Skip to main content

Is God formless or does He have a form?

'God' means a complete and a perfect personality with no room for any imperfection. If we say He has a form and no formless aspect, then we are limiting Him. If He is God, the all-powerful, why can't He have a formless aspect also? He could be anything that He wishes to. And saying He is formless and cannot have a form is also restricting Him. So to resolve the issue, we must refer to the scriptures, as the knowledge about God must come from them and not from social media, the opinion of the majority or our own limited perception. 
Srimad Bhagavatam (1.2.12) answers:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti 
bhagavan iti sabdyate

'Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth [God] call this non-dual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan."

This means that God has a form, a formless aspect and something in between as well. That makes Him complete and perfect, not lacking in anything.

At the lowest level is the Brahman or the formless aspect, which people address as Brahmajyoti (the blue light). Higher than this is the localized aspect or Paramatma (the four- handed Vishnu form) situated in everyone's heart and upon which yogis meditate. And the highest aspect is Bhagwan or the personal aspect of the Lord where we know Him as a person full of six luxuries, namely, wealth, beauty, knowledge, strength, fame and renunciation.

Let us understand this with the help of an analogy of sunlight, the sun globe and the sun god (Surya Devata). The sunlight represents the Brahman aspect or the impersonal aspect of the sun. Study of the sunlight is not a complete study of the sun. It is the preliminary one. When we go closer, we find that there is a sun globe from where this light is coming, and that is like the Paramatma aspect. This entails slightly advanced study. When we enter the sun globe we see that there is a being, Surya Devata, who is controlling the affairs of the sun and that is like the Bhagwan aspect of the Lord. He, in this form, is making things happen for the sun globe to shine. 

Just like sunlight is emitted by the sun and not the other way around, the formless aspect of God originated from the form and not otherwise.
To further clarify, let us refer to one of the most sacred scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita (12.1), where Arjuna asks Lord Krishna, 'Some worship your formless aspect and some engage in the devotional service of your personal form, which among the two are considered to be superior?'

Lord Krishna answers:

shri-bhagavan uvacha 
mayy aveshya mano ye mam
nitya-yukta upasate
 shraddhaya parayopetas
te me yukta-tama matah

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshipping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by Me to be the most perfect.'

Lord Brahma, the first created being in the universe, also clarifies in Brahma Samhita (5.40):

yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti- kotisu ashesha-vasudhadi-vibhuti- bhinnam tad brahma nishkalam anantam ashesha-bhutam govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

'I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose radiance is the source of the formless Brahman mentioned in the Upanishads, being differentiated from the infinity of glories of the mundane universe and appears as the indivisible, infinite, limitless, truth."

Thus, it is clear that the Supreme Lord has a form, worship of the form is superior and that form is the source of the formless aspect, just as a bulb is the cause behind the light and not the other way around.

Now what about certain scriptures that talk about the formless aspect and address God as Nirakar and Nirgun?

Well, we must understand that among scriptures also there is a hierarchy of understanding, and each scripture caters to a particular level of spiritual evolution. The Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam are the foremost among the scriptures and give complete knowledge about God. Other scriptures touch upon a preliminary understanding with the goal of guiding one towards the ultimate understanding. They bring us to a certain level and then we are expected to advance and not remain stuck with the preliminary knowledge.

When the scriptures say Nirakar or without form, this is addressing those people who, due to a narrow understanding, think that God also has a form like theirs and thus, try to impose their own consciousness on Him and bring Him down to a mundane or ordinary platform. Thus, to overcome such ignorant thinking, the scriptures say, He is Nirakar Brahman or Formless. This helps bring about a change in philosophical outlook and helps develop reverence towards God.

So Nirakar means that the Lord does not have a mundane form like ours, but He does have a spiritual form.

Again, quoting from the Brahma Samhita (5.1):

sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah 
"The Lord has an eternal form, full of knowledge and bliss."

Vigrahah means 'form'. 
Lord Brahma, who is the first created being within the universe and thus knows more than everyone else, explains that the Lord has a form, a divine form that is full of eternity, knowledge and bliss (satchidananda).

When some scriptures use Nirgun, it does not mean that the Lord has no qualities. It simply means that He has no mundane qualities like us. There are three gunas (goodness, passion and ignorance) that bind all of us. But God is beyond them as He is supremely independent and thus cannot be bound by anything. Hence, He is known as Nirgun.

Our father has a form. His father has a form and his father had a form. So, if we go back to our roots and ancestors, we see how everyone has had a form. When we say God has no form, do we mean that the Supreme Lord does not have a form? Is that not an absurd logic?

All the pastimes the Lord has performed have been performed in a form. All the instructions that He has ever given, have been given in a form. 

So if form is neither a reality nor relevant, why wouldHe emphasize it so much? Why would form be the primary medium of His activities in this world?

And in conclusion, if God did not have a form, it would be impossible to have any personal relationship with Him.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

In the Ramayana, why did Lord Rama kill Vali from behind a tree?

Lord Rama's killing of Vali is elaborately discussed in Valmiki's Ramayana and has been analysed by many great spiritual teachers.  Due to a misunderstanding between Vali and Sugriva, the two inseparable brothers, the older and stronger Vali had driven Sugriva from their kingdom and was constantly seeking to eliminate him forever. Sugriva had to live in fear until Lord Rama, who was sent into exile, arrived and promised to help Sugriva restore peace in his life, which could only happen when Vali was killed as all efforts for a reconciliation had failed. As per the Lord's arrangement, Sugriva challenged Vali to a combat, but he was defeated and barely managed to escape with his life. On the urging of the Lord, Sugriva challenged his brother again. When the fight was in progress, Lord Rama hid behind a tree and shot an arrow that struck Vali, who immediately collapsed to the ground. He was furious as he had been shot at in a cowardly manner, and he questioned Lord Rama about ...

What is the relationship between Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva?

Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna are one and yet different. Lord Brahma gives a beautiful analogy to explain this in the Brahma Samhita (5.45) (prayers offered by him at the beginning of creation after having the absolute truth revealed to him): kshiram yatha dadhi vikara-vishesha-yogat sanjayate na hi tatah prithag asti hetoho yah shambhutam api tatha samupaiti karyad govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami Just as milk is transformed into curd by the action of acids, but the effect (curd) is neither the same as nor yet different from its cause (milk), so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whom the state of Sambhu (Shiva) is a transformation for the performance of the work of destruction.' Curd is nothing but the transformed form of milk in touch with acids, but at the same time, milk is the source of curd. Lord Krishna is like milk and Lord Shiva is curd. Lord Krishna is pure spirit. When He comes in contact with material creation, He manifests Himself into a different tattva (catego...

Why did Lord Krishna not marry Radharani?

Before we answer this question, we need to understand who Radharani (also known as Radha) is. Most people consider Radharani to be an ordinary cowherd girl and try to apply a mundane understanding to Her personality. However, Radharani is none other than the 'adi-shakti' or original energy of Lord Krishna. In fact, She is not different from Him. In other words, She is God in the female form. Whenever Lord Krishna comes to this world, She accompanies him to engage in beautiful, loving pastimes along with the other gopis who are Her incarnations.  Chaitanya Charitamrita (1.5) describes: radha krishna-pranaya-vikritir hladini shaktir asmad  ekatmanav api bhuvi pura deha-bhedam gatau tau 'The loving affairs of Shri Radha and Krishna are transcendental manifestations of the Lord's internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Radha and Krishna are one in Their identity, previously They separated Themselves.' Despite being the Supreme Lord, Lord Krishna engages i...