Nature of God

When we pray, we should do so to a concept of God in which God is real to us.

The concept of God is complex and depends on each individual and the tradition and philosophy that is followed.

Yoga teaches that God will respond to any form one prays, as He gives birth to all things.

God Transcendent and Immanent

When we pray, we need to ask ourselves, are we praying or contemplating to God Immanent, or transcendent.

The fundamental difference between transcendent and immanent it that transcendent is about being above and beyond while immanent is about being close and involved.

Theism holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal, and is personal, interested and answers prayer. It holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9)

“He through Whom we see,

taste, smell, feel, hear, enjoy,

know everything,

He is that Self.”

                                    Katha Upanishad

 

The Sanatana Dharma

Sanatana-dharma or eternal religion, the teachings duties which take into account one’s spiritual identity as Atman (Self) and are thus the same for everyone.

Hindu philosophy is also divided into several schools of thought, or views, but accepts the Vedas (knowledge) as supreme revealed scriptures.

VEDANTA (end of the Vedas, one’s experience or Self knowledge is the main focus).

Vedanta Yoga

The first teachers who brought Yoga to the West came with the profound teachings of Vedanta as their greatest treasure to share with the world. They presented Vedanta as the philosophy of Self-realization and Yoga as the method by which to achieve it.

Such great masters began with Swami Vivekananda at the end of the nineteenth century and continued with Swami Rama, Paramahansa Yogananda, and the many disciples of Swami Shivananda of Rishikesh. They called their teaching Yoga-Vedanta, which they viewed as a complete science of spiritual growth.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF VEDANTA

Vedanta is a straight forward philosophy. It says that our true Self or it Atman, is an aspect of God. "I am God" (aham brahmasmi) is the supreme truth. The same consciousness that resides at the core of our being pervades the entire universe. To know ourselves is to know God and to become one with all. Vedanta is a philosophy of Self-realization, and its practice is a way of Self-realization through yoga and meditation.

The great sages of modern India were all Vedanta’s. Such as Ramana Maharshi, who emphasized the non-dualistic form of Vedanta and lived a life of direct Self-realization; Ramakrishna, Aurobindo, Anandamayi Ma, Nityananda, and Neem Karoli Baba, (guru of a number of Americans who travelled to India in the 1960s and 1970s, the most well-known being Ram Dass) to mention but a few, were Vedanta’s, using the Vedantic terminology of Self-realization and God-realization.

Vedantic traditions remain strong throughout India today, including many great teachers such as Shankaracharya, who have never come to the West.

Sat, Chit, Ananda

Sat-Chit-Ananda or God-Consciousness, Sat-Chit-Ananda is a triple consciousness. Sat is existence, Chit is consciousness and Ananda is bliss.

To be sure, the Kingdom of Heaven is more than just a mere plane, like other planes. It is a plane of divine Consciousness. It is a state of Realization. It embodies Sat-Chit-Ananda. Sat is divine Existence, Chit is divine Consciousness, and Ananda is divine Bliss.

When we go deep within we feel these three together, and when we acquire the inner vision to perceive them all at once, we live in the Kingdom of Heaven.

God of the bible

(Deuteronomy 4:24 NIV) For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Jeremiah 10:10 - But the LORD [is] the true God; he [is] the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

Jeremiah 51:15 - He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.

Revelation 1:8 - I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

(Luke 17:21 NIV) nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you.

(Deuteronomy 4:31 NIV) For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.

(Psalms 33:11-13 NIV) But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. {12} Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. {13} From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind;

(Acts 10:34 NIV) Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism

(Romans 14:17 NIV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

(Ephesians 4:24 NIV) and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

(1 John 4:16 NIV) And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Revelation 4:11 - Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation 19:6 - And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

We can infer from the writings that we need to acknowledge God in whatever He or She is real to us.