Page 16 - Wisdom Unfurled
P. 16

saguna. Whatever it is we must love it.
So long as we remain confined within the bounds of religion, the God of religion remains in our view; and we remain entangled in one or the other view. The highest spiritual attainment is possible only when we go beyond the limits of religion. In fact spirituality begins where religion ends. Religion is only a preliminary stage for preparing a man for his march on the path of freedom. The end of religion is the beginning of spirituality; the end of spirituality is the beginning of Reality, and the end of Reality is the real Bliss. When that too is gone, we have reached the destination. That is the highest mark which is almost inexpressible in words.
Thus God is not to be found within the folds of a particular religion or sect. He is neither confined within certain forms or rituals nor is He to be traced out within the scriptures. Him we have to seek in the innermost core of our heart. Really God is very simple and plain. He is not in solid forms. There is no solidity whatsoever of any kind in Him. God is simple and extremely subtle. In fact the very simplicity and purity of the Ultimate has become a veil to it.
In order to understand the conception of God or Ultimate Reality, let us start with the stand taken by an atheist, that there is no God. This is to say in mathematical terminology, that no positive or negative value can be assigned to it. The mathematical sign for that which has no positive or negative value is ‘zero’ or ‘naught’.
Now let the atheist be faced with the question as to what exists. A consistent agnostic can doubt and deny the existence of everything but not of his own self, viz. that which doubts or denies. Speaking again in mathematical terminology it may conveniently be expressed as ‘one’.
Look at the magical function of ‘zero’. As you go on adding more and more of that which does not exist, i.e. ‘zero’ to the right side of that which exists, viz. ‘one’, it goes on swelling and multiplying itself. There is hardly a comprehensible limit to this expansion, and the Upanishads have rightly characterised this expanded Infinite as bigger than the biggest (mahato mahiyan). Then start adding ‘zero’ to the left side or negative side of ‘one’, with the function of negativating will, i.e., the decimal point. The addition of more and more ‘naughts’ will gradually bring the ‘one’ closer and closer to the ‘zero’. Again there can be hardly any limit to this shrinkage of the ‘self’ and the Upanishads have rightly characterised it as smaller than the smallest (anoraniyan).
I believe that the controversy over the question of God is a fake one. It really arises due to misconceptions with which God has become loaded in course of




























































































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