God- Inside or outside?

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

A friend asked me this:

 

" God lives inside us. So what is the purpose of worshipping some God outside, in

some temple or church? Isnt this a way of religons to control us? "

 

What answer should I give him?

 

love,

Shantnu

[Guest guest]

God is in both outside and inside of all that exist - living and non living -

and those who can not access Him inside find it useful to do so outside; either

way, when accessed, He is seen everywhere, inside and outside of everything!

 

M.S.Thimmappa.

 

 

 

 

________________________________

shanracer <no_reply >

 

Mon, 1 March, 2010 1:32:56 AM

God- Inside or outside?

 

 

Namaste,

 

A friend asked me this:

 

" God lives inside us. So what is the purpose of worshipping some God outside, in

some temple or church? Isnt this a way of religons to control us? "

 

What answer should I give him?

 

love,

Shantnu

 

 

 

 

 

Your Mail works best with the New Optimized IE8. Get it NOW!

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[Guest guest]

Dear shanracer,

 

God is omnipresent. He loves inside and also outside, everywhere.

" Antharbahischathatsarvam vyapyanarayanasthithaha "

 

In His Grace,

Chandru

 

 

 

 

 

________________________________

shanracer <no_reply >

 

 

Namaste,

 

A friend asked me this:

[Guest guest]

Thanks Thimappaji & chandruji.

 

So what is better for beginners- to start from inside or outside?

 

Also, many Yogis have the opinion that the inner path(of Yoga) is superior, as

they are directly contacting the inner spirit. Is there any truth to this?

 

love,

Shantnu

 

, " H.S.Chandraseckariah " <hschandru2000

wrote:

 

> God is omnipresent. He loves inside and also outside, everywhere.

[Guest guest]

Dear Shantnuji,

 

 

My vote is for inner as it is closer, direct and the authority being our own

experience than external source and also because the Truth is to be established

at the altar of our own experience. nayamatma pravachanena labhyo na medhaya na

bahuna shrutena (Katha U. 1.2.23)/ It can not be obtained by Instruction or by

Intellect or even through much Hearing....

 

Regards.

 

M.S.Thimmappa.

 

 

 

 

________________________________

shanracer <no_reply >

 

Wed, 3 March, 2010 2:27:58 PM

Re: God- Inside or outside?

 

 

Thanks Thimappaji & chandruji.

 

So what is better for beginners- to start from inside or outside?

 

Also, many Yogis have the opinion that the inner path(of Yoga) is superior, as

they are directly contacting the inner spirit. Is there any truth to this?

 

love,

Shantnu

 

@ s.com, " H.S.Chandraseckari ah " <hschandru2000@ ...>

wrote:

 

> God is omnipresent. He loves inside and also outside, everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

Your Mail works best with the New Optimized IE8. Get it NOW!

http://downloads./in/internetexplorer/

 

 

[Guest guest]

Namaste.

 

Saint Sri Tulasi Das says in Rama Carita Manas,

 

'prabhu vyApaka sarvatra samAnA,

prema se prakata hoin mai jAnA "

 

Lord is present equally every where and is known to be OMNIPRESENT.

But HE MANIFESTS HIS FORM by ONLY THROUGH PREMA BHAKTI, DIVINE LOVE

to His Devotees!

 

premAGjanacchurita bhakti vilocanena

santaH sa daiva hRdayeSu vilokayanti,

yaM zyAma sundaram acintya guNa svarUpaM

govindam Adi puruSaM tamahaM bhajAmi

 

(Sri Brahma Samhita. 38)

 

" I worship Lord Govinda, the Primeval Supreme Personality,

Syama Sundara, Whom the pure devotees ever visualize in the

core of their hearts through the EYES ANOINTED with Divine Love,

Whose transcendental form is beyond mundane contemplation and

Whose blissful attributes are inconceivable to the ordinary minds. "

 

The great ones compare Bhakti with the magic collyrium applied

to the eye.

Radharani once told Her companion maids that She saw

Sri Krishna only wherever She turned Her eyes.

" You have anointed Your eyes with the divine collyrium of Bhakti,

therefore You behold Your darling Krishna in this way, " answered

the companions.

 

-Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

 

Bhagavatam also tells us the difference between the imperfect devotee and pure

devotee, Maha Bhagavata.

 

Where as Maha Bhaagavata- pure devotee of Lord is described as follows-

 

" sarva bhUteSu yaH pazyed bhagavad bhAvam AtmAtmanaH,

bhUtAni bhagavatyAtmanyeSa bhAgavatottamaH "

 

(Bhagavatam 11.2.45)

 

" The Maha-Bhaagavata certainly sees everything mobile and immobile, but he does

not perceive their external form.

Rather, everywhere he immediately perceives the manifested Form of His Beloved

Lord. "

 

(C.C.2.8.274)

 

" sarvatra haya nija-iSTa-dEva-sphUrti "

 

" A pure devotee with Prema Bhakti sees within everything the Soul of souls, the

Supreme Lord Krishna.

Consequently he or she always sees beloved Lord, the Cause of All causes,

situated in ALL and everything IN Him. "

 

Jaya Sri Radhe!

 

 

 

> What answer should I give him?

>

> love,

> Shantnu

>

[Guest guest]

Namaskar all sadhakas,

 

This is a very good topic started and will clear many doubts.

 

If god is outside - we find him him in temples or pilgrimage places

 

But those doing meditation etc deny and reject this Idea. they say we have to

start from within.

 

so a Question arises which path is correct or more accurate or faster of the two

viz

 

1- start the search from outside and reach within

 

2- start the search from within, forget the outer as Maya and reach the supreme

 

can there be another third path ?

 

with regards and love to all

 

Aum

[Guest guest]

I feel that people should follow their innate tendency or natural

inclination in this matter.Everybody is on the same path which leads to self or

God realisation but we are all at different stages.So one should do what comes

naturally.If it is visiting temples,performing rituals etc then so be it.Or else

meditate if that is what attracts. The real teacher or Guru is within and He

shows the way which ultimately leads to Him.

Regards

Rwitoja

 

--- On Thu, 4/3/10, aumji <no_reply > wrote:

 

 

aumji <no_reply >

Re: God- Inside or outside?

 

Thursday, 4 March, 2010, 13:06

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Namaskar all sadhakas,

 

This is a very good topic started and will clear many doubts.

 

If god is outside - we find him him in temples or pilgrimage places

 

But those doing meditation etc deny and reject this Idea. they say we have to

start from within.

 

so a Question arises which path is correct or more accurate or faster of the two

viz

 

1- start the search from outside and reach within

 

2- start the search from within, forget the outer as Maya and reach the supreme

 

can there be another third path ?

 

with regards and love to all

 

Aum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

, aumji <no_reply wrote:

 

> so a Question arises which path is correct or more accurate or faster >of the

two viz

 

Aumji, this is a very false division. The mind likes to divide things into 2

parts, then take sides, pick fights with th other side, loudly proclaim that its

path it correct.

 

You can see it in any field- which martial art is best, PC vs MAC, which

language is best, which car is best etc.

 

While in the material domain, these debates might have some use, they are

useless in the Spiritual domain.

 

Whenever I hear people debating about whether inner path is superior to outer,

or if Gyan is better than Bhakti, I realise they're beginners. Beginners(who

maybe practicing for years-in spiritual world, progress is not measured in time

& space) love to aruge & debate based on their personal experiences, not

realising those experiences are unique to them, they do not form a general rule.

 

Even Yogananda faced this problem-he refused to bow in a temple, as he too

thought " God is inside us " . In his case, he was already a very advanced Yogi,

his Gurus were all Siddhas. Yet he was punished for this arrogance, & spent days

wandering when lost. When he finally met the Sadhu he was looking for, the Sadhu

warned him that this feeling came from his ego, which is why it was wrong.

 

Coming back to the original question- whether God is inside us or outside us-

this is a fake question. God is everywhere-inside and outside. Why is 1 small

part of God given greater emphasis?

 

The real issue is : Many Yogis/Gyanis feel contempt for the ordinary public,

selfishly going to temples, asking for wealth, power etc. But God is happy if we

ask him for wealth, he never refuses unless it interferes with our Karma or

spiritual progress.

 

The correct feeling for a Yogi is one of compassion- that no matter how lost the

ordinary public are, one day they will find God. Everyone is on the right path,

just some are ahead of others. Unless one has this compassion for the common

man, one has no right to call oneself a Yogi.

 

love,

Shantnu

[Guest guest]

, aumji <no_reply wrote:

> This is a very good topic started and will clear many doubts.

 

Also, I would like to add: Many of these Gods/Goddesses we worship are astral

forms of Universal forces like Love, knowledge etc. Many Yogis rightly say that

our goal is to go well beyond the astral world, even the causal world, so its a

waste of time worshipping God. Thats where the " God is inside us " thinking comes

from-we can go inside by meditating any time we want, so why need some stone

idol!

 

This thinking is like- we can study the books from a library, whats the need of

going to University? And indeed, there are people, who through self study,

manage to get advanced degrees, like the Indian who became a Doctor at age 16.

But does that mean that this is the right pat for everyone?

 

The world is a dangerous, tricky place, where we need all the help we can. The

beings of Astral world can help us most, as they are nearet to us. If, on the

other hand, we reject the personal form of God, we get no help from them. Why

make you own life difficult?

 

It has to be said again & again- there is no difference between outside &

inside. " What is here(in the body) is everywhere. What is not here, is nowhere "

say the Tantras.

 

The person who only worshippes some inner light is no different from the

materialist who only worshipes the outer world-they are both deluded. But by the

compassion of the Universal Motherly force, they will both come to the right

path.

 

love,

Shantnu