Who is God?  The most straightforward answer I can think of is: He is who you believe. Each one of us has our image of God. As the Christians say, He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is whatever and whomever you may choose Him to be. We all worship the same God but see Him through different eyes and minds. However, we also have other ways to experience Him. 

We all know that man came first, and God followed. He is an artificial invention, concept, and belief. There is no unanimity or accord on the nature and existence of God, and each religion has its own set of ideas. And yet, His effect on humanity is tremendous, and most of us blindly believe in the religion provided by others. For this reason, God has become the fundamental basis for enhancing one’s idea of the ultimate supreme being.

Our impression of God changes when we evolve from the physical and psychological into that formless spiritual phase. Higher knowledge, spiritual awakening, and meditation make us realize the ambiguities behind our unquestioning beliefs. These include fables, dogmas, and various rituals, which make us spend time and money in the name of God.  God will remain a fundamental concept of faith and belief if we think and determine from the thinking mind. This faith passes from one generation to another, and the existence of God becomes unquestionable. However, on the path towards spirituality, the Creator and the creation are the same, and you experience God rather than follow Him.

It is irrelevant to know who God is but to know ‘what’ God is. He is a quality to experience, reflecting in our divine deeds out of divinity for the sake of divineness. Spiritual awareness, fearlessness, and selflessness are the qualities through which we experience God.

We create God out of our imagination, fear, and want. The actual church or temple is within; all you need to do is awaken your soul and impartially witness your ever-desirous and selfish mind.

God and religion have become synonymous because each religion has its own set of beliefs that consider both to be personal, expressing superhuman powers. However, if we go deeper into the core of any religion and God, we discover that the ones who founded these religions realized their enlightenment purely through personal experiences. They learned the same oneness in the inclusiveness of all humanity. They recognized the nature of reality to be the same from their own wholehearted experiences. 

However, the interpretations differed when they expressed their encounters through word communication. It led to separate beliefs, which their followers condensed into faith, leading to organized religion. While the founders had personal realizations, their followers were limited to their blind intellectual following. Hence, instead of religion, religiousness in religiosity towards all existence is far more significant than any proper noun. God is more of a verb to experience than a noun.

 Many wars have been fought over religious differences in the name of God, and spiritual beliefs justify violence and persecution. When we view human personalities as gods, it is for their higher consciousness rather than their physical self. Let’s consider, as told by science and spiritualism, that the Creator and the creation are one. The Supreme is that impersonal spirit or waves of aware, conscious energy. Though it is challenging to comprehend, this abstract formation is considered by many to be divine, signifying the highest attribute in the movement of supreme power.

We notice inevitable disillusionment in the youth today regarding religion and towards God. It is because there are too many unquestioning beliefs with unanswered questions. They wish to know why this almighty sitting above, our Creator, cannot do anything about today’s misery and suffering. If he is Superman, he has disappointed us, doing a miserable job that has resulted in all the destruction, distress, and discomfort we see around us.

Contrary to the misconception about multiple gods in Hinduism, they worship one Supreme Reality through different names and figures. It becomes more accessible for the masses to relate to a symbol or figure rather than worship a metaphysical reality. They may worship a tree, mountain, river, or any other object that appeals to them since all forms of matter and consciousness are an extension of the same Absolute Reality. No physical or abstract existence is left out because all attributes are part of the supreme spirit.

So, when we enter the paradigm of metaphysical reality, we enter an abstract rather than a material presence. You become more of an aware, conscious spiritual energy independent of matter. Here, we explain the Universe not in the solidity of its forms but as a connection of those forms to its ultimate, infinite, formless reality. We may physically be a continuation of the animal realm. Still, we are more of a potential part of that spiritual kingdom, which is beyond everything, finally merging into the nothingness of that dark energy encompassing the Universe.

This phenomenon collaborates when there is clarity about the nature of the Ultimate. Despite so much diversity, we are all connected by the same ultimate reality. You must remember that the ultimate can only be one and not two, though we may express the same through multiple names and transient forms. Therefore, you can relate to the ultimate in any way you wish since all minds are unique; it entirely depends upon your belief, faith, and experience. 

In Hinduism, the comprehensive idea of God, given to this infinite, ultimate energy of the Universe, is the Absolute or Supreme Reality they refer to as “Shiva.” Metaphysically, it is more of a principle in the form of spirit, considered the highest attribute in the form of aware energy of the Universe through which you acquire the ability to become conscious of all you perceive.

Therefore, the concept of God, which is more of a realized state of complete awareness in pure consciousness, is more evident in human personality than in an abstract supernatural state. We, in turn, are also a potentially minuscule part of the most articulate manifestation of this Supreme reality in the form of God on this earth – ‘Thou art That.’

The principle of the Universe is fluid, where all forms originate and go back into the same. All these expound through language and words; hence, they differ in their interpretations. Religious experiences are one of the best sources to come close to understanding the nature of our reality. I repeat, if we look at and follow religion from its periphery, it will form a jargon of caste, culture, creeds, and dogmas mainly meant to create fear for us to follow its tenets. However, if you go deeper into the center of any religion, the message will be the same – the realization of oneness purely as an experience. It is how what the founders of all faiths wished it to be. Therefore, the essence of the message of God is not found by unquestionably following any designated religion; it becomes evident when we practice and experience its virtues in religiousness with religiosity.

Excerpt from the book “God and Beyond” by Gian Kumar.