Teacher Training Manual: Lesson 03 - God

Objectives

At the end of the session, the students would have:

1. Understood the important aspects of the nature & identity of God,

2. Understood the similarities and difference between soul and Supreme Soul,

3. Appreciated the unique continual-relationship with God which is beyond time and distance,

4. Appreciated the benefits of having relationship with God,

5. Experienced in meditation the link with God as source of power and love.

Procedure

Start with 5 minutes of meditation (with commentary).   

Review the topic on the three worlds

In the last session, we took up the topic of the three levels of consciousness, also called the three worlds. The soul or incorporeal world is that dimension of golden-red light, where we came from and will eventually return to. It is a dimension of complete silence and stillness, where nothing changes and time has no reference. That is our home, and home indicates a spiritual family of all souls in which there is a spiritual parent: God or the highest among souls, the Supreme Soul.

Common Understanding or Concepts About God

  To start the session, let's spend a few moments to reflect on these questions:

1. What is God for you? Why do we need God? What is His task? 2. What is your relationship with God at present?   Solicit some answers to the two questions and begin the conversation by grouping ideas according to the following headings:   1. Qualities or Attributes of God 2. Tasks of God 3. Relationships With God 4. Names for God 5. Others   (Begin with familiar concepts to begin explaining who and what God is?) Looking at the answers, we can say that God is considered as higher than any human soul; is powerful and almighty; is the Father of all souls; is a Giver or Bestower (never a Taker or Receiver); source of everything good; etc.  

Our Search for God

All of us in one way or another are in search of God without us knowing it. On our journey towards a better life some of us consciously search for truth, others for love and still others for beauty. If these three aspects - love, truth and beauty - were offered as those, which most summarize God's qualities, there would be few willing to argue.   Unfortunately just as the word God has been so much used and abused out of context, love truth, and beauty have all but lost their deeper meanings. The love we have between us or between two persons is often conditional, selfish and not lasting. What I feel is true today is discredited tomorrow. Beauty has come to be associated with the temporary, often bodily beauty, which is easily disfigured. If I have been searching for a love that never lets me down, a truth that is unshakeable and a beauty that goes beyond the superficial, I have indeed been searching for God - perhaps without even knowing it.  

Nature and Identity of God

It is not too difficult to understand that out of all the billions of souls, there is ONE who could be designed as the Supreme, because of His perfect love, total truth and absolute beauty.

1. HIS FORM: Anything that exists must have a form. God's qualities are formless but He the source has a form God is not love but the source of love; God is not truth but the source of truth, and so on. As the soul is a point of light, of conscious energy, surrounded by an oval-shaped aura, the Supreme Soul is also that. The difference is in the degree and intensity of qualities. How do I use this knowledge about God in meditation? Knowing His form, I can bring that image onto the screen of my mind and begin immediately to experience powers and qualities by associating them with that beautiful form. There is so much value in mediating on God's form and attributes. In all cultures and religions there is some special memorial or ritual in which light is always allied to what is holy or sacred. It is a reminder of the form of God as light. Candles, flames and other light sources have always held importance in religious practices.

The near-death experience, in which the soul "leaves" the body, usually due to some traumatic happening, lends meaning to this point. The individuals relate how they pass through a long tunnel at the end of which they perceive a light, which is self-luminous and conscient. The light gives them a sense of relationship and warmth, possessed of non judgmental love and compassion. The interesting thing about all these reports on near­death experiences is that, independent of their background - religious or even non-religious - their experiences of this Being of light and love is identical. (Give examples of remembrance of God as the form of light in different religions).

2. HIS NAME: Anything that has a form has a name, so too God has a name. There are as many names for God as there are languages, and each name highlights one of God's specialities, but there is one name that perhaps describes God best. When the human soul takes a body, it is the body-that bears the name and not the soul. God's name is eternal and is based on attributes and functions. The sanskrit word Shiva describes God quite accurately. It has three meanings: benefactor, the seed of creation and point-source- and implies that there can be no other creator superior to that one. It describes the form as a point and the role as benefactor and seed of humanity.   The word Shiva is the introduction to God, but in meditation another word is more applicable. The word Baba or Father (literally Father or Elder One), which conveys the closeness and sweetness of the relationship I have with God. So the name Shiva Baba conveys the closeness and sweetness of the relationship I have with God. So the name Shiva Baba conveys God's role and my relationship with that One.

3. Residence of God: When we turn our minds to God, wherever we may be and from whichever culture, the first thing we normally do is to close our eyes in order to go beyond the world of people and objects. Intuitively we know that God exists beyond matter. If we are souls and not bodies, our real and eternal existence is on another plane. It's in that same dimension that God exists. The home of the soul is a region of subtle, golden-red light, which can be visualized during meditation. Just as my real home is the soul world, it is also the home of the Supreme Being. He/She is not millions of light years away from me. I can reach that One in one thought, just as a dialed phone­call connects instantly. He/She is only one thought distant from me. In incorporeal world of absolute stillness, silence and purity, God is able to remain perfectly stable, constant and unchanging, while the rest of the universe and the souls go through constant change

4. God's Attributes: On the basis of our similarities of form and abode, I learn from God of my own original attributes of peace, purity, love, truth, power, happiness and balance. By tuning my thoughts to that One, the influence begins to activate these qualities in me. God has often been described as the Ocean of all Qualities - limitless and constantly available. It is important not just to think of this being of light as the source of all positive attributes but also in terms of different relationships. God's superiority lies in the depth, sharpness and continuity of His attributes. While human souls fluctuate between qualities such as peace and peacelessness, love and conflict, knowledge and ignorance, agony and ecstasy, God is ever constant. He remains beyond the fields of change and relativity.  

Similarities & Differences Between The Soul & God

There are differences between the souls and the Supreme Soul that it is not logical to consider the self as being equal to God. Yet, the union or yoga with God is based on similarities and not differences.   

Relationships With God

To the extent I am able to make my own personal link with God, I develop in my personality aspects which are missing. Through relationships with other human beings I have been trying to fill the empty gaps in my emotional make-up. Now, I can complete what is missing through loving contact with the Supreme Source of all attributes.

1. God as Mother and Father: In an overwhelming proportion of traditions God is a male figure. Just as the soul is neither masculine nor feminine, God has no gender. Therefore, as a soul, I can come close without any awe or difficulty caused by the gender of the body I am now occupying. In absolute terms, God is the Supreme Mother whose love is totally accommodating. No Matter what has happened, how I am, good or bad, I experience unconditional acceptance. It is a love that empowers and cleanses. She is also the Supreme Father who offers protection and provides the inheritance of divine qualities. It is a question of just being an innocent child and claiming that inheritance - letting of all the sorrow and pain which have been burdening the soul.   These are the first relationships that have to be experimented with: God as the Mother and Father. In the perfect personality of the Supreme there is the feminine principle of loving, giving and accepting. This perfectly balanced with the masculine principle of power, authority and strength. He is She and She is He. These parental relationships with God as Mother and Father are the foundation of my spiritual development. The concept of taking a new spiritual birth - of letting go of the past and developing a new consciousness - is a familiar one. It refers to becoming an innocent child again in the sense of purity, openness and wonderment. The awareness of the self as a soul already changes my perspective enormously, but the consciousness of being a child of God and seeing others with that vision brings self-esteem, dignity, love and respect. Then all these things spill out in my connections with others. If I respect and value myself, I'll do the same for others. Because God has the most perfect personality, there are so many different ways I can entertain myself in this highest and purest of all relationships.

2. Benefits of Other Relationships With God:   Purpose of Relationship With God. Raja Yoga means having a relationship with God. It is the only relationship that can transcend the span of a lifetime, which is the limit of human relationships. Being beyond time and distance, it is the only relationship, which is continual. Even though I forget, it doesn't finish. The essence of yoga or union is embodied in an idea that occurs in both Eastern and Western traditions - that God creates human beings in His own image. Being created in God's image is a process, which doesn't have anything to do with the creation of the body but with the re-energizing of my original qualities through yoga with God. It is the change from humanity to divinity.    

Meditation - a love link

  Through knowledge I create a link with God but, if it's only an intellectual connection, it will not remain stable. Through the understanding of the method of Raja Yoga I can build a bridge between myself and the Supreme Being but it's only with love that I can cross it. Using the method of meditation, I can begin to develop the experience of pure love for God who is the essence of all relationships: Mother, Father, Teacher Friend, Guide, etc. Any relationship in which affection can exist is possible between the soul and the Supreme Soul.   Because of the subtle nature of meditation practice an intellectual approach is inadequate. Both the soul and God are incorporeal. It is only love that can propel me towards God and keep me connected in a concentrated way. In Raja Yoga I meditate not just on myself but also on the nature and qualities of the Supreme Soul. The main purpose of meditation is to be able to communicate with God in order to be able to experience a relationship with Him. Perhaps I have already had an experience of deep love for God without any conscious information. In this case, meditating on or remembering God with love comes easily. For others love grows on the basis of deepening experiences.   In human terms, there might be a spontaneous feeling of love for someone and, on another level, I might recognize the need for the person in my life and so a relationship grows. It's built on the basis of need. Unfortunately, because of our limitations, there always seems to be a price to pay. If I take from another in some way, at some point, even in the most altruistic of relationships, there will be a price to pay. Basically this happens because every human being has a need. Each one of us looks towards others to be able to fulfil that.   The idea of God as the absolute source is very appealing. In meditation there is the awareness that I am turning to the source of love who will never expect anything in return. He/She is the only soul who has no need! Whether my relationship with God begins out of pure love or the love gradually develops the most powerful discovery is that it's on the basis of this relationship that I can actually start changing myself. It's the same as in human relationships. The more intimate the relationship, the greater the influence.   Knowing myself is one thing; recognizing my own weaknesses and strengths is another thing. The negativity in the world outside stimulates my own defects even though I know that somewhere inside me are the jewels of virtues that seem to be hidden very deep. Learning to access the beauty of the self and my original quality is definitely the first step. Still, I need power to be able to break free from the difficult trap that I have got myself into. On my own I am not able to generate that power. If I turn to another human being, it becomes another trap in itself. One addict trying to support another is not the most effective way to generate the power to transform. The alternative is to turn to the source of spiritual power - God, the Supreme Soul. Coming to the realization that I need help from the Supreme isn't a sign of weakness but of wisdom and recognition.

It is soul consciousness that creates the foundation for me to have this understanding of God from whom to take strength. Besides being the source of love, truth and beauty, the Supreme Being is also the source of power and light. Through connection with God all these qualities become available. All I have to do is to make that link and it all starts flooding in. The only effort I make is to tune my consciousness. That is my responsibility. It is necessary to experiment with depth and love in each relationship, and not just think of the Supreme Being as a point of light. The subject of God takes on a new meaning, if only for the reason that in God I can find the source of power and love to overcome the consequences of my weakened state in which negativity has proliferated in an uncontrolled manner. I need to know the self and be still to be able to make the mental connection or union with the Supreme Soul. Equally, I need to have the details about who, what, and why God is, so that the contact is not just theoretical but so real that it can blossom into a meaningful relationship. Raja Yoga in its deepest sense is just that: learning to develop a relationship with God.   (Allow for question and answer session before having meditation)

Assignment

Experiment on any of the relationships with God. Make it your meditation experience for a few days. As you sit in meditation or even as you move, walk around and do things keep this relationship with you and see the benefits you will experience.