God, Goddess,Goddesses,Deva=One and the same?

Blessing & Peace be with you all.
So this is the main question that`s be making me feel like i`m going around in circles and makes me want to :banghead: due to different answers.
Is there any scripture that says:
1.)God & Goddess & deva are all the same i.e goddess and deva are just God but in different form and not seperate entities/spirits?
2.)Shiva,ganesh,visnu etc are all one god but diffent aspect?

Some say or make it sound like that god is one but shiva,ganesh and the other gods/deities just help god with different jobs i guess like a job the manager owns the business but he/she has staff that helps him/her,and others say no it`s all one.

Thank you for any help.

Namaste,

I have thought for a while how to answer your question to try and get the best effect and not confuse you. There could be several ways to answer you but at first I want to try this.

The Gods or God if we want to use these words to keep it simple are beyond our normal comprehension, in modern times we have become so conditioned to understand things immediately and literally, while these can be aid they can also be very grave stumbling blocks to understand the true identity of the Gods or God if we are to use these words. Sometimes its best to be simple and just focus on the good things for now, I have seen to many people get all worked up with certain types of philosophical questions when really they should be objects of meditations and we gradually absorb our minds into these transcendent Beings and they will reveal themselves in a way that one can fully recognize them for what and who they truly are.

1 person can say they are like A another person might say they are like B and another person may say they are both A and B but also C simultaneously and all can back up with quotes and new comers are left with only a choice of what to accept, and if that happens it may end up making you even more confused. I have seen very advanced conversations not just here but in India where there is still some conversations going on about Shiva and Vishnu, so it maybe easier to just pray and do some meditations to them directly to get the answers and have some faith that at some point and when the time is right all will be revealed.

Keep it simple, dont think to much, inquire and investigate but if it gets to confusing switch off and concentrate on something that interests you and inspires you, for most of us its a long process of learning and very deep assimilation so enjoy along the way. One nice saying I was told in simple way is that with the material world with all its problems there is always tension, but with Meditation on God it should be free from tension, its good to let go with certain things and let something higher more profound do its own talking and revealing.

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté & hello,

Let me see if I can offer a point of view for your consideration...

Regarding śivaḥ and śakti ( or śaktiśivau meaning the two). Consider a flame and its light that it gives off, both are one and the same, but we seperate them just so we understand the flame and its light, one thing. Some say the flame and the heat that it gives off; still one and the same. Like that śaktiśivau talks of two ( and this is how its written śaktiśivau), it is one. Now the term 1 is better served by the term wholeness, fullness (pūrṇam).

Now all the other forms and names you suggest gaṇapati or gaṇapatiṁ -Lord of the multitudes and the like. The others, is a way to look at the Divine from various windows or points of view. The Supreme with various qualities. We learn of all the divine attributes to come to appreciate the wholeness and fullness of the Supreme.

So, let me offer how I was taught and see if it resonates with you...
Consider a wonderful tree. It is full, healthy , made of all the branches leaves, flowers, bark and roots. All work together to offer the wholeness we see. But what we do not see is the sap. It is the sap that becomes all of the qualities of the tree. The hardness of the bark, the green of the leaves, the smell of the blossoms, all the branches and internal path ways that feed all its parts, as the roots do their job of bringing all that the tree needs. Yet at the end of the day the tree is an expression of the sap. Like that all that we know, even these gods you have mentioned all are an expression and extension of the Supreme. In fact it IS the Supreme in various forms, non-different than all the devata-s we hear and talk of.... We come to know the sap, and we will know the whole tree. That sap , that essence in you is Self.



http://www.lovethispic.com/uploaded_...ruit-Trees.jpg


इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ

Namaste Crow,

Beautiful answers have already been furnished in above posts. I will just rephrase the answer in my words :

a) Rig Veda says :
"Truth is One but the devotees call then by different names".
b)That which is There is Here. He who sees differences here, goes from death to death. - Kathopanishad
c) He (Brahman) is the Creator, the nourisher, the destroyer and also the being as the enjoyer. - Bhagwad Gita
d) Vasudevah sarvam Idam - This all is God. - Bhagwad Gita
e) He (God) became what He was worshipped as - Mudgala Upanishad
f) Sarva hi etad Brahman - (This all is Brahman) - MAndukya Upanishad
g) That thou art - You are that (Brahman)
etc. etc.

Actually, this Whole (can't name it better) which is the Only Truth without a second, is very complex. This Whole or Brahman is just One without any parts in Absolute plane of existence. In relative plane of existence, the same One Brahman appears as the God, Space, matter, energy, human beings, animals and whatever is there manifest or unmanifest (including subtle beings and things in subtle worlds) in this universe. Our "existence" is in relative plane of existence. This existence is because of thought-waves of creation in God (Cosmic Consciousness). These thought-waves shape the things and beings in this plane of relative existence.

As we humans, too, are nothing but expression of the same Brahman, out thoughts have creative powers to a limited extent. We shape our chosen deity we want to worship i.e. God takes the form, shape and attributes the way we believe. This belief when takes the form of deep-rooted faith of a number of people, the chosen name,form and attributes of a deity comes into being in relative plane of existence. This deity is as real we are.

To sum up : The faith of devotee is more important than the form, name and attributes of God. It is the same God. It is upto you in what form you want to see Him or you want Him formless/nameless. Hindus believe in : "Jaaki rahi Bhaavanaa jaisi, Prabhu Moorat dekhi tin taisi" ==> One perceives God as per his own notion of God.

OM

So following what you say, each person creates their own god. If they are aetheist, there is not god for them?

I am not sure I have got your meaning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adityah

So following what you say, each person creates their own god. If they are aetheist, there is not god for them?

I am not sure I have got your meaning.

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Namaste...

I don't think it's accurate to say we create our own God, but we see God in our own way, in a way meaningful to each of us. An atheist simply doesn't believe God exists. That doesn't mean God doesn't exist, though.

Namaste Adityah,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adityah

So following what you say, each person creates their own god. If they are aetheist, there is not god for them?

I am not sure I have got your meaning.

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You don't create God. Your faith makes God take the form/no-form and attributes that your faith chooses. I think you are too much attached to form/name and think of creation attached with form and name etc. Nothing in this world can be created. Nothing in this world can be destroyed. So, you can't create even a blade of grass let alone God ! Things just change their form and that is not creation. All creations are mental illusions.

Atheist doesn't believe in God. How does God behave with an atheist ? Contrary to Abrahimic religions' belief, God doesn't become angry with an atheist as He has no desire to either have or nor have a devotee. So, He remains indifferent to an atheist. He acts as if He doesn't exist. So, the disadvantage to an atheist is that he doesn't get divine grace that is his own right being a child of God. An atheist has to find and tread his own path. He is rewarded and punished as per Laws of Nature (Prakriti) / Laws of Karma. So, an atheist's spiritual journey is usually more painful and longer unless you are a spiritual atheist like Buddhists/Jains.

OM