Originally Posted by dattaswami

Rev. Rex;

Several statements of Veda clearly speak that God is completely unimaginable under any circumstances. Silence can only indicate God. Silence means that no word can be used to indicate God. In the creation every imaginable item has the specific name, which cannot be used for any other imaginable item. For example the word pot means only a particular object. The word cloth means another particular object. You cannot use one word for any other object. But God can enter any item of the creation. Therefore, the name of every item can be used to indicate God because there is no specific word for God, who is not at all a specific object. Even if God does not enter an item, the name of that item can be used to indicate God, because you are keeping that item as the representative of God. For example God never enters the inert planet like sun. But still Sun can represent God due to some similarities. God removes ignorance. Sun removes darkness. The lotus buds are opened by sun. The ignorant intelligence is also enlightened by God. Therefore, sun can represent God to some extent. Therefore, the word “sun” can also represent God.

Thus, in one extreme end no word can indicate God (Yato vachah-Veda). At another extreme end, the name of any item into which either God can enter or any item, which can represent God, can indicate God. All the prayers of God by thousand names (Shasra Nama) indicate God. When a word indicates God, it is the name of medium into which either God entered or which stands as representative God. This means you can experience God through a specific medium when God enters it. Alternatively you can also imagine the experience of existence of God through a representative item like sun. You can experience the existence of God through Lord Krishna because God entered and exists in the human body of Krishna. In case of sun you can imagine the existence of God through the properties of the sun. Thus, there is difference between the worship of human incarnation and worship of the representative item like sun, statue etc.

Veda says that you can worship sun as God, which means that sun is not directly God (Adityam Brahmaiti…Veda). There is difference between the direct worship of king and indirect worship of his photo. In both cases the king is pleased. But in the direct worship the king is extremely pleased because every bit of your service is experienced by king directly. When God enters the human body, God has not become the human body. God is in the human body. Therefore, the human body is not God. You can only experience God through human body. Therefore, by seeing the human body you have not seen God, but you have only experienced God through that human body. Therefore, God is invisible. Of course, a devotee can be satisfied by treating the human body as God and can feel satisfied that he has seen God. From this angle Veda says, “A blessed fellow has seen God” (Kaschit Dhirah…..).

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ANIL ANTONY