Images of the Divine

We seem to be seeking a new image of the divine. For many people I talk to the old man with the white beard sitting on the cloud just doesn't make sense. Our modern logic and lifestyle, our desire for personal choice and our exposure to eastern religions such as Buddhism, have all impacted our ideas about "God" or "The Divine."
 
So, considering this philosophical climate, does it matter what name or face we put on the Divine? Well yes and no.
First the yes. The presence of the Divine is something that cannot be described in words. But that is all we have to describe it, we are human and crave distinction. We want to say, "It is like this but not like that."
So in this way I think putting a name or face on the Divine is important. It is a symbolic claiming of the Presence for ourselves; naming helps us to pray, to have trust in and to relate to God.
This is one reason for the pantheon of gods we find in Hinduism. Brahman, the supreme spirit is "the all," without shape, distinction, personality etc. Brahman is everything and nothing, impossible to describe and harder to understand. Thus we see the development of thousands of Gods with human and animal features, representing nature, weather, beauty, knowledge, justice. This creates a human face for the divine and a grand history/mythology we can relate to.

And now for the no. For the exact same reasons I have mentioned, I don't feel we need to decide on one definition of God. For me God is sometimes a mother and father, sometimes a benevolent energetic force.
Sometimes God looks like the Buddha, sometimes Jesus and often like the Virgin Mary. Sometimes the Divine Presence is a deep feeling in the pit of my chest that tells me I am not alone, or the selflessness and compassion of a friend.
Sometimes I see God in the intricate perfection of nature, in awe of the natural balance of all things.
Sometimes I imagine myself as a small boat on a rough sea and God is a steadying hand, a soft breeze that keeps me afloat.
And sometimes, just for fun, God is that all powerful old man figure on the cloud, watching me when I am sneaking an extra  large piece of chocolate cake!

The most powerful lesson I have learned from my interfaith journey is that nobody has the answer, but we all have truth. So I say trust your image of God, if it brings you joy. But if not, allow the possibility of a new image that does. Allow the Divine to be Divine.

Namaste