What Image Comes To Your Mind When You Think Of God?

Hi all,

I tried to raise this question in another thread but people misunderstood it.

I am curoius to know, what kind of image comes up in peoples mind when they think of God?
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-sikhi-sikhism/32121-what-image-comes-your-mind-when.html

I have spoken to many people of many faiths (and no faith) and they have stated the following:

1) A bearded man on a throne
2) Bearded man in the sky
3) A Hindu Demi God type person
4) Someone in the image of the Buddha
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=32121
5) Abstract Concepts - Energy, the Power of the Universe, Interdimensional beings.

What comes to your mind and why?

 
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__________________
Randip Singh

Those who renounce meat, and hold their noses when sitting near it, devour men at night.
They practice hypocrisy, and make a show before other people, but they do not understand anything about meditation or spiritual wisdom.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji Page 1289
Fools Who Wrangle Over Flesh

Nothing comes to my mind when I think about God's nirgun form... all intellectual distinctions end at that point. He is just pure consciousness... and you can't picture consciousness can you, its formless?

Everything comes to mind when I think about God's sargun form and how it is revealed to us through Maya. The universe itself comes to mind.

Page 250, Line 11
ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਆਕਾਰ ਆਪਿ ਨਿਰਗੁਨ ਸਰਗੁਨ ਏਕ ॥
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=32121
निरंकार आकार आपि निरगुन सरगुन एक ॥
Nirankār ākār āp nirgun sargun ek.
He Himself is formless, and also formed; the One Lord is without attributes, and also with attributes.
Guru Arjan Dev - view Shabad/Paurhi/Salok

We can only talk about the Sargun side of Ik Ong Kaar as Nirgun has no image and I agree with Bhagat Singh ji on that.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=32121

The Sargun side is expanding every moment in front of us when new discoveries,cures for diseases are found.

The Sargun of Ik Ong Kaar can be found in the places like "Walter Reed Center" and many other places like this around the world, where the wounded soldiers from the two horrible wars are given new hope to live normal lives with the help of artificial limbs.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=32121

The Awe! and the Wow! factors that surround us when we discover new planets, Galaxies, Milky ways in the worlds beyond.

And lastly, the expression of contentment, happiness, exhilaration on the face of a mute and deaf person when he/she puts his/her favourite sweet in the mouth.

Tejwant Singh

One thing about Sikhi that makes it more unique than most other religion is that the concept of God can be a non-anthropomorphic, so we can say he is the universe itself and thats what I stick by.
Also this article made me giggle http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11161493
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=32121
So God didn't create the universe huh? But he is the universe

So does anyone have like an image, like a kind of flow of energy that is shapeless and glowing or something, or a picture of the entire Universe?

http://www.mpe.mpg.de/XMMCosmos/Imag..._g1_300dpi.jpg

If the universe is created matter, it is sargun even if it is invisible to the human senses because of its form or distance. However, God is both sargun and nirgun, so how can we limit our experience or vision of God to the universe?

My intellectual side knows God has no form but when I think of God I remember the amazing life in the rainforest or the crashing of waves on a beach or numerous other scenes of God's creations that have filled me with awe when I have seen/experienced them

We can definitely experience (and only experience) the Nirgun... by making introspective efforts, by turning inwards and by turning off the mind's eye, becoming one with subjectivity.

It is said that this experience cannot be described.

I think when we hear about Spiritual Experiences, these people have somehow either by accident or by skillful training like Yogis have actually experienced the Nirgun. They have actually experienced the unity that underlies our world, Ik Oankar.

Bhagat Singh ji,

Guru fateh.

Yes indeed, Nirgun is a very personal experience as this Spiritual journey is the journey of the individual and each of us carry our own individual Spiritual torch.

This Nirgun experience for some could be like a Runner's high or Tim Leary's. I met many Nihangs in India that claim that they are able to talk to Guru Gobind Singh ji after drinking their magic potion and all these Nihangs were from different Jathas and I happened to meet them many times.

The true Nirgun experience is manifested in a Sirgun manner with the individual's deeds and actions, what he/she has left to make this world better for others to follow. If not then it nothing but the magic potion of a Nihang, and Tim Leary's. But as an ex runner, I would still consider Runner's high as a Nirgun experience because with time, when one has been running for years, especially long distances, one's attitude towards life changes towards better.

Tejwant Singh