PAOB

I.

II.

III.

IV.

EXISTENCE OF GOD

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

39

HAS GOD ANY FORM?

FATHERHOOD AND MOTHERHOOD OF GOD.

V. THE RELATION OF SOUL TO GOD

VI.
VII.

WHAT

is

AN INCARNATION OF GOD?

6l
.

83
121

H5
l6 7

SON OF GOD

VIII. DIVINE PRINCIPLE IN

MAN

*93

Dedicated
to the

Beloved and Revered

Memory

of the

BLESSED
My

SWAM I WJSEKANANDA
Spiritual Brother

and

Fellow Disciple of

BHAGAISAN SRI RAMAKRISHNA

Existence of God.

MICROFORMED BY
PRESERVATION
SSRViCES
JU!

DATE.,

281992

"That

names."

which

exists is one:

Rig veda,

I,

164, 46.

men

call it

by various

The
HUMAN

Existence of God.
minds seem

to

have almost ex

hausted their reasoning powers in producing

all

kinds of arguments that can be given both

and against the existence

hundreds of years philosophers,
for

theologians

among

all

of

God.

scientists,

For

and

nations have been bring

ing forward proofs either to show that there

such a Being as

God

or to deny His existence

entirely.

Of

and proofs

in favor of the existence of

convincing to

is

course most of the arguments

those

who

God

are

already have some

sort of belief in the Creator or

some concep

Supreme Being. If we have been

brought up in an atmosphere where there pre
vails a belief in God as the Creator and Ruler
tion of the

of the universe or as

an extra-mundane Being

who, dwelling outside of nature, commands

9

Vedanta Philosophy.
everything and directs the movements of the

we

world, then unconsciously

imbibe that

belief

from our childhood, and as

we grow older we accept

and evidences that we can
this

If

breathe in and

the arguments

all

find in support of

preconceived idea.

we have

already a conception of

the First Cause, then

inferences

which

for granted.

the inductions

all

maintain

naturally appeal to us

God

and

idea

will

shall take

them

that

and we

as

But those whose minds are not

biased or influenced by any such idea, belief, or

conception,

those

who

are able to examine

these proofs critically in the light of

science, applying logic

who

modern

and reason, and those

freely investigate nature, searching for

an

extra-cosmic creator and ruler of the universe,

may

fail to find

any convincing proof, and may

therefore deny the existence of

or as the First Cause of

God, as such,

all.

We all know how the theory of evolution has

revolutionized the old idea of the special crea
tion of the world out of nothing at
10

some

definite

The
period of time.

Existence of God.

Those who found consolation

and held

in the design theory

it

to

be the most

unassailable ground in favor of the existence of

an Omnipotent Designer, are now hopelessly

discouraged by the introduction of the

winian theories of natural selection

selection.

almost

all

By

these theories

Dar

and sexual

we can

explain

the so-called designs of the Creator.

Moreover, the design argument cannot make

clear

why under

omnipotent,

the government of a just,

and

omniscient

Ruler

should

happen such disorders as the volcanic erup

tions on the Island of Martinique, or as the
plagues, famines, and other disasters which
devastate different countries, destroying

hun

dreds of thousands of innocent living creatures.

The

design theory cannot trace the causes of

such disasters;

for

there were a Designer,

if

His design should be perfect and there should

be harmony instead of discord.

The

monotheistic

explain the cause of

in the universe

religions

all

have

tried

to

the disorders that occur

by a theory of a Creator of
11

evil

Vedanta Philosophy.
as distinct and separate from the
Designer of

This method of explanation, however,

good.

does not help us

much

in proving the existence

of a perfect, all-powerful

we

for

God,

and the other the creator of

the creator of good

which

infinite

have to admit two beings, one

shall then

evil,

and

make each

will

and

will take

and

infinity of the

away

Those who

all

limited

by the other

idea of the omnipotency

Supreme Being.

believe that

God

the First

is

Cause of the universe, must determine the

nature of that
efficient

first

cause

whether

or the material cause.

He

is

We know

the

that

these two causes are essential for the

production

of a thing, as, in the case of a

pot, the potter

the efficient and the earth

Now

if

we say

that

is

God

is

the material cause.

is

the efficient or

instrumental cause of the universe, like the

maker

of a pot, then

possible for

the

Him

material

it

would have been im

to create without the

help of

cause,

which must have co

existed with the Creator.

fronted with the

same
12

Here we are con

difficulty

that

God

The Existence of God.

who

stands outside the material cause,

ited

by matter, therefore

He

is

cannot be un

limited in the proper sense of the term.

the contrary, the material cause be

He must

First Cause, then

all

If,

on

meant by

have gone through

the changes of evolution, which would

Him

lim

make

a changeable, phenomenal object of

like

we cannot

the universe, a conclusion which

accept.

The moral argument

that the moral laws

presuppose a law-giver cannot prove the exist

ence of God, since

we know

that natural laws

do not presuppose a law-giver.

place

means.

In the

we should understand what

The

law"

forces of nature are operating in

the universe in certain modes,

regularity

first

"

and uniformity

"laws";

modes are

of these

observed and interpreted by the

they are called

and when the

human mind,

consequently these

laws are to be found neither in nature nor out

side of

it,

but in the

human mind.

Secondly,

as in external nature the natural forces acting

under regular modes do not presuppose a law13

Vedanta Philosophy.
giver, so

are but

it

can be shown that the moral laws

modes

in

which natural forces operate

on the moral plane; that they do not need a

moral law-giver, but their process is the same as
the evolutionary process of the physical world.

Furthermore}

all

such conceptions of

God

as

the natural law-giver or the moral law-giver

are

rejected

by advanced thinkers

as

the

anthropomorphic ideas of uncultured minds.

All these proofs
like these

and many other arguments

which were considered

to establish the existence of

be

to

an

sufficient

extra- cosmic

creator, ruler, or law-giver of the universe, are

now thrown

aside as imperfect

and

fallacious.

In these days of science and reason when we

try to

prove the existence of God, we do not

search for a creator or fashioner of the world,

for

a designer or

universe; neither
giver;

first

cause of the phenomenal

do we look

our conception of

for a

God

moral law

has outgrown

those stages of evolution and has

become as

large as the infinity of the universe.

longer think that this earth

14

is

We

no

the stationary

The Existence of God.

centre around which the sun,

moon and

power of

the supernatural

angels,

other

moved by

luminaries of the heavens revolve,

who, accord

ing to the old-fashioned belief, dwelt above the

blue

dome

of the sky overhead

these planets according to

fancies.

We

their

whims and

Modern

astron

has opened our eyes to the fact that this

earth which

an

moved

are just beginning to understand

the vastness of the universe.

omy

and

we

inhabit

infinitesimal point

is

to

be considered as

when compared with

the

immensity of space and with the innumerable

cosmic bodies that exist above the horizon.

We

have learned that there are heavenly bodies

beyond our solar system, the nearest one of

which

is

so distant

ling at the rate of

from us that

its light,

travel

one hundred and eighty- six

thousand miles per second, requires three and

a half years to reach our earth. There are other
stars so

remote that thousands of years are

needed for their

light, travelling at

rate, to arrive at

our planet.

that

more than one thousand

15

We

the

same

are assured

million stars have

Vedanta Philosophy.
been discovered by the telescope and that there

may
yet

be millions and millions of suns which are

beyond the reach of our best instruments.

we can get by stretching our

do
not find any limit or bound
imagination we
Thus, as

far as

we

ary to the universe;

that there

is

still

beyond what we know

and perceive is always with

it.
Even when we

us;

rid of

object,

This sense

something beyond.

of something existing

finite

have the feeling

we cannot

sense of beyond

that

infinite

ideas

There

it.

is

Take,

geometrical figure, a square;

by

all

our

for instance,

the

when we

we can only

perceive that square,

perceiving the space beyond

as a figure enclosed
at the

same time

and

a feeling of the

very closely associated with

and concepts.

most

is

intimately connected with our perception

conception of

get

try to perceive

it.

try to

perceive

We

see

it
it

by four straight lines, but

there

is

a feeling of the space

beyond, otherwise we could not perceive the

square.

Again when we look

at the space
16

which

is cir-

The Existence of God.

cumscribed by the horizon we do not lose the
there

something beyond that

sense

that

limit,

that infinite space extends

visible horizon.

is

The same

lessness or of the infinite

either

beginning or

its

perception of limit-

is

closely associated

We

with the idea of time.

its

beyond the

cannot conceive

end.

There always

remains the sense of the eternal beyond both

before and after our conception of time.

In

way we get the perception of eternity.

The human mind is so peculiarly constituted
this

that

it

incapable of finding the absolutely

is

defined limit of any thing of the world.

mountains,

rivers,

earth, sun,

Trees,

moon, and

all

other objects of the senses are tangible, but do

we

find

any

definite limit

when we

carefully

analyze our perceptions of these objects ?

we do

not.

We may

try our best, but

we

sure to discover, sooner or later, that there

No,
are
is

sense of beyond constantly attached to them.

Let us take an

illustration:

it,

touch

it,

or smell

it,

suppose that we

we may look at
but can we perceive the

stand under a big oak tree;

17

Vedanta Philosophy.

Do

absolute limit of that tree?

our senses

take in the whole tree at one time?

senses cannot reach

its

No, our

deepest roots or

we know what

highest branches, nor do

going on under the bark or in the leaves.

impossible for
at

any one

one time; we

the

may

to take in the

take

it

in

same time the perception

under

all

by

its

is

It is

whole tree

parts, but at

of each part will

circumstances leave in our minds the

sense of beyond.

Again when we think of the

innumerable atoms and molecules that make

up the body of that tree, its finite form vanishes,

leaving an impression that what we call
"tree"

is

indeed an expression of the

the form
is

is

which

gone, that

infinite; for
is left

inseparable from the infinite ocean of

when we

that gives

try to

know

form to that

tree

the power or force

and makes it living,

which cannot be separated from

sense

we must

some

More

substance imperceptible to the senses.

over,

when

of the tree

it,

then in one

say that the tree has in

it

some

thing intangible, mysterious and unknowable;

we cannot

help

it.

18

Existence of God.

The

In the same manner

finite

every

it

can be shown that

perception or conception of an

object brings with

a sense of beyond, a per

it

ception of the infinite, or something that

is

unknown and unknowable, of something that

Take a drop of water which is
is eternal.
finite;

put

it

under the microscope and you

will see infinitesimal

atoms moving about, some

some

clearly visible,

so minute that they are

hardly perceptible with the help of the most

Yet modern chemistry

powerful microscope.
tells

us that

we can

ascertain

the relative

position of these atoms so minute that millions

millions of

them could stand upon the

point of a needle.

Is not the infinitude of this

upon

small drop of water as wonderful as the in

finity of
finite

space?

and

Indeed the drop of water

see a flower, or touch

ing in the

same

infinite at the

same way

time.

When we

we cannot help

it,

that

it is

is

realiz

the finite appear

ance of that something which we cannot know,

which

is

infinite

beautiful painting

and

eternal.

It

is

upon the canvas

19

like

of that

Vedanta Philosophy.
eternal invisible substance of the universe

which

the senses cannot perceive, which the

mind

cannot grasp or comprehend;

the expres

it is

sion of that infinite matter which

fills all

space.

No one can deny the existence of this substance

which appears

to

variety of forms

and shapes.

Modern

science

our senses in an

tells

infinite

us that this all-pervad

ing substance of the universe has neither be

ginning nor end, because

we cannot know
As

limit either in space or in time.

as

we can go

that the sense of

beyond

fore eternal, that

is,

we

is

present

back

we

it is

beginningless and

It is neither increased

thing

far

in our conception of time,

find

there

endless.

nor diminished by any

cannot add one iota to

this

sub

stance, nor can we subtract anything from

it is

consequently unchangeable

well as in quality.
all

the

forces

manifested

ever

name we

like;

20

because

in the perceptible
rest

We may
it is

it;

in quantity as

It is all-powerful

world proceed from and

limited substance.

its

upon

call

it

that

un

by what

the real essence of

all

The Existence of God.

phenomena. It is like the ocean upon which
the waves of phenomenal forms are rising and,
after playing their parts, are disappearing again

and again.
or stars,

All these forms of sun, or

human

of

moon,

beings or animals,

nothing but waves in that

infinite ocean.

are

As

the waves cannot exist without the ocean, so

cannot exist without the

finite objects

substance which

That

phenomena.

if

substance

infinite

support of the universe;

infinite

it is

the

one because

it is

would

lose

and become

Ever since the dawn of

horizon of the

it

finite.

intellect

human mind

all

is

the infinite were many,

its limitless nature

infinite

behind and beyond

is

upon the

there has been a

constant struggle for a definite knowledge of

this

something which

ence and yet

cannot

rest

is

not

is

beyond

finite.

all finite exist

The human mind

contented with the mere play of

appearances, but always yearns to

it

is

that appears.

From

know what

ancient times those

who have had some kind

of perception of this

infinite as related to the

phenomenal universe

21

Vedanta Philosophy.
have also

tried to express their ideas

names

different

to

Thus have

it.

by giving

arisen the

names by which human minds have

various

designated this infinite substance; but each of

these

names now stands

like

a landmark in the

path of the evolution of the conception of

Whether we

call that infinite

God.

substance God,

or Creator, or Designer, or First Cause, or the

Father, or Jehovah, or Allah, or

mean

the

same

infinite,

Brahman, we

eternal, all-powerful

and unchangeable Substance. Every individual

has a vague perception of this

him

or her;

than others.

infinite

around

some are more conscious of

The more

and discontented with

that

we

it

are dissatisfied

finite things, the stronger

grows in us the desire to know more about

this infinite, to

something which
finite

we

understand more about that

is

not

which

is

beyond

time and beyond limited space.

When

finite,

no pleasure, no

no happi
ness in objects limited by time and space, and
find

when we
finite,

satisfaction,

realize the transitoriness of all that is

our inner nature longs for that which

22

is

The Existence of God.

and we wish

absolutely unlimited,

where

it is

and how

it is.

We

seek

to

it

know

here and

there, not knowing exactly what we want; we

struggle for knowledge; and this struggle, this

search for that Infinite Being, grows stronger

and stronger

until the realization of the true

nature of the infinite

To

a materialist

is

obtained.

who

side of the universe,

studies the objective

this

infinite

appears as material and insentient;

it

matter,

and

tries to

deduce

this

substance

he

calls

phenomenal

world from

this infinite unintelligent matter.

The matter

of the materialist, however,

infinite, as eternal,

or the

as all-powerful as the

Supreme Being

is

as

God

of the religionists.

materialist simply studies the objective world

and does not recognize or study the subjective

universe therefore he is satisfied with his con
;

clusions; but as the objective side

is

only one-

half of the universe, his conclusions are one

\Those who, on the contrary, study

subjective nature, discover the same infinite
sided.

behind their limited minds, beyond every idea,

23

V
Vedanta Philosophy.

The

thought, feeling, or sensation.

finite

mind

which takes the forms of thoughts, ideas,

feelings, sensations, and which is limited by the
is

that

sense of

"I."

When, however, we

try to think

of the definite boundary of the sense of

of the finite mind,

we cannot

trace the beginning or

or

feels,

We

waves in the

infinite

forms are

like the

ocean of eternal space

with substance, so thoughts, ideas,

infinite

many waves

ocean of mental space

substance.

filled

As we cannot attach

to our physical form, so

these mental forms our own.

to

the

in the

the sense of

we cannot
Thus

call

after care

world

conclusion that the subjective

infinite is the Reality of the universe,

external

feel

with finer

ful study the students of the

subjective

come

to

end of that which thinks,

ings, sensations are but so

"I"

we fail

it;

or

or perceives, or conceives, or
imagines.

realize that as physical

filled

find

"I"

phenomena

and that

are but the representa

tions or projections of the

subjective infinite,

or mind. According to them time and space do

not exist outside the mind, consequently every24

The Existence of God.

thing in space and time
subjective idea.

a picture of the

like

is

They deny

the existence of

matter and trace the origin of

powers of the

They

finite

mind

to that infinite

give the attribute of intelligence to

it

The

existence of infinite

mind

as that of infinite matter.

whether we

mind.
it

and

is

But

as undeniable

this substance,

or matter, subject or

one unknowable Being of the

All mental as well as all physical

universe.

forms are but

in Sanskrit

we

mind

call it

object, is the

eternal

or

the eternal,*jntelligent, cosmic mind.

call

in It

all qualities

its

From

this infinite

Brahman we have come

live

phenomenal

and

into It

called

It is

appearances.

Brahman.

and

into existence;

we return

at the

end of

existence.

In ancient India the question was asked,

"What

is

Vedanta:

The answer we

God?"
"That

from which

all

find

in

animate and

inanimate objects have come into existence, in

and play like waves in the sea,

which they return ultimately at the

which they

and

into

live

time of dissolution,

know
25

that to be

Brahman,

Vedanta Philosophy.
or the infinite Substance, or

Who

God."

can

without being sustained by this Infinite

One ? As a painting cannot stand without the

live

background, so phenomena cannot

exist

with

out being supported by the infinite Substance

or Brahman.

It

pervades the universe, inter

penetrating atoms and molecules, yet it lies

beyond all the mental and physical phenomena
of the manifested universe.

It is

not confined

by the limitations of sex or gender;

call this

Being he, she, or

substance or

Brahman

and unknowable

to

is

finite

we may

This

it.

infinite

incomprehensible

minds.

That

to

which the modern agnostics refer when they use

the term
Unknowable" is the same Infinite
"

Being.

Here we must not

verb

"to

know"

senses

means

and then

perceived.
is

limited

forget the

In

know."

ordinary sense

"to

to perceive

through the
form a concept of the object

first

to

its

meaning of the

Consequently,

all

our knowledge

by the power of perception as well

as by the mind.

To know God
26

or the Infinite

The Existence of God.

Being by the same kind of knowledge as that
by which we know a stone or a tree or a dog

would be tantamount

to

annihilating

God.

God in this sense would

He
would become a phenom
God;

Because a known
cease to be

enal object, an idol,

for in trying to

and not the

Infinite Being,

know God, we would be bringing

that Infinite Being within the limits of our finite

In

mind.

this sense, therefore,

finite

Being,

able.

Shall

is

always

we then

God, or the In

unknown and unknow

join the agnostics

and be

contented with our ignorance and powerlessness to

all

know the Infinite ?

Shall

we cease from

our attempts and struggles to understand

the nature of the Infinite or to

ence of

Here

God when He

is

know the

unknowable?

exist

No.

is a great fact to learn, that although the

Infinite

Being

is

unknown and unknowable

according to the point of view of modern

agnosticism, He

is

more than known, more than

knowable from the standpoint of the Vedanta.

He is the essence of our being, the essence of our
Self.

He

is

the source of our knowledge.

27

All

Vedanta Philosophy.
knowledge proceeds from that

when we know a
through Him.

we

table,

we

thing,

When,

say that the table

is

Wisdom;

it

in

and

we know

known, but can

trace the source of this

created by us.

mind

infinite
finite

knowledge? Do
comes? It is not
exists in the

it

or that something behind the

mind, and through that knowledge we

that ether

is

known. When we say

unknown and unknowable, we use
is

same knowledge

which we are able

known

it

or

it,

as our guide.

That by
cognize a thing and to

to

unknown

Therefore whether we

know

it

It is eternal;

say that the table

call

we know

for instance,

we know from where

this

infinite

knowledge

is

know a

Divinity

itself.

thing or do not

in either case

only through the one source of

all

is

possible

wisdom and

consciousness.
It is for this

anything

God

reason that

known and knowable

unknown and unknowable.

higher than

ego or

"

"

either.

He

no one can
28

is

He

is

more than

or anything
is

infinitely

the essence of the

live

without being sus-

The Existence of God.

tained by that

source of existence,

infinite

knowledge, and consciousness.

God

dwells somewhere outside of the universe

and from
or

not that

It is

my

there, is

heart beat, but

body.

He

fills

existence to

He

is

He

blood circulate

form.

as well as the Soul of the universe.

you, in

me,

owe

my
He

not see

known by our

He would

is

in

and every
or know Him.
It

would be a great degradation of God

could be

soul

in the chair, in the wall

we do

where, yet

the Soul of

is

my
my

in every cell of

my

the space of

Him.

my

making

if

He

ordinary knowledge.

then be like a changeable, limited,

phenomenal something such as we perceive

with our senses;

Knower

eternal

is

in fact the

everything in each of us.

or the Subject in us

is

The

unchangeable,

and one.

When we
meant

He

of the universe, the Eternal Subject

who knows
Knower

whereas

understand that by knowledge

objectification,

we

realize that all

is

our

attempts to express that infinite Subject in

language

to call

Him Father, Brother, or dear29

Vedanta Philosophy.
est

Friend

are nothing but so

human mind

the

We

limited Subject of the universe.

however, remain

may come

we

He

the world, the Governor of

Cause of the universe.

shall not rest content;

same

the

which

Infinite

is

know

Gradually

we

the Creator of

all,

or the First

But here again we

we

know more about Him.

that

cannot,

desire to

Infinite Being.

to realize that

un

with this imperfect

satisfied

knowledge of Divinity;

more about the

efforts of

many

to objectify the infinite,

shall

still

Then we

wish to

shall find

Substance or Being

beyond every finite object, beyond

space and time, above mind and body, is in
reality not very far from us; wherefore it is
is

said in the Vedanta:

"

He

far

is

the nearest;
is

from

He

us, yet

He

is

dwells in everything, yet

yet

He

He

He

outside the

infinitely

nearer than

is
phenomenal universe;
smaller than the atom of an atom,

is

infinitely

larger than

solar system, than the space

perceptible

universe."

30

the largest

which covers the

The Existence of God.

When we

see the sun,

moon, or

see that part of the Infinite which

is

stars,

we

visible to

our eyes; when we hear a sound, we perceive

that part of the Infinite

God

our ears; but

is

which

in reality

space,

so

is

the

light,

same

Substance which transcends time and

mind and sense powers.

much

By knowing
we are yet

of the Infinite, however,

unsatisfied,

souls

audible to

beyond

He

sound, odor, taste or touch.

Infinite

is

still

we

still

long for

desire to

know more.

Our

a deeper knowledge of that

all-pervading Substance.

phenomenal objects the

The more we
less

are

study

we content

with the knowledge that we can gather from this

study.

We may

and spend

all

devote the whole of our lives

the energy

we

to satisfy this craving for

Infinite

but

possess in trying

knowledge of the

by studying the phenomenal world,

this

quenched;

thirst
it

for

knowledge

will remain, as

great thinkers of the world.

it

not be

will

does in

all

We may

the

read

books, philosophies, sciences, and Scriptures,

but the longing of the soul will never be

31

fulfilled

Vedanta Philosophy.
There

by reading books.
quench

this thirst

and that

is

only one

is

by

way

to

realizing the

Infinite.

The word

means something more

than ordinary knowing. By "realizing" we
mean being and becoming one with the
Infinite.

Being

is

of our

"realize"

If we

can know that the all-pervading

the Essence of our lives and the Soul

we become more and more

souls,

acquainted with that Infinite and understand

its

whole nature

not the objective side alone,

not merely as the material substance, but as

the infinite

mind

substance, and also as that

which transcends

phenomena.

the source of

substance of mental

mean when we have

the Infinite Spirit,

is

this

all

realized

when we have found

that It

powers and forces as well as

the basis of our consciousness, the foundation

of our existence, the
universe,

then the

quenched, then
existence of

and the

thirst

all

God

life

for

reality of the

knowledge

is

questions regarding the

are answered,

cease forever.
32

all

doubts

The Existence of God.

But

it

may be asked How can we know

the

Being as the Soul of our souls?

By

Supreme

rising above the plane of consciousness of the

This plane of consciousness will never
finite.

reveal the true nature of the Infinite Being

because

functions within the limitations of

it

the senses, consequently

infinite

which

is

above

all

have a vague perception of

of

it

as

the subject

matter; but that

is

cannot reach the

it

it

One.

If

time and space, shutting out

making

of external

or

we may think
mind or

or object, as

not the same as the realiza

tion of the Absolute

the

We may

limits.

we can
all

rise

above

sense objects,

mind impervious to all

objects, if we can then

sensations
direct the

whole energy of mind and soul towards the

Infinite within us, then

realize the Soul of

we

shall

be able to

our souls, then the truth of

God will be revealed to us.

we wish to know God, we shall have

the existence of
If

enter into the state

of

to

superconsciousness.

All the great spiritual leaders of the world,

Jesus the Christ, Buddha, Ramakrishna, and

33

Vedanta Philosophy.
others,
first

who preached

realized

Him by

the existence of God,

entering into the state of

Those who have studied

superconsciousness.

Raja Yoga* and have practised it will under

stand what superconsciousness means. All
revelation

The

and

inspiration

longing for

come

more knowledge has

river of the soul into the

Wisdom.

in that state.

led the

ocean of Infinite

In that state the individual soul

realizes the blissfulness

which

beyond the
reach of ordinary mortals, which cannot be
is

obtained by wealth, property, or worldly pros

Friends and relatives cannot help us

perity.

in rising to that blissful condition.

It

is

which nothing remains unattain

realizing which the true nature of every

state attaining

able,

thing

is

revealed.

It is

a state in which no

desire remains unfulfilled, in

which the indi

vidual soul, transcending

limitations,

comes one with the

*

all

Infinite

be

and enjoys un-

Raja Yoga," by Swami Vivekananda. Published

under the auspices of the Vedanta Society of New
"

York.

34

The Existence of God.

bounded happiness both here and
Such a knower of the Infinite says

hereafter.

"I

have attained everything that

attained, I
ized.
is

have realized

all

is

to

be

that can be real

have known that

Infinite Being that

under
different
names by dif
worshipped

ferent nations as

or Allah, or

Mother, or

God, or Father

Buddha, or
Brahman."

36

Christ,

in heaven,

or Divine

Attributes of God.

"

The Supreme Spirit is devoid of the defining attributes

of form, color,

etc.

He

is unchangeable,

indestructible, imperishable

He

and

is pure and the repository

Vishnu Purana.

is

unborn, eternal,
of one nature.

always

of all blessed

qualities."

Attributes of God.
GOD

described in the different Scriptures

is

as a spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable, true

and one
creator

the

omnipotent

and governor

and omniscient

of the universe,

and the

repository of all blessed qualities, such as jus

tice,

goodness, mercy, and love.

Christian, a Jew, a

If

Mahometan, a

we ask a
Parsee, a

Hindu, or a follower of any other sect or creed

what is his conception of God, each one

of

them

quote passages from his Scriptures giving

the same attributes to the Divine Being, whom

will

they worship under various names

Father in

heaven,

Jehovah,

such as

Allah,

Ahura

The names may vary

God are with each exactly

Mazda, or Brahman.
but the attributes of
the same.

catholic priest

who bows down

39

before the

Vedanta Philosophy.
image of Jesus the Christ and prays to Him,
who burns incense and lights candles; a
protestant clergyman

who

does not believe in

bowing down before any image; a Mahometan

priest who is a fanatical iconoclast and denies
all

forms of God; or a Hindu priest

ships

an

idol in

who wor

a temple, invariably agree with

one another in describing the attributes of the

God

they worship.

tween the

God

There

no difference be

is

of a Christian or a

Mahometan

of a Parsee or a Hindu, because each of

believes that

How

God

attributes are the

many Gods when

same and

Yet a Christian

where?

heathen, and a

the other.

God

is

Why

is

their

identical every

calls the

Mahometan

an unbeliever, and each

if

and one.

is infinite

can there be

them

calls

Hindu a

a Christian

in turn quarrels with

there so

much

persecution

one ? Because of the ignorance of His

believers.

They do not even

try to

understand

the true meaning of any of the attributes which

they give to God;

ignorance,

their eyes are blinded

and

fanaticism
40

bigotry.

by

Stimu-

Attributes of God.
lated

false

by

God

maintain that their

God

while the

and

belief

they

superstition,

the only true God,

is

of other nations

is

untrue,

and

they cannot see that every one worships the

same

Infinite
"

preach:

He
as

Fanatical

Being.

Beware

God

of the

Christians

of the heathen,

cannot give salvation to His

worshippers";

there were two Gods.

if

is

Ignorance

mother

the

and

bigotry, superstition,

from

them.

of

cannot

Fanatics

fanaticism,

of all that springs

that

realize

is

the

common

whether

He

be worshipped by a Christian

God

or by a Hindu,

He

property

of

all,

that

one, because His attri

is

butes are identical.

Among

those

who

are

many who give

God without, how

not so fanatical there are

the

same

ever,

Ninety

attributes

to

cent,

per

the world say:

true

their

understanding
of

"God

meaning.

monotheists
is

infinite

all

and

over
one,"

but at the same time they think of some

being with a
outside

of

human form

the

universe.
41

sitting

If

somewhere

we ask them

Vedanta Philosophy.
meaning of the word

the

answers are often

will

They

forward

give

as

finite

sorts

all

as possible

of

fallacious

to support their position.

Those who

Him

their

infinite,"

of illogical nonsense.

make God

and bring
arguments

full

"

believe

human

in

form,

God,

personal

human

attributes

and a human personality without realizing

that they are making their Lord limited in
power, personality and attributes.
it

not their fault;

is

it

Of

course

quite natural that

is

they should think of the Ruler of the uni

verse as a human being, because we are all
human and the limit of our conception is a
human being. Our world is a human world,

our

God must be

human God, and our

planation of the universe must also be

human.

Having seen the governor of a country,

is

human

being with certain powers,

form a concept and keep

when we

in

who

we

our minds

conceive the Supreme Being as the

governor of the universe.

Him

it

ex

human form and

42

Naturally

human

we

give

personality,

Attributes of God.
that the governor

only with this difference

of the country

limited in power, size,

is

and

the universe
qualifications, while the Ruler of
is

unlimited in power and immensely magni

fied

and

in size

qualifications; yet

or less like a

He must
human being.

explanation

of

great

He may

be,

still

In

universe

the

however

appear more
this

way our

has

become

human, and our God has acquired a human

form and personality. If a cow became a
philosopher and had a religion, her concep
tion of

God would be

in

cow form, her ex

planation of the universe would be through

that

She would not be able to

cow God.

comprehend our Lord at all. Similarly if

a tiger had a God, his conception would be
of a tiger form.

form

than ours, his

not

be a being with a

from ours, with a nature higher

different

we do

If there

God

will

be

like himself.

As

know what conception of God

Mars have, we cannot know

the people of
their
their

God;

if

they are not like

conception

will

differ

43

human

beings,

from ours.

So

Vedanta Philosophy.
none of these pictures of God and none ot
these

explanations

complete in
but

not

of

whole

the

can be

universe

may be

It

itself.

the

a partial truth,

Therefore

truth.

all

God which we so often

like a human being sitting

those conceptions of

hear

that

He

is

on a throne outside the universe and from

by His powers,

there governing the universe

and imperfect.
But ordinary people do not

are incomplete

is

Each

see this.

sure that his conception and explanation

are the best.

They cannot

how

realize

there

can be anything higher or greater than what

Yet when they are

asked, what are the attributes of such a
they

already

human God,

believe.

they will say:

"He

is

infinite, eternal, unchangeable, true

He

is

the omniscient and omnipotent creator

and the repository

of all blessed

qualities."

Thus they unconsciously make God

and infinite at the same time. Can
be

spirit,

and one;

anything

dictory

more absurd and

than a

finite

infinite

44

finite

there

self-contra

God!

If

He

Attributes of God.
is

He

finite,

limited by time, space and

must have a beginning and end,

causation,

is

and cannot be unchangeable. A finite God

must be changeable and must perish like all
mortal things. Are we ready to believe in
such a perishable

We

God?

Not

cannot give any form to

form means

limitation

in

By

by

time.

we make Him

make Him mortal

we

consequently

because

and the law of causa

subject to time, space

tion,

God

space

giving a form to God,

moment.

for a

any other object of the phenomenal

universe which has form.
God with a form
like

cannot be immortal and eternal,

Therefore we cannot say that
or that

He

He
is

He must die.
God is finite

has any form.

infinite.

But

understanding of the
"infinite,"

That which

and use
is

and not subject

let

us have a clear

meaning of
it

in

its

this

word

proper sense.

not limited by time and space

to the

law of causation, which

is

above time, space, and beyond

is

infinite.

God

is

all

laws

not limited by time or

45

Vedanta Philosophy.
neither

space,

otherwise

it

He any

has

The

absolute.

is

If there

finite.

thing beside that infinite then

it

infinite;

quently

it

admit that

is

limited

He

is

be any other

it is

by that

has become

God

cause.

again must be one,

infinite

no longer

object, conse

Thus
we deny the

finite.

is infinite,

if

we

exist

ence of any other thing besides

God; other
wise He would be limited by that
and
thing,

be subject to time, space and the law of causa

tion.

If

we

say that matter exists separate from

and outside of God, we have made

Him
made Him

by matter, we have
and perishable. If we think of our

limited
finite

selves as separate

from God, as independent

of His Being, then in our

thought we have
denied His illimitable nature. There is for

the

same reason, not a

in the universe

of

God

is

infinite

thing of

that

single particle of matter

can

exist

independent

God; if He
and one, our bodies and every
the universe from the minutest atom

s existence

or outside of

46

Attributes of God.
the

to

exists in

startling to

cannot be denied.
the

if

at all,

word

highest

"infinite"

we cannot avoid

many, but the

we use

something

we

shall

God
ter,

and

finite,

The

be!

is infinite

subject

and

object, creator

in

exists,

am

me; each one of us

from His being;

that

and

If

creation,

The whole

it.

God and God

inseparable from God.

in

illogical

this:

is

dual existences are within

universe

is

meaning

and

conclusion

and not outside of

He

on the con

infinite"

foolish

that Being,
is

If,

"

and one, then mind and mat

relative

all

how

logical,

the logical conclusion

word

the

be

to

fact

conveys any meaning

which must inevitably follow.

trary,

Being,

Infinite Existence.

we wish

If

from the

system,

the

to

and through that

may be

This

planetary

largest

animalcule

lowest

in

is

existence

cannot

be

is

inseparable

one atom of

if

it

Him and

in
is

it;

my body
separated

from His existence.

We

have now understood the meaning of

the two attributes infinite and one.
Let us
47

Vedanta Philosophy.
examine

God
the

is

the

other

of

meaning

unchangeable, that

is,

same and never subject

He

whatsoever, because

is

attributes.

He
to

is

always

any change
without

eternal,

That which has a be

beginning or end.

ginning must have an end and go through

the changes of birth, growth, decay

all

and

death; everything that has a beginning must

grow, decay and

die.

That which

is

limited

by time and space must go through all these

changes, which, on the contrary, never affect
the infinite Being.

God
by
or

is

spirit?

spirit.

It

does

What is to be understood
not mean a shadowy form

an apparition.

pure,

By

self-luminous

this

intelligence,

of all consciousness, the basis

is

meant

the

source

term

and foundation

the background of mind

and matter, of subject and object. Again
He is true. That which is not God is untrue
of all knowledge,

or

unreal;

is

finite,

transitory,

or,

in

other

words,

that

which

manifold, changeable, non-eternal,

is

untrue

and
48

unreal.

Further-

Attributes of God.
more,

God

is

omnipresent and omniscient,

and upon Him depends the existence of mind

and matter, of subject and object. Let us
understand this a

more

little

What

clearly.

ever exists in the universe, whether mental

or

physical,

exist

objective,

only as related to a self-conscious

When we

gence.

we

or

subjective

find that that

not related to any

our consciousness does not exist in

state of

relation to us, because

thing

is

intelli

our perceptions,

analyze

which

can

about

it.

we do

Existence

not

know any

and

knowledge

or consciousness are inseparable.

As our small worlds

exist

scious,

being, so the
exist as

in

of

relation

which we are con

to

our

conscious

phenomenal universe can only

being related to the knowledge of the

cosmic knower or the universal Being; other

wise there cannot be any existence, because
existence

and knowledge, existence and con

sciousness are inseparable; therefore

called
exists

omniscient

or

all- knowing.

God

is

Nothing

without being related directly to the

49

Vedanta Philosophy.
intelligence

As

Being.
universe
of

and
this

knowledge
infinite

of

the

Being pervades the

and interpenetrates
every

matter,

existence

giving

infinite

particle

to

everything,
so the light of His
knowledge pervades the

He

universe; therefore

omniscient.

If

these

is

omnipresent

various

and

conceptions,

obtained by analyzing the attributes of

God,

be

summed

up,

we

God

shall learn that

is

the

Absolute Being, eternal, true and

everlasting,
the one infinite ocean of
self-existent, self-

luminous

which

intelligence

of all consciousness.

is

the

Nothing can

source

exist out

side of or
independent of that one omnipresent

and omniscient Being of the universe.

Here a question arises, if there be no
other being beside God, what will become of
the diverse

we

phenomena

of the universe, which

Do

perceive with our senses?

exist?

Yes,

they

do,

but

their

they not
existence

depends upon God. They have no separate

and independent existence;
they are like
froth,

bubbles and waves on that

50

infinite

ocean

Attributes of God.

As a wave cannot

of intelligence.

moment independent

phenomena
existence

for

the ocean, so the

of

world depend for their

the

of

exist

upon the Absolute Being.

This ocean of pure self-luminous

gence and existence

is

intelli

described in Vedanta

word Brahman, which means absolute

existence and intelligence, the unlimited source
by the

knowledge and of consciousness; while

the power which produces these waves of
of

phenomena
ble

of

power

Maya

of Reality or
nity.

It

called

is

Brahman from

as

is

Maya.

This inscruta

dwells in the infinite ocean

eternity to eter

inseparable from the Divine

Being as the power of burning

from

fire.

Sometimes

this

it

manifests

forces of nature.
all

When

inseparable

power

remains

cosmic energy and

latent as undifferentiated

sometimes

is

itself

as the various

that

power is latent,
and
dissolution or
phenomena disappear,

involution

takes

place;

but when

to express itself as natural forces,

the waves and bubbles of

51

it

it

begins

produces

phenomena

in the

Vedanta Philosophy.

Then

ocean of Brahman.

the Absolute Being

seen through the active or manifesting power

of

Maya

creator

He

is

let

of the universe.

called in Sanskrit

also the creator

He

verse.

ego.

and governor

is

means

or cosmic energy, appears as the

is

and

"Iswara,"

which

ruler of the uni

the first-born lord, or the cosmic

This cosmic ego, the Iswara or

lord,

Here

called the creator of the universe.

us understand clearly in what sense

God

can be properly called the creator of the world.

Does He create

it

out of nothing as described

and

dualistic Scriptures

Jews,

Mahometans, and

in the monotheistic

of the

Christians,

No, He
nothing; He

Parsees?

does not create anything

out of

is

sense.

In the

first

not the creator in that

place

we must not

forget

the truth, discovered and established by ancient

and modern

come out
entific

that something cannot

of nothing, consequently to a sci

mind

meaning.

science,

creation out of nothing has

The

of the world as

no

theory of a special creation

we read
52

in Genesis has

been

Attributes of

God.

proved to be an unscientific myth.

the doctrine of evolution
tionably established that
it

is

now

we can

Secondly,
so unques

safely accept

in the place of the mythical story of special

we speak of God
universe, we do not mean

Therefore when

creation.

as the creator of the

one who brought the world into existence out

of nothing as our forefathers understood by
this

expression;

but applying the

light

of

and being guided by the reasoning of

the Vedanta philosophy, we must understand
science

that Iswara
projects
existing
active.

out of His
there

in

He

the powers

and makes them

word creator means the

the

all

forms which

own being

potentially

Thus

projector of

energy

called the creator because

is

forces

and of

existed

potentially

Iswara.

all

That

phenomenal
as

projection

eternal

from

the potential into the kinetic or active state

takes place gradually through the process of

the evolution of the

Maya

or the cosmic energy

which dwells in the Iswara of Vedanta. Ve

danta teaches that although Brahman or the
53

Vedanta Philosophy.
Absolute
activity,

still

action.

He

Godhead

or

Being

the Iswara

above

is

is full

of

all

power and

starts the evolution of the

cosmic

energy which before the beginning of the

evolution held

cyclic

and forms

in

to Vedanta,
cient

its

is

state or

mode

Iswara, according
both the material and the effi

but matter

of

When

energy.

ruler

is

He

does not

only a certain

motion of the universal Divine

the dormant power of

begins to manifest,

The

phenomenal names

bosom.

cause of the universe.

create matter,

mence

all

material forms

all

next attribute of Iswara

or

governor

Scriptures ?

No,

the

of

is

that

universe.

of

How

Does He govern the world

it

He

never from without.

is

said in the Christian

governs from within and

He

is

the Antar-ydmin,

the internal ruler of the universe.

is

com

to appear.

does He govern?
from outside, as

soul

Maya

As the

the internal ruler of the body, so Iswara,

being the soul of the universe, governs

from within and not from outside.

54

it

Attributes of God.

He

is

that

is,

that

is

the repository of
that

all

sublime,

Divine power.

good and
all

is

good,

is

all

blessed qualities,

all

that

is

great, all

but the expression of the

But God Himself

is

above

beyond virtue and vice, above

and beyond all conditions. He

evil,

relativity

and impartially; He

loves all beings equally

does not love one nation for certain qualifica

tions

and hate other

nations, but

human

every living soul, whether

He

or animal,

Just as the sun shines alike

equally.

the heads of sages

and

loves

upon

sinners, so the love

of that Divine Being touches the souls of

Why

He

does

love all beings equally?

cause each individual soul

as a part

is

is

related to

related to the whole.

all.

Be

God

As a part

cannot exist independently, so our souls can

not exist independent of the Soul of the uni
verse.

Therefore

we

live

and move and

exist

and through the whole, or Iswara. God

loves His parts because He cannot help it.

in

How

can

for a

whole not to love

it

be otherwise?
55

its

How
own

is it

parts

possible
?

Love

Vedanta Philosophy.
means the expression
bottom of

all

of

At

oneness.

the

earthly love exists this idea of

oneness; the lover and the beloved must be

one, one in spirit, in thoughts,

everything, otherwise

Therefore

God

with

aid

the

reason
of

the

to

is

of

there

attributes

of

of

true

in

real love.

Thus

light

understand the

ideas,

no

is

all-loving.

the

in

if

we

try

and

science

significance

God, we are

forcibly

driven to the conclusions of Vedanta.

With
the help of Vedanta we can realize
the true
relation

which the

universe

bears

which the individual soul bears

to

God,

to the infinite

Being.
If

we once understand

of all existence

we begin

of divinity
everywhere.

our

lives

we

God

and power and

Reality, that outside of

possible, then

that

God no

is

the source

is

the one

existence

is

to feel the
presence

In every action of

realize that the divine

power

is

working through us, and at every moment of

our earthly existence we feel
ourselves

be

like so

many

to

instruments through which

Attributes of God.
the Divine will

is

itself

manifesting

and doing

whatever

He

lives are

then turned into acts of worship of

the

ordains.

we

selfish

are then able to say from the bottom

of our hearts,

be

Being dead to

Supreme Deity.

ness,

All the actions of our

"O

Lord,

Thy

will,

not mine,

done."

All fear then vanishes, all sins are redeemed,

and the individual soul becomes

the

bondage of ignorance and

This realization leads to a

closer

union

with

the

still

Divine.

from

free

selfishness.

higher and

The

soul

gradually realizes spiritual oneness with the

universal Spirit or

Brahman.

Thus having

attained to God-consciousness, which

highest

ideal of

soul

becomes

my

Father are

all religions,

like Christ
one."

57

is

the

the individual

and declares

"I

and

Has God any Form ?

The all-pervading, omnipotent and formless

Spirit
manifests Himself in -various forms under different
"

names

to fulfil the desires of

Purana.

His

worshippers."

Vishnu

Has God any Form?

STUDENTS of the Old Testament are

fa

miliar with the fact that the ancient Israelites

conceived

their

Lord God,

the

as

God Elohim or Yahveh,

possessing human attributes

and a human form.

which

testify

There are many passages

that God walked with Adam

and Eve and spoke

drank with the elders
said to

Moses:

hand while

"I

face shalt not be

23.)

Yahveh was

the

and

and the Lord

I will take

my

seen."

the

Lord

and

ate

with

my

my

hand

back parts; but

(Ex. xxxiii, 22,
of the

House

was, moreover, not only the

Abraham and

of

all

He

of Israel;

shalt see

my

Israel.

He

them;

will cover thee

I pass by,

away and thou

to

of Moses, but

of

God

He became

Supreme Being and the only God, above

gods.

Upon this conception of the Supreme

61

Vedanta Philosophy.
Being with a human form and
sonality have been

two great monotheistic or

Judaism and

human

per

built the structures of the

dualistic religions,

Christianity.

The same Elohim

or Yahveh,

of the house of Israel, the

God

the

of

of Isaac and Jacob, and of Moses,

Lord

Abraham,
is

the al

mighty Creator, Ruler, and Father in heaven

and Christians of the present day.

of the Jews

He

on a throne outside the universe, hav

ing a right hand and a left hand, and accord
sits

ing to the Christian belief, Jesus

right

any

hand.

His

Neither Christ nor Moses nor

of the prophets

God among

sits at

had

to introduce a

new

them accepted
and worshipped the same Elohim or Yahveh,
who was at first only the tribal god of the house
All of

Here we must not

of Israel.

meaning

the Jews.

of the

word

forget the original

"

Elohim,"

which, al

though translated into English in the Old

Testament as God, at first meant "that which
is

to

feared"

describe

and was sometimes used vaguely

unseen powers or
62

"objects

of

Has God any Form

man

fear"

or

*?

superhuman beings not prop

erly regarded as divine in their nature.

was

also

applied

to

disembodied

It

soul,

which was conceived as the image of the

body in which it once dwelt, as, for example,

we read

in First

Samuel

witch of Endor saw

of the

earth,"

(ch. 38, v. 13), the

ascending out

"Elohim

meaning thereby some being

or disembodied spirit of an unearthly, super

human

character.

This word
of

"Eloah"

"Elohim"

and was

was the plural form

also used to denote the

gods of the heathen.

It

was a generic name

given to supernatural characters of all kinds

having quasicorporeal forms, as well as to

the gods of different tribes.

Baal,

Yahveh were

all

each of them had a

spite of its plural

used

it

The

Israelites,

Chemosh, Dagon,
known as Elohim and

human

form.

But in

meaning the Hebrew prophets

especially for

Yahveh

the

God

of Israel.

however, believed Yahveh to

be immeasurably superior to the Elohim of

other tribes;

while

the
63

inscription

on

the

Vedanta Philosophy.
Moabite stone shows that King Mesa held

Chemosh

to

be as unquestionably the
superior

of Yahveh.

It

is

said:

"So

now Yahveh

the Elohim of Israel hath

dispossessed the

Amorites from before His

people
shouldst thou possess it?
sess that

thee to

Israel,

and

Wilt not thou pos

which Chemosh thy Elohim

giveth
(Judges

possess?"

xi, 23, 24.)

The

Israelites of those
days considered the differ
ence between one Elohim and another to be one

of degree

and not

The same word

was likewise applied to
Teraphim, the images
of family gods which were
only deceased ances
Laban

tors.

nantly,

of kind.

asks his son-in-law most

indig
hast

"Wherefore

thou

stolen

my

Elohim?"

From a
ment we
believed in

the

word

God

that,

many

although

indiscriminately,

their

Old Testa

the

Israelites

kinds of Elohim and used

of their tribe,

Elohim of
Israel

careful study of the

see

Yahveh was

while other tribes

own.

When

the house

the

had
of

conquered any other tribe, their tribal

64

Has God any Form

God Yahveh

stood at the head of the gods of

the conquered tribe, as

When

we know from

the Babylonians

conquered

the

by

history.

and Chaldeans were

Israelites,

Yahveh was

placed above Bel, Baal, Merodoch, Moloch,

and the other Elohim or gods

Thus by

tribes.

of the

conquered

the gradual process of evolu

Elohim or Yahveh became the king or

Lord of all gods. We can now easily under
tion

stand what the

he said:

Hebrew Psalmist meant when

"Among

the gods there

unto thee, the king above

all

is

none

gods."

like

But

although Yahveh became the supreme Lord

of all gods, hence of all tribes
still

did not lose his

butes

and human

human

and

form,

personality.

nations,

human

he

attri

Even when

he became the creator and ruler of the universe,

he had the same
butes

human

form, the same attri

and personality as were ascribed

him by the ancient Israelites.

many gods was at the foundation
conception of
veh,

the

belief

to

in

of the Judaic
one Supreme Being, and Yah

tribal

god

originally
65

worshipped

Vedanta Philosophy.
under the form of a
into

"god

of

gods"

bull, gradually evolved

and

finally into the

one

and only God of the universe.

In like manner it can be shown that among
the ancient Greeks and other Aryan nations

God

the idea of a personal

form gradually developed from a

many

gods or nature gods.

tribal

theistic

belief in

All

mono

conceptions can be traced back to

The

polytheistic beliefs.
all

human

with a

ancient Greeks, like

other primitive peoples, worshipped

nature gods.

nature and gave to them

human powers and

We know that Zeus, Apollo, Athene

attributes.

were

personified powers of nature.

all

originally

many

perceived the forces of

They

meant

sky, hence

god of the sky,

The

the god of rain or rainer.

of the Athenians

was

Zeus

"Rain,

old prayer

rain,

dear

Zeus, on the land of the Athenians and on

>the

fields."

Here

dear

"O

Zeus"

or dear

sky at once brings in the personal element.

"Dear

sky"

refers to the

the governor of rain.

god of the sky,

Apollo again was the

66

Has God any Form

Each

Athene, the dawn-goddess.

sun god;
of

these

deities

mythological

further

was,

more, originally the god of some family or

clan,

and afterward when one family became

stronger than others,

its

family god stood at

the head of the other gods; thus in course of

God

time the ancient

Zeus-pitar or in Latin

meaning in English Father in heaven,

became the God of all gods and was supposed

Jupiter,

to

God

be the

So

it

period.

was

of all nations.

in ancient India during the Vedic

The Vedic

poets at

first

the forces of nature and gave

attributes
in

and

Sanskrit

intelligence.

or

"Devas"

personified

them human

They were
"Bright

called

Ones,"

such as Indra the rainer or thunderer, Agni

the god of

the god of storm or

Vayu

fire,

wind, Varuna the god of the sky, and so on.

Eventually Varuna, lord of the sky, became

Deva Deva,
gradually

conception

with

the

arose

human

of

God
in

the

of all gods,

India

the

and thus

monotheistic

Supreme personal

attributes.

67

It

God

can in the same

Vedanta Philosophy.
way be shown

that the tribal gods

Semitic tribes were at

among

the

nothing but nature

first

gods.

may be asked

It

nature

of

man
any

Why

here:

Because

personified?

could not help

were the forces

primitive

Wherever he saw

it.

or motion, he compared

activity

own body

the conscious activity of his

the voluntary

movements

it

to

or to

of his limbs,

and

explained this natural activity by imagining

it

to

be the conscious act of some superhuman

being, possessing will-power

and

intelligence,

and who was

called the mover.

we can

understand the reason for the

easily

ancient belief that

the

sun,

ders,"

moon and

Now we

angels.

all

say

rains,"

"he

"it

unscientific

thunders."

this

material objects like

stars,

but the primitive

From

were moved

rains"

man

or

"it

by

thun

used to say

"he

In this manner the

minds of ancient times came

to

These agents
were like human beings, only more powerful
than any mortal agent. Hence was developed
a

belief

in

natural agencies.

68

Has God any Form

The Lord

who were invoked

ful

in time of need.

and the king above

infinitely more power

of the universe

gods was necessarily

all

became
superhuman beings who

the idea of
tribal gods,

than these superhuman agents of nature,

but

still

nified in size,

for the

of a

this

because

human mind

it is

extremely

to go

mag

infinitely

difficult

beyond the idea

human God.

From
tests

human form

he had a

ancient times, however, strong pro

have been made by great thinkers against

human idea of God with human form

and human

attributes; but again

and again

these objections have been brushed aside

the

vast

majority

of

by

Xenophanes,

people.

the Greek philosopher, about the sixth cen

before Christ tried to overthrow this
tury

conception

anthropomorphic
said:

"The

Godhead

understanding,

is

of

all eyes,

God.

He

all ears,

all

unmoved, undivided, calmly

ruling everything

by

his

thought, like

neither in form nor in understanding."

early Christians

who were brought up

men
The

in the

Vedanta Philosophy.
schools of Plato and Aristotle also deprecated

the idea of a

human God.

To them

the

Supreme Being was no longer simply Elohim

Lord of the house of Israel;

or Yahveh, the

God of Abraham, Isaac and

God who walked in the garden of

not merely the

Jacob, the

day and ate and drank;

He was no longer even the God "who maketh
the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon the

Eden

in the cool of the

wings of the

was

infinite,

wind,"

but a Supreme Being

indescribable,

eyes,

whose

voice

and

unutterable,

whose form could not be seen with

who

fleshly

could not be heard with

mortal ear, whose size was incomprehensible.

Clement of Alexandria says:

name

that can properly be

"There

named

no

is

of

Him;

neither the one, nor the good, nor mind, nor

absolute being, nor Father, nor creator, nor

Lord can be the appropriate name

And

Cardinal

Newman

incommunicable in

Not

all

His

declares:

for

"God

is

attributes."

very long ago the Bishop of

also protested against the

70

Him."

London

human God,

say-

Has God any Form

"

ing:

There

is

a sense in which

ascribe personality to the

unknown, absolute

Being; for our sense of personality

compassed with

sity

these

find

it

of a
separate our conception

indeed,

we speak

include

not

of

only

and

and from

impossible

to

When,
human personality, we

age,

person."

but

the

outward appearance,
face

of neces

is

limitations,

we

limitations

we cannot

sex,

character,

expression

of

the

so on.

Those who

believe in a personal

God

with

a human form and human attributes do not

consider these limitations.
for

a moment:

infinite

is

it

think

possible for the

eternal Being to be confined within

the limits of a
it

How

They do not

may be?

human

How

form, however magnified

is it

possible for the

Abso

Being to come under the limitations of

time and space? Physical form is nothing

lute

but limitation in space and time and if the

eternal and infinite God be above time and
space,

how can He have

Yet most of the

a physical form?

dualistic religions teach that

71

Vedanta Philosophy.

God
and
are

has a form, and ask us to believe in

to

worship

we going

Him

as one with form.

it

How

to reconcile this self-contradic

tory statement that

Being with a

God

finite

the infinite, eternal

is

We

form?

any solution of the

do not find

difficulty in

any

of the

Scriptures of the three great Semitic religions-

Judaism,

Of

and

Christianity

Mahometanism.

these Christianity conceives

triune form, while

ism

insist

Being.

Judaism and Mahometan-

on the absolute unity of the

Supreme

Where

problem?

God under

If

is

then the solution of the

God be

infinite

and all-pervad

how can He have form?

The dualists or monotheists

ing,

believe in the

Supreme Being with a human form, but

they say that that form
physical

but

the

spiritual

but

eye,

eye

of

an

not material or

cannot

It

spiritual.

by the physical

is

it

be

seen

can be seen by

enlightened

soul.

According

to the dualistic
system of religion

in

the

India,

infinite,

eternal,

unknowable

Being or substance of the universe, which

72

is

Has God any Form?

called in Sanskrit

powers and

all

Brahman,

is

forms.

all

formless like the infinite

the source of

Although

it

is

ocean of reality or

and

of absolute existence, intelligence

bliss,

nevertheless contains in a potential state

it

the forms of the waves that can arise in

all

The water

that eternal ocean.

of the ocean

has no particular form or shape;

that

it

formless in one sense, but at the

is

same time
into ice.

it

can take any form when frozen

block of

ice,

form of a

appear

in the

circle,

an animal or a

same water without

appear in a
case

we

we can say

triangle, a sphere, a

human

losing

being.

The

nature

its

can

form; and as in this

solidified

are justified in saying that water,

contains

in

although

formless,

state

imaginable forms within

all

can

for instance,

potential
itself,

so

the water of the ocean of that absolute Reality

possesses in a potential state all the physical,

material, mental

and

spiritual

forms that ever

existed, or ever will exist in future.

The

infinite, eternal

Brahman

73

does, indeed,

Vedanta Philosophy.
appear and manifest

itself

with a spiritual

form, in order to satisfy the desire of the

devotee

or

Wherever there

worshipper.

is

intense longing to see God, wherever there

is

unflinching devotion and unselfish love with

and

the whole heart

festation

of the

desire of the

One

formless

devotee.

Brahman,

invisible

soul, there is the

or

It

the

or the Reality, manifests

is

to

mani

fulfil

the

then that the

Supreme Being,
and becomes

itself

visible to the spiritual eye of the worshipper.

Intense

longing,

unswerving

devotion

and

whole-hearted love of the soul draw out from

the infinite source any particular form which
the devotee wishes to see and worship; they

have the power, as it were, to condense and

solidify the water of the ocean of Reality
into the various forms.

The

spiritual

form

of the Divinity rises in the ocean of formless

Brahman

or of the absolute Godhead, floats

there for

some

desires

of

the

time,

and

true

Bhakta or worshipper,

after satisfying the

merges into that ocean again.

74

Has God any Form

These forms vary in accordance with the ideal

If

of the worshipper.

God

ing to see

in the

a worshipper has a long

form

which he

to

is

de

voted, of Jehovah or of Christ for instance, he

must draw that out

of the infinite ocean.

Divinity will appear in that form

If

the desire of that devotee.

to the

he be devoted

form of Buddha, or Krishna, or Rama-

krishna, or any other

he

The

to satisfy

will see

human or imaginary form,

such an one with his spiritual eye

through intense longing and love. The per

sonal God with a spiritual form is the objectification, projection,

manifestation of the

The

personal ocean of Divinity.

such manifestations

is

im

highest of all

the Iswara of Vedanta.

worshipped under various names as

Vishnu, Jehovah, Shiva, Father in heaven, or

He

is

Allah.

As all-pervading heat

is

imperceptible

but becomes perceptible through

wherever there
tion

there

and love
is

the

is

friction,

so

the intense friction of devo

in the soul of the worshipper,

manifestation

Being either in

human
75

or

of

that

infinite

superhuman form.

Vedanta Philosophy.
There have been many such instances where
absolute

the

itself in

omnipresent Being manifested

various forms

nations and

all

among

in all countries.

In ancient times there lived a boy saint

who was

the son of a ruling monarch.

name was Prahlada.

His father was abso

and

lutely materialistic

His

atheistic in his belief,

and could not bear the idea

of a ruler greater

and more powerful than himself. He be

lieved in no other ruler of the world and through
vanity and egotism thought that he
of

all.

born

lord

His son Prahlada, however, was a

From

saint.

and soul were

tion

was the

and love

filled

his

childhood

with extreme

for the almighty

of the universe.

He

his

faith,

heart

devo

Ruler and Lord

cared nothing for the

world and found no pleasure in the luxuries

and comforts
attract

his

of a princely

mind.

He

life.

always

They did not

preferred

to

and had a tendency to renounce

So deeply absorbed was his
everything.
mind in his Divine Ideal that he could not
stay alone

76

Has God any Form?

and

listen to other things,

him

for

to

was impossible

it

obey the commands of his godless

The king grew angry

father.

at his behavior,

and one day, calling the prince to him, he asked

him the reason of his disobedience. He
inquired

under

whose

was

he

instigation

behaving in that way and acting rebelliously

against
saint

him who was

replied:

the .lord of

the lord of

"The

all

of

ruler

nations,

who

The boy

all.

the
is

universe,

greater

and

more powerful than your majesty, has cap

tured my heart and soul and has inspired me
to

behave in

this

way."

At

this

reply the

king, furious with rage

and anger, was ready

to punish his son

killing

Drawing

his sword,

by

he cried:

him

"How

instantly.

dost thou

dare to say that thou hast a lord more powerful

or stronger than I

him

to

me!"

everywhere."

in

that

Where is thy lord ?

The boy answered:

The

pillar?"

king demanded,

Prahlada,

Show
"He

"Is

is

he

praying to his

Divine Ideal from the bottom of his heart and

soul

and with firm

faith, rejoined:

77

"Yes,

He

Vedanta Philosophy.
is

there in that

The

pillar."

king answered:

ask thy lord to save thee from being

"Now

Thus

beheaded."

saying, he struck the pillar

s might and knocked it down.

In the midst of the thundering noise of the

with a giant

crash

appeared

the

divine

figure,

radiant

with celestial glory, to protect the devotee

of

the

Almighty

Lord.

The

eyes

of

the

wicked monarch were dazzled by the extraor

dinary

brightness

and

celestial

lustre

of

the divine form, but he could not bear the

of

sight

another

lord

beside

himself.

He

attacked the Divine manifestation and in his

attempt
fell

to

conquer the Supreme Ruler he

breathless

on the

Such was the

spot.

the power of true faith

Can any one question

when Jesus said:

verily I say unto you,

ye have

power of true

faith.

if

"for

faith as a grain

of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this

mountain

remove hence from yonder place, it shall

remove; and nothing shall be impossible to
you."

(Matt,

xvii, 20.)

That

faith

brought

out the manifestation of the omnipresent Lord

78

Has God any

from the

At the

pillar.

(Form*?

sight of this wonderful

Divine power and glory of the Almighty the

soul of the

was

saint

boy

filled

with unbounded

He

joy and ecstatic happiness.

approached

and de

the mighty figure with awe, reverence

and prostrating himself

votion,

poured forth
heart s

prayers before

all

content,

saying:

To

nent death, to
devotee and
earthly

to

save

punish

this

Him

to

his

the

Al

art indeed

Thy power

child

is

from immi

Thy

true

vain and egotistical

Thou

monarch,

he

the desire of

fulfil

power and glory

Thy

feet,

Thou

and almighty.

all-pervading

His

Lord,

"O

mighty Ruler of the universe,

inscrutable.

at

hast

shown
this

Thy
Thy

we can

utter

to all

by making
superhuman manifestation. What words are
adequate to describe Thy majesty and Thy
loving- kindness ?

are Thine! I

keep

me

in

All words that

am Thy

service

Thy

Lord and Father

mate beings
"

Lord,

of the

Thou

child

and Thy servant;

forever and ever,

of all animate

and inani

universe."

art the goal of all religions,

79

Vedaata Philosophy.
and the

sustainer, the master, the witness, the

habitation, the refuge

living creatures;
lution, support,

and the friend

of all

art the origin,

disso

Thou

end and the inexhaustible seed

of the whole manifested universe.

Thou

Thou

art

many forms through

Thy unspeakable power of Maya. I bow
Whosoever knows
down and salute Thee.
one,

Thee

yet

takest

as formless

eternal

and with form knows the

Truth."

80

Fatherhood

and Motherhood
of God.

"7

am

the

gavad Gita,

Father and Mother of the

universe."

Bha-

ix, 17.

"

Why does the God-lover find such pleasure in address

ing the Deity as Mother? Because the child is more free
with its Mother, and
consequently she is dearer to the
child than any one else."
life and
of Ramakrishna,

by

F.

Max

Sayings

Miiller, p. 118.

and Motherhood
of God.

Fatherhood

THE
that

religious history of the

the

conception of

of the universe
nations,
tribes.

first

God

arose

world shows

as the Father

among

the Aryan

and not among any of the Semitic

It was in ancient India that the

worshipped the Supreme Being

by addressing Him as the Father in Heaven.

Aryans

The

first

origin

of

the

word

English

can be traced back through Latin

and

Greek

meaning

to

"Pitar"

father.

The

Sanskrit

Christians,

"father"

"Pater"

"Pitar"

however,

believe that before the advent of Jesus the

Christ, the fatherhood of the

was unknown

Almighty Being

to the world.

Not very long ago

Bishop Potter of

the famous Rt.

New York
83

Rev.

said in one of his

Vedanta Philosophy.
lectures:

to India, to

"Go

Burma,

to China,

Egypt or Rome and see if

anywhere among them all you will find a
to Greece; or to

with any other idea of

religion

that he
his

than

of his governor,

Pharaoh, his Sultan, his Rajah, his pro

consul, or
call

mere creature

the

is

man

by whatever name you choose to

also said:
was Christ who

He

it."

"It

brought an entirely new conception of the

God

Such statements,
however, are neither founded upon truth nor
relation of

by any

supported

the contrary,

from

India,

to

it

is

men."

On

evidence.

historical

a well-known fact that in

prehistoric

man

religion has given to

the

times,

a position

Hindu

much

higher than the Christian conception of his

relation

sages

to

his

were the

world that the

child of

and in

God

its

The

Maker.
to

first

human

declare

soul

but that

true nature

it

is

ancient

is

is

Vedic

before

the

not only the

essentially divine

one with the Supreme

Being.

According

to

the

Hebrew
84

religion

the

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

God

relation of

absolute

to

monarch

man was

like that of

an

to his subject, or like that

of a master to his slave; while the religious

history of the ancient
that they

ception

had

risen to a

God

of

the

long before

much

testifies

higher con

than as a despotic Ruler

Christian era.

The

Chris

and preachers have been

missionaries

tian

Aryan nations

trumpeting before the world for several cen

turies that

no

religion outside of Christianity

has ever inculcated the idea of the Fatherhood

of

God and

brought

it

to

that

it

was Christ alone who

men from

his celestial abode.

Moreover, they are especially eager to impress

upon the minds of their co-religionists that

the Hindus in particular had no conception
Heavenly Father, that they never knew
But
the fatherly relation of God to man.
of a

who have

those
of the

growth

studied carefully the history

of Christianity are familiar with

the fact that the idea of the Fatherhood of

God
as

did not originate with Jesus the Christ

modern Christians

believe, but existed in

85

Vedanta Philosophy.
the religious atmosphere of northern Pales

from the second century

tine

of the

Hellenic

influence

the worship of Jupiter.

B.C. as a result

upon Judaism

of

Jesus took up this

idea of the Fatherhood of

grand Aryan
God
and emphasized it in his teachings more
strongly
than any of his predecessors had done in Pal
estine.*

as

his

whom

was Yahveh that Christ worshipped

Heavenly Father, it was Yahveh to
It

he prayed as the Father of the

universe;

who

consequently,

those

his teachings,

worship their

same

relation

follow

God through

was established by

as

The worship

and

Christ

the

their

God is impossible
without having some kind of relation between
Master.

of

and the object of worship.

relation between father and son

the worshipper

The

much
and

The

is

higher than that between the creator

his creatures as

it

had

existed in Judaism.

from the Judaic relation be

God and man to that of father and
son was therefore a great
step toward the
transition

tween

*See

p.

173:

86

Son

of

God.

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

realization of the spiritual unity of the indi

vidual soul and the universal Spirit.

It

was

no longer an external relation to power and

kind of kinship,
strength, but had become a
of internal blood relation such as exists

an earthly father and

his son.

between

There

is

tie

and

of love that binds a son to his father,

such a tie brings the individual soul nearer to

the Creator of the universe.
father of an individual
to

the earthly

ordinarily considered

be his creator because of his begetting him

and bringing him

invisible germ, so

began
it

is

As

existence out of

into

when

the undeveloped

an

mind

to think of the creation of the universe,

imagined that the creator was one who

brought the world into existence and produced

it

Gradually the conception

out of nothing.

of the creator evolved into that of the father

of the universe.

All

our

conceptions

anthropomorphism,

God human
degree,

that

of
is,

God

begin

with

with giving

to

attributes in a greatly magnified

and end

in de- anthropomorphism, or

87

Vedanta Philosophy.
making Him
the

first

free

from human

attributes.

human mind

the

stage

of the creator as a
great Being
outside of the world which he

At

conceives

who

dwells

creates, just as

the father
begets.

is

The Hebrew

human

he

Yahveh

conception of

was purely
anthropomorphic.
sessed all

whom

separate from the son

Yahveh pos

attributes and,
dwelling in a

heaven outside of the universe, created the

world out of nothing, fashioned
it, and after

ward became

governor.

The same Yahveh,

when addressed by Jesus

the Christ as the

its

Father in heaven, did not lose his Yahvehic

nature; but was simply endowed with the
fatherly aspect of Jupiter or the

Greek Zeus-

The

pitar.
sweet, loving and fatherly attri
butes of Jupiter were
superadded to the stern,
extra-cosmic Yahveh, the
despotic ruler of
the world.

The word

Jupiter,

long history behind

it,

or Zeus-pitar,

few Vedic scholars.

88

with which
ordinary

readers are not familiar, but which

to a

has

It

known

is

meant

"

father

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

in

and

heaven"

Sanskrit

a transmuted form of the

is

Dyus-Pitar or Dyaus-Pitar, which

very often occurs in the Rig Veda, the oldest

The

of the revealed Scriptures of the world.

term

or

"Dyaus"

"shining

wards

it

space"

was used

"Dyus"

or

originally signified

"

heavens,"

the father and the protector.

book of the Rig Veda

me

"Dyaus

Here the word

sense of

after

for the self-effulgent Spirit

dwelling in the heavens; and

read,

but

(ch.

iii,

ver.

20)

pita janitd nqbhi

"Dyaus"

is

heavens"

"shining

was

"Pitar"

In the second

we

ratra."

used, not in the

as

some

Oriental scholars have imagined, but

of the
refers

it

to the Spiritual Source of all light as well as

"

of heavens.

means

Pita,"

"protector."

verse therefore

gent Spirit

who

is

literally

"father,"

The meaning

"That

here

of

this

shining or self-efful

dwells in the heavens,

is

my

and protector, my progenitor or pro

ducer, and in him lies the source of all things."
father

This was the

earliest

aspect of the

Supreme Being which we

conception of the fatherly

find in

Vedanta Philosophy.
studying

the

Vedas.

Again, in

the

tenth

book of the Rig Veda,

Prajapati, the Lord
of all creatures,

addressed as

is

Father and the Protector

The one Supreme

in

the

Vedas

Father of

"Pitar,"

the

(ch. v, ver. 6, 7).

personal

God was

called

"

Prajapati,"

all creatures.

He

the
is

Lord and

most beauti

fully described in the one hundred and twentyfirst hymn of the tenth book of the
Rig Veda.

The

conception of a personal

find in this

hymn

God which we

has not been surpassed

by

God among any

the idea of a personal

other

nation during the last five thousand

years.
When an ancient Vedic Seer was asked "To

whom

shall

we

offer

our prayers and sacri

he replied:
In the beginning there arose the
Praja

fices?"
"

1.

the first-born

pati,

He

2.

who

of all that

exists.

holds by his power the heavens and the

earth.

and

Lord

To Him we

should offer our prayers

sacrifices."

"Prajapati,

gives

life

the

Lord

and strength
90

of all

creatures,

to all that exists,

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

from whose body emanate the individual souls
like sparks from fire; who is the purifier of
all

souls

whose commands

and obey; whose shadow

Him we

mortality; to

and
3.

all
is

creatures revere

immortality and

should offer our prayers

sacrifices."

by His power and glory became

"Who

the one

King (without a second) of all men,

beasts, nay, of all animate and inanimate

of

Him we

objects; to

and
4.

should offer our prayers

sacrifices.
"Whose

snow-capped

of

ranges

the waters of the rivers

arms are spread on

we

offer

5.

earth firm,

made

who

to

all sides;

the

"To

whom

Him

should

sky

strong

and the

established heavens in their

the light in the air; to

6.

in

sacrifices.

places, nay, the highest heaven;

our prayers and

and

mountains

and the oceans; whose

our prayers and

"Who

manifested in the

is

greatness

who measured

Him we

should offer

sacrifices.

heaven and earth, standing

firm by His help, look up, trembling in their

91

Vedanta Philosophy.
minds, and by whose support the rising sun

To Him we

shines forth.

prayers and

When

7.

should offer our

sacrifices.

the

waters

great

went every

where, holding the germ and generating

thence
bright
offer
8.

He

arose

who

our prayers and

"Who is

the one

and God above

all

life

of the

To Him we

should

is

(Devas).

spirits

the sole

fire,

sacrifices.

Lord of

all living

beings

who by His might

gods;

looked over the causal waters at the time of

To Him we

dissolution.

should

offer

our

prayers and sacrifices.

9.

"May

He

He who

not injure us,

Creator of the earth,

heavens,

is

the

and bright

and mighty waters, who is the foundation of

To Him
truth, righteousness and justice.

we should
10.

"O

offer

sacrifices.

Prajapati, no other but

held together

we

our prayers and

all

these

phenomena; whatever

desire in sacrificing to Thee,

may we
The same

ours;

Thou has

be the lords of
Praj&pati,
92

the

may

that be

all wealth."

true,

just

and

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

righteous

Lord of the universe and God of

all

was addressed by the Vedic Sage as

or the Father in heaven and
"Dyaus-Pitar"

gods,

the

Protector

of

He

all.

is

in

described

Rig Veda as Aditi, the

unflinching and immutable support of the
phenomenal universe. The word
another

hymn

of the

"Aditi"

signified the motherly aspect of the Divine

Being.

"Aditi

in the heavens

is

and

in the

illumined space that pervades between heaven

and

earth, the

Mother

inanimate objects.

and Protector
the

of

Creator; by

She
all;

Devas or gods
all animate and

of all

as well as the Creator of

is

She

also
is

the

Her grace She

sin the souls of those

the

Father

Son and

saves from

who worship Her.

She

gives unto Her children everything that

worth giving.

is

She dwells in the forms of

Devas or bright spirits; She is all that

born and all that will be born. She is all
all

(Rig Veda, Book 2,

Thus we see that in

all."

is

in

ch. vi, verse 17.)

ancient India

God

was conceived as both the Father and the

93

Vedanta Philosophy.
Mother

the

universe

was born.

Jesus
idea

of

of

the

In

centuries

Greece,

before

however,

the

Fatherhood of Zeus-pitar pre

vailed, but his motherly aspect was denied,

because Zeus-pitar or Jupiter was only an

God.

extra- cosmic personal

conception

of

God

is

As long

extra-cosmic,

as the

or

as

He appears
His worshippers as father alone and as

dwelling outside of nature, so long

to

masculine.

The God

was the same

called

Yahveh

of

extra- cosmic

or Jehovah

who was always

Jesus

the

creator
in

Christ

who was

Judaism and

described as masculine.

According to the Hebrews the masculine

element

of

nature

possessed

all

activity,

and power; the male principle was

recognized as the generator, and the female
strength

was thought to be lower,

powerless and passive. The

principle of nature
insignificant,

female principle of nature was the producer

and bearer of what the male principle created

consequently everything that represented the

female

principle

was considered as unim94

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

This explains why womanhood was

portant.

estimated so low by the writers of the Old

and

New

Testaments, especially by the great

to

apostle

the

Even

Gentiles.

appearance and existence

depended upon a

man

of
s

the

very

woman on

earth

according to

rib,

Although the Creator was repre

sented by the Hebrews as masculine and allGenesis.

powerful,

when they explained

of the world they could not

the

genesis

deny the presence

which helped the Cre

In the
into existence.

of the feminine element

ator in bringing

life

Mosaic account of Genesis we read

spirit

of

waters"

God moved upon

(Gen.

i,

2),

"And

the

the face of the

which

literally

means

that the Creator impregnated the waters or

the female element of nature.

that

is,

the male element,

And, as God,

was extra-cosmic,

and possessed all activity

and power, He became the object of worship;
and the female element or nature was entirely

outside of nature,

ignored.

(Every Christian admits the existence

of nature, the female principle; but she has

95

Vedanta Philosophy.

The

never been worshipped or adored.

idea

grew stronger and stronger and the

mother nature was left aside as passive and
of Father

and was ultimately ignored.

powerless,

long as the conception of

God

remains as

extra-cosmic, separate from nature which

passive,

so long will

immanent and

resident in nature, the

we understand

that

as well as our Father.

is

appear as Father

The more we comprehend God

alone.

clearly

He

As

God

more

our Mother

is

When we

nature or the feminine principle

as

is

see that

inseparable

from the Supreme Being or the masculine

element,

when we

realize that nature is not

passive and powerless but the Divine Energy,

then

we understand that God is one stupendous

Whole, in

whom

exist

Then we no

feminine principles.
rate

nature

from

both the masculine and

God,

but

longer sepa

we

recognize

nature as a part of the manifested Divine

Energy.

So long as
side of nature

God
and

is

supposed to dwell out

as father alone,
96

He

remains

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

as the efficient cause of the universe, while

nature

But when we
cause

terial

be

to

appears

material

cause.

realize that nature or the

ma

nothing but a part of the mani

is

we then understand

fested Divine Energy,

that

the

does not, like a carpenter or a potter,

God

create or fashion the

phenomena out

of the

materials which exist outside of Himself, but

that

He

projects

out

everything
dwell

by the process of evolution

His

of

own body wherein

matter and forces of the world.

all

In no other Scriptures than the Vedas, in

no other

religion

personal

God

Mother, the

than that of Vedanta,

is

the

described as the Father and the

efficient

and the material cause

Now-a-days liberal-minded

of the universe.

Christians are trying to introduce the idea

that

God

is

both Father and Mother of the

universe; but they

do not

realize that

by so

doing they are entirely upsetting the Christian

conception

nature

and

of
of

God, who dwells outside of

the

universe.

Christianity can never

97

The God

of

become both Father

Vedanta Philosophy.
and Mother

at the

Him

Mother

as the

same

time.

If

*.

we

address

we have

of the universe,

God which

outgrown that conception of

is

taught in the Bible and in Christian theology.

In the whole Scriptures of the Christians there

is

not one passage where Jehovah

as the Mother.

Lord

says:

forteth

In Isaiah

"As

(ch. Ixvi,

whom

one

so will I comfort

addressed

is

13) the

mother com-

his

From

you."

this

passage, however, no fair-minded person can

deduce that Jehovah was the mother of the
universe.

The Vedantic

idea that

as well as the Father of

modern

the

Modern

scientific

God
all

is

the

Mother

harmonizes with

conception

science traces the whole

of

God.

phenomenal

universe back to the state of eternal

energy.

The

doctrine

of

evolution,

correlation

of

forces, persistence of energy, all these clearly

prove that the phenomena of the whole uni

verse

and

and the various

forces of the external

internal world are but the expressions of

one eternal energy.

The
98

theory of evolution

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

explains only the

mode

energy produces

this

in

which that eternal

phenomenal universe.

Science has disproved the old theory of crea

tion out of nothing through the fiat of

an

extra-

cosmic God, and has shown that something

never

can

come out

of

Science

nothing.

teaches that the universe existed in a potential

state in that energy,

and gradually through

the process of evolution the whole potentiality

has become kinetic or actual.

energy

eternal

not an unintelligent energy, but

is

intelligent.

Wherever we

in the external

or

of

is

cast our eyes, either

internal world,

expression, not

the

That

we

find

a fortuitous or acci

dental combination of matter

and mechan

forces, but of regular laws guided by

ical

definite

This

purpose.

universe

is

not

chaos but a cosmos, one harmonious whole.

It is

we

not an aimless chain of changes which

call

evolution,

but there

is

an orderly

hidden purpose at every step of evolution.

Therefore,

may

that

energy

is

intelligent.

We

call this self-existing, intelligent, eternal

99

Vedanta Philosophy.
cosmic energy the Mother of the universe.

She

is

finite

the source of infinite

forces

and

This eternal energy

phenomena.

in
is

called in Sanskrit Prakriti (Latin procrealrix) ,

the creative power of the universe.

art the

"Thou

energy of the

everything

Thou

art the

Of Thee

of

the

Mother

universe,

of the

is

therefore

universe."

As

the forces of nature are but the manifesta

all

tions of this

Divine Energy, She

Wherever there

powerful.

any force or power

of

Prakriti or the divine

Supreme Being.

born

is

Para

is

is

called all-

the expression

in the universe, there

the manifestation of the eternal Prakriti or

the Divine Mother.

to call that
like

the

It is

more appropriate

Energy mother than

father, because

a mother, that Energy holds within her

germ

evolution,

phenomenal universe before

develops and sustains it, projects

of the

on space and preserves it when it is born.

She is the Mother of the Trinity, Creator,

it

Preserver and Destroyer.

of all activity.

She

is

She

is

the source

the Sakti, force in action.

100

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

when deprived

creator,

no longer the creator. As the crea

of that
power is one of the expressions

power,
tive

creative

his

of

eternal

is

the

Energy,

Brahma

Creator or

looked upon by the Hindus

the universal Divine Mother, so, too,

c-rver

is

as the child of

Vishnu and the

is

Siva.

Destroyer

The Hindus have understood

this

the

Eternal

the universe and have

Energy as the Mother of

times
worshipped Her from the prehistoric
of the Vedic period.

Here we should remem

ber that this Divine Energy

not the same

is

and passive nature which

and ignored by the Jews and

as the powerless

was rejected
the

We

Christians.

must not mistake

this

for Natureworship of the Divine Mother

In the Rig Veda we read:

worship.

Mother Divine

says,

am

the

universe, the giver of all wealth

works.

Although
as

am
am

manifold.

men,

I kill the

intelligent

one,
I

by

cause

My

Queen
and

and

of the

fruits of

omniscient.

powers I appear

war

for

protecting

enemy and bring peace on

101

"The

earth.

Vedanta Philosophy.
I stretch out

As

duced the Father.

self,

I have pro

heaven and earth.

so I produce all

the

wind blows by

phenomena by

My

it

own

none.

am independent and responsible to

I am beyond the sky, beyond this

earth.

My

will.

am

such

Thus
in

glory

by

live

the phenomenal universe;

"

power.

Mother

the Divine

We

all.

My

is

*
is

described as

and move and have our

Who

ence in that Divine Mother.

for a
to

moment

manifest?

activity

all

exist

can

live

Energy cease
All our mental and physical
if

that Eternal

depends on Her.

She
She

ever She chooses to do.

She obeys none.

She

is
is

the

is

doing what
independent.

producer of

every event that occurs in the universe.

She

makes one appear good, spiritual and divine,

while it is She who makes another appear as
wicked and

sinful;

since

it

is

through Her

power one performs virtuous deeds or com

mits sinful acts. But She is beyond good and
evil,

beyond virtue and

*

vice.

Her

Rig Veda, x, hymn, 125.

102

forces are

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

neither good nor evil, although they appear
so to us

when we look

at

standpoints and compare

them from

different

them with one an

other.

When

that
it

manifests,

expresses

dency towards

The

ness

and

itself in

The one

opposite forces.

Sanskrit.

God and

set

is

two

energy
sets

of

has the ten

called

Vidyd

in

other tends towards worldli-

called Avidyd.

is

divine

all-pervading

The one

leads

freedom and happiness, and the other to

is
bondage and suffering. The one knowledge,
the other is ignorance. The one is light, the
to

other

is

darkness.

Each

individual soul

is

center where these opposite forces are con

working and fighting with one another.

Godward
Vidyd or the powers which lead

stantly

When

predominate,

become

when

its

we advance towards God and

religious, spiritual

opposite, the

we become

and

unselfish; but

Avidyd power prevails,

and wicked. When

worldly, selfish

predominant the latter

come, and vice versa. These powers

the former

is

103

is

over

exist in

Vedanta Philosophy.
each individual, though they vary in the degree

The man

of intensity in each.

whom

the

that

former,

leading-powers prevail,

the

is,

is

or

called

woman, in
Godwarddevotional,

prayerful, righteous, pure in heart, unselfish.

These

but expressions of the

are

qualities

Such higher powers

even in those who do not show

Vidyd powers within

are latent in

virtuous

those

all,

All

qualities.

latent

us.

forces

spiritual

can

persons

rouse

by practising

devotion, prayer, righteousness, purity, unsel

fishness.

The

easiest

way

to attain

them

is

by the worship of the Vidyd Sakti, or that

aspect of the Divine Mother or Divine Energy
which represents all the powers that lead to
spiritual perfection.

By worship
remembrance

or devotion
of

that

is

meant constant

aspect.

stantly think of the source of

and of
one

all

the

spiritual,

If
all

we con

spirituality

higher powers which make

surely

those

powers

will

be

aroused in us, and we shall become spir

itual,

righteous

and

unselfish.

104

Therefore the

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

Hindus worship

this Vidyd, Sakti.

When

they

aspect, they do not, however,

worship
deny, or ignore its opposite nature which

that

leads to worldliness, but they

dinate to

times

the

higher

think

they

of

personify

separately,

make

it

subor

Vidyd aspect.

Some

these

forces

opposite

them and make them

the female attendants of the Divine Mother.

The Divine Mother has many

All the evil forces of nature are

attendants.

Her attend

She stands in the center of the universe

ants.

radiant in

Her own

surrounded on

all

Wherever there

glory, like the

sun when

sides by thick, dark clouds.

any expression of extraor

dinary righteousness and spirituality, it is a
is

special manifestation of

there

is

Her

incarnation.

the Divine Mother,

The Divine Mother

incarnates sometimes in the form of a

and sometimes

in the

man,

form of a woman, to

and righteousness. All men

and women are Her children. But there is

establish order

something more in woman.

resents

motherhood on
105

As woman rep

earth, so all

women,

Vedanta Philosophy.
whether married or unmarried, are representa

Almighty Divine Mother of the

tives of that

universe.

It

for this reason that

is

women

are so highly revered and honored by the

There

Hindus.

is

except India where

no country

God

the

in the world

Supreme Being

has been worshipped from time immemorial

as the Divine

Mother

of the universe.

India

is

the only country where the earthly mother

is

looked upon as the living Deity, and where

man

is

greater than a thousand

learns in his childhood

"One

mother

fathers."

You have heard many stories regarding the

women in India. Most of these,

condition of

however, are grossly exaggerated, some are

utterly

The

familiar

throwing

become

among
diles

and some are

false

American story

their

food

babes
for

the Hindus.

cannot

live in

of the Ganges.

into

partially

of

Hindu mothers

the

crocodiles,

In the

true.

first

Ganges
is

to

unknown

place, croco

a strong current like that

have travelled the length

of this mighty river from

its

106

mouth to its

source,

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

some

hundred

fifteen

miles, but never

found

a single instance of such an inhuman

Hindu mothers,

may

sometimes destroy their children, but

such action

as strongly

is

me

ica,

for the first time after

though

tales

in India

"Where

every

to

Amer

to this effect

in this country in

There

books for the young.*

country

coming

and pictures

common

have been quite

Sir

condemned

These statements were heard

as in America.

by

Christian sisters,

their

like

act.

living

is

no other
as

mother"

Monier Monier Williams says

"is

ven

erated as a kind of deity by her children,

where every

or

village

guardian mother, called

It is

extremely

to grasp exactly

city

has

its

special

(in Sanskrit) Mata"

difficult for

a Western mind

what the Hindus mean when

they say that every

woman

of the Divine Mother.

is

a representative

very simple illustra

tion will give

you an idea of the respect the

Hindus have

for

women.

In Sanskrit when

two names are used together, the rule of

*

"

Hinduism and

Brahmanism," p. 222.

107

Vedanta Philosophy.
grammar
stand

In Sanskrit we say

first.

men, not

more honorable should

that the

is

men and women;

women and

instead of father

and mother, we say mother and father; instead

of husband and wife, wife and husband,
because a woman is always more honorable
than a man.
their

In India wives do not adopt

husbands

names, they do not merge

their individuality into that of their

husbands

women do in the West, but they keep

their own name separate.
If a wife s name
as

be Radha, and her husband

name be Krishna,

we

and

if

The

wife

say them together, we would say

Radha-Krishna and never Krishna-Radha.

name must be

say Sita-Rama; Sita

is

the

man

the

of

wife

worshipped
Mother.

form, as in Krishna or

such

an

the

as

The

incarnation

incarnation

not

Rama
incar

Rama,

will

of

wife will be worshipped

and then the husband.

does

So we

first.

Again, when God

husband.

nates in a

said

the wife and

is

easily

appreciate
108

Western
the

be
the
first

mind

wonderful

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

womanhood which

reverence for

the Hindus

have.

The Divine Mother

the

same

is

the personal God,

and Brahman

as Iswara in Sanskrit;

or the Absolute Substance or the Universal

Spirit is the

Brahman

impersonal Being.

formless, nameless

and without any

attributes.

ocean of absolute intelligence,

It is the

is

exist

ence and

bliss.

Godhead

of Fichte, the Substantia of Spinoza.

It

has no

activity.

It is the

transcends all phenomena. Before phe

nomenal manifestation Divine Energy rested
on the bosom of that ocean of Absolute Being

It

in a potential state.
of

activity

state

sleep

when
all

somewhat

the

the

is

cosmic

like

our

all activity is latent.

exist in us in

nothing

dormant

It is the

state

deep

sleep

As

deep

in

and physical powers

an unmanifested condition and
mental

lost,

so,

before the beginning of

all

evolution,

forces of the universe

the

phenomenal

remained dormant in

that Energy.
There were no phenomena,
no manifestation of any powers whatever.
109

Vedanta Philosophy.
Again, as in our waking state

the latent

all

powers manifest and we are able

move, talk

when

and are tremendously

portion

wakes up, as

it

of

that

to

walk,

active,

so,

Impersonal Being

were, and manifests the latent

cosmic powers of the sleeping Energy, the

evolution of the cosmic Energy begins and
the Impersonal Being appears as the Creator
of the universe

and

its

Preserver.

The Impersonal Being

is

then called per

sonal, on account of that manifested energy.

According to the Hindus the impersonal Brah

man

is

neither masculine nor feminine.

the personal

both in one.

God

is

But

masculine and feminine

Energy and Being are insepa

rable in the personal God.

As pure Being

without energy cannot produce any

ena and as Energy possesses

phenom

all activity

and

forces and phenomena,

most appropriately called
the Mother of the universe. As fire and its
is

the mother of

the personal

God

all

is

burning power or heat are inseparable, so

Being and Energy are inseparable and one.

110

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

Those who worship the masculine aspect of
God, in reality worship the male child born
Because the

of that Divine Mother.

activity,

strength and power which make one mascu

line, owe their origin to that Divine Energy.

But those who worship the Divine Mother

worship the Whole all gods, all angels and
all spirits

that exist in the universe.

The wonderful
the

-.

Motherhood

daily

life

man.

effect of this

of

God

is

of almost every

to

conception of

be found in the

Hindu woman and

Hindu woman thinks

that she

is

part of the Divine Mother, nay one with Her.

She looks upon

as her

own

men and women of the world

She thinks of herself

children.

as the blessed

can such a

all

Mother

woman

Her pure motherly

of the world.

be unkind to anybody?

love flows towards all

and women equally.

How

There

is

men

no room

for

any impure thought or feeling or passion in

such a heart.

That

perfect motherly feeling

makes her ultimately live like the Divine

Mother on earth. Her ideal God in human
111

Vedanta Philosophy.
form

is

own

her

carnation of

God

as her most beloved child.

Mary was
Hindu women

the

Just as
the

themselves

as

She worships the in

child.

Mother

of Jesus, so

in India often look

upon

mother of Krishna, the

the

Hindu

Christ, or of

tion.

Christian

Rama, another incarna

perhaps, will

mothers,

be

able to appreciate this to a certain extent.

If

a Christian mother thinks that she

mother and loves

Him

child, the effect will

understand

then

The Hindus

is.

for

women

them

is

Christ s

as she loves her

She

be wonderful.

will

what Divine Motherhood

think this the easiest

to attain to that love which

unselfish

own

and

divine.

sacrifice everything for

way
makes

mother can

her child; she naturally

loves the child without seeking any return,

not possess
though there are mothers who do
pure, unselfish motherly love.

true mother,

however, loves her child above everything.

If

such a child be an incarnation of

self,

how

easy

it

will

be

for

God Him

the mother to

attain to the highest goal of religion.

112

know

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

who became a widow when she

a lady in India

was young. She did not marry again. She

was not like the ordinary woman of the world

who

thinks that a

husband

is

essential to her

happiness and that marriage

ideal of

She

life.

is

the highest

nun

lived the pure life of a

and worshipped Krishna as her own child.

She became so advanced in spirituality that

now hundreds

of educated

men and women

of high rank in Calcutta

come

to see her, to re

ceive spiritual instruction

from

her.

the dust of her feet as devout

lics kiss

They

kiss

Roman Catho

the feet of the statue of Mary, they

revere her

and

call

her the Mother of God,

Mother of Krishna, the Shepherd.

She

living near Calcutta.

She

is still

feels in herself the

presence of the blessed Mother of the universe.

Another wonderful
tion of

that

God

as the

result of this

Mother

concep

of the universe,

when a man worships God

he always thinks of himself as a child in

Mother
thing

arms.

when

it is

As a
near

child does not fear

its

113

is

as his mother,
its

any

mother, so the wor-

Vedanta Philosophy.
shipper of the Divine Mother
of

He

anything.

woman he

In every

everywhere.

never afraid

Blessed

the

sees

is

Mother

manifestation of his Eternal Mother.

sequently, every

He

conquers

woman on

all lust

earth

is

and sense

the

sees

Con

his mother.

desires.

He

woman in a different light. He worships

every woman mentally.
I have seen a man who lived on this earth like

sees

a living child of the Divine Mother, always pro

tected

God
that

and taken care of by Her. He worshipped

as the

Mother

of the universe.

Through
worship he became pure, righteous and

spiritual.

He

Thou

all

art

used to say
in

"O,

Thou

all.

art

my Mother,
my Guide,

His Divine Mother

my Leader and Strength."

showed him the true nature of man and woman.

He bowed down
mature and

old,

before

and said

all

to

the living representatives of

on

earth."

How

relation to one

mother?

By

my

"You

are

Divine Mother

can a child have any other

who

this

women, young,
them

is

the

same

as

its

real

kind of devotion he con114

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

quered

and

all lust

His

worldliness.

child-like,

whole-souled and rapturous self-consecration

to the Divine

Mother

is

a landmark in the
His whole

life,

which was the personification of purity,

self-

India.

of

history

religious

and

control, self-resignation

filial

love to the

Divine Mother, stands as a mighty testimony

to the reality

of

God

as the

and

effectiveness of the worship

Mother

When

of the universe.

he sang the praises of the Divine Mother,

he gave life to every word he uttered, and

no soul could hear him without being moved

to tears

by deep devotional

feelings,

without

was

in direct

realizing that this wonderful child

communion with

his

Divine

Divine Mother showed him

was Her
honored
his

Mother.

that each

woman

incarnation, so he worshipped
all

women

His

and

as a son might worship

Some Western people may

such reverence, but a Hindu is ex

own mother.

laugh at

He knows how to honor

Professor Max Miiller was much

tremely proud of

a woman.
impressed

with

it.

the

wonderful
115

life

of

this

Vedanta Philosophy.
great sage,
sayings.*

and recently published

He was once asked:

his life

and

we

are

"If

the children of your Divine Mother,

She not take care of us?

come

to us

The

sage

arms?"

several

"A

one she has given a

another some candy,

to

does

does She not

and take us up in Her

mother has
replied:

To

children.

Why

why

to

doll,

the third a music

box, according as each one likes.

Thus when

they begin to play and are absorbed, they

forget

looks

their

mother; she in the meanwhile

her

after

moment any one

household
of

them

work.

But the

gets tired of the play,

and, throwing aside the plaything, cries for

the

mother,

Mamma, mamma

dear

she

runs quickly to him, takes him up in her arms,

kisses

him

often

and often and caresses him.

oh man! being absorbed with the play

things of the world you have forgotten your
So,

Divine Mother; when you get tired of your

play, and, throwing aside the toys,
*

"

Life

and Sayings

Max Miiller.

you cry

of Ramakrishna,"

Charles Scribner s Sons,

116

by

New York.

F.

Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.

for

Her

sincerely

She

child,

will

Her arms.

in

and with the

come

Now

She has given you

Each one

ent."

Mother

sooner

simplicity of a

and take you up

you want to play and

at once

all

you need

that

at pres

of us will see the Divine

or

The Mother

later.

is

always taking care of us and protecting us

whether we
it

feel it or not,

whether we realize

or not.

The Vedanta

philosophy recognizes both

the fatherhood and motherhood of the personal

God and

teaches us that through the worship

of either of these aspects the highest ideal of

the

Lord

called

Him

of all

"Iswara"

while others call

But

Lord,

verse, of all
art

He

is

sexless

both Father and Mother of

Those who address

Thou

Vedas

Thou

Him

is

Some worship

in Vedanta.

Mother.

Divine

Prajapati or

of the

creatures

as the Father,

therefore

"O

The

can be reached.

religion

Him
and
all.

as the Father say:

art the

Father of the uni

animate and inanimate objects.

worshipped
117

by

all.

Thou

art

Vedanta Philosophy.
greater than the greatest;

power,

earth

equal to Thee,

greater?

of

incom

none in the heavens

parable
is

O Thou

and

how can any one be

Lord, as a father forgiveth his

son, a friend his dear friend, a lover his be

loved, even so

do Thou forgive

me."

Those who worship His motherly aspect

pray to Her, saying:
"O

Mother Divine, Thou

the infinite source of the universe.

energy,

Thy powers
of

manifest in the infinite variety

names and forms.

power

art the eternal

of ignorance

Being deluded by the

we

forget

Thee and take

pleasure in the playthings of the world.

when we come
worship Thee,

to

Thee, take

Thou makest

Thy

But

refuge and

us free from igno

rance and worldliness, and givest us eternal

happiness by keeping us, Thine

on Thy

bosom."

118

own

children,

The Relation of Soul

to

God.

"The

is

F.

soul enchained is

man, and

God
Life and Sayings
Max Muller, p. 145.
"

of

free from chain

Ramakrishna, by

The
A

Relation of Soul to God.

CLEAR understanding of man s relation

is a matter of momentous importance

God

to

to students of philosophy

and

From

religion

and

to

all

seekers of Truth.

all

the best thinkers, prophets and the great

very ancient times

religious leaders of the world,

whether of the

East or of the West, have endeavored to explain

our relation to
of

those

God and

explanations

to the universe.

Out

have arisen various

schools of philosophy and different systems

of religious beliefs

among

the different nations

of the world.

Every philosophy and every

religion, ancient

or modern, has arrived at certain conclusions

in

its

attempt to describe the relation which

each individual bears to God.

All such con

clusions, of course, presuppose the

121

existence

Vedanta Philosophy.
of God,

and depend upon the nature of our

God as well
Those who deny the

conception of

as of the

soul.

existence

human
of God

and hold that we are but mere accidental

appearances in the mechanical process of the
blind forces of nature which are
acting aim
lessly

upon dead matter, think that it is loss

and waste of energy to discuss such

of time
useless

and absurd

devote

their

topics.

to

energy

They would

rather

the

obtaining

best

things of the Godless world for the comforts

of the soulless body.
in the existence of

mind or
body.
to

They do

not believe

any such thing as soul,

spirit

apart from the functions of the

When

the body dies everything comes

an end.

As with the body, so

it

is

with

the material universe.

Such thinkers are not the products of the

Twentieth Century alone, but they are as old
as the appearance of

man upon

earth.

In

ancient India this class of thinkers existed

side

by

soul of

side with the believers in the individual

man and

in

God, as numerously as we
122

The Relation of Soul

to

God.

them to-day among the most cultivated

minds of the West. Those ancient material
find

like the

ists,

modern

sense

making

agnostics

perception

and

atheists,

standard

the

knowledge of things, denied the

their

of

exist

ence of that which they could not perceive by

their senses.

But the other

who went below

class of thinkers,

the surface of sense percep

tions into the realm of the invisible,

these

materialistic

their

fallacies,

through logical

arguments,

and

and

established

reasoning, the

existence of the individual soul of

man

well as of the soul of the universe, or

and

described their

mutual

into

First, the dualists ; secondly, the

ified non-dualists,

or monists.

and

as

God,

relation.

These thinkers can be divided

classes

out

pointed

ultimately
scientific

weighed

three

qual

thirdly, the non-dualists,

The Western

dualists believe in

an extra-cosmic personal God, who creates

the universe out of nothing, fashions

names
governs

to
it.

the

phenomena,

According
123

to

it,

gives

and afterwards
them,

God, the

Vedanta Philosophy.
and governor of the universe, is eter
nally separate from the world and from all
creator

a potter

living creatures, just as

is

separate

from the pot which he makes or as a carpenter

who

stands always outside of the table or

The

chair which he makes.

dualists believe

God who has human attributes infinitely

magnified. He is all- wise, merciful, just
in a

and

so far as to give
find in the

the

Some

all-powerful.

of the

human form

conception of

Hebrews and

the

to

It is said:

Adam

"And

go
God, as we

among

Jehovah

orthodox Christians.

In the Old Testament, Jehovah

as walking with

dualists

in the

is

described

Garden

of Eden.

they heard the voice of the

Lord God walking in the garden in the cool

of the day, and Adam and his wife hid them
selves

from the presence of the Lord

amongst the

trees of the garden.

God

"

(Genesis

iii,

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu,

and seventy of the elders of Israel saw Him.
8.)

The

nobles not only saw but they did eat and

drink with Him. (Exodus xxiv,

124

9,

n.)

Moses

The

Relation of Soul to God.

saw Jehovah

Jehovah ate with Abra

back.

ham under the oaks at Mamre. (Genesis xviii,

God was pleased with the sweet savor
i, 8.)
of Noah s sacrifice. He possessed human
He walked with Noah.
appetites.
The same Jehovah with a human form and
human qualities and with a human personality
is the ideal God of the orthodox Christian
monotheists of to-day.

hovah as

sitting

They

believe in Je

on a throne somewhere in

the heavens, with eyes red with anger

and

and holding a rod, ever ready to

punish the wicked with eternal fire. From
many of the orthodox pulpits the same God is
revenge,

He was in the days of the

The relation of man to such a personal,
past.
or rather human God, with human attri

preached to-day, as

butes,

is like

that of a creature to his creator,

of a subject to his king, or of a slave to his

master.

As the duty

implicitly the

of a subject

commands

or governor, so every

the

commands

is

to

obey

of his king, or ruler,

man

duty

is

to

obey

of the Governor of the uni125

Vedanta Philosophy.
verse, otherwise

relation of

he

man

will

be punished.

Similar

to the extra-cosmic
personal

Ruler of the universe

is

to

be found in most

of the dualistic or monotheistic

religions of

the world.

All the religions of

which

Asia

are

or

dualistic

teach that our relation to

Europe and
monotheistic

God

is

that of a

creature to his creator, or of the

governed
to the governor.

man

Although

God

image

in

is

said

to

Genesis, yet

be created in
is

it

generally

understood that he cannot have any relation

higher than that of a creature to his creator.
It

simply means

the image of

that

the

first

God, possessed

at

of the divine qualities before he

by Satan.

that

was tempted

Although the Christians believe

that Jesus the Christ

and

man, being
first some

God

is

was the son of God,

the father of the universe,

yet according to them,

an ordinary mortal

cannot be called the son of

God

in the

same

sense as Jesus of Nazareth was, because he

was an exception

to the general rule.

126

Whether

The Relation of Soul

to

God.

Jesus ever meant that he was the only begotten

son of

God

exclusive of

any other mortal,

a problem yet to be solved.

is

If every individual

be a true image or the son of God, then the

question arises,

why

should

He punish His own

son so mercilessly with eternal

fire

as

is

de

scribed in the parable of the marriage of the

son:

king
ants,

"Then

said the king to the serv

bind him hand and foot and take him

away and

him

cast

there shall be weeping

for

many

(Matt,
"Ye

are

xxii,

called
14.)

13,

serpents,

outer

into

and gnashing of
but few are

tianity, as

ye generation of vipers,

Thus,
it

is

according to

hell?"

how

(Matt.

popular Chris

understood and preached in

the orthodox churches,

is

teeth;

chosen."

Again, in the saying:

can ye escape the damnation of

xxiii, 33.)

darkness;

man

s relation to

God

not like that of His image, nor like that of a

son to his loving Father, but like that of a

subject to his despotic monarch, Christ being

the only begotten son of God.

believe that

God

The

Christians

creates the soul out of nothing

127

Vedanta Philosophy.
and implants
of

it

in the

human form

As long

birth.

its

as there

at the time

is

preached

the idea of the creation of the universe and

man

of

out of nothing by an extra-cosmic

personal
will

God

human

with

our relation to

attributes, so long

God remain

like that of

a creature to his creator or of the

governed
to his governor.

In

India

believe

who

in

is

loving;

there

are

dualists.

They

an extra-mundane personal God

the repository of

is

who

too

omnipotent,

who

blessed qualities,

all

omniscient,

and

all-

creates the universe, not out of

nothing, but out of the material of nature,

which

is

eternal.

God

the efficient cause

is

of the universe and nature

cause.

is

the material

They do not believe that the human

soul comes into existence

all

of a sudden

and

has a beginning, as the Christians do, but

that

it

existed in the past

and

will exist in

future from eternity to eternity.

that as nature
souls.

Each

is

They say

eternal so are the individual

soul after remaining

potentially
128

The Relation of Soul

in nature for

some

God.

comes out of the causal

time,

state at the beginning of a

new

and manifests

tion or evolution,

to

cycle of crea

in gross forms,

one after another, going through the different

grades of evolution according to

and tendencies,

until

After reading the

it

New

its

desires

perfection.

Testament one cannot

definite conception of the nature of

get

any

the

human

soul,

nor of

its

dualistic system of India

human

reaches

soul

is

like

an

destiny, but in the

one learns that the

infinitesimal particle of

nature containing the divine light of

intelli

gence and divine power in an infinitely small

degree,

whose duty

is

to serve

God through

good deeds, good thoughts and love.

God loves all, and He can be loved in return.

prayers,

Those who worship Him through unswerving

devotion and unselfish love obtain freedom
from the dark side of nature; that

is,

from

the bondages of ignorance, selfishness, suffering,

misery and

all

death they

live

other imperfections; and after

life

of bliss

and perfection

forever in the presence of the eternal personal

129

Vedanta Philosophy.
God.
ists in

This

salvation according to the dual

is

They do

India.

not

mean by

salvation

going to heaven, but on the contrary, hold

that heaven

is

a realm where one goes to

enjoy the results of one

good deeds, and

at

the end of such a period of celestial enjoyment

one comes back to earth and

Each

soul

is

tion, sooner or

deeds

bound
later.

the

reap

and thoughts,

to

attain this salva

Those who do wicked

results

not

born again.

is

of

by going

their

to

actions

any place

and punishment, but by being

born again and again until they reach the
state of spirituality, devotion and righteous
of eternal fire

ness.

The

lieve that

monotheists in India do not be

God

embodiment

punishes any one, as

of

Divine love.

Nor do

believe in eternal suffering, nor in

or creator of

evil.

temporary suffering
the reaction of their

do not blame
tiality,

God

He

is

the

they

any Satan

But they do believe in a

of the wicked, which is

own wicked
or charge

acts.

Him

They

with par

they do not blame Satan, but they

130

The

Relation of Soul to God.

upon their own shoulders the whole

burden of responsibility. These dualists be
take

lieve that

wherever there

is

there

life

is

manifestation of the divine light of

however small

gence,

may

it

be,

intelli

however

imperfect the expression of intelligence

From

be.
est

the minutest insect

up

Divine Sun.

life is filled

may

to the high

gods (Devas) or angels, or bright

each individual

the

spirits,

with a ray of that

They sometimes compare God

with a gigantic magnet and the individual

soul with the point of a needle,

magnet
attracts

attracts

the

and say as a

a needle so the great

individual

souls

toward

God

Him

through love, and magnetizes them as it were

by His divine grace and power. Although
they believe that each soul is separate from

God and from other souls, yet its relation to

God is like that of a ray to the sun or of a
spark to
soul

is

acter,

fire.

Their conception of the

human

with attributes, with qualities and char

with mind,

intellect,

sense-powers, and

the finer particles of ethereal matter which

131

Vedanta Philosophy.
foundation

give

In
as
in

short,

we

call

the

to

grosser

same

the

it is

or the spiritual body as

it,

New

Testament.

it is

called

According to these

God can be worshipped by man

dualists,

through various relations, such as

Him

forms.

physical

as the individual ego,

by

calling

master, or father, or mother, or brother,

These

or friend, or son, or husband.

depend upon the nature and

Some

of the worshipper.

themselves

as

servants

of

the same

man in a household

characteristics

think of

to

like

God,

friends, or brothers, or sons.

relations

others

They

as

say, as

can be the master

in relation to his servants, the father in relation

to his children, a friend, a brother, or a hus

band

in relation to his wife, so the

can appear in
different

all

same God

those various relations to

devotees according to their

Such

is

individual soul and

its

of thinking.

modes

the conception of the

relation to

God

accord

ing to the dualistic thinkers of India.

Next
comes

to

that

the dualistic conception of

of

the

qualified
132

God

non-dualists.

Relation of Soul to God.

The

These thinkers go a little deeper than the dual

ists.
Starting from the dualistic standpoint
toward the realiza
they go a step further
tion of

man s relation to God.

God is no longer extra-

Truth and of

According to them,

more outside

cosmic, no

the universe, but

He

of

and separate from

He

intra-cosmic.

is

is

no longer governor from the outside, but

inter- ruler.

Antarydmin,

and resident

in nature.

He
He

is

interpenetrates

The

every particle of the universe.

universe

is

physical

He

His gross physical body.

infinite eyes, infinite ears,

of other senses.
all living

immanent

He

and

infinite

has

organs

sees through the eyes of

creatures of the universe.

He

hears

universe.
through all the ears that exist in the

He has infinite
His mind

is

the

sum

or in other words,
intellect is the

The wind is His breath.

heads.

total of individual

Cosmic Mind.

the

Cosmic

minds,

intellect.

His

His soul

is

the Cosmic Ego, or the soul of the universe.

He

is

or one

no longer the creator of the universe,

who

fashions the materials of nature

133

Vedanta Philosophy.
and gives names and forms to the phenomena
from outside like a potter or a carpenter.

He

not the efficient cause alone, as the

is

dualists

but

maintain,

and material cause

ates,

that

He

is,

He

is

both

of the universe.

efficient

He

cre

projects into the physical

space the phenomenal forms out of nature or

divine energy which

is

in

His body.

the one living Being in the universe.

we

the one stupendous Whole, and

He
He

is

is

are but

parts.

In that process of projection or evolution

numbers of individual souls

of nature, infinite

which existed
ningless past,

in

His body from the begin-

come out on

the physical plane,

take forms, play their parts according to their

desires,

and

fulfil

the purpose of

life

through the process of evolution.

vidual soul

is

like

by going
Each indi

a spark which emanates

from the huge bonfire of God, and lives in and

through God, but it cannot be called God.

God

dwells

everywhere.

He

universe and nature, and yet

134

pervades

He

the

transcends

The Relation of Soul

them
out

He

both.

is infinite

any human

God

dualists say that

but personal, with

The

form.

qualified

by time, while God

He

space or time.
Still,

He

can

non-

cannot be confined to

any form, because every form

in space

God.

to

a limitation

is

is

unlimited by

beyond space and time.

is

in

appear

various

forms

Our

His worshippers.

satisfy the desires of

God

to

body, our mind

is

part of the divine or universal mind, our will

is

body

a part of

is

This

a part of the universal or cosmic will.

is

called

tion of

non-dualistic concep

the qualified

God, because

it

looks at unity as quali

by variety. That is, God is one, the uni

verse and human souls are one in God, yet
fied

each retains

God

is

like

thereof.

vine

and

gave

to

its

own

separate individuality.

a tree and we are like branches

me

It

reminds

its

branches which Jesus the Christ

show man

relation to

same idea underlies His

is

greater than

I."

of the simile of the

saying,

According

God.
"My

to

The

Father

this

class

of thinkers the individual soul possesses all

135

Vedanta Philosophy.
the qualities of the

has

mind,

and

is

human

intellect,

limited

As our ego

ego.

sense-power,

by other egos, so

is

memory,
the soul.

After the death of the

body the soul contracts
its

its

qualities within itself,

birth

it

ego or soul

and

at the time of

expands those latent powers. Our

is a part of the cosmic
ego, or the

soul of the universe, or God.

Next

to these

comes the

or non-dualistic thinkers.

class of monistic

They do not

stop

where the qualified non-dualists have

stopped,
but they push their investigations

still

further,

and analyze the nature of the individual soul

or ego, and ultimately discover the
unchange
able essence of the ego.

They

are the seekers

of the unchangeable
reality of the universe.

In their search they will not

stop until they
have reached that Truth which is
immutable,
eternal

and one.

methods of

They adopt

the scientific

analysis, observation

and experi

ment, and apply them to solve the subtlest

and most abstract problems.

Analyzing the
nature of the ego, they find that it cannot be
136

The Relation of Soul

to

God.

the unchangeable reality or immutable Truth,

because the mind, with its various modifications,

such as

memory,

intellect,

After patient

changing.

know

tinuous struggle to

etc.,

is

constantly

and con

research

the ultimate Truth,

these great monistic sages realized that the

ego, or the individual soul,

changeful receptacle of a

which

stance,

They

called

it

is

nothing but a

still

sub

subtler

unchangeable and eternal.

is

Atman

the

in Sanskrit.

no word in the English language

which conveys the meaning of this Atman.

There

much

It is

of

is

the

finer

than ego or the living soul

Atman

individual.

tioned reality in

man; and

the individual ego

the

Atman,

light of

like

is

the

uncondi

the living soul or

the subtle covering of

is

the globe that

covers the

That Atman

not a part

a lamp.

is

of the universal ego, but

it is

one with the un

conditioned Reality

the

universe,

is

called in

pervading
times

it

called

which

Brahman, or the

Sanskrit
Spirit,

is

of

or

the Absolute.

All-

Some

Paramatman, which was

137

Vedanta Philosophy.
translated

by

Over-Soul.
or God.

Waldo

Ralph

It is sexless, neither

feminine.

It is

Emerson

masculine nor

sometimes translated by the

Oriental scholars as the SELF.

confusing
for

the

word.

Some

Anglo-Saxon

progresses,

as

than the Cosmic Ego

It is finer

it

which acts and

name

another

is

Self is

mistake

people

self,

and which

But

for

the ego.

According to the non-dualistic conception

of the true nature of

man, the Atman or the

Self,

or the spiritual essence of man,

same

as the

Brahman, the

man

to

the

spiritual or divine

The

essence of the universe.

true nature of

is

God

is

relation of the

no longer

like

that of a creature to the Creator, nor like

that of a son to his father, nor like that of a

part to the whole, but

on the highest

it

is

absolute oneness

the

absolute

The Atman,

spiritual plane.

or the divine nature of man,

divinity

of

the

is

the

that highest spiritual plane there

tinction,

same as

Cosmos.
is

no

On
dis

no idea of separation, no idea of

138

The Relation of Soul

to

God.

All ideas of separateness, all differ

creation.

phenomenal names and forms,

the absolute ocean of reality which

entiations of

merge
is

into

The essence

unchangeable, eternal and one.

of the Creator

and

is infinite,

it

interpenetrates

phenomenal forms as the external space

pervades every particle of atoms of the phe
the

That essence

nomenal world.
pervading

of

is like tjie all-

the

phenomenal
Phenomena are like the waves

background

appearances.

in the ocean of Infinite Reality.

souls are like so

of

Absolute

many bubbles

Individual

in that ocean

As a bubble

Existence.

rises

on the surface of the ocean, takes a form,

lives there,

a group for

comes near other bubbles, lives in

some time, moves in the company

of others, changes

down
that

its size,

again; so the individual soul rises in

ocean of

various

infinite

forms, passes

stages of evolution,

and

perhaps, and goes

ever,

existence,

appears in

through the different

and

lives there for ever

sometimes as manifested and at

other times as unmanifested.

139

The

light

of

Vedanta Philosophy.
intelligence in the soul or ego
reflection of the

Atman

is

due

to the

or Divine Spirit on

the mirror of the heart of the ego or soul.

Therefore the soul

reflection of the

This idea
of

the

is

called

is

Atman

the

image or

or Divine Spirit.

beautifully expressed in one

Upanishads:

"In

the

heart have entered the two

cave
the

our

of

Atman

or

the Divine Spirit, and the individual ego or

Dwelling on the highest summit, or the

soul.

ether of the heart, the one witnesses the other,

while the soul drinks the rewards of

works.
the

The

wise

one as the

light,

reflection, image or

shad, ch.

iii,

men and

verse

expression,

The

"Man

You

i.)

is

own

describe

and the other as the

shadow."

what a deep meaning

sages

its

lies at

the

(Katha Upaniwill notice here

the back of the

image of

God."

ancient Vedic sages used the same expres

sion in a sense which

many

of the best philoso

phers of the Western world have failed to

grasp or comprehend.

Thus

the most ancient

Monistic sages explained the highest relation

140

The Relation of Soul

by

calling

it

God.

Atman

of the individual soul to

Spirit,

to

or Divine

the reflection or image of

But as a

the Self-effulgent Light of God.

reflection
light

cannot

whose

exist

reflection

of

the

so the soul of

man

independent

it is,

cannot exist independent of Atman.

fore the true nature of the soul

and

the divine

Atman,

which cannot be

real spirit

divided into parts and

is

There,

One Absolute Source

is

of existence, intelligence

and

bliss.

Such

is

the monistic or non-dualistic explanation of

the relation of the soul to God.

Vedanta philosophy recognizes these three

It

explanations.

the soul to

God

says

that

relation

of

varies as the conception of

the individual soul and of

and higher.

the

God becomes

finer

Starting from the gross form of

body, when a

real

and earnest seeker

after

Truth marches onward toward the Absolute,

he passes through all the intermediate stages
until he reaches that state of divine communion

where he

realizes the oneness of the

or the true nature of

man
141

Atman,

with Brahman, the

Vedanta Philosophy.
cosmic Divine essence, or the Absolute Real

Then he

ity of the universe.

Brahman,

am

He, I

in stars; I

moon,

am

am

am

declares, I

in the sun, in the

one with the All-per

vading Reality; or as Jesus the Christ said,

and

"I

Father are

my

use the word

human

or

"I"

in

one."

but in the sense of

personality,

when He prayed

to

Jesus was a dual

His Father in heaven,

and he was a monist when He

my
is

Father are

within

one,"

you."

does not

ordinary sense of ego

its

Atman, or Divine essence.

ist

He

said,

and

"I

kingdom of heaven
Vedanta philosopher or

"The

sage after realizing that absolute oneness

the highest spiritual plane of the

when he

Atman,

on

says,

returns to the plane of relativity

and

phenomena:
"O

Thy

Lord, when I think of

servant

I look at
art the
realize

and Thou

my

soul, I

art

my body, I am
my Master; when

am Thy

part and

Thou

one stupendous Whole; but when I

my

true nature, I

with Thee, the Absolute

conception of

my

am

divine

Spirit.

relation to
142

and one

Such

Thee."

is

my

What

is

an Incarnation of God?

Whenever religion declines and

I
myself to protect the right
manifest
prevails
irreligion
eous, to destroy evil and to establish true religion.
"The

Lord says:

"

Bhagavad Gita

iv, 7, 8.

What is an
Two

Incarnation of God?

great religions of the world advocate

the belief that God, the supreme Ruler of

incarnates in

the universe,

help mankind
other

is

the one

is

human form

to

Christianity, the

the religion of Vedanta which pre

vails in India.

Christianity,

believing in the existence of

one personal God who is the creator, governor

and Father of the universe, teaches that this
heavenly Father incarnated Himself in

human

form as Jesus the Christ to show His

His mercy and kindness for His suffering

love,
chil

dren as well as to save the world from eternal

perdition.
to

It

know how

tion,

the

interesting

this doctrine

unknown

first

may be
to

to

many

of divine incarna

the earliest

Christians of

century after Christ, gradually grew

145

Vedanta Philosophy.
and developed
of

into its present form.

ecclesiastical

the

Readers

are well aware

history

of

no

that
problem troubled the
minds of the founders of the Christian church
fact

and of Christian theology

so

much

as this

one of the divine incarnation of Jesus the

During the early periods of church

indeed, no other question was con

Christ.
history,

sidered to be of such vital importance as that

of the heavenly Father

incarnation in the

form of Jesus of Nazareth. Although for

many of the uneducated masses this problem
appears to have been satisfactorily solved by
the wonderfully subtle and apparently logical

arguments of certain
still it is

not

priests

unknown

to the

and theologians,
educated classes

that the acceptance of their solution

depended
anathema
power, upon

upon priestly
and upon the persecution of those who refused
largely

to receive these

arguments as the only correct

solution of the problem.

Let us go back for a moment to that time

when

Constantine

the
146

Great

settled

the

What

is

an Incarnation of

God ?

disputes of the bishops regarding the incarna

Supreme Being in the form of the

Man. In the first place we should

tion of the

Son of

remember

that the

divine incarnation
in

the

modern Christian idea of

is

Trinitarian

founded upon the

doctrine

of

the

belief

Father,

Son, and Holy Ghost in the memorable text

of the First Epistle of John:

"For

there are

three that bear record in heaven, the Father,

the

Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these

three are one

"

(ch.

trine of the divine

Christ

v.

7).

Before the doc

incarnation of Jesus the

was established and accepted by the

church, the early Christians believed in the

and constantly discussed the most

subtle and profound questions concerning
the nature, generation, distinction and qualities

Trinity

of the three divine persons of the mysterious

At that time the majority of Chris

tian thinkers believed in Jesus of Nazareth

triad.

as the son of
clare that

form/

the

God, but they did not dare de

he was

"God

himself in

human

second principle of the blessed

147

Vedanta Philosophy.
Trinity.

was Justin Martyr, a Christian

the Platonic school and a believer

It

convert of

in the Platonic doctrine of the Trinity,-

who

about the middle of the second century for the

first

time promulgated the idea that Jesus

the Christ, the son of God,

was the second

person in the Triune Deity and the creator

of the universe.

whom

He

is

the earliest writer to

the origin of this idea can be traced,

and he did not ascribe

his

opinion to the

Scriptures but to the special favor of God.

The

Trinitarian

which

controversies

first

broke out in the Christian schools of Alexan

dria in Egypt, the land of Trinities, took a

new form during

the time of Constantine the

Great, the chief point of debate being to define

The

the relation of the son to the Father.

cnurch of Alexandria was the most powerful

of all the churches at this period,

ruled by Trinitarian bishops

in all these

discussions.

One

prominent candidates for the

was Arms, the celebrated

148

who
of

and

it

was

took part
the most

office of

bishop

originator of the

What

God ?

an Incarnation of

is

Arian doctrines and a Presbyter of the Alexan

He and

drian church.
tained, in

his

that the son of

God was

followers

main

the other bishops,

opposition to

merely a creature or

a created being, that there was a time when

he did not

He

exist.

said:

the Father

"If

begat the Son, he that was begotten had a

from

beginning in existence;

dent that there was a time

not in being,
his existence

this

when

is

it

the

Son was

therefore follows that he

it

from

nothing."

was the strongest of

all

evi

had

This argument

the blows which were

given to the Trinitarian doctrine, as well as

the most potent against the divinity of Jesus
the

because

Christ,

co-eternity

of

the

it

Father and the Son by

proving the subordination of the

Father,

not

Son

to the

and, in consequence, inequality be

tween them.
there

denied the

evidently

It

also indirectly implied that

was a time when the blessed Trinity did

exist.

The

question

was

vehemently

discussed

again and again in public debates by bishops

149

Vedanta Philosophy.
and

Christians,

and

the

gradually

strife

that the Jews and pagans amused

spread so far

by giving theatrical representa

the contest on the stage, the point

themselves
tions of

of their burlesques being the equality of the

The

age of the father and son.

the

controversy

at

reached

last

where imperial force was needed

sion.

the

and

referred

the council of Nicea in 327 A.D.

the dispute

settled

point

for the deci

Emperor Constantine, being

summoned

to,

violence of

of

the

bishops by

formulating the famous Nicean creed and at

taching to

it

the anathema:

"The

holy Catholic

and Apostolic Church anathematizes those

who say that there was a time when the Son

God was

of

he was

not,

not, that before

he was begotten,

and that he was made out

of

nothing or out of another substance or essence

and

is

In

created or changeable or
this

solution

manner

of

that

the

alterable."

so-called

of the divine incarnation of Jesus

at,

and

it

satisfactory

most bewildering problem

was arrived

was accepted, not because

150

of the

What

an Incarnation of

is

unanimous opinion of

all

God?

members

the

of the

council, but simply because the majority of

the bishops were in favor of

decision Arius

After this

it.

was excommunicated

heretical ideas, while his followers,

who were

quite numerous, were cruelly persecuted

their

writings

the bishops

Since

destroyed.

his

for

and
time

that

and clergy have been forced

to

as also that
accept the doctrine of the Trinity
of the incarnation of Jesus of Nazareth.

Although the question of the incarnation

of the omnipresent, omnipotent and omnis
cient

human form was

heavenly Father in

thus apparently solved by the

theologians,

still

it

has

not

church and

ceased

to

rise

of
again and again in the thoughtful minds
different

turbing

people
their

in

different

countries,

dis

peace and frequently driving

and

them

into

Many

a soul has often cried aloud in despair:

"What

agnostic

atheistic

a revolting absurdity

that the infinite

Ruler of the

it

is

beliefs.

to

think

and almighty Creator and

infinite universe

151

should be born

Vedanta Philosophy.
in a manger, should suffer from
hunger
thirst,

and

should be tempted
by the devil, chas

and scourged by
ordinary mortals and

tised

forced to ignominious death

upon the cross!"
Devout Christians do not dare to see
this

absurdity or to express their opinion for fear

of

blasphemy and

but truth-

punishment;

minds cannot

rational

seeking,

rest content
with mere doctrines and
dogmas based upon
the quicksand of the
authority of some book

or person.

The
any

question

other

way

presents
of

of

religion or religious philosophy

danta
logic

what

is

is

Outside

God?"

Christian religion, there

there

"Is

understanding

meant by an incarnation
of the

itself:

one other

that of

Ve

which explains through reason and

the

problem of divine incarnation in

human form upon

this

earth.

India

is

the

only country where the origin of this idea can

be traced back and where the belief
has pre
vailed from prehistoric times.
before

Long

Jesus of Nazareth was recognized as the incar152

What

is

God?

an Incarnation of

nation of divinity, the Hindus had a clear

conception of this idea.

umes have been

Volumes upon

vol

written in Sanskrit describing

why and how the Supreme Being manifests

Itself in human form at different times among
different nations.

One

of the principal points in

Hindus

differ

taining that,

from the Christians

if

His divinity in

God

which the
is

in

main

incarnates or expresses

human

form, His incarnation

cannot be limited by time, place or nationality.

The Hindus believe that there were many incar

nations before and have been

advent of Christ, and that

God

tions of

wisdom and

all

many

since the

these incarna

are equal in greatness, majesty,

divine powers, especially in the

power of saving mankind by setting forth the

highest ideal of life and by leading men from
the path of unrighteousness to the ultimate

goal of

all religions.

Who

could have under

stood and realized the highest aim and pur

pose of
solved

human

the

existence,

who

could have

most bewildering questions and

153

Vedanta Philosophy.
problems concerning the true nature and des

human

tiny of

souls, if

revealed these things to

God

himself had not

mankind from time

immemorial?
with their
fect

Could ordinary human beings

short-sighted intellect and imper

understanding, living constantly on the

animal plane of the senses, deluded by the

phantoms

of

phenomenal appearances and

always mistaking the unreal for the

have

real,

ever discovered the ultimate purpose of

life

and the true nature and destiny of human

souls? Think of the innumerable opinions
of

atheists

thinkers

of

bewildered

and

different

the

materialists

agnostics,

capacities

and

which have

and understanding

intellect

of the vast majority of people!

All true knowledge

of divine wisdom.

one great,

but the expression

is

All the powers that

spiritual,

righteous

and

make

wise, are

only the divine powers manifesting through

human
danta:

forms.
"All

that

Therefore
is

it

is

said in

Ve

glorious, grand, extremely

righteous or spiritual,

is

154

the outcome of the

What

powers which proceed from the

of all forces

ever there

and of

is

God ?

an Incarnation of

is

all

to

is

the

source

Wher

energy in nature.

anything that

unusually uplifting

infinite

extraordinary or
soul,

special expression of the divine

there

is

power."

According to the religion of Vedanta, the

God means

incarnation of

the

embodiment

of divine qualities and divine powers.

It takes
whenever
and
wherever
such
a
mani
place
festation

is

necessary.

The

blessed

Lord

Krishna, one of the great incarnations of di

vinity,

who appeared about

fourteen hundred

years before the birth of Christ, in speaking

of divine incarnations, said

true religion declines

"Wherever

ligion prevails

and

irre-

and whenever the vast majority

mankind, forgetting the highest ideal of

travel on the path of unrighteousness
life,

of

which leads

to the bottomless abyss of igno

rance, misery

manifests

and sorrow, the Supreme Being

His

divine

powers

to

establish

righteousness and true spirituality by assum

ing a human form and living in our midst, but
155

Vedanta Philosophy.
at the

same time showing

He

to all that

is

the real master of nature and absolutely free

from

all

the bondages of the world

and

its

laws."

Such embodiments may take place

time

in

any country.

that there have been

many

of divinity in the past

many
the

The Hindus

in the future.

Christ,

at

any

believe

such incarnations

and that there

will

be

Krishna, Buddha, Jesus

each

Ramakrishna,

Chaitanya,

one of these has been considered to be the

embodiment

of

The

powers.

divine

lives

qualities

and deeds

and divine

of all of

were superhuman, consequently divine.

were

full of

them

They

the manifestations of such powers

as ordinary mortals do not possess.

divine

incarnation

from childhood that he

is
is

one who shows

a born master of

mind, body and senses, and the real Lord

of nature, yet

moment

who never

that he has

mankind.

He

divine power

is

come
always

forgets even for a

to the world to help

conscious

of

his

and he manifests divine glory

156

What

is

God ?

an Incarnation of

through every action of his daily

life.

He

never loses consciousness of his oneness with

the eternal Truth, or the Father of the uni
verse, the infinite source of

He

gence.
soul,

lives in the

possessing

wisdom and

world

like

intelli

an embodied

peace, tranquillity,

perfect

happiness and blissfulness, without depend

ing

upon the conditions and environments

which apparently bind the souls of ordinary

mortals.

The

difference

human

between an ordinary

being and an incarnation of

God

lies

in the

common

fact

that the individual soul of a

man

takes birth subject to the laws of

Karma,

or the laws of causation and of action and

reaction, in order to reap the results of the

works of

his previous births

desires that are latent in

incarnation

is

the

and

to fulfil the

him; while a divine

embodiment

of his

own

which alone governs him. Being

absolutely free he is not forced by the law of
free

will,

Karma

or any other law to take a

body, nor does he wish to

157

fulfil

any

human
of those

Vedanta Philosophy.
desires that proceed

from the

of ordinary mortals.

His soul

to the

law of evolution

selfish
is

nature

not subject

like that of

any other
He is absolutely perfect from the very
being.
moment that he assumes human form through
the inscrutable
will

supreme

incarnation
death, he

power
or

of

still

of his

Maya.

God

is

own

omnipotent,

Although such an

beyond

birth

and

apparently submits, for the time

being, to the conditions of the

human

plane,

and obeys the laws that govern that plane;

yet at the same time he makes people realize
that he

is

and that

the master of nature, not

in reality

its slave,

he does not obey

its

but that the laws of nature obey his

nipotent

will.

Ordinary people, whose

itual eyes are not open,

may

laws

om
spir

not see the differ

ence that exists between his actions and those

of a

common

mortal and

may

treat

him

like

an ordinary man; but those who are highly

advanced in spirituality, who understand
the true nature of the individual soul

God and

of their

mutual
158

relation,

and of
see

the

What

an Incarnation of

is

at

difference

once,

recognize

God?

his divinity

and worship him as the ideal embodiment

of divine powers and divine qualities.
reason that the blessed Lord

It is for this

Krishna, the

Hindu

gavad Gita:

who

People

are deluded

mysterious power of Maya, do not

as

unborn and unchanging; I

them.

to

The

Bha-

Christ, says in the

unintelligent

am

by

my

know

Me

not manifest

regard

Me

in

the light of an ordinary being with a material

form which

know

is

not that I

assume

religion of

and

at will glorious

holy forms for the protection of the

The

and

the result of past actions,

world."

Vedanta teaches that such

incarnations of Divinity are not limited

distinctions of sex; they

culine or in feminine

may

appear in

form according

needs of the time and place.

To

by

mas

to the

the sexless

Supreme Being who is both the Father and

Mother of the Universe, the masculine and
the

feminine form are of equal value and

importance.

It is for this

reason that amongst

the Hindus in India are to be found

159

many

Vedanta Philosophy.
incarnations

of

in

Divinity

form

the

of

woman.

The

latest divine incarnation

appeared

in

century.

He

the

was one who

middle of the nineteenth

near

lived

and

Calcutta

name was Ramakrishna.

He

his

to-day wor

is

shipped by thousands of educated Hindus

same way

just in the
is

adored and

From

as Jesus the
in

worshipped

childhood he showed his

his

power and
and divine

Christ

Christendom.
divine

an example of absolute purity

spirituality, like an embodiment

set

of those blessed qualities which adorned the

characters of previous incarnations, such as

Krishna, Buddha, or Jesus the Christ.

who had
him even
opened

the good fortune to see

for a

short time,

school education, his

wisdom was

as

it

their

eyes

that he

vast.

He

were, of unlimited

knowledge, and he showed

life

had

Although he had received no

was the storehouse,

of his

and be with

he was absolutely

to the truth that

superhuman.

Those

at every

moment

was the absolute master of

160

What
his

is

an Incarnation of

God

mind, body and senses, that he was entirely

free

from

the conditions

all

make an

that

ordinary mortal a slave to passions and desires.

He was

Sermon

like the personification of the

on the Mount.

No

one could ever find the

slightest flaw in his noble

and divine char

acter.*

At one time he was asked:

kind?"

is

the

between a holy sage and an incarna

difference
tion of

"What

God who is called

He answered:

the Saviour of

"A

who has

realized

God

holy sage

man

is

one

through great pain,

long prayers and severe penances and after

much trouble has saved himself from the

he has not the

attractions of the world, but

power

to save others; while

who can
his

a Saviour

is

one

easily save hundreds without losing

own

compared

spirituality.

to

holy sage

may be

a reed floating in the ocean of

Those who wish to know more about the life of

man and why he is worshipped as a
Saviour of mankind, may read Swami Vivekananda s lecture on
My Master," or Life and
Sayings of Ramakrishna, by Prof. Max Miiller.

this divine

"

"

"

161

Vedanta Philosophy.
life,

which cannot bear the weight of even a

when

crow,

but

easily

carries

like

Saviour

thousands

descends

across

the

He

ocean

a large, powerful steamer which moves

over

swiftly

barges in

the

waters

wake.

its

rafts

towing

The

Saviour,

like

and
the

most powerful locomotive, not only reaches

the destination himself, but at the

same time

draws with him loads of passengers

eager
to go to the abode eternal of Truth."

Such

power and strength of an in

carnation of God. An ordinary
person may
strive

the

is

and

the

after a long struggle

realization

of

truth

may

which

but with a Saviour, this

is

comes

others.

to help

worships and
viours

will,

and save
is

is

attain to
salvation,

not the way; he

Whosoever

devoted to any of these Sa

through that power of devotion

alone, reach the ultimate goal of all religions.

As Jesus the Christ

all

said:

"Come

unto

me

ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I

will give

you

rest,"

so the other incarnations

of Divinity like Ramakrishna,

162

Buddha and

What

is

an Incarnation of

Krishna spoke

to

their

followers,

God?
saying in

the words of Krishna:

"

Giving up

all

the formalities of religion,

come unto me, take refuge in me and I will

give thee rest and make thee free from sins;
grieve not, I will also give thee eternal peace

and everlasting

happiness."

163

Son of God.

A portion of Myself hath

"The Divine Lord says:
become the living Soul in the world of life from time with
out beginning.
Bhagavad Gita, xv, 7.
"

Son of God.
IT

is

a general belief among Christians

that nearly two thousand years ago the only

begotten Son of

God descended upon

this

earth to save the souls of sinners from eternal

perdition.

Thoughtful people, however,

may

wish to enquire into the true significance of

this

expression

"Son

of

God."

again are asked the questions:

Jesus

the

Christ

begotten son of

alone

God?"

Again and

"Why

should

be called the only

"In
what sense was

he the son of the heavenly

Father?"

"Is

not every individual a child of the heavenly

Father when

it

is

said in the i4th chapter

of Deuteronomy,

Ye

are the children of the

Lord your God;

or

when Moses

said,

Is

not he thy father that hath bought thee, hath

he not made thee and established thee?

167

"

Vedanta Philosophy.
(Deut.

xxxii,

6.)

"Why

should

we

sonship

and

in

And
not

the

Hindu

asks:

the

divine

recognize

Buddha, Ramakrishna

Krishna,

in other Saviours of the world?

All

and

these

similar

the minds of those

who

questions

disturb

are not satisfied with

the sectarian explanations regarding the sonship of Jesus the Christ which they have been

hearing over and over again from their child

hood.
to those

Of

course

we have nothing

to

say

whose minds are contented with such

explanations,

or

who

in

believe

the literal

meaning of the passages descriptive of the

supernatural birth and miraculous deeds of
the only begotten
are

many who do

who do

son of God.

But there

not believe in miracles,

not accept anything upon

or because

it

hearsay

has been written in a certain

book or been declared by a certain great

personage.

They wish

to

go

to

the

very

bottom of things before they accept them

as true; they want to

know

in

what sense the

divine sonship of the heavenly Father

168

was

Son of God.
understood by Jesus of Nazareth and his
direct disciples.
It is

extremely

difficult for

any one

to

know

what Jesus meant by his sonship since

he has left no writings of his own. We can only

exactly

of
gather some idea from the interpretations
his followers and from the writers of the four

authentic

After

gospels.

the synoptic gospels

among

we

studying

carefully

learn that there were

the authors of these books two concep

God.

tions of the son of

Matthew and Luke

accepted Jesus the Christ as the only begotten

son of

God

because of his supernatural birth,

which was caused by the inscrutable power

of the heavenly Father.

was a miracle; and upon

miraculous conception of Mary and the

two Gospels
this

According to these

supernatural

it

birth

popular meaning
the Christ.

of

Jesus

depends

the

of the divine sonship of Jesus

All the orthodox sects

and denom

inations of Christianity, accepting the mira

cles described in

Matthew and Luke

as

lit

birth as the
erally true, give this miraculous
169

Vedanta Philosophy.
reason

only

Jesus alone should be called the

why

begotten

son

God.

of

They do

not

recognize that other Saviours of the world,

like

Buddha and Krishna, had a

and

supernatural birth

similar

that their deeds were

as miraculous as those of Jesus the Christ.

we

If

ignore them,

it

will

be quite easy for

us to accept Jesus the Christ as the only

begotten son of God.

The

other conception of the son of

God

which we find in the fourth gospel, has a

very deep philosophical significance.

we

Before

discuss this point, let us understand clearly

what conception of God the Jews had both

before and after the time of Jesus the Christ.

We

know

that the Jewish idea of

at that time purely monotheistic.

of Judaism

was the creator and governor

the universe;

mundane

God was
The God

He

of

dwelt in a heaven far above

existence;

He was

so

high

and

separate from the world, so extra-cosmic, so

great, so majestic

and

so transcendent, that

no one could approach Him, no one could

170

Son of God.
live

after seeing

Him

Conse

face to face.

quently there was a wide gulf of separation

between

God and man, between

in heaven

and the creature on

idea of divinity in

the creator

The

earth.

man was unknown

to the

Jews; such an idea would have been consid

ered blasphemous by them. The Jews could
never believe that Yahveh would stoop

so

low as to come down on the human plane

or to live in a
prevails

human

among

form.

The same

spirit

and

the Jews of to-day,

it

has also been inherited by the Mahometans.

According to them

no

human

ity,

and

tween

God

is

far

above man,

being can ever represent His divin

there can be no other relation be

man and God,

between the creature

and his creator, than that of a servant to the

all-powerful master, or that of a subject to
the most tyrannical monarch.
that have been quoted

ment

like,

"Ye

The

passages

from the Old Testa

are the children of

God,"

meant nothing more than the fatherly good

ness of the Creator and the implicit obedience
171

Vedanta Philosophy.
of the creature, as that of a dutiful son to his
father.

They were never meant

in the sense

which the Christians understand the divine

in

sonship of Jesus the

Through the

Christ.

Abraham be

paternal goodness of Yahveh,

came

the friend of

God and Adam became

the son of God, as described in the thirty-

eighth verse of the third chapter of Luke.

Nearly two centuries before the advent of

Jesus the Christ,
tact with the

when

the Jews

came

in con

Greeks, they found in Greek

mythology a belief in Zeus-pitar or Jupiter,

who was

conceived

the

as

and the creator of the

Supreme Deity
He was not

universe.

only the father of the gods and of the whole

world, but also the father of the most power
ful

kings and heroes,

children or the
literal

that

"offspring

sense of these

the

of

gods

marry mortal

of

terms.

called

We

of virtuous

all

172

know
could

character

children, while mortal

were allowed to marry goddesses.

the

in the

Zeus"

Greek mythology

women

and could beget

who were

men

^Eacus,

Son of God.
for

instance,

was born of ^Egina but

his

while
father was Zeus the Supreme Deity;
Thetis
Achilles was the son of the goddess

by a mortal father named

These ideas, however, were not acceptable
Peleus.

on the contrary, they were con

sidered as blasphemous and were rejected
never
by the orthodox Hebrews. History
to the Jews;

theless tells us that the worship of Zeus-pitar

and
or Jupiter was introduced into Babylon
Northern Palestine by Antiochus Epiphanes
The orthodox
and 163 B.C.
between
175

Jews

revolted

this innovation;

against

still

many liberal-minded Jews among

Pharisees who liked the idea, accepted it

there were

the

and preached
Hillel,

priests

it.

Among

these

was Rabbi

one of the most prominent of Jewish

who lived a few years
of that
epoch,

before Christ and died

years of age.

He was

when

Jesus was ten

considered by

many

scholars as the true master and predecessor

of Jesus

and was held

in great esteem

Pharisaic sect of the Jews.

173

He

by the

inculcated

Vedanta Philosophy.
the belief in the merciful and
fatherly char
acter of Yahveh like that of
Zeus-pitar, and

was he

it

also

who

for the first time.

introduced the golden rule

At the same moment Philo

and the Neo-Platonist Jews

in

Alexandria

were teaching the fatherly character of Yahveh

and the only begotten sonship of the Greek

Logos or the Word. Philo was a contem
porary of Jesus, but he never even mentioned
his

name.

and higher

Many

of

the

Oriental

scholars

New

critics of the

Testament say
that the writer of the Fourth
Gospel must
have been a follower of Philo, because in
gospel alone Jesus the Christ

is

this

identified with

Greek Logos, which was explained by

Philo as the only begotten Son of the
Almighty
the

Heavenly Father.

Some people claim

that the Messianic

of the Jewish prophets

personality

and character

for this reason

but

critical

was

fulfilled

of Jesus

hope

in the

and that

he was called the Son of God;

readers of Jewish history

know

perfectly well that the Jewish conception of a

174

Son of God.
Messiah had nothing

to

do with the Christian

idea of the divine sonship of Jesus the Christ.

History explains to us the social and political

conditions of those days which gave rise to the

Messianic conception of a deliverer from the sea

of misfortune in which the Jewish nation

was

For centuries the Jews had

well-nigh drowned.

been conquered and subdued by the Persians,

Greeks and other stronger powers around them.
Social intrigues, political insurrections, rebel

and constant wars raged in almost every

community and kept the people busy for many

lions,

years before, during, and after the time of the

Babylonian

captivity.

kindles the

fire

of patriotism in the hearts of a

nation and forces

its

every possible way.

lamities

which

Such a period naturally

members

The

to

be active in

misfortunes and ca

befell the descendants of Israel

made them remember

the promises of Yahveh,

which had been handed down

the writings of

them through
the prophets, and compelled
to

them

to seek supernatural aid for the fulfill

ment

of those promises.
175

Vedanta Philosophy.

The unconquerable pride of the sons of

Israel which made them feel that they were
the chosen people of Yahveh, the only true

God, who was

and governor,

their director

stimulated their minds with the hope that

through the supernatural power of Yahveh

the

kingdom of

stored, that a

their ancestors

member

of

David

appear as the Messiah (the

sit

on

Israel

peace

would be
s

re

house would

Anointed), and

their throne, unite the twelve

tribes of

under his sceptre and govern them in

and

prosperity.

This

was the

first

conception of a Messiah that ever arose in

the minds of the Jews.

theme of

was the principal

the Jewish poets and prophets who

lived during the

It

Babylonian

exile.

The

glory

and the earthly prosperity

of the worshippers of Yahveh were the highest
of the house of Israel

ideals of the Jews.

Messiah a

They did not mean by

spiritual saviour of sinners

from

eternal perdition, for they did not believe in

eternal life of

The

any kind.

Christian idea of a Messiah as the Sa176

Son of God.
viour of the world and a deliverer from sin

and

evil

does not owe

its

hope of the Jews but

of the

origin to the Messianic

to the Persian conception

coming of Sosiosh, who, according to

Ahura Mazda, would appear

the promise of

the heavens

in

destroy the

evil

on the Day of Judgment,

influence of Ahriman and

Some

renovate the world.

accepted

of the Pharisees

Most probably Jesus

this idea.

Nazareth was familiar with

this

ception of the Messiah, but at the

he

tried

to

spiritualize

of

Persian con

same time

the Jewish ideal

by

preaching a reign of righteousness and justice,

instead of a reign of
nations, a

kingdom

war and

of peace

of a dominion of earthly

Thus we

see

why

strife

between

and love instead

power and

prosperity.

the Messianic hope of

the Jewish prophets

was not

in Jesus the Christ,

and why the conception

literally fulfilled

of a Messiah does not explain the true

mean

ing of the Christian idea of the divine sonship of Christ.

We

have already seen how

the Judaic conception of

177

God made Yahveh

Vedanta Philosophy.
extra-cosmic and unapproachable by

human

and how a vast gulf of separation was

thus created between God and man, between

beings,

the Creator

prophets

and

felt

his creatures.

it

strongly,

Many

of the

especially

when

Judaism came in touch with the Hellenic

religion which made God so near and approach
able to mortals.

Various attempts were

made

to bridge over this gulf of separation

between

man and God,

and the

invisible;

between the

visible

and these attempts eventually

re

sulted in the acceptance of the

of the

Logos theory
Greek philosophers by the Alexandrian

Jews, who, as I have already said, lived about

the time of Jesus the Christ.
of

them was

Philo.

The

was he who

It

foremost
first

suc

ceeded in showing the connection between

the

visible

world and the invisible creator

through the Logos of the Stoics and NeoPlatonists; but at the

new

same time he gave a

interpretation to this

"Logos"

inally

is

"word,"

word.

a Greek term meaning orig

not in the sense of mere sound,
178

Son of God.
but also of thought embodied in sound

when we

utter a

word, the meaning

is

as
in

cluded in the sound, since words are nothing

but the outward expressions of thoughts which

From

are imperceptible.

the time of Heracli-

most ancient Greek philosopher, down

the time of the Neo-Platonists this term

tus, the

to

was used by different thinkers

in various senses.

According to Heraclitus, Logos meant

which was

conceived

the

as

fire,

all-pervading

essence of the universe out of which emanated

individual

the

soul

man.

of

Anaxagoras

mind, a
by Logos
portion of which was manifested in the human
understood

cosmic

the

soul;

but the Stoic philosophers

later,

meant by

gence.

it

intelli

all

matter, and reason

man was

considered to be a

Logos pervaded

or intelligence in

who came

reason or supreme

part of the universal reason or intelligence

or

Logos,

through

which

the connection between

was

man and

established

the Divine

Mind. In fact Logos always signified the nexus

between the manifested world and its Cause.
179

Vedanta Philosophy.
As has

adopted
the

said,

Philo,

Neo-Platonic

the

in

up

brought

been

already

this Stoic theory of

Logos

being
school,

to explain

between Yahveh, the Supreme

relation

Creator of the Semitic religion, and the visible

mortal

man

Logos the
Divine

But he meant by
creation which existed in the

of this world.

ideal

Mind

before the actual creation.

For

the creation of light

God

instance, before

there

"Let

said,

be

These words,

light."

however, were merely an audible expression

of the thought or idea of light that existed
in

the

Divine

external light

Mind:

the creation

of

the

was therefore nothing but the

projection or expression of the idea or thought

of light in the Divine
light

may be
so

this ideal

called the connecting link

the gross visible light

Mind,

As

Mind.

the

ideal

and the

between

invisible Divine

creation

becomes

the

bridge that spans the gulf of separation be

tween

the

phenomenal

invisible

creator

creation,

and

of the Divine

Mind was
180

and the gross

this idea or

thought

the Logos of Philo;

Son of God.
it

thought of the world

universal
signified the

or the ideal world in the

mind

Being before anything came

of the Divine
into

existence.

Like a dream, the world of ideas appeared

Mind and was

in the Divine

afterwards pro

as a carpenter,
jected in physical space, just

before he
of

it

makes a

and then projects

Logos or the

forms a mental image

chair,

it

outside.

was the

ideal world

Since this
first

emana

tion or expression of the cosmic mind,

called
son,"

the

"first

"the

"the

born,"

unique

son;"

all

it

was

only begotten
these

terms,

however, were used by Philo and his followers

in their poetical or metaphorical sense.

cording to this theory,

included

all

exist

in

and thoughts, or rather

the ideas

the perfect types of

the

created, there

all

universe.

was a

Ac

the universal Logos

created things that

Before a horse was

perfect idea or type of

horse in the Divine Mind.

this perfect type in the

We

world;

do not see

we may

see a

red or a black horse, a large or a small horse,

but we cannot see the ideal horse.

181

What

Vedanta Philosophy.
we

a perfect horse

call

is

nothing but the

nearest approach to the perfect ideal horse

that exists eternally in the Divine

Mind.

So

with every created species, thing or

being.
Before man came into existence there was an

it is

ideal

man

or a perfect type of

God, and

thought of

manifestation

its

became

ideal type, because

man

in the

projection or physical

something

the gross

like

that

manifestation,

being limited by time, space, and causation,

cannot be exactly the same as the ideal type

which
This

is

perfect.
ideal,

or the

perfect

type of man,

which existed in the Divine Mind, is eternal

and a part of the universal Logos. All

human

beings,

imperfect

therefore,

are

more or

expressions of that ideal

man

less

or

Logos or the first begotten son of the Divine

Mind. It does not refer to the human form
alone, but also to the perfect character or the
soul.

The

individual souls, however perfect

or imperfect they
their daily

life,

may be

in the actions of

are potentially the

182

same as

Son of God.
the Logos,
existed in

one of us

God

mind before

creation.

that

Every

trying to express as perfectly as

is

man

we have been moulded by

Each one of us, therefore,
first

begotten son of

inal

of the

meaning
Philo and

his

however,

forget,

man

or the universal ideal

possible that ideal type of

to

God

in

whose

cast

the divine hand.

one with that

is

such was the orig

of

God"

according

disciples.

We

must not

Philo

did

not

"Son

that

know

he lived at the
Jesus the Christ, although
same time. The writer of the Fourth Gospel,

whoever he
of the

been, was an advocate

may have

Logos theory of Philo as well as a be

man

liever in Christ as the perfect type of

word

the incarnate
sense

truest

the

of

of

God on

term.

It

or

earth in the

was

for

this

reason that he began the gospel with that

famous

verse,

which has created so much

confusion in the minds of Christian theolo

gians:

"In

the

beginning

was the

Word

and the Word was with God, and the Word

was

God."

The meaning
183

of

this

passage

Vedanta Philosophy.
be clear

will

if

we remember

that the author

of the fourth
gospel identified the

Logos of Philo with Christ

Jesus
that

of

son

the

Nazareth,

since then this

Word

or

but not with

of

Christ has

Mary

and

become the

only begotten Son of God.

Furthermore,

word

the

it

should be understood that

of Philo, did not at

the

like

"Christ,"

first

mean any

individual or personality, but

universal ideal type of

who

In

it

Logos"

particular

perfect

Mind from

this sense the

as universal as the
Logos.

"

referred to the

man, or the

dwells in the Divine

to eternity.

word

man

eternity

word Christ

It is

is

not confined

to any particular
person or nationality.
must not confound this ideal

We

impersonal

Christ or the only begotten Son of

God

with

the historical
personality of Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Mary; but we must take it in
its

true spiritual

sense,

we must understand

that each individual soul, being the

expression
of the

the

first

born Son of God,

is

potentially

same as the only begotten Son of God,

184

Son of God.
or the child of Immortal Bliss as

When we

Vedanta.

it is

have realized

this

said in

imper

sonal ideal Christ in our souls, from that very

moment we have become

it

is

then that

the

and

Christ-like;

impersonal Christ,

the

only begotten son, will be born within us.

Very few of the true Christians can fully

understand this most sublime universal mean
ing of the divine sonship of Christ

quently of every living soul.

difficult

them

for

to

It is

extricate

and conse
extremely

their

minds

from the maze of the

traditional personality

of Jesus of Nazareth.

Students of Vedanta,

on the contrary, can comprehend

meaning very

easily,

this universal

because in Vedanta the

question of the historical personality of an

individual,

however great and

may

not the principal point to be dis

be,

cussed;

is

its

sole

aim

is

limitations of personality

to

lift

and

spiritual

us above

he

all

us to

to lead

the realization of the universal Truth or the

Divine sonship of each individual soul.

are

all

children

of

Immortal
185

Bliss,

We

of the

Vedanta Philosophy.
and

omnipotent

We

are

Divine

omniscient

Being.

not children of some other being,

nor are we children of earthly fathers.

ents have not created our souls, but

Par

on the con

trary our souls existed even before the creation

of the world.

we

By our

birthright, as

it

were,

No

possess the claim of divine sonship.

one can deprive us of

this right.

We may

think of ourselves at present as mortals sub

ject to birth

misery;
ters

of

and death,

we may

and

to grief, sorrow,

call ourselves

men, but the time

sons and daugh

is

come

sure to

when our spiritual eyes will be opened to

the truth of our being as sons of the Heavenly

Father.

The

"

expression

metaphorical
the

intrinsic

soul of

way
unity

man and

wardly the child

but his whole soul

If

we can

of

the

extrinsic variety

that

the
is

God

Son

exist

Supreme

different
is

"

shows in a

and

between the
Spirit.

from the

Out
father,

one with the father.

leave out the external

and go

the innermost depth of our souls, there

186

to

we

Son of God.
shall see

and

eventually

realize

we

Supreme

Spirit

reth,

and

"I

that

learn

knowing

is

our divine relation, and

become one with the

shall

and

my

of
say, as did Jesus

Father are

so;

means knowing and

becoming. When we know our

we have

and when we know that we are

children of God,
shall

must

becoming

selves as children of earthly fathers,

become

Naza

We

one."

be able

to

we become

such.

This we

understand better from the

and the shepherd.

parable of the King s son
There was a very powerful king in ancient
India.

By

his conquests

he became emperor,

but unfortunately in the prime of

life

he sud

months his queen

denly died and within a few
to his only child,
passed away giving birth

the heir to the throne.

The

other

members

of the royal family, in order to usurp the throne,

took the babe away,

left

him

in a distant for

and spread the news that the child was

dead. Fortunately he was discovered by a

est,

for hunting.
shepherd who went into the forest
This man had no children of his own and out
187

Vedanta Philosophy.
of compassion he took the child,
brought

home, and gave

take care of

as her

it

it

to his wife, asking her to

it

own

babe.

The

child

was brought up as a shepherd boy; he did

know anything

not

of the secret, he called the

shepherd his father, played with other shep

herd boys and tried his best to help his father

work and

in his

to earn

a share of his

living.

He felt sometimes very miserable and unhappy,

know anything better.
few years, when he grew older, he

but he did not

After a

happened

meet the old prime minister of

to

deceased

the

knew

the

him,

minister,

the whole secret, at once

face of that
to

The

emperor.

who

in the

young shepherd a resemblance

emperor

addressed

prince and

saw

and,

instantly

and honored

heir

to

the

recognizing

him

throne.

as

the

The shep

herd youth looked at the minister in

great
amazement and could not believe his state

ments

but the minister persuaded him to come

to the palace,

made him

throne and asked

him
188

to

sit

on

his father s

take care of the

Son of God.
property and govern the empire.

mind

the
as

it

Gradually

young shepherd woke up,

from
a dream and he realized
were,
of the

he was the only son of the emperor,

that

governed his empire, and became the emperor.

Even

so

Emperor

it is

with us, being children of the

of the universe;

we have

our birthright and are acting

The moment

boy.
are

and what we

shall

like the

shepherd

we know who we

that

are, that very

become conscious

forgotten

moment we

of our divine heritage

and

shall

not

children of earthly parents but of the

understand that in

Father of the universe.

No

reality

we

are

one can deprive

us of this divine birthright.

All the great Saviours of the world,

Krishna,

Buddha,

Christ,

of their divine sonship

and never forgot

from

were

like

conscious

their childhood

They were like the

they came to the shepherd
it.

prime minister;
boy of the human soul
of truth, that

it is

to give the

message

not the son of the earthly

shepherd father but of the Emperor of the

189

Vedanta Philosophy.
Let us enter into our divine heritage

universe.

and

Let us become

rule our heavenly empire.

like the

emperor

of the universe.

Let us

fol

low the paths of the great Saviours of the

world, each one of

whom manifested

in his

life

the perfect type of man, the ideal man, the

Word

or Logos.

Let us obey their instructions

and, by manifesting divinity through humanity,

let

us become perfect even as the Father in

heaven

is

perfect; then

we

shall

be happy

both here and hereafter and shall attain to

that everlasting bliss,

which

religions.

190

is

the goal of

all

Divine Principle in Man,

"There

and
the

in this body a higher Soul, the Looker-on

Mighty Lord, who

Spirit."
"

is

the Sanctioner, the Sustainer

Bhagavad Gita

He -who is the

and

the Experiencer,

is also designated the

xiii,

Supreme

22.

Omniscient Knower of

all,

whose glory is

manifested in the universe, dwells in the heart and assum

ing the nature of the mind, becomes the guide of the body
and of the senses. The wise who understand this, realize
the Self -effulgent, Immortal, and Blissful
daka Upanishad ii, 2 Kh. 7.

One."

Mun-

Divine Principle in Man.

THE

study of

and

interesting

nature

most

the

The more we

studies.

and the Truth

nomena.

It is said,

is

the most
all

the universe,

that underlies
"

of

beneficial

study ourselves, the

we can understand

better
laws,

human

man

its

its

phe

the epitome of

is

the universe; whatever exists in the world

to

be found in the body of

the one hand,

encies

and

we

find in

propensities

man

all

As, on

those tend

which characterize

on the

the lower animals, so

man."

is

other,

we

manifesting through the actions of his

see

him

life all

those noble qualities that adorn the character

of one

whom we

honor, respect and worship

as the Divine Being.

to

Human

nature seems

be a most wonderful blending of that which

193

Vedanta Philosophy.
animal with that which

is

It is like the twilight before

called divine.

is

daybreak, through

which the darkness of the night of the animal

nature passes into the glorious sunshine of
the

Human

supreme wisdom.

be called the

mal

into

state of transition

the

nature

The animal

divine.

may

from the ani

nature

includes the love of self or the attachment of

body and to everything

related to the body and the senses, desire for
sense pleasures and sense enjoyments, the

one

self

one

to

clinging to earthly

fear of death

life,

Each

struggle for existence.

ties

or tendencies

is

ference

being

only

of these quali

be found in the lower

to

human

animals as well as in

and the

beings, the dif

degree

and not in

lives like

a wild beast

in

kind.

The

savage

in a cave or

man who
under

how

to build a

but

who

trees

and does not know

house or cultivate the ground,

sustains

life

by depending

entirely

roots, wild berries, or upon the

upon

fruits,

birds

and beasts that he can

194

trap, expresses

Divine Principle in Man.

in all the actions of his

life

nothing more than

what we have described as animal tendencies

and animal

If

propensities.

theory be true, then

we can

there should be so

little

man and

primitive

chimpanzee, or

the

Darwinian

easily explain

distant ancestor, the

his

some other member

anthropoid species.

When, however,

man becomes

partially civilized

wild

ties,

and

to build houses

it,

live in

of

the

the

same

by learn
food and

ing to cultivate the land, to raise

cook

why

between

difference

communi

he no longer manifests these animal tend

encies

in

forms.

He

their

gradually

methods

to

instance,

the struggle

chiefly

and more savage

adopts more artful

simpler

his

accomplish
for

among

existence

force

upon physical

tribes as well as

purposes.

depends

among savage

animals, while

civilized people in civilized countries

result in the

For

among

a similar

form of the survival of the

fittest is

obtained, not by the display of brute force,

but by

art,

strategy,

and hypocrisy.

skill,

diplomacy,
195

policy,

These are the

lying,

offen-

Vedanta Philosophy.
and defensive weapons of the

sive

so-called

"civilized man."

and wicked deeds,

robbery and other crimes

All the vicious qualities

such as murder,

which are

to

theft,

be found in

civilized

communities,

are nothing but the expressions of the animal

tendencies of

man

working under the heavy

pressure of the rigid laws of society, state and

government.

They proceed from

love of self

or extreme attachment to the animal nature.

Being guided by these lower tendencies,

becomes extremely

selfish,

man

and does not recog

nize the rights or comforts of his fellow-beings.

On

the contrary, he does everything to satisfy

body and senses at the ex

But the moment
neighbors.

the cravings of his

pense

of

his

that this savage

like

man, or the man who

lives

a lower animal, begins to see the rights

of others, learns to love and care for his fellow-

beings in the same

dear

self

and cares

from that time he

absolutely

that he loves his

way

for his

rises

own

own

belongings,

a step higher than the

animal plane;
196

he becomes truly

Divine Principle in Man.

human and
qualities

gradually

manifests

fundamental moral principle

neighbor as one

Upon

the

other

and tendencies that accompany

this

love

to

this

one

s self.

foundation has been built the

whole structure of ethics among

all

nations.

The

virtuous qualities such as disinterested

love

for humanity,

mercy,

justice,

towards others, forgiveness,

these

help

the

animal

self-sacrifice,

man

range of his love of self

kindness

and

to

expand

to

subdue

all

the
all

that proceeds from purely selfish attachment

to his
rise

own body and

senses.

The

higher

we

above the animal plane, the wider becomes

and instead of being

confined to the body and senses of the indi
vidual, it becomes general, covering the selves
the circle of self-love,

not merely

of

dearest

relatives

and nearest

friends,

but of neighbors, countrymen, and

at

of

last,

all

humanity.

Thus, the more

universal our love of self becomes, the nearer

we approach
Principle

is

the Divinity, because the Divine

the universal Being whose love

197

Vedanta Philosophy.
flows equally towards

creatures, as

all living

the sun shines equally

upon the heads of the

and the wicked.

virtuous

Anything that
confined to

some

done, not with a motive

is

community

particular person,

or nation, but through love for

all

humanity,

nay with a feeling that seeks the benefit of

all living creatures,

is

unselfish; consequently

guided by the universal or Divine Prin

it is

The tendency

ciple.

of each

man

one narrow

is

of

the

individual

self

not to remain confined within

but to go beyond the bound

circle,

ary of the circle of the animal nature, beyond

human

and

nature,

universal.

ultimately

charitable

All

acts

to

become

and philan

thropic deeds are but steps toward that one

goal.

Well has

Emerson

that

been said by Ralph Waldo

it

"the

life

of

man

is

a self-evolv

ing circle, which from a ring imperceptibly

small rushes on

and

all

larger circles,

Indeed the
tendency to

self

sides

outwards

and that without

of

man

break down
198

to

new

end."

has the constant

all

limitations,

to

Divine Principle in Man.

boundaries, and to

become one

universe.

A human

transcend

all

with

Self

the

the

of

being cannot rest contented, cannot remain

while

satisfied

perfectly
limitations

of

living

animal nature.

his

appear to be contented for a time,

delude himself by thinking that he

happy and
but the

satisfied

moment

within

is

the

He may
or he may
is

perfectly

under these conditions,

come when, being

sure to

forced from within, he will give vent to the

natural

hard to

to expand by
from
the animal
reach out

tendency

united with the universal

ency

and

is

its

inherent

Self.

expression will force

and

become the absolute master

will gradually lead

him

him

and be

This

in the very nature

the lower animal desires

spiritual

struggling
self

to

tend

of

man

control

propensities, to

of

to live a

them,

and

moral and

life.

The awakening may come at any time and

One may be sud

under any circumstances.

denly awakened in the midst

forts, luxuries and pleasures
199

of all the

of the

com

earthly

Vedanta Philosophy.

No

life.
:

one can

when

tell

how such an

or

awakening will come

There have been many instances in India
to the individual soul.

and in other countries of this sudden awakening

of the higher tendency of the soul.

Buddha

was suddenly awakened when he was enjoy

and luxuries of a princely
ing all the pleasures

when

life,

his

mind was deeply absorbed

every enjoyment that a

sibly

This

have.

human

embodiments of

some animal

being can pos

which made

awakening,

Buddha one of the Saviours of

which has made others live on
Divinity,

force or

is

in

the world and

this earth like

not the result of

some lower tendency

to

be found in lower animals or in those who

live like slaves of

but
passion and desire,

it is

the expression of a higher power. It is not

love of the body or desire of the senses, not

attachment to the pleasures and comforts of

the animal

the opposite.

It is

humanity which makes one forget

is not a desire to gain some
self.

for

love

one

self; it is just

thing for

^It

one

own

comfort, but
200

it is

a desire

Divine Principle in Man.

to help

mankind,

them happy,
existence, but

to

remove

their grievances,

sufferings

It is

not a clinging to earthly

on the contrary,

and

to

the expres

it is

sion of the desire to sacrifice one s

for

sake

the

make

and

sorrows

their

of

others

slightest fear of death.

own

life

without having the

not a struggle

It is

for existence or the survival of the fittest at

the expense of others, but

it

the cessation

is

of all gladiatorial fights, struggles

and com

petitions, and the attainment of peace, tran

It is making the
quillity and happiness.

weak

to survive

and the strong

to

be kind

and merciful toward those who are about

be crushed by social competition.
these

opposed
animal

and

powers
to

those

tendencies

which

to

Are not

diametrically

characterize

the

man?

These higher powers and tendencies have

been manifested again and again by differ
ent individuals at different times in different
countries.

The

religious history of the

stands as a living witness of this fact.

201

world

But

Vedanta Philosophy.
the

how do we happen

question arises,
these

possess

higher

Did

powers?

anthropoid

we

to

and higher
them from our

tendencies

inherit

No

ancestors?

indeed,

because

animal nature cannot produce anything that

The

not entirely animal.

is

believers in the

Darwinian theory cannot explain the origin

of these super-animal or rather
tendencies.

Have

superhuman

they been super-added to

our animal nature from outside by the grace

of some extra- cosmic Being, as it is supposed

by the
of

and monotheistic

dualistic

and

Christianity

other

believers

No,

religions?

such a statement cannot be supported either

by reason or by scientific investigation, No

one has ever succeeded in proving when and
how. these powers and higher tendencies
j

were super-added

to

the

human

soul.

The

most rational explanation lies in the state

ment in the book of Genesis: So God created
\"

man

in his

created

He

own

image, in the image of

him."

God

Let us understand clearly the meaning of

202

Divine Principle in Man.

We

this passage.

popu

when we
meaning which seems absurd

lar

examine

in the light of

it

In the

knowledge.
of

are familiar with the

man

first

modern

scientific

place the creation

out of nothing six thousand years ago

does not bear the test of modern geological

and

research

we

discoveries.

On

are aware of the fact that

the Tertiary period,

the

contrary,

man

existed in

several thousand years

before this Biblical creation of

know

taken

have

posed to

word

that this

the

first

"image"

Secondly,

does not

sup

we

mean

man, nor does it refer

man Adam, who was supposed

the physical form

to

place.

man was

of

have been the perfect image of God before

the Satanic temptation, and who after the

to

fall

lost

that

image and became imperfect,

because of which

it

is

said that all

in
beings have since been born

not believe that

iniquity,

all

sin.

human

We

of us were born in sin

can

and

and, having lost the Divine image

thus became the sons of Satan or

within us,
the Devil.

If

man was
203

created in the image

Vedanta Philosophy.
of

God,

it

could not possibly

man

particular

mean

that one

of a particular nation at

special time possessed His image, but

meant

for

all

human

it

was

beings, irrespective of

their caste, creed or

nationality.

We

must remember

that there are

ceptions in the laws of nature.

we

That which

take for an exception refers to some hidden

universal

law or truth, whether we see or

understand
is

no ex

correct

it

or not; and

that

explanation

which harmonizes with universal

law and points out universal truth. If we

admit the existence of the Divine
image in
one man, we shall have to admit it in all human
beings; otherwise
case,

ing the cause of the

tree,

we

As by

true.

fall

of one apple

discover

from one

learn the universal law of

gravitation,

which explains that

circumstances will

one

be an exceptional

will

it

which cannot be

man was made

all

fall,

in

apples under those

so

God

by knowing that
s

image,

stand the universal truth that

and children of

all

countries
204

all

we under

men, women

and of

all

times

Divine Principle in Man.

have been made in the Divine image, whether
or not they have
fested
If,

it

realized

felt it,

or

it,

mani

in their actions.

on the other hand,

of us were born

Satanic influence,

it

it

and

in sin

were true that

all

iniquity or under

would have been abso

man

any time to
manifest any of those tendencies and powers
which we call divine, and we should be unable
lutely impossible for

to explain

why

who

and

powers and

qualities

show

that

Their

that scriptural passage

sense.

after

show

divinity

Therefore

life.

lay aside the mythical

universal

lives

them manifested

in the actions of their daily

we must

and

the Divine

all

characterized the

only begotten Son of God.

that every one of

spiritual

flourished in India

in other countries both before

the Christian era, could

its

at

the great sages

leaders of mankind,

and

any

meaning of

and understand

Furthermore,

this

versal meaning of the Divine image in

it

in

uni

man

was most strongly emphasized by the great

seers of Truth in India from very ancient
205

Vedanta Philosophy.
times and centuries before the book of Genesis

was written or thought

versal idea

and

The same

of.

uni

the foundation of the philosophy

is

religion of Vedanta.

Vedanta teaches that when we speak of a

man
not

or

woman

mean

mean

as the

image of God, we do

his or her physical form, but

the individual ego or the soul.

Divine Being or

God be

we

If the

this universal spirit

then His image cannot be the physical form

of

man;

meaning

this

at

does not convey any idea or

The

all.

individual

man

or

Divinity.

This

idea

ego or the soul of each

woman

expressed in Vedanta:

has
"In

is

the image of

been

beautifully

the cave of the

heart have entered the two, the one

eternal, absolute,

real,

perfect

and

is

the

self -efful

gent like the sun, and the other, the individual

ego or soul,
or image.

is

like its reflection, or

The one

is like

of the blessed qualities

shadow,

the fountain-head

and the

infinite

source

of all divine powers, while the other contains the

partial reflection of those qualities
206

and powers."

Divine Principle in Man.

Thus according
soul,

whether

Vedanta every individual

to

be more or

it

thoughts and actions,

image and

is

possesses

Divine

The Divine Being

one and universal but

As

images are many.

falling

the

its

no other than the image of the

Divine Principle or Being.

is

animal in

less

upon the

reflections

its

or

the image of the sun,

and unpolished surface

dull

of a piece of metal, does not properly reflect

the grandeur

and power

of that self-luminous

the
body, but appears dull and imperfect, so

Divine image, falling upon the dull surface

of the

animal nature cannot

blessed

qualities,

reflect

manifest

cannot

all
all

the
the

divine powers, but, on the contrary, appears

animal

in

and

tendencies

its

propensities.

same image of the sun will shine forth

when the sur
brighter and more effulgent

As

the

face of the metal

soul will

show

its

aspect and will

qualities

image

is

when

is

polished, so the individual

brighter

more

and more

effulgent

fully reflect the divine

the heart which contains the

polished and

made
207

free

from the

dirt

Vedanta Philosbphy,
animal

of

and

desires

animal

tendencies;

then and then alone, this same individual soul

will begin to manifest all the blessed
qualities
like

mercy,

justice,

ested love for

are latent in

all

kindness,

humanity.

and

disinter

These powers
but they will be

all individuals,

expressed when the heart is purified.

"

Blessed

are the pure in heart for they shall see

God,"

said Jesus of Nazareth.

The

perfect manifestation of these divine

powers depends entirely upon the removal of

all

obstructions like desire for earthly pleas

ures,

for

earthly

the

life,

body and

enjoyments

and comforts of

attachment to the gross physical

to the senses,

which force the indi

vidual soul to remain on the animal plane.

Yet however animal the expression of the

nature of an ordinary man of the world may
be, his soul

is still

the image of the Divinity

which holds potentially in its bosom all divine

powers and all blessed qualities. Nay, even
the

souls

of

lower animals

divine, according to Vedanta.

208

are

potentially

The

evolution

Divine Principle in Man.

of nature

is

required to bring out these po

powers and qualities into

tential tendencies,

their actual or real manifestations.

Climbing

the ladder of the evolution of nature, each

individual soul or
latent

of the animal nature as

and animal
powers by

and

desires,

rising

life

expresses

its

through the limitations

first

powers,

of

germ

above

animal tendencies
lastly

as

all limitations,

spiritual

by tran

scending the boundaries of the various circles

of animal, moral and spiritual nature,

approaching the abode of the

Principle.

infinite

and

Divine

At that time the individual soul

from the bondage of

nature, enjoys the supreme Bliss which is
divine, and manifests all the blessed qualities.

becomes absolutely

free

In passing through these various stages the

individual ego studies

its

own

powers, gains

experience and realizes all the powers that

are lying dormant within the soul.

Many

people ask the question,

necessary
experience

for

individual

the

when

it

is

209

"Why is it

soul

potentially

to

gain

divine?"

Vedanta Philosophy.
The very
means

that

fact

the

or projection,

creation,

manifestation

the

of

energy as kinetic or as actual

potential

reality,

forces

the soul to objectify and project the dormant

on

activities

the plane of consciousness;

to

how can

otherwise

the

soul

learn

own

its

powers when they are on the subconscious

Take

plane?
state:

when

all

as illustration the deep sleep

the sense-powers, such as the

power of walking, moving, talking, and all the

mental and intellectual functions become

we know

unmanifested, do

in that state

what

powers we possess? No, certainly not.

can only know their existence when they

We
are

brought out on the conscious plane, when

they are awakened.
of the

the

Is

not this awakening

dormant powers that

subconscious plane,

the

lie

buried on

same thing as

the gaining of experience?

If for a

that

exist

manifest

moment
in

their

the

all

the individual souls

universe

dormant

should
powers,

cease

to

instantly

the relative existence of phenomenal activity

210

Divine Principle in Man.

would vanish and the whole world would go

back

to its primordial,

undifferentiated con

which

dition of nescience,

almost similar

is

when

to the unmanifested state of deep sleep

we do

not dream.

soul

bound

is

Therefore each individual

to gain experience after experi

ence in the process of this manifestation of

latent

powers and potential energy.

its

Having

experienced the powers and actions of the

animal nature with

their

results,

soul

the

longs for higher manifestations, tries to rise

above

that

effects of the

reaches

becomes
and,

its

after

moral and
In

perfection.

absolutely

self-love

realizing

the

spiritual nature,
this

happy

state

and

the

it

soul

contented,

the

limitations

of

sense-

and

selfishness,

it

mani

transcending

powers,
fests

and

plane,

the blessed qualities in the actions of

every-day

life.

This idea was illustrated by an ancient

sage in India thus:

"Two

plumage dwell upon the tree of

they are bound together by the tie of

beautiful
life,

birds of the most

211

Vedanta Philosophy.

The one

closest friendship.

sits

calm, serene,

contented, peaceful and happy, and constantly

watches the movements of his friend like a
witness; while the other bird

from branch

to

the

the

of

sight

which the

drawn toward a
the

appears

more

when he

tastes

and does not

sweet

and

life

bears.

fruit,

it,

tree;

bears

it.

all

to

he

is

and enjoys
another which
it

but unfortunately
it

extremely bitter

(We must remember

life is

not like an ordinary

Having

tried the various

according to his desires, the bird happens

come

to

one that

tasted

having

unhappy and
friend,

being.

When

fruits

kinds of fruits from the sweet

est to the bitterest.)

fruits

tries

he finds

like

inviting

tastes

attractive,

here that the tree of

it

he

then he

sensation;

and hops

branch, being attracted by

of

tree

flies

it,

is

he

exceedingly bitter, and

suffers

distressed,

he

intensely,

and

remembers

his

whom he had forgotten

He looks for him and

for the time

at last finds

him

seated on the top of the tree, calm, peace

ful

and

perfectly

contented.
212

He

envies his

Divine Principle in Man.

approaches him.

and contentment and slowly

As he comes nearer and

nearer, lo! he

forcibly

peace, happiness

is

drawn

into the per

fect

being of that witness-like friend, for he

was

his reflection or

The

bird which

image."

flies

which enjoys and

from branch to branch,

suffers,

is

ego or the living soul of man.

the good and

forms; and

The

fruits of

are nothing but the results of

this tree of life

all

the individual

the

bad

acts

which the ego per

witness-like

perfect Divine Being,

friend

is

the

whose image the indi

vidual soul is. Thus having experienced all

the fruits of our good and bad deeds, when

we become

and unhappy, we
friend, admire him,

discontented

seek our true,

eternal

and happiness,
and ultimately become

aspire to attain to his peace

go nearer and nearer,

one with him. It is then that we

and contented,

it is

feel

happy

then that true peace and

happiness come.

As

the image or reflection of the sun cannot

exist for

a second independent of that

213

self-

Vedanta Philosophy.
luminous heavenly body,

even for a
Divine

the

owes

its

mind

moment without depending upon

The individual ego
Principle.
its

life,

and

other

all

its

intellect,

and

physical

intelligence,

mental

to that infinite source of all powers,

powers

all love,

knowledge,

and

everlasting happi

In fact the individual soul does not

ness.

All these powers

possess anything.
that

individual

being the image of God, cannot exist

soul,

all

the

so

we

are expressing in our daily

and

life,

forces

whether

animal, moral or spiritual, do not belong to

us, but proceed from that one inexhaustible
source.

us;
life,

He

Nor
is

and

is

the Divine Principle far from

the soul of our soul, the

the

omnipotent

life

essence

of our

our

of

being.
"The

.smallest

Divine Principle

and

vades the
the

smaller than the

larger than the largest;

infinite

minutest

is

it

per

space and also dwells in

atom

of

atoms;

it

resides

in

the innermost sanctuary of the soul of every

man and woman;

whosoever
214

realizes

that

Divine Principle in Alan.

omnipresent Divinity, whose image the indi
vidual soul

is,

and perpetual
none else."

unto him come eternal peace

bliss,

unto
215

none

else,

unto

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and fishes of material desire.
every ambitious seeker after the loaves
It shows the folly of slavery to sense and the means of escape from
the thraldom of egoism, while elucidating the Hindu concept of
many things that are race problems because of individual igno
rance of
principles. These discourses merit a wide circula
spiritual

tion

among

unprejudiced

minds."

Mind, February,

1903.

Single Lectures.
THE WAY TO THE BLESSED

LIFE.
SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF RELIGION.
COSMIC EVOLUTION AND ITS PURPOSE.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF GOOD AND EVIL.

DOES THE SOUL EXIST AFTER DEATH?

THE RELATION OF SOUL TO GOD.
THE WORD AND THE CROSS IN ANCIENT INDIA.

THE MOTHERHOOD OF GOD.

WHY

A HINDU is A VEGETARIAN.
RELIGION OF THE HINDUS.
DIVINE COMMUNION.
WHO is THE SAVIOUR OF SOULS?
WOMAN S PLACE IN HINDU RELIGION.
WHY A HINDU ACCEPTS CHRIST AND REJECTS CHURCHIANITY.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AND VEDANTA.
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Publications of

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RECENT WORK BY SWAMI ABHEDANANDA.

How
I.

to be a Yogi.
III.

Introductory.

What

II.

is

IV.

Yoga?

I2mo, 188 pages.

Science of Breathing.
Christ a Yogi ?

Was

Postage, 7 cents.

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For Christians interested in foreign missions this book is of

moment, as showing the method of reasoning which they must be
prepared to meet if they are to influence the educated Hindu. To
the Orientalist, and the philosopher also, the book is not without
interest.
Swami Abhedananda preaches no mushroom creed
and no Eurasian hybrid theosophy.
He aims to give us a com
pendious account of Yoga. Clearly and admirably he performs his
In form the little book is excellent, and its English style is
task.
New York Times Saturday Review ofBooks, Dec. 6, 1902.
good."
"

How to be a Yogi is a little volume that makes very interest

The book contains the directions that must be fol
lowed in physical as well as in mental training by one who wishes
to have full and perfect control of all his powers." RecordHerald, Chicago, Feb. 28, 1903.
"

ing reading.

"The

SwSmi

Breath will
it

writes in a clear, direct manner.

His chapter on
more than ordinary attention, as there is much in
The book makes a valuable addition to

elicit

that will prove helpful.

Vedanta

Mind, June, 1903.

Philosophy."
book is calculated to interest the student of Oriental
thought and familiarize the unread with one of the greatest philo
sophical systems of the world." Buffalo Courier, Nov. 23, 1902.
"The

How to be a Yogi practically sums up the whole science of

Vedanta Philosophy. The term Yogi is lucidly defined and a full
analysis is given of the science of breathing and its bearing on the
highest spiritual development. The methods and practices of Yoga
are interestingly set forth, and not the least important teaching of
the book is the assertion of how great a Yogi was Jesus of Naz
The Bookseller, Newsdealer and Stationer, Jan. 15, 1903.
areth."
This book is well worth a careful reading. Condensed, yet
clear and concise, it fills one with the desire to emulate these Yogis
in attaining spiritual perfection."
Unity, Kansas City, Dec., 1902.
"

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LAST WORK BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA.

Jnana Yoga.
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356 pages.

Cloth, $1.50.

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One of the great thought challengers of the day is this work

by the SwSmi Viveldtnanda. The book goes deep and treats of
startling things, but when analyzed and viewed from the author s
standpoint, they are found to be links in the great chain of truth.
He alone will deny who is out of sympathy or limited in vision."
"

Transcript, Boston, Sept. 24, 1902.

Students of religion will find much of interest in it ; those who
care for India in any way will be glad to receive an indication of
high Hindu thought in one of the most striking religious move
ments of the day ; while the orthodox Christian will derive some
information from the work regarding the attitude of cultured
Hindus toward Christianity and its Founder. After reading the
book one is inexcusable if his ideas concerning Vedanta are
"

hazy."

New York

Saturday Review of Books, July

12, 1902.

The lectures show a wonderful insight into great truths which

underlie all religious aspiration." Courier-Journal, Louisville,
July 5, 1902.
"The altruism with which his preaching is permeated attracts
and inspires. The love of humanity which he inculcates harmonizes
with the spirit of the age. His English is good, his style easy to
read his sincerity unquestionable. Merely as an intelligent pre
sentation of what is best in the ancient Hindu Scriptures, the
Swami Vivekananda s book is deserving of attention at the hands
of religious students." Record-Herald, Chicago, Aug. 19, 1902.
The lectures are all extremely interesting, the style brilliant,
the reasoning often subtle. Whether the philosophy advanced is
satisfactory or not to those whose theories are the outgrowth of a
different system of thought, his method of presenting it affords an
intellectual pleasure." -Journal, Indianapolis, Oct. 13, 1902.
It is a book which appeals to the intellectual, and no one could
be the worse for reading it, since it contains much of truth even as
Christians measure truth." Milwaukee Sentinel, Aug. 15, 1902.
"The Vedanta
Philosophy as explained by ViveHnanda is
"

"

"

... As given by him and his followers, no more lofty

teachings can be found. The work is a valuable addition to the
literature of religions."
Toledo Blade, Oct. n, 1902.

interesting.

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Works on The Vedanta

Philosophy.

BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA.

Raja Yoga.
376 pages.

Cloth, $1.50.

Postage,

n cents.

Portrait of author,

frontispiece.

Besides lectures on Raja Yoga the book contains Patanjali s Yoga

Aphorisms with Commentary, a copious Sanskrit Glossary, a lec
ture on Immortality, and the Swami s lectures on BHAKTI YOGA.

The whole spirit of the book is candid in the extreme. It

appeals to what is best and noblest in man. It makes no foolish
mysteries and demands no blind belief. It puts forth its system in
a plain and simple manner. It is able to present its own method
without in any way attacking the method of others. It manifests
a charity that it is usual to call Christian, but which VivekSnanda
proves is equally the property of the Hindu. If this little book
had nothing to teach but the beautiful toleration it advocates, it
would be well worth reading; but many will find in it valuable
suggestions to aid in reaching the higher life." Arena, March, 1897.
"

"A
large part of the book is occupied with that method of
attaining perfection known as Raja Yoja, and there are also trans
lations of a number of aphorisms and an excellent glossary."

Living Age, August

5th, 1899.

valuable portion of the volume to students is the glossary of

Sanskrit technical terms. This includes not only such terms as are
employed in the book, but also those frequently employed in works
on the Vedanta philosophy in general." New York Times, July
"

22nd, 1899.
"

A new edition with

enlarged glossary, which will be welcomed

religion, who are already familiar with

by students of comparative

the author s lectures in this

country."

Review of Reviews,

Oct.,

1899.

The methods of practical realization of the divine within the

human are applicable to all religions, and all peoples, arid only
"

vary in their details to suit the idiosyncrasy of race and individ

uals."
Post, Washington, D. C., June izth, 1899.

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Works on The Vedanta Philosophy.

BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA.

Karma Yoga
izmo.

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Portrait of author, frontispiece.

Vedanta Phi
Eight lectures on the practical application of the
in a clear and forcible
losophy to the affairs of daily life, showing
manner how it is possible to lead the highest life without abandon
and
ing the duties and avocations of one s station in the world,
attainment are
proving conclusively that the loftiest aspiration and
are
and
open to
entirely compatible with the humblest occupation,
every human being.

The Vedanta

Philosophy.

An Address before
Harvard
Everett.

the Graduate Philosophical Society of

C.
College, with Introduction by Prof. C.
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The Ideal of a Universal

The Cosmos.
The Atman.

Religion.

The Real and Apparent Man.

Bhakti Yoga.

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