Is someone more powerful than God? -1

The God of all Beings...

By Neeraj Mahajan

Is there one Supreme power that controls or masterminds everything that is happening or about to happen in this universe? Is there one Supreme God the omnipresent, omni-directional, all-knowing and all-powerful – one who controls everything from the sun, moon and stars down to our lives on planet earth? Is there someone who is the One-Above-All – Almighty-- strongest and the most powerful being in the universe? Who is this all-powerful, supreme, absolute, unlimited, invincible and omnipotent - Ishwar, Parambrahamn, Paramatma (Supreme Self), Parameshwar (Supreme Lord), Parampita (Supreme Father) Bhagawan, Purushottam Purush, Akal Purukh, Adonai [my Lord], Allah or God Almighty? Different people in different civilizations call him by different names.

According to Hebrew tradition God exists by himself, for himself, and is the uncreated Creator who is independent of any concept, force, or entity. In the Hebrew Bible, when Moses asked for his name God replied, “I am who I am." Each of the major world religion has a concept of a Supreme Being – who is the originator, preserver and ruler of the universe.

He is the one who created the universe. He is the ultimate, the ideal object of worship and the source of all freedom and justice. He is the Lord of the world, the creator of love and all beauty. And the one who protects the heavens and earth; one on whom every atom in the universe depends for survival. One without whom, the whole world, the whole universe will perish. This Almighty— the ultimate and infinite source of all energy, power, capacity, activity, wisdom, or goodness and origin of the universe and all life form. According to Hindu philosophy He is not God of one world but represents the entire known and unknown Universe -- the past, present and the future as well. 

Little is known about this Ishwar or Supreme force. Different people all over the world, worship this Supreme Being and know him by different names. There is no uniformity about the identity of the Almighty or controller of the universe.

In Sikhism the Supreme Being or Akal Purakh literally means "Timeless, eternal being – someone who never dies." The word Akal is extensively used in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Guru Gobind Singh, in his poetic compositions Akal Ustat.  Guru Arjun Dev wrote, “Akaal purakh agaadh bodh”, meaning the wisdom of the undying personification is beyond understanding".

In Christianity there are references that Jesus had a God, a supreme God, higher and stronger than him. Jesus was the Son of God or God's servant who prayed to God to strengthen and reinforce him with the patience and desire to continue his mission of spreading the word of the Almighty God. "And he (Jesus) withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed to his God."  Luke 5:16. In the Bible God is supreme: "For the Lord your God is God supreme and Lord supreme, the great, the mighty and the awesome God" (Deut. 10:17).  He is subject to no laws or limitations. Another interesting revelation in the Bible is that God displays emotions like – he gets angry (Ex. 22:23), is pleased (Gen. 1:31), sad and disappointed (Gen. 6:6), has pity (Jonah 4:11), loves (Deut. 23:6) and hates (Amos 5:21). Above all "he speaks in human language"

In Islam the Qur’an says, “"We created man out of an essence of clay, then We established

him in a firm place in the form of sperm. Then We made the sperm into coagulated blood, and then into a formless lump of flesh. Then we made it into bones, and then clothed the bones with flesh. Finally We brought forth a new creation. How well did God create, the best of all creators!" (23:12-14). Elaborating a little further the Qur’an says, “He it is Who creates and brings forth (the totality of parts), Who separates (the parts belonging to each organ), and Who gives form (to different aspects)." (59:24)

The holy Qur’an adds: "Say, O Messenger, 'You worship one other than God who has no power to help or to harm you. It is God Who is all-hearing and Who knows the state of all of creation." Dwelling on the issue a bit further the Qur’an adds, "Your God is but one God. There is no god other than Him, Compassionate and Merciful." (2:163-164)

Interestingly the Holy Qur’an says: "He is God, the One God Who is free of need for all things and of whom all beings stand in need. No one is his offspring. He is not the offspring of anyone, and He has no like or parallel." (112:14)

In Hinduism people worship some 33 Crores (330 million) Gods and Goddesses but the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva) are considered primary deities. As per Hindu scriptures Brahma is the Creator, Vishnu is the Protector, Maheshwar or Shiva is the Destroyer. They are all are all manifestations of the Supreme Being – all equally powerful.  

(To be Continued)

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Is Someone more powerful than God -2