How can the Creator be part of His creation?

[Explorer]

One thing I found of great use in these matters, was the following example:

If God is the Ocean, we are each drops of water. Of course none of us is 'God', but that's how we have something of him within us. For the same reason we are not worthy of worship, the ocean is however. And while not worthy of worship, we are still worthy of kindness and good treatment

This parallel to earthly reality gets even better if you consider humans like cells, and God like the complete organism. For instance we have fingers, from above we know their purpose and meaning, and how to keep them safe most of the time, but the smaller parts do not have full awareness of the system they're a part of.

By this model, what we can do to best fulfill our roles, is exactly what cells do, in order for the greater body to thrive: cells must be healthy, perform their function, and also work well with the other cells around them. Though we cannot see the complex relationships that make our lives have a purpose, we can certainly believe that the purpose is there, and our existence is not merely an accident in space, but also serves something much higher than us all.

well , your christian friend is having trouble in understanding what you are saying to him because he is stuck up with the christian concept of

I for one will stop talking of immaterial things to Christians, I found that at least 90% of them try to first 'filter' my words through the very narrow text of the Bible, and only afterwards think about any meaning it may have. This makes useful conversation impossible.

IMHO, One simple thing that brings out the disconnects in Christian 'logic' is this:



Some time ago, there was no Earth. Some time after today, there will be no Earth again. This we know to be true, planets come and go, and so do stars and star systems.

Throughout the whole universe, the laws of Karma, birth and rebirth, keep their balance and continue to function, for all beings. Where there is life, the laws of Karma do not defy common sense, there is a balance. And also my example above can hold true, as all beings are part of Creation, manifesting the divine in a small limited way, serving their purpose.

Now someone explain to me how Christianity is supposed to function on any place in that image, at a random point in time, some millions of years before or after today, where no Jews ever lived, no Jesus was crucified or sold for silver. Are the Insektoids on planet AKX-4827624523857346 wicked sinners as well ? Does a Jesus get born and killed for sins on all those worlds, so that they too can know the grace of God, like Christians do on Earth ?

[kallol]

You are asking the crux of the Advaita philosophy which takes long time to comperehend and appreciate.

However to summarise I can note down a few points. To get elaborate analysis of these and more, you should understand the Gita from Advaita point of view through a teacher. You can try out CDs from Swami Paramarthananda of Chennai as a begining.

1. God is the superset of physical entity (manifested and unmanifested) and the Consciousness both of which permeates the space.

Manifested physical entity is the creation (including our bodies) and unmanifested is the energy. This entity is changing, has attributes, has life (manifestation) and death (unmanifestation), finite and is also known as Lower nature.

Consciousness is always unmanifested, unperceivable, attributeless, timeless, infinite and also called the Higher nature.

2. Physical entity is dumb and lifeless like bulb, fan, computer, etc without energy. Consciousness is the life giver and is like the power. Without it our bodies are useless and dumb.

3. Whereas the Higher nature is independent the Lower nature is dependent. The creation, including us, is a combination of the Lower nature and Higher nature. This creation can be compared with different phases of water. Like liquid, solid and gas. It is the same water manifesting in different form. Similarly the Lower nature manifests in different forms which in conjuction with the higher nature evolves from gas to stars, to planets, to trees, to animals and human.

So it is that same combination in different forms - it is the manifestation of God (combination of Higher nature and Lower nature).

4. This consciousness is the "I" in us which is not the part of the body. Even in dreams or unconscious state when the body ceases to function that "I" is there. It continues through dream, unconscious state and death.

5. To have the feeling of "I" we need another entity which is also part of physical part but much subtle - MIND. This mind, in the ocean of consciousness, is the jibatma or the soul. The consciousness, being everywhere, is like light in which the mind moves and reflects that consciousness or "I". This mind moves from body to body between birth and death.

So the main aim should be to develop clarity of the body, mind, intellect and consciousness. This is difficult. Once you have this clarity and assimilate it then the theory becomes clear.

Love and best wishes