🪽On Being GODLIKE; By Being More Human?
No, I’m not talking about being GODLIKE or Beyond GODLIKE on Dota 2: I have friends who can teach that way better than me.
I am talking about the actual God (if you believe in one) and today we shall see WHAT being Godlike is, WHY we should be more Godlike, and finally HOW we can try being a little more Godlike every day of our lives.
The content in this article is inspired by a bunch of different sources: primarily sermons from Sunday masses I attend, 7 Divine Laws (7DL) by Swami Mukundananda and Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. (PY)
Part 1: WHAT is Being Godlike?
The million-dollar question: what is being Godlike? Is it someone part of a High IQ Society like Mensa that requires you to pass an intelligence test to join? Is it someone like Pablo Casals, a musician who never stopped practising even at the age of 95? Or is it someone with relentless ambition — for whom ambition is the pursuit of ambition?
Most religions concur on the concept of what Godlike is — and the answer may be quite surprising. They all seem to agree that the concept of God is quite close to the definition of humans and humanity.
Jesus, the Son of God lived life as a regular human being and died as a regular human too.
Being Godlike is to be a normal human being; be a better husband, wife, son, or daughter, be a better human and use your powers to help humanity and not prey on it.
One reason why it is hard for us to associate being human with God is that the definition of “human” in today’s age has drastically changed — we rarely associate being human with doing good and most of the time it’s associated with destruction and selfishness.
Paramahansa Yogananda (PY)’s father sets a good example of being human: by forsaking the accumulation of money (eg. he refused shares in the Calcutta Urban Bank after organizing it) and even-mindedness (neither jubilant with gain nor depressed with loss).
To be more Godlike, we could try answering a key question: What does God want in this life?
“The Creator, in taking infinite pains to shroud with mystery — His presence in every atom of creation could have had but one motive — a sensitive desire that men seek Him only through free will.” (PY)
This means that seeking God through our free will could be another way to be Godlike.
Part 2: WHY Should We Be More Godlike?
Now that we know what being Godlike is, why should we strive towards it?
Living in a world that’s being ravaged by not one, but two wars right this moment — I believe the WHY for all of us to be more Godlike is pretty evident.
People have forgotten how to be human — almost everyone is running a rat race: be it for attention, wealth or even a basic livelihood and survival. The worst part is no one enjoys or derives happiness from these races — but they seem to have no choice but to take part in them.
But being Godlike goes beyond just being human.
These two quotes may help paint a better picture.
“Nature’s very objective is the evolution of souls to super-consciousness.” (7DL)
“Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48)
Before we can even think of attaining super-consciousness and being like God, we have to learn to be human first.
We know the what, and we know the why, but HOW do we become more human, and eventually Godlike?
Part 3: HOW Do We Become Godlike?
Information about the What and Why of being Godlike was slightly scarce, but there is no dearth of instruction on how we can be more Godlike.
I’ve collated insights from some of the greatest people and practices on earth on how we can find our path to becoming Godlike;
Practices: Meditation/Yoga, Religion/Spirituality, Music, Nature, Balanced Living
For insights from People (Refer to the Appendix): Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Yuktheshwar, Buddha, Alexander the Great, Tagore, JC Bose, Bhaduri Mahasaya
If I had to summarize all the learnings to become Godlike in one line: Simple Diet, Daily Exercise, Pure Love, Self-Restraint and Lack of Attachment, Humility, Calmness, Determination, and Self-Respect.
I expand ideas and insights from each of the practices below.
Meditation/Yoga
Numerous studies have shown that peace comes from Deep Meditation, but to do this we need FMT (freedom, money, time)
The sad misconception is we think we need tons of FMT, but even a little of it each day is more than enough.
The first steps, (1) yama and (2) niyama, require observance of ten negative and positive moralities — avoidance of injury to others, of untruthfulness, of stealing, of a lack of self-restraint, of gift-receiving (which brings obligations); and purity of body and mind, contentment, self-discipline, study, and devotion to God.
Next steps are (3) asana (right posture); the spinal column must be held straight, and the body firm in a comfortable position for meditation; (4) pranayama (control of prana , subtle life currents); and (5) pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses from external objects).
(6) dharana (concentration); holding the mind to one thought; (7) dhyana (meditation), and (8) samadhi (superconscious perception). This is the Eightfold Path of Yoga which leads one to the final goal of Kaivalya (Absoluteness), a term which might be more comprehensibly put as “realization of the Truth beyond all intellectual apprehension.”
Although a full understanding of Kriya Yoga is out of the scope of this article, I share a short introduction below. Kriya Yoga is “union (yoga) with the Infinite through a certain action or rite.” A yogi who faithfully follows its technique is gradually freed from karma or the universal chain of causation and can accelerate his psychological development.
The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centres (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses). One thousand Kriya practiced in eight hours gives the yogi, in one day, the equivalent of one thousand years of natural evolution: 365,000 years of evolution in one year. In three years, a Kriya Yogi can thus accomplish by intelligent self-effort the same result that nature brings to pass in a million years.
We see the effect of controlling breath in many animals: the elephant, tortoise, snake and other animals noted for their longevity have a respiratory rate which is less than man’s. The tortoise, for instance, who may attain the age of 300 years, breathes only 4 times per minute.
Religion/Spirituality
Religion is universal and it is one. We cannot possibly universalize particular customs and convictions, but the common element in religion can be universalized, and we can ask all alike to follow and obey it.”
Music
In India, music, painting and drama are considered divine arts. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva — The Eternal Trinity, were heralded as the first musicians.
The Divine Dancer Shiva is scripturally represented as having worked out the infinite modes of rhythm while Brahma accentuated the time-beat with the clanging cymbals, and Vishnu sounded the holy mridanga or drum. Krishna is always shown with a flute, on which he plays the enrapturing song that recalls to their true home the human souls wandering in delusion.
Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, is symbolized as performing on the vina, the mother of all stringed instruments. The Sama Veda of India contains the world’s earliest writings on musical science. The foundation stone of Hindu music is the ragas or fixed melodic scales.
The Sanskrit word for a musician is bhagavathar, “he who sings the praises of God.” The sankirtans or musical gatherings are an effective form of yoga or spiritual discipline, necessitating deep concentration, and intense absorption in the seed thought and sound. Because man himself is an expression of the Creative Word, sound has the most potent and immediate effect on him, offering a way to remembrance of his divine origin.
Each one of the six basic ragas has a natural correspondence with a certain hour of the day, season of the year, and a presiding deity who bestows a particular potency. Thus,
(1) the Hindole Raga is heard only at dawn in the spring, to evoke the mood of universal love;
(2) Deepaka Raga is played during the evening in summer, to arouse compassion;
(3) Megha Raga is a melody for midday in the rainy season, to summon courage; (4) Bhairava Raga is played in the mornings of August, September, October, to achieve tranquillity;
(5) Sri Raga is reserved for autumn twilights, to attain pure love;
(6) Malkounsa Raga is heard at midnights in winter, for valor.
Even if you keep aside the set periods for the Ragas, it’s hard to fault the logic of listening to the right music at the right time to evoke a certain feeling or characteristic in us. Music is a powerful way for us to get in touch with our humanity and ultimately our Godliness.
“Music is a universal language. Americans will not fail to feel the soul-aspiration in this lofty chant.” — PY
Nature
Luther Burbank was an American botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in agricultural science. He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. These were his words to PY:
“I see humanity now as one vast plant, needing for its highest fulfillments only love, the natural blessings of the great outdoors, and intelligent crossing and selection. In the span of my own lifetime, I have observed such wondrous progress in plant evolution that I look forward optimistically to a healthy, happy world as soon as its children are taught the principles of simple and rational living. We must return to nature and nature’s God.”
PY on The Indian Skies: “The beauty of the Indian change in day to night is beyond compare elsewhere; often the sky looks as if God had taken all the colours in His kit and given them one mighty kaleidoscopic toss into the heavens.”
Balanced Living and Manifestation
Karma and Desire; Cause and Effect
Keep the body in a good condition, or else the mind is unable to remain fixed in devotional concentration.
Karmic law requires that every human wish find ultimate fulfilment. Desire is thus the chain which binds man to the reincarnational wheel.
In Blockchain terms, you could think about God as a blockchain, keeping track of Karmic debits and credits.
Manifestation: any word spoken with clear realization and deep concentration has a materializing value.
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” — Mark 11:24.
Balanced Living: Not forgetting worldly duties, although some forsake life experiences like marriage and family for similar experiences.
Sri Yukteswar had interpreted these words: “The devotee who forgoes the life experiences of marriage and family, and exchanges the problems of a small household and limited activities for the larger responsibilities of service to society in general, is undertaking a task which is often accompanied by persecution from a misunderstanding world, but also by a divine inner contentment.”
Part 4: Summary and Conclusion
If you made it this far, congratulations! That was quite a long read to make it through :P
What would a World Society filled with Godlike people look and feel like?
This quote from Paramahansa Yogananda perfectly sums it up:
“‘World’ is a large term, but man must enlarge his allegiance, considering himself in the light of a world citizen,” I continued. “A person who truly feels: ‘The world is my homeland; it is my America, my India, my Philippines, my England, my Africa,’ will never lack scope for a useful and happy life. His natural local pride will know limitless expansion, he will be in touch with creative universal currents.”
Man is a soul, not an institution; his inner reforms alone can lend permanence to outer ones.
Appendix 1: Insights from Great Individuals
Mahatma Gandhi on being Godlike
On Diet:
“By inward and outward wisdom in regard to eating, the SATYAGRAHI’S sexual fluid is easily turned into vital energy for the whole body.”
On Religion:
The Mahatma has reverently studied all world religions. The Jain scriptures, the Biblical New Testament, and the sociological writings of Tolstoy are the three main sources of Gandhi’s nonviolent convictions. He has stated his credo thus: I believe the Bible, the Koran, and the Zend-Avesta to be as divinely inspired as the Vedas. I believe in the institution of Gurus, but in this age, millions must go without a Guru, because it is a rare thing to find a combination of perfect purity and perfect learning. But one need not despair of ever knowing the truth of one’s religion, because the fundamentals of Hinduism as of every great religion are unchangeable, and easily understood.
In the lesson of His own life, Jesus gave humanity the magnificent purpose and the single objective toward which we all ought to aspire. I believe that He belongs not solely to Christianity, but to the entire world, to all lands and races.
On Love:
Scientists will work wonders out of various applications of the laws of nature, a man who applies the laws of love with scientific precision can work greater wonders. Nonviolence is infinitely more wonderful and subtle than forces of nature like, for instance, electricity. The law of love is a far greater science than any modern science.
On Humanity:
I have enough humility to confess my errors and to retrace my steps. I own that I have an immovable faith in God and His goodness, and an unconsumable passion for truth and love. But is that not what every person has latent in him?
Sri Yukteswar (PY’s Guru) on Being Godlike
1. “Look fear in the face and it will cease to trouble you.”
2. “Attachment is binding; and lends an imaginary halo of attractiveness to the object of desire.”
3. “Practice Candor with Courtesy, it is helpful and admirable.”
4. “Even when the flesh is weak, the mind should be constantly resistant. If temptation assails you with cruel force, overcome it by impersonal analysis and indomitable will. Every natural passion can be mastered.”
5. “He had chosen instead to storm those inner citadels of wrath and egotism whose fall is the height of a man.”
6. In his public speeches he mentioned a lot about these key points: Kriya Yoga, self-respect, calmness, determination, a simple diet, and exercise.
Buddha on Being Godlike
Lord Buddha was once asked why a man should love all persons equally. “Because,” the great teacher replied, “in the very numerous and varied lifespans of each man, every other being has at one time or another been dear to him.”
Alexander the Great on Being Godlike
These are responses shared by Danbamis, an Indian Sage, to questions posed by Alexander the Great.
“How may a man become beloved?”
“A man will be beloved if, possessed with great power, he still does not make himself feared.”
“How may a man become a god?”
“By doing that which it is impossible for a man to do.”
Tagore on being Godlike
The beauty of his lines, to me, lies in his art of referring to God in nearly every stanza, yet seldom mentioning the sacred Name. “Drunk with the bliss of singing,” he wrote, “I forget myself and call thee friend who art my lord.”
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Tagore once wrote to his Dear friend JC Bose who we will read about next:
“So may our India,
Our ancient land unto herself return
O once again return to steadfast work,
To duty and devotion, to her trance
Of earnest meditation; let her sit
Once more unruffled, greedless, strifeless, pure,
O once again upon her lofty seat”
JC Bose on being Godlike
JC Bose firmly believed in not exploiting his inventions commercially; he upheld what we now call open-source principles for all his work.
This was his vision for the India Story: one of infinite patience, and being free from the desecration of knowledge only for personal gain.
Bhaduri Mahasaya (The Levitating Saint) on being Godlike
-> Love God more than meditation — do not mistake the technique for the goal.
-> On Sacrifices, Martyrs and Renunicates: “I have left a few paltry rupees, a few petty pleasures, for a cosmic empire of endless bliss. How then have I denied myself anything? I know the joy of sharing the treasure. Is that a sacrifice? The shortsighted worldly folk are verily the real renunciates! They relinquish an unparalleled divine possession for a poor handful of earthly toys!”
This paradoxical view of renunciation puts the cap of Croesus on any saintly beggar, whilst transforming all proud millionaires into unconscious martyrs.
Appendix 2: Guide to the Seven Divine Laws
1. Law of Infinite Potential:
All souls have infinite potential for growth, whatever be their present state.
2. Law of Incremental Growth:
Personal excellence and life mastery can only be achieved by consistent small steps of incremental improvement.
3. Law of Beliefs
The trajectory of our life is determined by the beliefs we hold in our intellect.
To develop perfect beliefs:
1. Get perfect knowledge from a perfect source. (shravanam)
2. Contemplate on said knowledge (mananam)
3. Decide with intellect (nididhyasanam)
4. Law of Happiness
The most important beliefs are those about happiness as these will determine your values, morals, attitudes, and goals.
True happiness comes by growing from within to become a better person.
The quest to derive happiness can be understood in 3 stages:
Before, During and After the object is attained: are you happy or unhappy during these 3 stages?
Taking the very example of me writing this article — If I was tensed and bothered about how long it was taking and constantly thinking of the other pending work I had to complete, I wouldn’t enjoy the ‘During’ of writing this article.
5. Law of Sublimation
We must overcome our lower nature, consisting of unwholesome desires, attachments, greed, pride, envy, and aversions. However, suppression has the reverse results. The Law of Sublimation provides a way to conquer our lower impulses by directing our minds towards God.
6. Law of Love
Understanding the difference between love, lust, and business. This law clarifies that our hearts can only be satisfied by true love, which is a deep and noble affection for the other’s happiness, without seeking personal benefit in return. The basis of this divine love is the service attitude, which must first be developed towards God, and then to all creation.
7. Law of Mentorship
Having a good mentor in any field helps us shorten the learning curve, set goals, receive encouragement, stay focused, avoid pitfalls, and so much more. In the spiritual field, the mentor is called a ‘guru’.