Nondualism - Reflections of the Self - God With Form or Without Form? 03

[Guest guest]

Nondualism - Reflections of the Self - God With Form or Without Form?

Part 03

 

God is like the wind, sometimes awe inspiring, sometimes soothingly

gentle. In snow swept lands, gusts blow icy cold and terrfyingly hard.

On tropical shores, the breeze is pleasantly warm and reassuringly

gentle. The wind has no form, but we know it according to its place and

time. The warmth or coldness of the wind is dependent on the quality of

its moving air. Its coloration is dependent on dust, moisture, and

sunlight. Similarly, God is without form, but we know him through his

creation. we know of his love and wisdom by seeing his beauty around us.

 

As our divine vision grows, we begin to see God in all things. He is

the essence of self and everything that exists. The transformation by

which we perceive this vision is a function of atma. Through spiritual

discipline, we start to disperse the clouds of ignorance. We find unity

hidden in diversity. God manifests only by appearance in the world of

form. Brahman needs form to manifest and express, just as the wind is

inseparable from the air. God is ultimately formless, but we perceive

him first through form. Only through shape, color, and size can his

sweetness initially be known.

 

" This is a silver tumbler (tumbler means glass). We do not see in this

the silver being different from the glass. Someone has given me the

silver and I have had a glass made out of the silver. If the individual

asks for his silver back, it is not possible for me to say that he

could take the silver and let me retain the tumbler. It is not possible

to separate the silver from the tumbler. In this manner, as the silver

and the tumber are inextricably connected with each other, God with

form and God without form are connected with each other. " Baba

 

The form and the formless are inseparably linked. For most of us, it is

not possible to know God entirely apart from form, nor is it truly

possible to experience form apart from God. Whether one worships God by

a particular name and form or whether one worships the formless

pervasiveness of God, the results of our devotion are the same. God

exists in both.

 

" The sadhana (spiritual discipline) can be to realize God as formless (nirguna)

or with form (saguna). When one walks, the right foot and left foot are both

necessary; you cannot hop long on one foot! The saguna sadhana and the nirguna

sadhana are the as the rwo feet " Baba

 

Continued...Nondualism - Reflections of the Self - " Atma Is Brahman " Part 04