Which God do you pray to?

 

There are over a hundred concepts of God. Which God do you pray to?

The concept of God varies widely across cultures, religions, philosophies and individual beliefs. Below is a broad overview of some of the major concepts of God or the divine:

Monotheistic Concepts

1. Judaism:

   - God (Yahweh) is one, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.

   - God has a covenant with the Jewish people (the "chosen people").

   - God is transcendent but also involved in human history.

2. Christianity:

   - God is a Trinity: Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit.

   - God is loving, merciful and just.

   - Jesus is both fully divine and fully human, serving as a mediator between God and humanity.

3. Islam:

   - God (Allah) is one, indivisible and has no partners, parents or children.

   - God is merciful and just but does not communicate directly with humans except through prophets.

   - The Quran is the literal word of God.

4. Sikhism:

   - God (Waheguru) is one, formless and beyond human comprehension.

   - God is both immanent (within creation) and transcendent (beyond creation).

   - Emphasis on devotion and meditation to connect with God.

5. Zoroastrianism:

   - Ahura Mazda is the supreme God, representing truth, light and goodness.

   - Dualistic worldview: Ahura Mazda is opposed by Angra Mainyu (the destructive spirit).

 Polytheistic Concepts

1. Hinduism:

   - Many gods and goddesses (e.g., Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Lakshmi, Durga, Ram, Krishna) who represent different aspects of the divine (God).

   - Gods can take human or animal forms (avatars).

   - Underlying belief in Brahman, the ultimate, formless reality that pervades everything.

2. Ancient Greek Religion:

   - Gods like Zeus, Athena and Apollo are anthropomorphic, with human traits and emotions.

   - Gods are powerful but not omnipotent; they often interfere in human affairs.

3. Ancient Roman Religion:

   - Similar to Greek gods but with different names (e.g., Jupiter, Mars, Venus).

   - Gods are associated with specific aspects of life and nature.

4. Norse Mythology:

   - Gods like Odin, Thor and Loki are part of a complex pantheon.

   - Gods are mortal and will die during Ragnarok, the end of the world.

Pantheistic and Panentheistic Concepts

1. Pantheism:

   - The universe itself is God (e.g., Spinoza's philosophy).

   - God does not have a personal or anthropomorphic form.

   - Nature and the cosmos are divine.

2. Panentheism:

   - God is both within the universe and transcends it.

   - The universe is part of God, but God is more than the universe.

-Non-Theistic and Abstract Concepts

1. Buddhism:

   - Generally non-theistic; no creator God.

   - Focus on enlightenment and liberation from suffering.

   - Some traditions (e.g., Mahayana) include celestial beings or Buddhas who are venerated but not worshipped as gods.

2. Taoism:

   - The Tao (the Way) is the ultimate principle, not a personal God.

   - Emphasis on harmony with nature and the universe.

3. Confucianism:

   - Focus on ethics and social harmony rather than worship of a deity.

   - Heaven (Tian) is an abstract moral force rather than a personal God.

4. Deism:

   - God created the universe but does not intervene in its workings.

   - God is like a "cosmic watchmaker" who set the universe in motion.

Animistic and Indigenous Concepts

1. Animism:

   - Spirits inhabit natural objects (e.g., trees, rivers, mountains).

   - The divine is immanent in all aspects of the natural world.

Note: Some people in Kashmir still believe in animism, thinking that a ghost controls a particular house, a witch rules over a water body or a large tree is home to fairies. This makes it easy for ''fake babas'' to deceive both the illiterate and the literate in the valley of Kashmir.

2. Shinto:

   - Kami (spirits or deities) are associated with natural phenomena, ancestors and sacred places.

   - Kami are not omnipotent but are revered and worshipped.

3. Native American Religions:

   - Great Spirit or Creator is often seen as the supreme being.

   - Spirits are associated with animals, plants and natural forces.

Philosophical and Modern Concepts

1. Atheism:

   - Rejects the existence of any gods or deities.

   - Focus on humanism, worldly pleasures and scientific understanding.

2. Agnosticism:

   - The existence of God is unknown or unknowable.

   - Neither affirms nor denies the existence of God.

3. Existentialism:

   - Humans create their own meaning in a universe that may be indifferent or devoid of God.

4. Process Theology:

   - God is not omnipotent in the classical sense but interacts with and evolves alongside the universe.

5. Simulation Theory:

   - Some modern thinkers speculate that God could be a programmer of a simulated reality.

Mystical and Esoteric Concepts

1. Gnosticism:

   - A dualistic view where the material world is created by a lesser, flawed deity (Demiurge).

   - The true God is distant and transcendent, accessible only through secret knowledge (gnosis).

2. Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism):

   - God (Ein Sof) is infinite and beyond human understanding.

   - The universe is created through emanations (Sefirot) of God's energy.

3. Sufism (Islamic Mysticism):

   - God is the ultimate reality and the source of all love.

   - Emphasis on direct personal experience of the divine.

- Wahdatul Wujood (وحدت الوجود), meaning "the Unity of Being''. All existence is essentially one, with everything being a manifestation of God's existence. An alternative view, Wahdat ash-Shuhud (وحدت الشهود), emphasizes that creation is separate from Allah but that true believers experience a deep spiritual awareness of His presence. In simple terms, some Muslim mystics claim to have direct contact with God, somewhat similar to prophets. This is why many modern Muslims venerate (worship) the graves and shrines of mystics and Sufis.

Syncretic and New Age Concepts

1. New Age Spirituality:

   - God is often seen as a universal energy or consciousness.

   - Emphasis on personal spiritual experience and self-realization.

2. Unitarian Universalism:

   - Draws from multiple religious traditions and emphasizes individual search for truth and meaning.

   - No single concept of God is prescribed.

3. Eclectic Spirituality:

   - Combines elements from various religions and philosophies.

   - God may be seen as a personal deity, a universal force, or an abstract principle.

This list could go on endlessly and a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to fully discuss the topic of God. However, it is important to know which community you belong to and which God you should worship. The idea that "all roads lead to Rome" is misleading—some roads lead to Moscow, some to Mecca and others to Beijing and Delhi.

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Which God do I Believe In? 

Let me rephrase this question as ''Why do I believe in the God described in the Holy Quran and reject the gods described in other religions?'' 

The God described in the Old Testament flavors Jews over other humans; He is a tribal God. Actually, he is Jewish God. The New Testament God differentiates between Jews and Gentiles. He is a God who has sons. He is beaten, imprisoned and killed. There are other myths and faiths where gods have specific duties—for example, the God of rain, the God of war, the God of wealth, the God of this and the God of that. The God described in the Holy Quran presents a modern concept of God. He is defined as the Creator of the universe—Khaliqu Kulla Shay’in. He has no beginning and no end, no parents and no children and no gender. He allows no idols and listens to everyone directly. He is the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. He is the God that a philosopher, a scientist or a free thinking individual would find logical to believe in.  

The next question is: how do I show my gratitude to my Creator or how do I worship Him?  

I personally believe that my Creator does not need my worship. He was the God of this universe before I came into existence and He will continue to be God after I am dead and forgotten. However, something within me compels me to worship Him and acknowledge His power.  

I could worship Him in my own way, but there are about nine billion people like me in the world today. If all of them started worshipping God in their own separate ways, it would divide them. I believe in unity and I want to worship Him in the best possible logical way. I don't want to light candles, burn incense sticks or offer Him fruits daily because that would be bad for my bank balance. I also don't want to bow down to His wooden, plastic or stone idols—that is not my thing. I want to worship Him in the simple way the Holy Prophet of Islam worshipped Him. That seems quite logical to me. Hence, I worship Him in the Islamic way.  

Some Muslims have deviated from the original Islamic path. They engage in crowd mourning, organize processions, chant strange words and phrases on roads and in gatherings, worship the graves of saints or revere babas and darweshes, etc. All of that is not my thing—I reject it unhesitatingly.  

Any message for muslims across the world?

My suggestion to all Muslims, everywhere, is to stick to the original teachings of their Prophet and take science, technology and artificial intelligence seriously. Their skyscrapers, beautiful shrines and palaces are useless if they remain dependent on non-Muslims for another century in the fields of science, technology and artificial intelligence. They should choose peace over violence and modern knowledge over ignorance. They should also have their own social media platforms—both digital and print—where they can present the true image of their religion to the world.  

—Sahil Sharifdin Bhat