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The Spiritual Scientist

An ezine for those who think!

The Mystery of God's Form


Question:IfGodisindeedapersonwithformandpersonality,thenwhydothe
Vedictextsdescribehimwithwordslikearupam(formless)?
Answer: These words generally occur in a context that also contains some
words that describe God as having a form. Consider the following verse from
theShvetashvataraUpanishad(3.19)
apanipadojavanograhita pashyatyacakshuhsashrinotyakarnah
savettivedyamnacatasyastivetta tamahuragryampurushammahantam
Thisversecontainsapparentcontradictions:pashyatyacaksuh"Godhasnoeyes,
but He sees." How is this contradiction to be reconciled? If we neglect the part
aboutGod'spersonalaspect,wearenotbeingfaithfultothescriptures.
TheVedictraditioncontainsaspecialpramana(methodofacquiringknowledge)calledarthapatti
(postulation)thatisusedforthispurpose.Considertwoapparentlycontradictorystatements:
1. Ravidoesnoteatfoodduringtheday
The arthapatti to reconcile these two
statementswouldbe:Ravieatsinthenight.
2. Raviisgrowingfat
Similarly,thearthapattitoreconcilethestatementsaboutGod'shavingand
nothavingaformis:Godhasaformthisisspiritual,notmaterial.Usingsuch
an arthapatti implicitly, Srila Prabhupada, the founderacharya of ISKCON,
translatestheaboveverseas:"TheSupremeLordhasnomaterialhandsand
feet, but accepts whatever is offered to Him and moves very quickly. The
Supreme Person has no material ears and eyes but sees and hears
everything.Heistheknowerofeverything,andHeisallthatistobeknown.
ItissaidthatHeisthebestandthegreatestofallpersons."
Question:Butwhydoscriptureshavecontradictionsliketheseatall?
Answer: The word "body" has several connotations that do not apply to the
Lord.Abodyisthatwhich:
1. Isseparatefromtherealperson,thesoul
2. Isaproductofthepastkarmaofthesoul
3. Tendstodegradethesoul
4. Hastobegivenupinduecourseoftime
NoneoftheseapplytheLord,whosebodyisthesameasHimself,whohasnokarmicpast,whois
neverdegraded,andwhoseformiseternal.
BecausewetendtodragourmaterialconceptionsonGod,thescripturessometimesusenegative
words like arupa to emphasize that God's form is not like ours. Only when we recognize the
eternalityofGod'sallattractiveformandfallinlovewiththatformcanwebecomefreefromthe
infatuationwiththetemporarilygoodlookingformsofthisword.
Z
Published by VOICE (Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture and Education)
ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Pune, India

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