Do religions represent God?

[Little Rik]

I noticed that most people in the forum when talk about God both in the positive and negative take from what religions say.
It never came in their mind that what religions say may be totally different from what God (if exist at all)
may think or say.
I brought the attention to this failing time and time again but people keep on falling in the same trap so I
open a poll to see what they think regard all this.

[FatAndFaithless]

Where do you get your idea of god from.

[Mr Greene]

Religions portray themselves as representing their deity/ies.
What other source would you suggest?

[Little Rik]

Where do you get your idea of god from.

At one stage in my life I was very interested in knowing what is behind this universal drama.
At that stage a mysterious force brought me to the teacher.

The saying goes........when the student is ready the teacher will appear.  

---

Religions portray themselves as representing their deity/ies.
What other source would you suggest?

I suggest to keep an open mind to all possibilities and have the desire to know.  

[FatAndFaithless]

Where do you get your idea of god from.

At one stage in my life I was very interested in knowing what is behind this universal drama.
At that stage a mysterious force brought me to the teacher.

The saying goes........when the student is ready the teacher will appear.  

Does this force have principles to follow that help you live a good life?

[Little Rik]

At one stage in my life I was very interested in knowing what is behind this universal drama.
At that stage a mysterious force brought me to the teacher.

The saying goes........when the student is ready the teacher will appear.  

Does this force have principles to follow that help you live a good life?

Yes.

Yama and Niyama


(i) Ahim'sa': Not to inflict pain or hurt on anybody by thought, word or action, is Ahim'sa'.

(ii) Satya: The benevolent use of mind and words is Satya.

(iii) Asteya: To renounce the desire to acquire or retain the wealth of others is Asteya. Asteya means " non-stealing."

(iv) Brahmacarya: To keep the mind always absorbed in Brahma is Brahmacarya.

(v) Aparigraha: To renounce everything excepting the necessities for the maintenance of the body is known as Aparigraha.

Niyama

(i) Shaoca is of two kinds -- purity of the body and of the mind. The methods for mental purity are kindliness towards all creatures, charity, working for the welfare of others and being dutiful.

(ii) Santos'a Contentment with things received unasked-for is santos'a. It is essential to try to be cheerful always.

(iii) Tapah: To undergo physical hardship to attain the objective is known as Tapah. Upava'sa (fasting), serving the guru (preceptor), serving father and mother, and the four types of yajina, namely. pitr yajina, nr yajina, bhu'ta yajina and adhya'tma yajina (service to ancestors, to humanity, to lower beings and to Consciousness), are the other limbs of tapah. For students, study is the main tapah.

(iv) Sva'dhya'ya: The study, with proper understanding, of scriptures and philosophical books is sva'dhya'ya. The philosophical books and scriptures of Ananda Marga are A'nanda Su'tram and Subha's'ita Sam'graha (all parts), respectively. Sva'dhya'ya is also done by attending dharmacakra (group meditation) regularly and having satsaunga (spiritual company), but this kind of sva'dhya'ya is intended only for those who are not capable of studying in the above manner.

(v) Iishvara pran'idha'na: This is to have firm faith in Iishvara (the Cosmic Controller) in pleasure and pain, prosperity and adversity, and to think of oneself as the instrument, and not the wielder of the instrument, in all the affairs of life.

[FatAndFaithless]

Does this force have principles to follow that help you live a good life?

Yes.

Yama and Niyama


(i) Ahim'sa': Not to inflict pain or hurt on anybody by thought, word or action, is Ahim'sa'.

(ii) Satya: The benevolent use of mind and words is Satya.

(iii) Asteya: To renounce the desire to acquire or retain the wealth of others is Asteya. Asteya means " non-stealing."

(iv) Brahmacarya: To keep the mind always absorbed in Brahma is Brahmacarya.

(v) Aparigraha: To renounce everything excepting the necessities for the maintenance of the body is known as Aparigraha.

Niyama

(i) Shaoca is of two kinds -- purity of the body and of the mind. The methods for mental purity are kindliness towards all creatures, charity, working for the welfare of others and being dutiful.

(ii) Santos'a Contentment with things received unasked-for is santos'a. It is essential to try to be cheerful always.

(iii) Tapah: To undergo physical hardship to attain the objective is known as Tapah. Upava'sa (fasting), serving the guru (preceptor), serving father and mother, and the four types of yajina, namely. pitr yajina, nr yajina, bhu'ta yajina and adhya'tma yajina (service to ancestors, to humanity, to lower beings and to Consciousness), are the other limbs of tapah. For students, study is the main tapah.

(iv) Sva'dhya'ya: The study, with proper understanding, of scriptures and philosophical books is sva'dhya'ya. The philosophical books and scriptures of Ananda Marga are A'nanda Su'tram and Subha's'ita Sam'graha (all parts), respectively. Sva'dhya'ya is also done by attending dharmacakra (group meditation) regularly and having satsaunga (spiritual company), but this kind of sva'dhya'ya is intended only for those who are not capable of studying in the above manner.

(v) Iishvara pran'idha'na: This is to have firm faith in Iishvara (the Cosmic Controller) in pleasure and pain, prosperity and adversity, and to think of oneself as the instrument, and not the wielder of the instrument, in all the affairs of life.

Okay, cool.

Now if you wrote those principles down in a book, and then tried to show other people how this book could improve your life, thanks to these principles and rituals from a mysterious, supernatural 'force'..... then you'd have a religion. 

And this religion would represent your god.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Each religion represents God in exactly the way its adherents fantasize that God wants to be represented.

Boru

[Little Rik]

Yes.

Yama and Niyama


(i) Ahim'sa': Not to inflict pain or hurt on anybody by thought, word or action, is Ahim'sa'.

(ii) Satya: The benevolent use of mind and words is Satya.

(iii) Asteya: To renounce the desire to acquire or retain the wealth of others is Asteya. Asteya means " non-stealing."

(iv) Brahmacarya: To keep the mind always absorbed in Brahma is Brahmacarya.

(v) Aparigraha: To renounce everything excepting the necessities for the maintenance of the body is known as Aparigraha.

Niyama

(i) Shaoca is of two kinds -- purity of the body and of the mind. The methods for mental purity are kindliness towards all creatures, charity, working for the welfare of others and being dutiful.

(ii) Santos'a Contentment with things received unasked-for is santos'a. It is essential to try to be cheerful always.

(iii) Tapah: To undergo physical hardship to attain the objective is known as Tapah. Upava'sa (fasting), serving the guru (preceptor), serving father and mother, and the four types of yajina, namely. pitr yajina, nr yajina, bhu'ta yajina and adhya'tma yajina (service to ancestors, to humanity, to lower beings and to Consciousness), are the other limbs of tapah. For students, study is the main tapah.

(iv) Sva'dhya'ya: The study, with proper understanding, of scriptures and philosophical books is sva'dhya'ya. The philosophical books and scriptures of Ananda Marga are A'nanda Su'tram and Subha's'ita Sam'graha (all parts), respectively. Sva'dhya'ya is also done by attending dharmacakra (group meditation) regularly and having satsaunga (spiritual company), but this kind of sva'dhya'ya is intended only for those who are not capable of studying in the above manner.

(v) Iishvara pran'idha'na: This is to have firm faith in Iishvara (the Cosmic Controller) in pleasure and pain, prosperity and adversity, and to think of oneself as the instrument, and not the wielder of the instrument, in all the affairs of life.

Okay, cool.

Now if you wrote those principles down in a book, and then tried to show other people how this book could improve your life, thanks to these principles and rituals from a mysterious, supernatural 'force'..... then you'd have a religion. 

And this religion would represent your god.

Wrong.

Shiva, Krishna, Jesus and Buddha never intended to start any religion and yet they gave principles to follow.
These people teach spirituality not religions but I guess you wouldn't know the difference.  

[FatAndFaithless]

Okay, cool.

Now if you wrote those principles down in a book, and then tried to show other people how this book could improve your life, thanks to these principles and rituals from a mysterious, supernatural 'force'..... then you'd have a religion. 

And this religion would represent your god.

Wrong.

Shiva, Krishna, Jesus and Buddha never intended to start any religion and yet they gave principles to follow.
These people teach spirituality not religions but I guess you wouldn't know the difference.  

...a system of beliefs and values stemming from a supernatural power is a religion, Rik.