I too did not achieve / experience IT. IT eluded me also.

I recently met a very elderly man who is spiritually very learned. He told me that he had met one of the most respected and learned sages of recent times (now he has left the body). The sage at the near end of his life told him, “I too did not achieve / experience IT. IT eluded me also.”

(IT means God / enlightenment or whatever you wish to call it). The sage was respected all over India for his knowledge and simplicity.

I am sharing this as I am fast coming to the conclusion that God (or whatever you wish to call it) is unachievable / unexperienceable / ununderstandable by humans. (By humans I include even sages as they are in human form).

That is why there are so many contradictory statements / experiences on what God is. Because it is each one’s own imagination. BUT TRUTH CAN HAVE ONE AND ONLY ONE VERSION.

It has now also got me thinking as to why Buddha refused to discuss God?

Some say Buddha refused to discuss God (or whatever you wish to call it) as he felt humans would be wasting time in such discussions when there were more relevant things to understand / achieve.

OR

Did Buddha refuse to discuss God as he realised that God was unachievable / unexperienceable / ununderstandable by humans????????


(Please don’t ask for the name of the sage as this information was revealed to me on the promise that the sage’s name would be kept a secret.)

I think this makes sense

Phew! Finally!

This thread should be made a sticky.

How can we not understand something we created?

This may be why.

If I define the ripe low hanging fruit in my garden as God, I achieve it every day. If it/he/He/she/She is at the other end of space-time and knowledge, what do I do? Am I spiritually more advanced for labeling that fruit as God and being content realizing it? Or is spending a lifetime making some progress towards the other end of knowledge "better"? Also, of course, why is "spiritually more advanced" more desirable than some other label?

On more deeper reflection, maybe there is God if England actually win the Euro cup....with Rooney playing.

Adiyogi

There is a Peace which passeth all understanding.
It abides in the hearts of those who live in the Eternal.
There is a power that maketh all things new.
It lives & moves in those who know the Self as One.

Haha! Of course God is unattainable. That is what it means to be human! To not understand. Think about it this way; if God was obtainable, then the human condition would be at least partly over. Our opportunity to make decisions and act freely would be completely compromised by learning about God (or whatever that means) or other aspects of any non-material life forms.

For me personally, I believe this dichotomy exists in order for us to experience life to the fullest. I have no actual proof of such, of course, but I have thought about this a lot, and come to my conclusion. Life is a game, dance, exploration, creatively fun tragedy that we get to be a part in, and maybe play a role.

May be because he does not exist therefore the ancient man just prayed to the unknown creater in the form of Gayatri mantra.
All over the world people create him in their own way.
The christian Lord's prayer given by Jessus is also not to a named god. That ways it is similar to Gayatri Mantra.
I suppose if you say these two prayers to God who we donot know as he has never appeared and identified as such, should except as our offering.
And if he does not exist then we are just wasting time.
I think one should not do anything bad and help fellowmen and animals in need of help and that will make us happy and that is all it matters.

THANKS everyone for sharing your valuable inputs.

Years ago a friend told me You become a doctor engineer or a lawyer you study that subject then you practice it.
Yet no one studies certainly the wast majority of us are born into the religion and you accept it.You fight for it and even kill or die for it w/o studying it.
"Amar, Akber and Anthony" syndrome.
We will never know him[God] as may be he does not exist.

Read attentively to Yoga Sutras of Patajali.

There is no idea of God in the Sutras clearly expressed. Samadhi is definitely achievable. What is Samadhi? It is a state when the Seer doesn't identify himself with his body, mind and material world. The Seer understands that he is the Ultimate Truth himself.

In the case of the sage. He just didn't make enough effort to renounce himself: his body, mind and senses ( well, it's not easy and actually is extremely difficult). That is it.

I experienced IT. I was even an IT manager. It's over-rated.




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Yeah, I kept waiting for an on-topic response on computer software..

Here's another one who'd been waiting for a comment just along those lines (Not really surprised to see Nick fill the honors, either )

I sometimes feel at least some of us have already long achieved "it"; but maybe it's not that much of an interesting question or achievement, and the question rather remains so what do we from there.

As a favored author of mine said: 'Enlightenment is easy. “It’s easy to be a sufi,” a Persian shaykh once told me. “What’s difficult is to be human.”'

IT, in India, before the new technological age, stood for Income Tax, and many people still have that understanding of it.

I've achieved that too. Unfortunately, just as I was about to dip my toe into the the higher levels of UK income tax I got made redundant and decided to stay that way. Many are called but few are chosen...