“I AM GOD” CONCEPT
[ http://amiahindu.com/ ]
[ http://amiahindu.com/ ]
1. When Jesus Christ said:I AM GOD, Jews misunderstood him. Jews had and still has an aversion for any one claiming to be God since Jehovah in Bible said to Moses I AM A JEALOUS GOD.
To please those Jews, Roman governor Pilate crucified Jesus Christ. Pilate did not have any problem of Jesus or anyone proclaiming I AM GOD, sinceRome
2. When Sufis [The Mystical Muslims] said: I AM GOD, religious fanatics killed all of them. In the 9th century, Sufi Ibn MansurAl Hallaj was dismembered for proclaiming "I AM GOD." Nobody understood the depth of spiritual knowledge Sufis had.
To please those Jews, Roman governor Pilate crucified Jesus Christ. Pilate did not have any problem of Jesus or anyone proclaiming I AM GOD, since
2. When Sufis [The Mystical Muslims] said: I AM GOD, religious fanatics killed all of them. In the 9th century, Sufi Ibn MansurAl Hallaj was dismembered for proclaiming "I AM GOD." Nobody understood the depth of spiritual knowledge Sufis had.
3. About ten or fifteen years ago, when ShirleyMacLainesaid: I AM GOD, many went after her also. Luckily for her, she only had to deal with verbal abuses not any physical attacks.
Why all these attacks on innocent people?
Since people misunderstood what I AM GOD truly means in the western world.
Let us analyze "I Am God" concept in detail.
From where did this concept originate?
It came from the Hindu belief that there is an immortal soul [ATMAN] within the material body of the man and that soul is the mirror image of God or "Paramathman". No Hindu scriptures states body is God.
There are many important mantras in Hinduism which proclaim I AM GOD concept.
Aham Brahmasmi
I am Brahman
(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10]
Meaning I AM GOD or I AM BRAHMAN. I am not the physical perishable material body but the immortal soul, Atman within the body. This Atman is indeed God.
Tat Tvam Asi
Thou art that
(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7]
'Tat Tvam Asi' or 'That thou art.' You are that what we call Brahman or God. Rishi Uddalaka repeats this message a number of times when instructing his disciple Svetaketu about the nature of Reality.
Consciousness is Brahman
(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda)
This Self is Brahman
(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)
If one does not understand the whole story, I AM GOD statement sounds very egoistic and out right ridiculous. If you say I AM GOD in the Judaic-Christian context, I AM GOD makes no sense, where God is very personal and a separate entity altogether different from man. In you say I AM GOD in the Hindu way, that means you are saying, “The real YOU within You is indeed God and you are not the perishable material body.”
A—— In 66 books of the Holy Bible, THERE IS NO MENTION OF IMMORTAL SOUL. In fact, there is no word "immortal soul" anywhere in the Holy Bible. Instead it mentions a soul that can be created at birth and it can be destroyed.
B—— When Jesus Christ said: I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE [JOHN 10:30 ], masses immediately denounced him for blasphemy by saying, “YOU MERE MAN CLAIM TO BE GOD [JOHN 10:33 ].
C—– Masses attacked Jesus not because he broke the Sabbath laws or showing miracles but because “HE WAS EVEN CALLING GOD HIS FATHER, MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL TO GOD [JOHN 5:18 ].
D—– Even though Christ said more than 81 times that HE IS THE SON OF MAN, by merely stating I AM GOD Jesus died on the cross.
E—– Jesus Christ said I AM GOD many times indirectly. Christ also said I AM SON OF GOD indirectly.
F—– Christ never said, I AM GOD in a direct answer to anyone…But he said BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS I AM. Those who heard that exploded with anger, condemning Christ for making statement of equalizing himself to God. The wrath of his enemies only grew when he said, I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE [John 10:30 ]
G—– Jesus said:
I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE, HE THAT COMETH TO ME SHALL NOT HUNGER, AND HE THAT BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER THIRST [JOHN
Hindus on their part believe that there is the imperishable soul within every man and that soul is an exact reflection of God . The soul within the man is called ATMAN and the God is called PARAMATHMAN [Absolute Soul]. Of course, the ATMAN will remain captive within the body, life after life, until one realizes that HE IS NOT THE BODY BUT THE IMMORTAL SOUL WITHIN.
Of course, NOBODY REALIZES GOD by just repeating I AM GOD. That has to be achieved by good actions, good thoughts and by meditation. I AM GOD statement seen in many parts of the Holy Bible.
Jehovah to an inquiring Moses said, I AM WHAT I AM [Ex 3:14 ].
Jesus Christ said I AM GOD many times indirectly. He said BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS I AM. Those heard that exploded with anger, condemning Christ for making statement of equalizing himself to God. The wrath of his enemies only grew when he said, I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE [John10:30 ]
Jesus Christ said I AM GOD many times indirectly. He said BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS I AM. Those heard that exploded with anger, condemning Christ for making statement of equalizing himself to God. The wrath of his enemies only grew when he said, I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE [John
Lord Krishna said I AM GOD many times in the Bhagavad Gita.
“He who sees me in everything and everything in me, to him I am never lost; nor he is lost to me “ [ Gita6:30 ] I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from me [ Gita 10:8]
Everything is born of me. I am the original source of all. No one is above me [Gita 12:6,7]
“He who sees me in everything and everything in me, to him I am never lost; nor he is lost to me “ [ Gita
Everything is born of me. I am the original source of all. No one is above me [Gita 12:6,7]
So, what Shirley Maclaine said is nothing knew. It was repeated in history many times. In St. Thomas
Through those lines Jesus Christ is telling the mankind that those who follow him will achieve Christ consciousness and indeed will become just as Jesus Christ. In the ZOHAR [The book of Splendor] the mystical teachings of the Judaism, you may read that if one meditates, everything will be revealed as one.
So a Hindu or a newager by stating I AM GOD is only repeating his/her own oneness with God or God's true nature. Once again it is utter stupidity to think without proper meditation one can achieve Christ consciousness.
If by saying I AM GOD, one develops EGO, then that person is working against his objective of being one with God. A person, who states I AM GOD, should become humbler than a blade of grass….
When Lord Buddha was asked the same question about I AM GOD, his answer was:
“ARE YOU GOD?”
Buddha said: “NO”
“Are you an Angel?”
Buddha said: “NO”
“Are you a saint?”
Buddha said: “NO”
“THEN WHAT ARE YOU?"
” I AM AWAKE” answered Lord Buddha…
The word BUDDHA in Sanskrit means to KNOW OR AWAKE IN KNOWLEDGE
CONCLUSIONS:
1. “I AM GOD” statement has come from the mouths of many so called realized mystics around the world. Jesus Christ is one of those great mystics.
2. “I AM GOD” statement is not supposed to be used for ego gratification , instead a person who states that is humbler than a blade of grass.
3 Anyone who is in search of "truth" will finally come to the realization that I AM GOD, whether that person is a Hindu or a Christian or a Moslem or a Jew or an atheist or an agnostic.
I am fascinated by the statement I AM GOD. It is often repeated by the right wing Christian preachers in their sermons to condemn eastern religions as well as Newage. Unluckily, they have no idea the truth behind the I AM GOD concept. I AM GOD concept does not originate from the limited ego of a person but from the mind of a person who has attained self-realization.
Jesus Christ was crucified for saying “I am God”. Jesus Christ would have never crucified if he was a Hindu, since Hindus understand the true meaning of “I am God” concept.
