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A seeker's question to followers of Islam:

In all the religions that originated from India, there is a concept of oneness with God.

My question is: What is the equivalent of this in other religions, like Islam and Christianity?

Explanation:

(1) There is but one God ==> Monotheism

(2) There is but one, God ==> Advaitic religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, etc.)

Please understand the difference in the two. The first (1) statement, is more like a moral science lesson, which says there is one God, God is one. There should not be a fight between my God and your God, because God is one. There is no your God and my God ... etc.

The second statement means, There is only God in the universe and we are all part of Him. Oneness with God. It also implies, the entire universe is not separate from God. The entire universe is filled with God/consciousness. We all are one with each other, and one with God. There is no individual identity - what we call EGO. Advaitic philosophy says, that EGO is a illusion, because there is no individual separate existence. It is like God is a big ocean (param aatma / super consciousness), we are drops (aatma/consciousness) in that ocean. And Upanishads go even further to tell us, even if you take out that drop (aatma) from the ocean (param-aatma), even then that drop (aatma) is not separate from the ocean (param-aatma).

In short, we are one with God. This is celebrated as Shivoham => I am Shiva / God (one with God & universe) Soham => I am that (whomever you believe as God), etc.

What is the equivalent OR alternative of this in Islam?

Let me clarify even further.

When I say, Shivoham, or I am one with God, or I am God, what it means. It is like, there is God (paramaatma = super consciousness) And our bodies are mirrors. Our souls are reflection of God ((paramaatma) in the mirror (body).

So who are we? The mirror (body), the soul (reflection) or the source (God)?

There answer is none! There is no me. There is no me. There is no me. There is no me. There is no individual existence. There is only God! And I am that. I am not separate with God. What I perceive as me (body/soul/brain/emotion/whatever) that is just an illusion. Actually there is no individual existence. There is only God! There is no me or I.

اللهم صل علی محمد و آل محمد
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Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda
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3 Answers3

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Sufism is a thought is Islam Philosophy, widely known with the name Mowlana Rumi, but it is not dominant.

According to Islam, every living soul except Allah will die and be returned to him.

Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned. (Surat Al-'Anbya' 21/35)

Every soul will taste death. Then to Us will you be returned. (Surat Al-'Ankabut 29/57)

And do not invoke with Allah another deity. There is no deity except Him. Everything will be destroyed except His Face. His is the judgement, and to Him you will be returned. (Surat Al-Qasas 28/88)

According to these verses, there is Allah, and there are other things. All of the other living things will die and will be returned to Allah.

Nor is there to Him any equivalent. (Surat Al-'Ikhlas 112/4)

Allah is eternal, but not other things.

He is the First and the Last, the Ascendant and the Intimate, and He is, of all things, Knowing. (Surat Al-Hadid 57/3)

Also, all of the things except Allah named as a "creature", but Allah is not a creature.

According to Islam, the existence is divided into 3 categories:

  1. The Ultimate Existence: The existence which doesn't need anything to be exist. This is Allah, eternal, all knowing, all powerful etc.
  2. The Possible Existence: The existence which needs something else to be exist. This is everything around you. Every material, every emotion, every thought... All of these need something else, eventually The Ultimate Existence in order to be exist.
  3. The Impossible Existence: The existence which is impossible. For example a 2nd ultimate existence, or not all knowing Allah etc.

Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah , and indeed to Him we will return. (Surat Al-Baqarah 2/156)

Allah is very close to us, but separate from us.

And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein. (Surat Qaf 50/16)

kalahari
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  • So it seems what you are saying is. Souls do return into God, but there is a time when they are separate. However in Hinduism, it is said, that souls are just reflections, and a perception of separation from God, while in reality we are never separate, the separation is an illusion.

    Upanishads ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते || || ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः || Om. That is the absolute, this is the absolute; from the absolute, the absolute becomes manifest; when the absolute is added to or taken away from the absolute, the absolute remains.

     – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 19 '15 at 05:31
  • Yes. In Islam, one can't simply say "I am God" or "This is God". Before Islam, Arabs were worshipping to idols in order to get help for the judgement of Allah. Yes, they were believe in Allah, with other half-god idols. In Qur'an, this is absolutely forbidden and said "Nor is there to Him any equivalent.". He is mentioned all the time as he is separate and ultimately superior. (by the way Allah is not he but sexless according to Islam, this problem caused by English) – kalahari Feb 19 '15 at 14:08
  • "Nor is there to Him any equivalent." it is same. See, there are stories in hinduism where rakhas (demons) came to God and asked for a boon. After getting the boon they became arrogant and started thinking of themselves as God. Then God killed them.

    Understand killing of demon signifies killing of EGO, not the soul, not the body. In hindu tradition, Shivoham is considered the ultimate truth. But not everyone realizes it. To realize it, the last final step is conquering over ego. reach Egolessness.

    When you know you don't exists, how can then you be compared to God! There is no comparison.

     – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 19 '15 at 15:01
  • Please understand the context. There are 2 ways in which you can see it
    1. I am God <-- With a big "I" <<< EGO
    2. I am non-existence. My existence is illusion. There is no me, there is only you(God).

    It is called Advaita (non-duality).

    There is no comparison between God and man. That is but natural. Say you are standing in front of a mirror and your mirror image tells you, hey u I am you. Wouldn't you laugh? The mirror image doesn't have it's own existence. Shivoham is oneness/non-duality in that sense. Please don't mix this with EGO based comparison with God.

     – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 19 '15 at 15:34
  • In Islam, this ego fight happens as this: Allah is the Ultimate Existence, everything else is a possible existence. The difference is in my answer. Therefore, anything can't be compared as equal to Allah. The biggest evidence for this is death. Hove can you be compared to God while you can't overcome death! In this philosophy, you don't have to be an illusion. You are real, but you have a place. – kalahari Feb 20 '15 at 03:01
  • Death as per vedic tradition is a blessing by God. The individual souls because of their ignorance think that they are separate from God. When death happens, the body is destroyed, and the souls, simply return to the source/God (after going through hell and heaven as per his deeds). So the souls as such a immortal. And I am that. I am that soul. I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the intellect, I am not the emotion. I am that. I am just a reflection, an illusion, there is no me there is only you (God). – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 20 '15 at 04:50
  • again there is no comparison between God and human. I am saying what you think as I, that is an illusion. You cannot compare an illusion with truth. There is no comparison. – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 20 '15 at 04:51
  • First, I am not comparing which belief is superior, I am just trying to explain how this issue is according to Islam. Second, in Islam, a person is a coalescence of a soul and a body. Personality, mind, consciousness etc are belong to soul. In Islam, Allah will resurrect people with their body's again and people will go to heaven/hell with their body's. Please look at these verses:

    Al-Haj 22/5, Ya-Sin 36/78, Ya-Sin 36/79, An-Nisa' 4/56, An-Nur 24/24

     – kalahari Feb 21 '15 at 18:35
  • I am also trying to understand, pardon my ignorance. Anyway, from what you shared, I can't understand what it means.

    Like I said, in what i know, there is a body, and there is a soul. But I am not the body I am the soul. Why? Because this soul is reflecting in this body on a temporarily basis.

    In the verse http://quran.com/4/56 the body being burned is the same body which you had on earth or is it a different body? Is it a different body, I am asking. I don't know how to see this. Because how can you have the same body in hell? You left the body on earth.

     – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 22 '15 at 05:48
  • Like a body is a combination of arms, legs, head etc; a human is a combination of a body and a soul. You are not just soul, or just body, you are a combination of them. Body is temporary yes, but if you look at Ya-Sin 36/78-79 again, it is very clear that Allah will recreate a body for you. Will it be the same body you had here, I don't know. But I doubt. If a person is going to heaven and he was blind in this world, why he would blind again in the heaven? He shouldn't be. Furthermore, our body is certainly not suitable for eternal life. – kalahari Feb 23 '15 at 19:52
  • But when we look at the verses, we see that there are similarities. As far as I know, if a human burns, after his skin completely burned, he won't feel pain. Because the pain receptors are parts of the skin. Somebody may claim "Then after my skin burns, I won't feel any more pain." The verse may give this example for 2 possibilities: 1. Our next body will have a skin similar to now we have, 2. Allah is telling us that our pain won't be end in hell. Again in An-nur 24/24, the verse talks about organs like hands and feet. Same situation goes here too. – kalahari Feb 23 '15 at 20:00
  • Even with this thought (organ names are just for metaphorical meaning), we have Ya-Sin 36/78-79, directly tell us about recreation of a body. – kalahari Feb 23 '15 at 20:02
  • So what is the highest possible experience a human can have according to Islam? In hinduism, Shivoham is considered to be reality by default, but one has to wake up to this reality. Those who wake up to this reality are called enlightened ones/paramhamsa.

    Characteristics of a Paramhamsa

    1. doesn't need to sleep

    experiments have proven that when an enlightened master sleeps, his full brain is functional 1000times more than an ordinary person. Instead of giving signals of sleep, it gives signal of high awareness 2) they are beyond gender experiments carried on by court order have shown

     – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 24 '15 at 19:07
  • As I said, the verses I mentioned above clearly say that Allah will recreate a body and state that it is easy for him. Why would he recreate a body while he can easily give pain to the soul itself? By the way, in this verse there is a clear statement about replacing/renewing the skin. So, the body may not a mere tool for physical suffering. There are also many verses about mental suffering such as remorse and despair. PS: this comment should be 1 step above. – kalahari Feb 24 '15 at 19:10
  • (btw supreme court of india that is) that enlightened masters may be born either male or female, but after enlightenment, their hormonal level changes to such a state that they express male/female dimension upon will/choice. They are neither male/nor female/nor transgender, they are beyond gender.

    1. they cannot experience sorrow or low mood.

    2. just by touching people they can awaken Shivoham experience in ordinary people.

    3. they express powers and can also impart powers like materialization/teleportation

    blind fold reading is the most beginner level thing

     – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 24 '15 at 19:13
  • they can heal non-curable diseases
  • there is no im-possibility for them.
  • they can close eyes, and sit just like that for decades in deep samadhi (restful awareness) and wake up at will.
  • they can leave food at will.

    • Basically nothing which binds human, binds them. 9) they can cause genetic mutation in people just by touch, and allow epi-gentics to express themselves and thereby cure diseases and make person operate from the space of his peak possibility. etc. etc.

    – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 24 '15 at 19:14
  • About highest possible experience, I don't know very much about it and I am not sure what I know already. There is a thing called keramah, it is like a miracle, including supernatural powers like independent of time or place or the things exactly like you said. It is believed that such a person can be in different places at the same time etc. These men called awliya. But I stand in a more positivistic way so that, according to me, these are just exaggerated stories. Quran always advise us to be conscious and orders us to use our brains. – kalahari Feb 24 '15 at 19:20
  • In Islam, prophets are just people and the miracles they showed to their people are not made by them, but by Allah in order to support their claim. In this sense, if even the prophets can't do supernatural things, how can other people? But of course, there are millions of stories about these kind of people and they are widely believed. – kalahari Feb 24 '15 at 19:23
  • See the enlightened master (or prophet) is someone who has conquered over the ego. So whatever he is doing, he is not doing. Whatever is happening, there is no "me" no "him" in his actions. An enlightened master knows that he doesn't exists, and all the happens is by grace of God. So don't worry, I am not saying that enlightened master have something of their own. Whatever they express, is a shear purity to reflect God as purely as possible, and the enlightened master himself is just an observer to the miracle. – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 25 '15 at 04:27
  • now what I am telling you are not mere stories, these are based on cases going all the way upto supreme court of India. You can witness a living incarnation. Enlightened masters are born once every 100 to 200 years. Incarnations take birth, once over 2000 to 3000 years.

    We are blessed to have an incarnation on planet earth. May be I will leave it at that.

     – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 25 '15 at 04:28
  • lastly to conclude, sharing a Shivoham experience described by an incarnation.

    · Love OF God entering into you, completing you;

    · Flowing towards him back as love FOR God; and

    · Completing the circle, just becoming LOVE.

    When the circle is complete, love OF God enters you, completes you, fills you, overflows as the love FOR God, and the circle is complete, you disappear in him, he disappears in you! It is not that just you become a drop in the ocean; you become the WHOLE OCEAN IN THE DROP!

     – Sri Nithya Sharabheshwarananda Feb 25 '15 at 04:37
  • I didn't say yours are mere stories, I think that would be unrespectful. But I think that way for both yours and ours. I am not familiar with Indian Court and can't say about them. In our belief, prophets are special people in a way they can hear God either directly or through and angel. When somebody tells them to show some miracle to be believed, they want a signal from Allah and Allah gives them a miracle. This demand doesn't be supplied if it is from a non-prophet man. And Mohammad(puh) was the last prophet. So, the miracle era is over. – kalahari Feb 25 '15 at 13:55
  • I still think your thought is not the same with Islam. Islam always leads us to science and advice us to see God's art in the universe. A magnificent order and a great science. Quran tells us to struggle to understand universe, its rules, its beauty, so that we can understand a little bit how God is great. Miracles in Islam can be seen as exceptional things. Other than that there is magic belief in Islam. It allows people to get over with physical laws but it is certainly forbidden and doing magic is a great sin. – kalahari Feb 25 '15 at 14:00