God, the Almighty

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment in law, (Matthew 22:38), he replied, 'You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.'

Here I describe the non-dualistic version of that Lord in the words of Swami Vivekananda. (All the three - dualism, qualified dualism and non-dualism are necessary for a man at different stages of his spiritual evolution. Advaita or non-dualism is the highest level and hence the description using this view)

God is the Infinite, Impersonal Being - ever existent, unchanging, immortal, fearless; and you are His incarnations. His embodiments. This is the God of Vedanta (ie the Upanishads, the Jnana Kanda portion of the Vedas), and this heaven is everywhere. In this heaven dwell all the personal Gods there are - you yourselves. Exit praying and laying flowers in temples/churches! What do you pray for? To go to heaven, to get something and let somebody else not have it. We attribute Him all our human characteristics, functions and limitations. He must bring us food and give us clothes. As a matter of fact we have to do all these things ourselves and nobody else will do these for us. You imagine there is a God of whom you are special favorites, who does things for you when you ask Him. And you never ask of Him favors for all men but only for yourselves. Our whole idea of God, our praying, our worshipping, all are vitiated by our ignorance, our foolish idea of ourselves as a body. We must get out of materialism. The way of praying to the God of Vedanta is by disinterested service of the world..He is the Lord of the universe and is in everyone. There is but one church - the body. In this body, He resides, the Lord of the souls and the King of kings. Always look within, never without. Such is the God that Vedanta preaches and such is His worship.'

"Rise, Thou effulgent one! Rise, Thou who art always pure! Rise, Thou birthless and deathless one! Rise, Thou almighty and manifest Thy true nature!"