While the same is most of the times, a very effective means of communication, it does have its share of contribution in compounding the gap in comprehension of concepts too.
Religion and inter-faith discussions are forums where this is seen the most. The major world religions are broadly categorised under the Abrahamic religions and the Dharmic faiths.
India has been a unique melting pot of the two categories for centuries, starting with the first Jews settling in India and then with the Christians and lastly the Muslims.
With the followers of the two schools of thought becoming neighbours, the process of understanding each other's beliefs started and so did the process of trying to draw parallels in concepts of faith.
One of the most beautiful results of this process was what is today known as Sufism. In my opinion, this was India's most important religious contribution which can be a saviour of today's religiously polarised world.
With the coming of the British Raj, it was now the turn of the Western world to draw the same parallels again to understand what it was to be Indian. This process, as a result of the bias of Western colonial chauvinism never attained the form of something as beautiful as Sufism. Crude and disrespectful analogies with little research were made to describe Indian culture.
The concept of God was one such parallel.
As a result, today, the words like Parmatma, Bhagwan and Parmbrahman are loosely translated and equated to the English word God or Arabic word Allah when in fact, there can never be a parallel drawn here at all.
God in the Abrahamic faiths is an independent entity, who is a creator, sustainer and a destroyer when at the same time never being one with the created. This is best explained and exhibited in the chapter of the Qur'an, Surah Al Ikhlas, (112).
This independence is the most vital difference in the two concepts.
In the Dharmic belief systems, there are many schools of thoughts of creation, sustenance, destruction and regeneration of all. But all schools of thought have one common focal point; the concept of Paramatma.
Paramatma to followers of the Dharmic beliefs is always one with themselves. "Aham Brahmasmi, tat tvamasi".
Dharmic schools of thought teach the union of human with the world around. It is more a state of consciousness, where pain of another being is felt as much as if would to self. The difference between "you" and "I" doesn't exist here at all.
There is a piece for everyone depending of states of consciousness and temporal evolution.
So, the lowest in consciousness and self awareness see a clear distinction between every being and see a distinct all powerful deity, with sometimes lower levels of power in hands of smaller deities. Atman and Parmatma are still not the same for them. One is subservient to the other and is distinct too.
The highest in consciousness and self-awareness see no distinction in any of them and themselves too. This is where the Atman and Parmatama are one.
Removing this distinction amounts to blasphemy in all Abrahamic religions. Thus, the equation of God (Allah in Arabic) and Paramatma is never possible. However, Paramatma, the ultimate state of consciousness is never in conflict when referred to as God or Allah or Gautam or Hitler or Gandhi.
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| Paramatma Venn Diagram |
In the same breath, theism and atheism are concepts of little relevance in Indian culture as the two revolve around the concept of God.
Aham Brahmasmi tat Tvamasi (I am the highest consciousness, and one with you)
Om Tat Sat!
