We Are God

Each one of us is a spark of God’s consciousness.  All of us together are God. Christ told us to be as perfect as our heavenly Father is (Matthew 5:48). He at another time most solemnly said: “Whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works (John 14:12). Why would he say these things if we could not be as perfect as God, and if we could not perform the same works he performed? Of course he has also shown the ways to fulfill his promises. In the Psalms of the Old Testament we read: “I say, you are Gods, sons of the Most High, all of you” (Psalm 82: 6). Asked by Jesus for which work the Jews were getting ready to stone him, they replied: “for blasphemy”, for claiming to be God. Jesus told them that their own law said: “You are gods” (John 10: 31-34). Certainly these are difficult scripture passages. In Hinduism we have a very powerful saying: Aham Brahmasmi (I am God). Christ made us his friends. We are sons and daughters of God. In the greatest prayer that Jesus taught we call God Our Father (and Mother). With all these very positive affirmations, why do we hesitate in seeing us as God? Certainly, we are God only as we humans understand it, namely, in an anthropomorphic way.

We come from God; we go to God. That is our destiny. At least that is what we strongly believe. Whether we dissolve in God fully or retain our individuality in some way, we do not know; let God decide that. We are God only to the extent we realize and actualize our God-given Godliness. That is why God-men and women when asked if they are God say: “Yes I am God, so are you; but the difference between you and me is: I know I am, but you don’t”. This awareness, this consciousness, this insight, or enlightenment coming from sadhana (spiritual exercises) and deep union with God and the Universe is all that matters. An enlightened person faces the same powerful temptations or allurements or attractions or seductions as everyone else, but he or she is able to resist them because of his/her awareness of the mission destined for him or her. Being God is a terrible responsibility that cannot be borne by many as awareness of that responsibility comes only in stages after years of rigorous training through sadhana. Actually religions, that are supposed to be about God’s business, should train persons in the ways of God and prepare them for achieving God-status and mystic union with God. As parents cling to their grown-up children instead of letting them lose to be on their own, religions do not let their followers go, and keep them in their strangle-hold through ever-new customs, traditions, and rituals indicative of tight controls. Moreover, religions spend their precious time fighting with other religions about dogmas and doctrines and mere theological speculations that are only objects of belief or faith that God alone knows. They call those, who do not agree with them or toe their line, heretics and schismatics or pantheists worthy only of being ostracized. Holy men and women of all religions do not have time to waste for these fights as they have an urgency about their own role of witnessing to God’s presence and works in today’s world. They have great tolerance to let people be who they are. At least that is what God does with everyone.

In sum, we are all incarnations of God in various degrees. Some present God’s face better than others. We are spirit persons wrapped in our consciousness and awareness, and sheltered in our body-temple. We all have a mission, and that mission is to be an able instrument that unfolds God-happenings. Thus we become God-persons for those who come in contact with us. Our life that shows who we really are can deceive some for some time but cannot deceive all for all the time as a wise man said. When we realize we are God we need not run after God-men and women. So in deep humility and truth, let us celebrate our own God-status.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti