Does God exists everywhere
This article is aimed at answering several questions related to the popular Hinduism belief “ god exist everywhere”. It’s a core belief in hinduism that “God exist everywhere in all animals, birds, living entities and even non living entities”. God exist in you, me and everyone else. Now when hindus says that god exist everywhere then they mean that a part (Atma aka ‘Soul’) of the god (Parmatma) exist in everyone. This is also said in bhagavad gita where lord Krishna says “I exist everywhere, I exist in everything, and I exist in everyone. There is nothing where I don’t exist”. Some strict followers of other religion mock this particular belief by saying “Does god exist in shit? Does god exist in piss? Does god exist in garbage? Does god exist in cockroaches? Does god exist in insects?” and so on. What a stupid and inhumane way of thinking? Isn’t it? Not adhering to a particular religion doesn’t give you the liberty to question their beliefs in such a cheap way. However since the question was asked, answering it makes more sense than refuting or discarding it.
The answer is yes. God exist in Shit, garbage, cockroaches, insects etc. It is you and me who associate shit, insects, cockroaches and insects as bad. Finding faults in other entities is the basic natural fault of humanity. For Gods, there is no partiality and everything is equal to them.
All objects are just rays of light
Actually, to answer this question, I posted the previous article titled “Science in Hinduism-Theory of Perception”. If you haven’t read this article, then please read it here.
Science in Hinduism-Theory of perception
Short conclusion of this article is as follows:
In this article, I discussed about the inner working of the brain and the object what we see outside is not the real object. Any object you see is actually rays of light. When these rays of light reach the brain, it perceives it as an object.
When every object is just rays of light (Similar to sunrays), where is the question of good or bad? Terming the shit or garbage as bad is the perception of our brain. We term it as bad because our brain doesn’t like its smell. Brain of insects works exactly opposite to our brain. They are attracted to the smell of garbage and shit. What is bad for us is not necessarily bad for others. There is a part in your body where the shit stays until you excrete it out of your body. Will you term that part of the body as bad, then cut it and throw it away. Can you? This shit is produced by the parts of your body. If the shit is bad then the body which produces it is also bad. So, from this definition, humans are also bad.
No object is good or bad
Actually, there is no object that is good or bad. Everything is the byproduct of your thinking. Everything is the perception of you mind. All objects of this universe are just light rays and these light rays are nothing but the energies of the god.
Below verses from bhagavad gita says the same.
all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both the origin and the dissolution” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 7.6)
“This material nature, which is one of my energies is working under my direction”(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.10)
“I am the supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities, I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.20)
God in every soul
The eyes present before the mind some forms or images. It is the mind that creates good and bad forms. It says, "This is good. This is ugly. This is beautiful." Here comes bondage and trouble. Good and bad, ugly and beautiful are pure mental creations. If mind can create, it can destroy also. Similarly, the ears bring some sound vibrations before the mind. It is the mind that says: "This is praise. This is censure." Eyes and ears are not to be blamed at all. They are innocent. Mind causes the mischief.
So, part (Soul) of the god (Super-soul) is in every entity. Our mind works in strange and mysterious ways and hence, such a thought (God in shit) coming to your mind cannot be termed wrong but instead of clarifying your doubts, such questions should not be used to mock any particular belief.
Is It wrong to kill lower forms of animal?
Now one more question related to this I got from one of the non-believers. He said if god is in every living entity, then isn’t it wrong to kill mosquitoes, cockroaches, rodents etc. Valid question? Isn’t it? Since the question is based on religious belief, it will be answered spiritually and not scientifically.
Only body dies, Soul never dies
First of all, when we kill anyone then only the body dies not the soul. Soul is ever-pervading, indestructible, and ever-existing. Soul never dies; it just switches from one body to another. Hence, when you are killing mosquitoes or insects, you are actually giving him a new body which may be better than his older one. He may be born in a body of higher form of animals like deers, elephants etc or he may be born as a human to take revenge against you for killing himJ in his previous life.
soul never takes birth and never dies at any time nor does it come into being again when the body is created. The soul is birthless, eternal, imperishable and timeless and is never terminated when the body is terminated.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 2.20)
soul is indestructible; the soul is incombustible, insoluble and unwitherable. The soul is eternal, all pervasive, unmodifiable, immovable and primordial.Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 2.24)
Natural death is not killing
Also we need to understand the difference between natural death and killing. Every day, in our act of drinking, eating, walking etc, thousands of minute animals like ants, bacteria, cockroaches, and other insects dies daily. But this is not killing, they died their natural death. They were just born to die in such a way. Every organisms in this world is born for a particular purpose, so before such insects dies, they have done their task of decomposing the garbage, shit etc. Laws of nature are supreme and if something is happening naturally, it is not killing. Humans killed in earthquakes, floods, cyclones and other natural events cannot be called as killing of nature (god), it is just a natural way of balancing our ecosystem. All the humans died in such events have already done the task they were born for and then they are born in a new body for a new task.
Can we kill lower forms of animals?
So, now the big question arises “can we kill mosquitoes that bite us, kill rodents who spread diseases, kill insects harmful to our death etc”. It depends upon the situation. Let me explain it on the lines of bhagavad gita?
Arjuna asks lord Krishna “what is my duty?”
Lord Krishna asks “What is your identity?”
Arjuna answers “I am son of mother kunti”.
Lord Krishna smiles and says “And?”
Arjuna says “I am student of sage dronacharya”.
Lord Krishna smiles and again asks “And?”
This time arjuna says “I am a kshatriya(Warrior)”.
Then lord Krishna says Considering your specific duty as a kshatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need for hesitation” -Bhagavad-Gita 2.31
Krishna questioning and answering arjuna
Lord Krishna summarizes “Kshatriya code is your duty and religion. Following the task of the warrior is your duty. Fighting against the evil for the sake of the society is your duty. Fighting to protect the poor and weaker citizens of the society is your duty.” In short, His conclusion was “Anything done in accordance to the laws of land and society is your duty. Anything not done for your personal gain but for the gain of the society is your duty.”
Now according to the laws of the land, killing insects like mosquitoes, cockroaches etc is not a crime but we must avoid doing so since it helps to maintain our ecosystem. Also according to our law, killing someone in self-defense is not a crime. So, if you are in a situation where the opponent will kill you, then there is no crime in taking the self-defense step of killing him/her. Same is said in all religious scriptures including bhagavd gita.
To answer the question, unless the mosquito is not bothering or troubling you, they are not ought to be killed. In fact, even when they are biting you, instead of killing them, you must use other technique of swaying them away like burning mosquito coils, mosquito repellent etc. I repeat again when any living being is killed, only the body dies not the soul.
I think this also answers the question “Whether we should eat lower forms of animal”. I will not discuss more on this since I have discussed it in details in my earlier post titled
Why humans are naturally herbivorous
The short conclusion was “Unless we don’t have anything else to eat, we should go on to kill lower forms of animals”. This was also the wise teaching of Buddha, Vivekananda and other intellectual souls.
God Exist everywhere
God exist in you, in me, everywhere. The only thing is to awakening the god (enlightenment) within. Gautama Buddha always considered himself as a human but when he awakened the soul within (enlightenment), he became a god and his follower worships him without questioning his divinity. This is the one of the most important belief of Hinduism according to which the soul (Atma) attaining enlightenment goes and unites with the divine soul (Parmatama or god). This is the reason why we have many gods which were humans but were treated as god because their soul attained salvation and united with the God.
A beautiful story of ever-pervading and ever-helpful god
I will wind up with a story of Lord narsimha(Fifth avatar of lord Vishnu) which explain very well the ever-pervading presence of god.
Narasimha Avatar is the Half-Man Half-Lion Incarnation of Sri Hari Vishnu. The story of Narasimha Avatar is associated with Vishnu’s incarnation as the boar or Varaha. Varaha (Vishnu) Avatar had killed the demon Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha's brother Hiranyakashipu, greatly angered by this, started to hate Vishnu and all his followers. He decides a plan to kill Vishnu by gaining mystical powers, which he believe brahma, the chief among the devas, will award him if he undergoes many years of great austerity and penance. Hiranyakashipu performed intense austerities and was able to please Lord Brahma. When Brahma appeared before him he asked for immortality. But Brahma said he could not grant him the boon of immortality. So Hiranyakashipu played a trick on Brahma and asked a series of boons all of which indirectly tried to avoid death.
He will not die in any type of residence or outside.
He will not die during day or night.
He will not die on earth or sky
He will not be killed by any weapon
He will not be killed by Demi-gods, human being, animal or any other creation created by you
He should be the sole lordship over all living entities and presiding deities, and should be granted all the glories
Hiranyakashipu Asking for immortality
Brahma said, "Tatha asthu" (be it so) and vanished. Hiranyakashipu was happy thinking that he had won over death. After earning the boons, Hiranyakashipu defeated demigods and rulers on earth and announced that he was God and all prayers should be directed to him and not to Sri Hari Vishnu.
Meanwhile, Hiranyakashipu’s wife Kayadhu gave birth to Prahlad who grew up and became a keen devotee of Vishnu under the guidance of divine sage narada. The entire kingdom followed Hiranyakashipu commands of worshipping him but not his young son, Prahlad. The little boy Prahlad continued worshipping Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu tried all means to make the boy worship Him. But all this efforts failed.
One day, Hiranyakashipu ordered his servants to kill Prahlad, if he refused to accept the primacy of his father. Each time he attempted to kill the boy, Prahlada was protected by Vishnu's mystical power. He was even being drowned, poisoned, and burnt and thrown from the mountain.
Hiranyakashipu trying to kill prahlada
Hiranyakashipu also ordered his sister Holika to kill Prahlada by sitting with him on the fire but eventually she died burning in fire and the tradition of burning holika(Frist day of holi) -is still followed in India. (Second day of holi-Festival of colors, is associated with another lord Vishnu avatar- lord krishna)
Foreign Tourists enjoying festival of Colors “Holi” in india
Tired of failure, Hiranyakashipu asked for an explanation then Prahlada refuses to acknowledge his father as the supreme lord of the universe and claims that Vishnu is all-pervading and omnipresent. Fed up with his son’s explanation of Vishnu worship, Hiranyakashipu demanded him to show his Vishnu who is present everywhere:
"O most unfortunate Prahlada, you have always described a supreme being other than me, a supreme being who is above everything, who is the controller of everyone, and who is all-pervading. But where is He? If He is everywhere, then why is He not present before me in this pillar?
In a fit of anger pointing to a pillar, Hiranyakashipu asked whether Vishnu is present in that pillar. Prahlada then answers, He was, He is and He will be. In an alternate version of the story, Prahlada answers, He is in pillars, and he is in the smallest twig.
Hiranyakashipu, unable to control his anger, smashes the pillar with his mace, and following a tumultuous thundering sound, Vishnu in the form of half man-half lion(Narasimha) appears from it and moves to attack his father in defence of Prahlada.
Half man-half lion(Narasimha)
He had large moustaches on the face and terrible teeth in the mouth and his paws had terrible nails. In order to kill Hiranyakashipu and not upset the boon given by brahma, the form of Narasimha is chosen. Hiranyakashipu cannot be killed by human, deva or animal. Narasimha is neither one of these as he is a form of Vishnu incarnate as a part-human, part-animal. He comes upon Hiranyakashipu at twilight (when it is neither day nor night) on the threshold of a courtyard (neither indoors nor out), and puts the demon on his thighs (neither earth nor space). Using his sharp fingernails (neither animate nor inanimate) as weapons, he disembowels and kills the demon.
Narasimha killing Hiranyakashipu
The Bhagavata Purana further narrates: even after killing Hiranyakashipu, none of the present demigods are able to calm Narasimha's fury (Since he took form of a beast), not even lord shiva. So all the gods and goddesses call his consort Lakshmi, but she was also unable to do so.
Then, at the request of Brahma, Prahlada prays to Narasimha, and finally he is calmed by the prayers of his devotee. Before leaving, Narasimha rewards the wise Prahlada by crowning him the king.