While we are absolutely sure about the existence of God, and we have no doubt that there is a Power who created the universe, we are not really sure who God is. There are so many religions and so many Gods, and it is natural to become confused about who the real God is. Some people are atheists, they don’t believe in God. Some others are agnostics, they are completely confused about God, whether God exists or not. But most of us who believe in a God, pray to a God of our own religion. Christians pray to Jesus, the Holy Trinity, and the Heavenly Father depending on which denomination they belong to. Muslims by and large pray to Allah. Hindus pray to Krishna, Shiva, Ganesha, Durga – the list is endless. While we understand that prayer is important, it is also important to know to whom we are praying to.
Are there many Gods in many different heavens that exist somewhere above the skies? No. This is a figment of our imagination! There is no doubt that a Divine Power exists. But we humans have fabricated the truth about Divinity to fulfil the purpose of various religions; this is a pity. God is beyond religion. God is not a statue, God is not a saint, God is not a picture that anyone can paint. God is a Power, a Power beyond human comprehension. Therefore, to make our prayer effective, we must stop and understand the reality of God.
In India, people in the North call water paani. In South India, it is called tanni and neeru. This does not change what water is. In France, it is called eau. In Germany, they call it wasser and in Japan, they call it mizu. Does it make the water different? It is the same water but different people call it by different names. So also, while God is one Universal Power, He may be called by different names around the globe. God is the Creator of the universe and of the earth that we live on. It is our ignorance that we believe that the Christian God created the land and the Islamic God created the skies and the Hindu God created the oceans! Religions have evolved over time, but the Divine Power is eternal. God existed much before we came into existence, and even after we die, and several generations come and go, God’s presence will continue. Therefore, while it is important to pray to God, it is equally important to understand who God is.
We can’t define God. God defined is God denied. God is not made of bone and skin, but until we look within and realize God, we will continue to pray to different Gods with different names and forms. Why is it that an Indian God looks Indian and a Japanese God looks Japanese? This only endorses that God is created from the imagination of man. The real Divine Power is formless. The God we pray to is Universal.
Sometimes, people foolishly argue whether God exists or not. We are like that scientist who argued with a saint. There was once a conference about science and spirituality and a famous scientist debated the existence of God with a spiritual saint. They were both intelligent and after two days of deliberation, they agreed to disagree about the existence of God. Before departing, the scientist visited the saint to bid him goodbye. As he was leaving the office of the saint, he noticed a beautiful globe made of ornate marble with an intricate design in gold, on the table of the saint. He asked the saint, ‘This is a beautiful piece of art. Where did you get it from?’ The saint replied in wonder, ‘I don’t remember. One day, out of the blue, it just appeared on my table!’ The scientist got a bit annoyed and replied, ‘If you do not want to tell me where you got the globe from, please just say so! Do not give me a story that it just appeared on your table.’ The saint, grabbed the Divine opportunity and replied, ‘For the last two days, you have debated at the conference and insisted that this entire universe and this beautiful earth just appeared from nowhere! And now, you are unable to believe that this tiny globe on my table could just appear from nowhere. It must have a manufacturer, somebody who created it! Why can’t you believe that a Divine Power that we call God created this humongous globe that we live on?’
The scientist left, hugely impacted by this incident. There is no doubt that God exists. The choice is ours to pray or not to pray. This whole universe is a proof that a Creator exists. You and I are further proof of God. Just like we cannot prove that the Law of Gravity exists but we believe in the scientific law through inference, so also we realize that God exists. When we throw something up in the sky, it doesn’t fly away into the clouds. It falls back on the earth. We infer this is due to the Law of Gravity. The sun, the moon and the stars, the birds and the animals, the plants and the flowers are enough for us to infer that a Creator, a Divine Power exists.
Now that we know beyond doubt that a Power whom we call God exists, we must be clear who the God is that we pray to. We teach our children that God is an old man with a long white beard, sitting somewhere up in the clouds when we know that in reality this is not true. We continue to pray to a God with an elephant head, floating on flowers and riding on animals. This is all right to introduce God to children and encourage them to believe in a God, but sadly, we continue to believe in such stories about God till we go to our grave. When will we realize the truth about God? When will we realize that God is omnipresent - present everywhere, omniscient - knows everything, and omnipotent - all-powerful? God is a Power beyond our imagination and comprehension. But our tiny mind tries to contain God in a microcosm that is not befitting of the Divine. It is like trying to empty an ocean into a bucket. Because we do not know the God we pray to, we are unable to effectively pray to God. Therefore, we must stop and not only question what we say when we pray, but also realize the truth about the God we pray to.
For 40 years, I prayed to Lord Shiva. I was a devout believer, till one day I had my ‘moment’ of spiritual realization, my ‘Aha!’ moment of who God is. However, this did not stop me from going to the humongous temple I built. I still go! The only difference is, earlier I prayed to Lord Shiva and now, I pray through Lord Shiva. It was my spiritual mentor, my Guru—Dada J.P.Vaswani who inspired me to go on a quest to realize the truth. He helped me evolve from being religious to being spiritual. He helped me overcome the myth that we all believe in. Because we all believe in mythology that is carried down from generations, we tend to accept whatever we are taught. We don’t ask questions, we don’t investigate, and we don’t realize the truth.
Today, the whole world is in turmoil, primarily, because of the Gods we pray to. Religions, in their enthusiasm to promote their respective Gods, have become a cause for war, when in reality, God and religion should unify us in prayer and lead us to peace. Unless we discover the truth that God is a Power beyond religion and we know who God truly is, our prayers will remain meaningless. There will only be fanatics screaming, imagining that their fervent screaming is pleasing God when in reality, such prayers, irrespective of religion, are all leading to God-driven passions that take us further away from the Divine. It is time to stop and to contemplate the truth of who that Divine Power is whom we pray to. Isn’t God the same Power that different religions refer to with different names? Shouldn’t we respect each other’s Gods and prayers, if we truly believe in and truly love the Divine?
We will never understand the true meaning of prayer, unless we realize this truth that God is a Universal Power, beyond all religions.
God is not a statue, God is not a Saint,
God is not a picture that anyone can paint.
Until we stop and contemplate, who really is our Lord,
We will keep going around in circles, far away from God.