To Each His God: an Upanishadic Approach to Religion

Abstract

Vedanta refrains from giving God any name, singular or plural. If ever Vedanta has to refer to the God, it refers to it as Tat, meaning “That,” the one which is beyond our perceptions. By not associating it with any form and name, it has made That independent of gender. That is neither a male nor a female, less of all a Hindu, a Muslim, or a Christian. If ever That must be called by a name, it has been called so as the Brahman or Paramatman, the Supreme Self. As matter is the continuum of the space, so is the atman (self), a continuum of the Paramatman. The trilogy of space, energy, and time has been referred to as the Paramatman, Parashakti, and Parabrahman in Vedanta. What space is to science or infinity to mathematics, Brahman is to Vedanta. It is the same as the shoonya of the Buddhists or ether of Aristotle. The Brahman thus conceived by Vedanta is well defined and yet totally unidentified, thereby making it convenient for all to conceive That in one’s own unique way. Thus, Vedanta presents us with a perfect picture frame and leaves it onto us to slip in the desired photograph.