GOPAL STAVIG RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY The Omnipresence of Brahman-God in Indian and Western Thought GOPAL STAVIG paceless, timeless, and unchanging causation. All time is in us, we are not in Nirguna Brahma is omnipresent as the time. As the Soul [âtman] is not in time and Sfoundational ground of existence. space, all time and space are within the Soul. Remove Nirguna Brahma and all existence The Soul is therefore omnipresent.’3 ‘This immediately ceases to be. From the non- glass is limited; it is not omnipresent, dualistic standpoint, Shankara described because the surrounding matter forces it to Brahman as all-pervading, omnipresent take that form, does not allow it to expand. It (Sarvagata, Vibhu), boundless without an is conditioned by everything around it and is end, and not confined to a single locality. It therefore, limited. But that which is beyond is the seer of sight, the thinker of thought law, where there is nothing to act upon It, and the knower of knowledge. This is how can It be limited? It must be confirmed by the religious scriptures that tell omnipresent.’4 One infinite omnipresent us, ‘He is omnipresent like space and Brahman-God transcends the law of eternal’ and ‘This one is eternal, causality and is not limited by any omnipresent, steady and unchanging’ constraining external forces. He is not (Bhagavad Gità 2:24). In view of the fact restricted by space, time, and causality or by that Brahman is infinite, there is nothing name and form, and is thus, infinite and outside of It. Brahman is the substratum of omnipresent. space, the ground of existence. All things Concerning Saguna Brahma (Personal are rooted in Brahman while It is rooted in- God) the Divine attribute of omnipresence is Itself. Finite things are contingent having the property of being present in every only a dependent and participating location in heaven and in the universe existence, which they receive from concurrently at the same time, yet being Brahman, the omnipresent substrative cause contained in none. Qualified non-dualists of the universe.1 hold that Brahman-God is everywhere so Vivekananda indicates that Nirguna that we and the laws of nature are a fragment Brahman is ‘omnipresent, because He has no of Brahman-God. Vivekananda explains form. That which has no form or shape that omnipresence this way, ‘The whole universe which is not limited by space or time, cannot comprising all nature, and an infinite live in a certain place. How can it? It is number of souls, is, as it were, the infinite everywhere, omnipresent, equally present body of God. He is interpenetrating the through all of us.’2 ‘Form is confined to time whole of it.’5 ‘The whole world is a body, and space and is bound by the law of and behind that is the universal mind, and 6 Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture October 2017 THE OMNIPRESENCE OF BRAHMAN-GOD IN INDIAN AND WESTERN THOUGHT behind that is the universal Soul. Just as this There is not a particle, not an atom in the body is a portion of the universal body, so universe where He is not.’9 ‘He is near and this mind is a portion of the universal mind, He is far. He is inside everything. He is and the soul of man a portion of the outside everything, interpenetrating universal Soul.’6 ‘The Personal God is only everything.’ ‘Therefore there is a the sum total of all, and yet It is an metaphysical necessity ... one Soul which individual by Itself, just as you are the covers and interpenetrates all the infinite individual body of which each cell is an number of souls in the world, in and through individual part itself.’7 This is omnipresence which they live, in and through which they in the total and most unlimited sense since sympathize, and love, and work for one the universe is the infinite body of God. another. And this universal Soul is A more moderate form is the doctrine of Paramàtman, the Lord God of the universe.’ Panentheism (all-in-God) according to ‘This highest Energy-Love-Beauty is a which the universe is contained within person, an individual, the Infinite Mother of Brahman-God, and that It is within all things this universe—the God of gods—the Lord of (Theoenpanism (God-in-all)).8 This lords, omnipresent yet separate from the coinherence is possible because It is universe—the Soul of souls, yet separate omnipresent. Referring to Brahman-God as from every soul.’10 ‘It,’ means that It combines He, She, and Swami Abhedananda emphasized, ‘If non-personal aspects. Maximum external we say that matter exists separate from and omnipresence indicates that all things reside outside of God, we have made Him limited within Brahman-God. Maximum internal by matter, we have made Him finite and (immanent) omnipresence means that perishable . if He is infinite and one, our Brahman-God resides in all things. An bodies and everything in the universe from infinite Brahman-God without limits is the minutest atom to the largest planetary omnipresent: being external and internal system, from the lowest animalcule to the (immanent) pervading the phenomenal highest Being, exist in and through that world, and existing beyond its limits Infinite Existence. The whole universe is (transcendent). It pervades all objects in God and God is in it; it is inseparable outside of us including space, which makes from God. I am in Him and He is in me . It external to us, just as another person’s this infinite Being pervades the universe and mind pervades their body, yet is external to interpenetrates every particle of matter, us. giving existence to everything.’ ‘Our body is As Swami Vivekananda states, ‘The a part of God’s body, our mind is a part of God of the Qualified non-dualists is also a the Divine or Universal Mind, our will is a Personal God, the repository of an infinite part of the Universal or Cosmic Will.’11 God number of blessed qualities, only He is is the ‘Supreme Lord of the universe, who interpenetrating everything in the universe. dwells in all beings and who is the life and He is immanent in everything and soul of all animate and inanimate objects of everywhere; and when the scriptures say that the world.... He is the one stupendous whole God is everything, it means that God is of which the manifested phenomena are but interpenetrating everything, not that God has parts. The gross material universe is His become the wall, but that God is in the wall. physical body. He sees through all eyes, Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture October 2017 7 GOPAL STAVIG hears through all ears, eats through all omnipresence of Brahman-God is a source mouths, feels through all hearts, thinks of strength and comfort and conviction for through all minds, and reasons through all us.15 intellects.’12 ‘God is not merely the Ruler of Brahman-God, not being a physical the universe standing outside of nature, but object, is not contained in any location. He dwells in nature. He is immanent and Augustine (354-430), the Bishop of Hippo resident in nature. He is not only, therefore, in North Africa who also lived in Rome, extra-cosmic, but also intra-cosmic. He is made the point that God ‘knows how to be the internal Ruler of the universe. His wholly everywhere without being confined creation is constantly manifesting His to any place.’ God is wholly present powers. The physical body of this Being is wherever He is. Moreover, God is not the gross material universe. His mind is contained in or confined by any of the places the sum total of all the individual minds, at which He exists. ‘Although in speaking of and, therefore, it can be said that there is one Him we say that God is everywhere present, ocean of mind or mental force which we must resist carnal ideas and withdraw our pervades the universe, and that is neither mind from our bodily senses, and not yours, nor mine, but belongs to God.’13 imagine that God is distributed through all In the west Stephen Charnock (1628- things by a sort of extension of size, as earth 80), the British Puritan Presbyterian or water or air or light are distributed.’16 clergyman, put it, ‘God preserves all, and The Lutheran theologian Abraham therefore is in all. He works in Calov (1612-86) mentioned that God everything, everything lives and works in ‘comprehends all places, not as one who is Him; therefore He is present with all, or contained and circumscribed, but as the One rather if things live, they are in God, who who contains all things, according to a gives them life. If things live, God is in presence which is illocal and not local. This them, and gives them life; if things move, is what the scholars meant when they said: God is in and gives them motion; if things God is everywhere and God is nowhere— have any being, God is in and gives them everywhere inasmuch as His presence being; if God withdraws Himself, they comprehends all things, nowhere inasmuch presently lose their being.’14 as He is enclosed in nothing. It is not The idea of omnipresence or immanence possible for Him not to be present emphasizes the nearness of Brahman-God. everywhere.’17 Meditators are told to think of themselves as The American Baptist Augustus Strong being bathed in the bliss of Brahman-God. (1836-1921) noted that, ‘God’s nature is Since Brahman-God is omnipresent, It is without extension; is subject to no within us and that constitutes the immanent limitations of space; and contains in Itself divinity at the root and ground of our being.