Are the gods of different religions different? (PK answered 25)
Answer Podcast:
Transcription (edited) by – Bhaktin Raji Nachiappan
Question- Are the Gods of different religions, different?
Answer (short)-
- No, Gods of different religions are not different, they are all referring to same one God.
- For example, Sun can be called by different names (Surya, Bhaskar etc.) in different languages, similarly the same God can be referred to as with different names (Allah, Ram, Jehova etc.) in different religions.
Answer (long)- No, all religions are different ways to go to the same one God. But depending on time, place and circumstance that God is referred to differently in different religions.
Just as the same one object, Sun, can be called as Surya, Bhaskar, Ravi, Suraj. It can be called by different names in different languages. Similarly, the same one being, the Absolute truth, God, is referred to by different names in different religions. Allah can refer to His all merciful/all-kind aspect, Jehovah can refer to His all-powerful aspect, Ram refers to His all-happy aspect, and Krishna (sarva-akarshiti iti-krishna) refers to his all attractive aspect. So, it is that same one being who is referred to by different names.
If we carefully study the scriptures of the great religions- the Bible, the Quran or the Bhagavad gita (BG) we find that similar attributes are described for God. For example, the Bible says that I am the alpha and the omega of all things and Krishna says in BG 10.33 (aksharanam akarosmi) that I am the beginning of everything, I’m the letter A and (sargāṇām ādir antaś ca madhyaṁ caivāham arjuna, BG 10.32) I’m the beginning, middle, and the end. Similarly, in the Quran also it is said about how Allah is the beginning, middle, and end of all things.
If we look beyond the names to the attributes of God, just like we look beyond the names of sun, to the actual object sun, then we will see that although the names are different the object is the same. Similarly, if we look beyond the names used for God, to the attributes of God, then we will find that actually all the religions are referring to the same one God.