Why is God portrayed as a Narcissists?

[renuka]

Share:

Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Share Link

When we read religious text somehow we get a feeling that its all about praising God and He is great..He is this and He is that.

I have no problems with praising God cos its man who is praising God and its not as if God asked men to praise Him.

The Vaishnava point of view goes real hardcore into praising God..especially ISKCON texts tend to praise Lord Krishna to be the ultimate and go on and on talking about His Mahima etc.


I was just wondering..why is God portrayed as a Narcissists that needs to be praised non stop by His Bhaktas?


When God is supposed to be beyond praise and blame why are we taught to keep praising God non stop?

Doesn't this actually give God a bad name? As if He really wants to be pleased and praised?

 

[prasad1]

I had the same thought, but as usual you beat to a punch.
The praising God is universal in all religions.
But the very definition of God should prohibit this worship of God. If god is all that is defined to be then it does not require to be praised. This God should also be just, so no amount of praise should bias the actions of this God. So praise and prayers should we waste.
The praise and prayers may sway a Dictator, King, or a mob boss, and the writers of religious text only knew such people and molded God to be one with such Dictators. This is an insult to God and all the true believers.

 

[renuka]

I had the same thought, but as usual you beat to a punch.
The praising God is universal in all religions.
But the very definition of God should prohibit this worship of God. If god is all that is defined to be then it does not require to be praised. This God should also be just, so no amount of praise should bias the actions of this God. So praise and prayers should we waste.
The praise and prayers may sway a Dictator, King, or a mob boss, and the writers of religious text only knew such people and molded God to be one with such Dictators. This is an insult to God and all the true believers.

Dear Prasad ji,

This question was on my mind yesterday..thought about it the whole day and decided to write in Forum today.

In fact I am feeling slightly guilty to even indulge is any thought that praises God..not that I have an ego that I wont want to bow down to anyone or anything but its just that I dont want to build an image of praise seeking God in my mind.I feel I am doing injustice by even thinking of praising God.

You are right..only humans are swayed by praise etc..one of my friends told me that we are asked to praise God to keep our own ego under check and to remind ourselves how small we are in front of God.

But the question is.."Does God want us to feel small by portraying Him as a Narcissists? or is the own narcissism of men that got transferred from their mind into religious text that they wrote? Are we humans the actual culprits that want to be praised and imagined God to be the same?"

 

[Raji Ram]

Dear Renu,

I have replies to such queries earlier too. Now it is once more for me!!

All the Gods / Goddesses are created by humans and they believe that God created this universe. Theists believe that there is one huge

power which controls the universe and that is The Almighty! Now, everyone has likes and dislikes. And the theists decided to give forms

to the Almighty, according to their whims and fancies. Then groups started following each form and they formed the sets of bhakthAs.

Some forms are pretty / handsome while others are furious / macho ( your favorite word!)

Human mind can not concentrate on something void! So one of these forms is used for meditation. Songs and prayers were composed

in praise of various forms. Then the goals were set to reach the Almighty for salvation from this samsAra sAgaram.


The imagination can run riot, right? Different forms were given different attires, different food, different weapons and so on..........

Temples were built for devotees to throng and spend their time praying / gossiping! Hope I have given enough details!!

 

[Raji Ram]

............
But the question is.."Does God want us to feel small by portraying Him as a Narcissists? or is the own narcissism of men that got transferred from their mind into religious text that they wrote? ......

ayyooooooooo, Renu!

God is created by humans (yaar!!). How on earth do we know what God thinks?? :spy:

 

[Raji Ram]

BTW, even Human Gurus have lots of prayers comparing them to Krishna, Rama and so on.......

That is also whims and fancies of humans! :lol:

P.S: 'H' in the word 'human' is caps because they are Super Humans!! :decision:

 

[CHANDRU1849]

When we read religious text somehow we get a feeling that its all about praising God and He is great..He is this and He is that.

I have no problems with praising God cos its man who is praising God and its not as if God asked men to praise Him.

The Vaishnava point of view goes real hardcore into praising God..especially ISKCON texts tend to praise Lord Krishna to be the ultimate and go on and on talking about His Mahima etc.


I was just wondering..why is God portrayed as a Narcissists that needs to be praised non stop by His Bhaktas?


When God is supposed to be beyond praise and blame why are we taught to keep praising God non stop?

Doesn't this actually give God a bad name? As if He really wants to be pleased and praised?

Krishna is said to be an avatar of Vishnu, and Historians say that Vishnu was a King ruled some parts of Asia. While the original himself seems to be controversial, how come Krishna, who is a human being and born to biological parents, can be treated as God.

 

[krish44]

do you know the religeous doctrinaire difference in vaisnavite vadagalai and thengalai sects


. one sect believes , God in his wisdom decides what is good for each human . we can only

pray and surrender ourself to Him. We humans cannot and should not hope any result by

our actions and God the supreme being does what he very much pleases and He would

bestow on you what He wants

The other sect believes , human by their prayers ,good actions and besides total

surrender can hope for change in behaviour by God towards his bhakthas'

I feel God is a dictator in both sects and keep away from temples and worship . Perhaps

like renukaji , such beliefs hurt my ego.

what God wants GOK [God Only Knows]

 

[renuka]

I feel God is a dictator in both sects and keep away from temples and worship . Perhaps

like renukaji , such beliefs hurt my ego.

what God wants GOK [God Only Knows]

Dear Krish ji,


It does not hurt my ego but I feel bad that we portray God in a wrong light.

My ego does not come anywhere in here..I acknowledge that God is beyond perception and the idea of praising God sort of does "injustice" to God.

 

[sarang]

New matham is under srishty here. God is insulted if praised; conversely god is praised if insulted. I am sure some pramanas are available for proving the sacred premises!
Azhwars and nayanmars will be heartbroken for not realizing this simple truth and may wish they had born in 2014 for quick and easy enlightenment.

I had the same thought, but as usual you beat to a punch.
The praising God is universal in all religions.
But the very definition of God should prohibit this worship of God. If god is all that is defined to be then it does not require to be praised. This God should also be just, so no amount of praise should bias the actions of this God. So praise and prayers should we waste.
The praise and prayers may sway a Dictator, King, or a mob boss, and the writers of religious text only knew such people and molded God to be one with such Dictators. This is an insult to God and all the true believers.

 

[renuka]

New matham is under srishty here. God is insulted if praised; conversely god is praised if insulted. I am sure some pramanas are available for proving the sacred premises!
Azhwars and nayanmars will be heartbroken for not realizing this simple truth and may wish they had born in 2014 for quick and easy enlightenment.

I am having a De Ja Vu here..I am pretty sure I have seen this before!LOL

Ok lets start with a opening stanza for the new matam.




When I did not know anything about You..I still praised You,

What did I know that I could actually praise You?

Do You want to be praised?? I never asked You.

When I never cared to ask You..who gave me the right to praise You?

I have never sought Your permission yet I chose to praise You.

Are these my mistakes or are these what I have been taught?

By those who never asked You what You really are.

All I can say is ...its like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

I can only wonder what You really are.

 

[Raji Ram]

Krishna is said to be an avatar of Vishnu, and Historians say that Vishnu was a King ruled some parts of Asia. While the original himself seems to be controversial, how come Krishna, who is a human being and born to biological parents, can be treated as God.

Dear Sir,

All the purANAs are created! However you argue, Lord Krishna and Lord Rama will be praised and prayed! ray:

BTW, when there are God Men and God Women in real life, why not pray Lord Krishna and Lord Rama who had destroyed evil?

 

[sarang]

Marxist stalinist russians have rewound the clock and renovating all churches. Marxist mao chinese are a bit jittery now unable to contain spread of christianity; as their thousands of years old native culture and beliefs are destroyed without trace, only a new avatar of chinese god will resurrect native religion. Japanese have been clever and are holding on and resisting influx of unholy thoughts.

We are lucky as our dharma tolerates diverse opinions; everyone is free to start a new matham without 'willing' to destroy other mathams. Luck to narcism.

 

[Raji Ram]

Dear Renu,

All religions pray their God / Gods / Goddesses. Do you mean to say that all are wasting their time?

But, if Gods don't exist, there will be no temples / poojAs / stOtrAs / bhakthi songs and peace will prevail, right?

School children also will be relieved from learning the epic stories since they will make no sense!

People can either say, 'aham brahmAsmi' or follow the man-who-should-not-be-named in our forum!! :lol:

 

[Raji Ram]

Dear Renu,

You seem to rack your brain too much! :ballchain:

May be, we have to request MAyAnandhA to pray for a cooler M'sia! ray:

 

[sarang]

Perhaps a solution to your questions is to find a guru; krishna may say - surrender to me, adi shankara may say - baja govindaam, contemporary gurus like srisri, ma amritanandamayi may show the path or indicate who is to be worshiped. Even seeing religious programmes in tamil channels from 5 to 7 in the morning. A balanced mix of worship, philosophy and temples is available in this morning fare.

Krishna is said to be an avatar of Vishnu, and Historians say that Vishnu was a King ruled some parts of Asia. While the original himself seems to be controversial, how come Krishna, who is a human being and born to biological parents, can be treated as God.

 

[renuka]

Dear Renu,

All religions pray their God / Gods / Goddesses. Do you mean to say that all are wasting their time?

But, if Gods don't exist, there will be no temples / poojAs / stOtrAs / bhakthi songs and peace will prevail, right?

School children also will be relieved from learning the epic stories since they will make no sense!

People can either say, 'aham brahmAsmi' or follow the man-who-should-not-be-named in our forum!! :lol:

Dear RR ji,

If you read my OP..I have clearly stated that we do not really know anything about God to even praise Him.

We humans create an impression that God is to be praised beyond our imagination.

I did not say anywhere in my OP that prayer is a waste of time and neither am I advocating atheism like the man who cant be named who insulted Lord Rama with a garland of slippers.

What I am trying to say is I hold God with high regards that I see even praising Him without knowing anything about Him is like "insulting" Him.

I hope you can see the difference in what I am trying to convey.

So since I know nothing about God in the true sense..I have decided that I cant praise Him and neither can I blame Him for He is beyond anything.

It is out of love for God that I have started this topic and not for fun sake.

 

[renuka]

Dear Renu,

You seem to rack your brain too much! :ballchain:

May be, we have to request MAyAnandhA to pray for a cooler M'sia! ray:

Dear RR ji,


Its been raining here daily and the weather is cool and our water rationing has stopped and taps are free flowing with water again..so Mayanandha has no work here!LOL

 

[sarang]

"kandavar vindilar, vindavar kandilar"; that is the basic postulate. One can learn about god and his qualities (both saguna and nirguna) only through srutis. That is why sruti is a pramanam when god or his attributes is talked about. So are smrutis, itihasa and puranas with conditions.
Entire bhakti tradition and literature are derived from above.

Dear RR ji,

If you read my OP..I have clearly stated that we do not really know anything about God to even praise Him.

We humans create an impression that God is to be praised beyond our imagination.

I did not say anywhere in my OP that prayer is a waste of time and neither am I advocating atheism like the man who cant be named who insulted Lord Rama with a garland of slippers.

What I am trying to say is I hold God with high regards that I see even praising Him without knowing anything about Him is like "insulting" Him.

I hope you can see the difference in what I am trying to convey.

So since I know nothing about God in the true sense..I have decided that I cant praise Him and neither can I blame Him for He is beyond anything.

It is out of love for God that I have started this topic and not for fun sake.

 

[renuka]

"kandavar vindilar, vindavar kandilar"; that is the basic postulate. One can learn about god and his qualities (both saguna and nirguna) only through srutis. That is why sruti is a pramanam when god or his attributes is talked about. So are smrutis, itihasa and puranas with conditions.
Entire bhakti tradition and literature are derived from above.

Agreed..but the more we read the more realize we do not know anything..so I guess the best is just choose the middle path where one does not praise nor blame..one does not do nor say..one does not rejoices nor laments..be in a state of equilibrium with scales not tilting to either end of any spectrum.

 

[vaithehi]

kadavul thanmai is with everyone ...but we are not realizing it...when ever we are seeing godliness in everything and try to expand our god's consciousness through selfless activities , you can also realize god within yourself (GOD DO THE TASK OF A HUMAN BEING WHO DO GODS WORK..That is just like ramarkrishna paramahamsa told in a story..there are two workers who with their master always..one was praising him always and not doing his work..another was not praising him but do his work..Naturally the master will like one who does his work rather than one's who praises him..Just like Mother theresa and Gandhi if not in their own way at least we have to be kind enought to humans or living beings who are thrown in the lurch with no one to care for whenever we see them in abandoned condition in desolate places where no one cares them.

 

[renuka]

Whatever said and done...starting a thread with the word GOD makes Forum active again!

 

[dvrrajakumar]

God is the creation of Humans with his knowledge at that time. Everybody is aware, still just for example?

Had the God been recreated today? It is the wildest imagination.......
Prasad will be 1 Pizza, 1 Hamburger, 1 KFC chicken depending on Veg or Nonveg God; All sweets will be made with categorising such as diabetic non-diabetic
Screen will be opened by remote control
Aarti by LED lights
God will be having AK52 or AK47, Missiles.....
His Vahana will be Rocket
His dresses will be Jeans and T-shirts both for God/Goddess
The archana mantras will be Tamilish or Hindiish
Chariot will be Jaguar/BMW...
All Garbhagiruhas will be totally airconditioned with LED lighting
Many more like that
This is written in noway demeaning or degrading or denigrating anybody. Very sorry if you feel so.

But the basics of God is that who is not seeable but feelable (Paarka Mudiyadhu indha Oonakkannaal, Unaramudiyum indha Aatmaavaal) and who is invincible in every count ( this is how the child feels about his/her father/mother as the hero/heroin eventhough he/she may be tending to zero; he/she is the role model). We need a solace from our worries or we want to condition our mind to a certain direction to achieve (It is the word in 3 Idiots movie - All is Well)................ Many more to write.

Prof.D.V.R.Rajakumar

 

[CHANDRU1849]

Dear Sir,

All the purANAs are created! However you argue, Lord Krishna and Lord Rama will be praised and prayed! ray:


BTW, when there are God Men and God Women in real life, why not pray Lord Krishna and Lord Rama who had destroyed evil?

If we start to worship destroyers of evil, it will run to thousands, which includes Politicians, Film Artists, NGOs etc. Is it OK?

 

[CHANDRU1849]

Perhaps a solution to your questions is to find a guru; krishna may say - surrender to me, adi shankara may say - baja govindaam, contemporary gurus like srisri, ma amritanandamayi may show the path or indicate who is to be worshiped. Even seeing religious programmes in tamil channels from 5 to 7 in the morning. A balanced mix of worship, philosophy and temples is available in this morning fare.

A human being has to surrender himself/herself to several persons during his/her life time, if we give importance to fellow human beings - surrendering to teachers at the time of education, supervisors during employment, Govt. Officials / Politicians to get things done, etc.

If a fellow human being has good attributes, that can be identified and followed, if necessary.