01 Nov 2019
[This question is part of a Mahā Satsaṅga (grand spiritual discussion) between Swami, Shri Parikshit, Smt. Bindiya and Dr. J. S. R. Prasad.]
Swami replied: The unimaginable God wished to express Himself to all the devotees in the world that He was going to create. So, He created an energetic form with which He merged perfectly. By way of that first Energetic Incarnation, the unimaginable God gave Himself to the world. This first Energetic Incarnation is called Īśvara. Īśvara is also called Datta, which means ‘given’ since the unimaginable God has given Himself to the world by way of this first energetic form. Īśvara and Datta, thus, are the names of the same first Energetic Incarnation of the unimaginable God. It is this same Īśvara or Datta who is called Jehovah by Christians and Allah by Muslims.
Due to His unimaginable power, the same God Datta appears as different forms, when viewed from different angles by the devotees of different religions. Each of these forms has a different name. Only the names and forms differ. All the names and forms belong to the same God Datta. Just as in the world there are different religions, there are different sub-religions within the Hindu religion. For the devotees of each of those sub-religions of Hinduism, God Datta similarly appears as different forms and He is also known by different names! He appears as God Brahmā to the sages of the sub-religion or sect called Hairaṇyagarbha Matam. He appears as God Nārāyaṇa to the devotees belonging to the sect called Vaiṣṇava Matam. For the devotees of the Śaiva Matam, He appears as God Sadāśiva. For the devotees of the Śākteya Matam, He appears as Goddess Parāśakti or Durgā. He similarly takes up many other forms for the sake of different devotees and is known by many other names. This concept is well-understood within the Hindu religion and we have no difficulty in applying this concept to other religions in the world. Hinduism is thus, a miniature representation of the Universal Religion of the entire world.
| Shri Dattaswami | Eshvara Ishwara Narayana Parashakti Shaakteyamatam Vaishnava matam Shaiva Parashakti Durga
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