveda gives no less than 33 different attributes to Almighty God, Many of these are mentioned in Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1

Amongst the various attributes given in Rigveda, one of the beautiful attributes! Mentioned in Rigveda Subh II verse 3 for Almighty God is 'Brahma'. 'Brahma' means 'The Creator'. Translated into Arabic this word it means 'Khaliq'. Muslims can have no objection if Almighty God is referred to as 'Khaliq' or 'Creator' or 'Brahma'. However Muslims definitely do not subscribe to the view that 'Brahma' is Almighty God who has four heads (nauzubillah), Muslims take strong exceptation to it. 

Describing Almighty God in anthropomorphic terms also goes against the following verse of Yajurveda:

"Na tasya Pratima asti'

(There is no image of Him)

[Yajur Ved 32:3]

Another beautiful attribute mentioned in the Rigveda Book II hymn 1 verse 3 (R.V. 2:1:3) is Vishnu. 'Vishnu' means 'The Sustainer'. Translated into Arabic it means 'Rabb'. Again, Muslims can have no objection if Almighty God is referred to as 'Rabb' or 'Sustainer' or 'Vishnu'. But the popular image of Vishnu among Hindus is that of a God who has four arms, with one of the right arms holding the 'Chakra' ie a discus and one of the left arms holding a 'conch shell', riding a bird or reclining on a snake couch. Muslims can never accept any image of God. As mentioned earlier this also goes against Yajurveda chatper 40 verse 19.

iii) Consider the following verses from the Rigved:

"Ma chidanyadvi shansata"

"O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One.

10 [Rigveda Book 8:1:1]

[Rigveda samhiti vol ix, pg 1 and 2 by swami Satyaprakash Sarasvati and satyakam Vidhya Lankar]

iv) "The wise yogis concentrate their minds; and concentrate their thought as well in the Supreme Reality, which is Omnipresent, Great and Omniscient. He alone, knowing their functions, assigns to the sense organs their respective tasks. Verily, great is the glory of to Divine Creator".

[Rigveda 5:81]"

[Rigveda Samhiti volume 6 page 1802 and 1803 by Swami Satya Prakash Saraswati and Satyakam Vidhyalanka]

Brahma Sutra of Hindu Vedanta:

The Brahma Sutra of Hindu Vedanta is:

"Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan"

"There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit".

Thus only a dispassionate study of the Hindu scriptures can help one understand the concept of God in Hinduism.

CONCEPT OF GOD IN SIKHISM:

Sikhism is a non-semitic, Aryan, non Vedic religion. Though not a major religion of the world, it is a branch or offshoot of Hinduism founded by Guru Nanak at the end of the 15th Century. It originated in the Area of Pakistan and North West India called Punjab meaning the land of the 5 rivers. Guru Nanak was born in a Kshatriya (warrior caste) Hindu family but was very strongly influenced by Islam and Muslims.

DEFINITION OF SIKH AND SIKHISM

The word 'Sikh' is derived from the word 'Sisya' meaning disciple or follower. Sikhism is a religion of 10 Gurus, the first Guru being Guru Nanak and the 10th and the last being Guru Gobind Singh. The sacred book of Sikhism is Sri Guru Granth also called Adi Granth Sahib.

THE FIVE - 'K'S

Every Sikh is supposed to keep the five 'K's which are also serve as his identity.

(1) Kesh uncut hair; which all the Gurus kept

(ii) Kangha comb; used to keep the hair clean.

(iii) Kada metal or steel bangle; for strength and selfrestrain

(iv) Kirpan dagger; for self defence

(v) Kaccha special knee length underwear or underdrawler for agility

MULMANTRA :- THE FUNDAMENTAL CREED OF SIKHISM

The best definition that any Sikh can give regarding concept of God in Sikhism is quote the "Mul Mantra" the fundamental creed of Sikhism, which occurs at the beginning of Guru Granth Sahib.

It is mentioned in Sri Guru Granth Sahib volume 1 Japuji, the first verse

"There exists but one God, who is called the true the creator, free from fear and hate, immortal not begotten, self-existant, Great and compassionate".

Sikhism enjoins on its followers strict monothiesm. It believes in only One Supreme God who is, in the unmanifest form called 'ek omkara'.

In the manifest form He is called as Omkara and has several attributes such as:

Kartar The Creator

Sahib The Lord

Akal The Eternal

Sattanama The Holy name Parvardigar - The Cherisher

Rahim The Merciful

Karim The Benevolent

He is also called 'Wahe Guru' the One true God.