THE INFINITE WORLDS OF GOD

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iranpour
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THE INFINITE WORLDS OF GOD

Postby iranpour » Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:14 am

Usually when we speak about the different worlds of God we consider just the two worlds, THIS WORLD and THE NEXT ONE, this is true because basically there are the two distinct worlds (or planes of existence), this physical world and the next the spiritual world, but within each plane there are many worlds.
I couldn’t find mention of the multiplicity of the worlds of God in Buddhism, Christianity or Islam and I think they have only mention of the TWO MAIN WORLDS.

BUDDHISM:
“The view that alms and offerings are not useless; that there is fruit and result, both of good and bad actions; that there are such things as this life, and THE NEXT LIFE; that father and mother as spontaneously born beings (in the heavenly worlds) are no mere words; that there are monks and priests who are spotless and perfect, who can explain THIS LIFE and the NEXT LIFE, which they themselves have understood: this is called the "Mundane Right Understanding," which yields worldly fruits, and brings good results”. ((The Eightfold Path), Buddha, the Word (The Eightfold Path))

CHRISTIANITY:
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. IF ANY MAN LOVE THE WORLD, THE LOVE OF THE FATHER IS NOT IN HIM”. (King James Bible, 1 John,2:15 ).

ISLAM:“Those who love THE LIFE OF THE WORLD more than THE HEREAFTER, and debar (men) from the way of Allah and would have it crooked: such are far astray”. (The Qur'an, 14:3).

While in Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism and the Baha’i Faith, the worlds of God are described as numerous:

HINDUISM:
“Verily he severs immortality from death; it has twenty-one projections, the worlds of the gods are twenty-one, the twelve months, the four seasons, these three worlds, and as twenty-first yonder sun [3]; SO MANY ARE THE WORLDS OF THE GODS; verily from them he severs his foe”. (Vedas, Yajur Veda - Kanda V).

ZOROASTRIANISM:“We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long all the creatures of Spenta-Mainyu, those that live under the ground, and those that live above the ground; those that live in the waters, and those that live on dry land; those that fly, and those that run in the plains; and all those that live within thisBOUNDLESS AND ENDLESS WORLD OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. (The Zend-Avesta, Khorda Avesta - Book of Common Prayer pt. 1).

SIKH:
“O Nanak, one who claims to know everything shall not be decorated in the world hereafter. ||21|| THERE ARE NETHER WORLDS BENEATH NETHER WORLDS, AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HEAVENLY WORLDS ABOVE.
The Vedas say that you can search and search for them all, until you grow weary.
The scriptures say that THERE ARE 18,000 WORLDS, but in reality, there is only One Universe. If you try to write an account of this, you will surely finish yourself before you finish writing it. O Nanak, call Him Great! He Himself knows Himself. ||22|| (Shri Guru Granth Sahib, Section 1 - Jup).

THE BAHA’I FAITH:

The material world is innumerable:

“When we contemplate this vast machinery of omnipresent power, perceive this illimitable space and its INNUMERABLE WORLDS it will become evident to us that the lifetime of this infinite creation is more than six thousand years; nay, it is very, very ancient”. (Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 108).

And the spiritual worlds beyond are infinite:

“The followers of all religions believe that man, left to himself, can never recognize God and attain His presence; nor is man able to fathom The mystery and purpose of his own creation. God, in His unlimited bounty has singled out His Chosen Ones and will continue to do so, sending them to man at different times and ages in order to grant him penetrating insight and to enable him to have a glimpse of the unfading glories of THE INNUMERABLE WORLDS BEYOND”. (Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, An Explanation of the Greatest Name, p. 13).

The worlds of God are countless in their number; in dream, your spirit been made to traverse a realm which lieth hidden in the innermost reality of this world:

“As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Consider thy state when asleep. Verily, I say, this phenomenon is the most mysterious of the signs of God amongst men, were they to ponder it in their hearts. Behold how the thing which thou hast seen in thy dream is, after a considerable lapse of time, fully realized. Had the world in which thou didst find thyself in thy dream been identical with the world in which thou livest, it would have been necessary for the event occurring in that dream to have transpired in this world at the very moment of its occurrence. Were it so, you yourself would have borne witness unto it. This being not the case, however, it must necessarily follow that the world in which thou livest is different and apart from that which thou hast experienced in thy dream. This latter world hath neither beginning nor end. It would be true if thou wert to contend that this same world is, as decreed by the All-Glorious and Almighty God, within thy proper self and is wrapped up within thee. It would equally be true to maintain that thy spirit, having transcended the limitations of sleep and having stripped itself of all earthly attachment, hath, by the act of God, been made to traverse a realm which lieth hidden in the innermost reality of this world. Verily I say, the creation of God embraceth worlds besides this world, and creatures apart from these creatures. In each of these worlds He hath ordained things which none can search except Himself, the All-Searching, the All-Wise. Do thou meditate on that which We have revealed unto thee, that thou mayest discover the purpose of God, thy Lord, and the Lord of all worlds. In these words the mysteries of Divine Wisdom have been treasured. We have refrained from dwelling upon this theme owing to the sorrow that hath encompassed Us from the actions of them that have been created through Our words, if ye be of them that will hearken unto Our Voice”. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 151).hn

Through putting the Words of God into practice in our lives, we can transform this material world into another world, into an immortal Paradise:

“Spread far and wide the precepts and counsels of the loving Lord, so that THIS WORLD will change into ANOTHER WORLD, and this darksome earth will be flooded with light, and the dead body of mankind will arise and live; so that every soul will ask for immortality, through the holy breaths of God”. (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 3)

At the time of the Bab and Baha’u’llah the world would begins a new SPRING in which every hibernal man will be imbued with a new life and every benumbed plant would be clothed in a new garment of blossoms:

“It has been prophesied that in the time of these two Manifestations the earth will be transformed, the WORLD OF EXISTENCE WILL BE RENEWED, and beings will be clothed in new garments”. (Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 39).

As the plants cannot imagine any other world than the vegetable kingdom, the materially-minded man had no knowledge of the other worlds of consciousness, worlds of light beyond this material world:

“But praise be to God, the world of existence does not culminate here. If this were so, existence itself would be sterile. There ARE MANY WORLDS OF LIGHT. For even as the plant imagines life ends with itself and has no knowledge of our existence, so the materially-minded man has no knowledge of other worlds of consciousness”. (Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 123).

THIS UNIVERSE HAS NOT AIMLESS AND VAIN BUT CREATED WITH A GOAL, AS THE FRUIT TREES DECREED TO BRING FORTH CERTAIN FRUITS:

“This universe is not created through the fortuitous concurrences of atoms; it is created by a great law which decrees that the tree bring forth certain definite fruit. Verily, this UNIVERSE CONTAINS MANY WORLDS OF WHICH WE KNOW NOTHING”. (Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 139).

An example of a marvellous world that concealed is given by Bahá'u'lláh when He talks about the world of sleep and dreaming:

“Indeed, O Brother, if we ponder each created thing, we shall witness a myriad perfect wisdoms and learn a myriad new and wondrous truths. One of the created phenomena is the dream. Behold how many secrets are deposited therein, how many wisdoms treasured up, HOW MANY WORLDS CONCEALED. Observe, how thou art asleep in a dwelling, and its doors are barred; on a sudden thou findest thyself in a far-off city, which thou enterest without moving thy feet or wearying thy body; without using thine eyes, thou seest; without taxing thine ears, thou hearest; without a tongue, thou speakest. And perchance when ten years are gone, thou wilt witness in the outer world the very things thou hast dreamed tonight”. (Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 32).

The Soul Will Continue to Ascend Through Many Worlds:

"Concerning the future life what Bahá'u'lláh says is that the soul will continue to ASCEND THROUGH MANY WORLDS. What those worlds are and what their nature is we cannot know. The same way the child in the matrix cannot know this world so we cannot know what the other world is going to be."
(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, October 18, 1932) (Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 204)

The physical and spiritual worlds are endless and hidden to man:

“This PHYSICAL UNIVERSE IS INFINITE, and if material existence is endless, HOW MUCH MORE SO ARE THE WORLDS OF GOD! When we think of the visible worlds as infinite, how can we think that the worlds of God are limited? THERE IS NO BEGINNING AND NO END TO THE MATERIAL OR SPIRITUAL WORLDS. Man passes through different phases and when in a lower consciousness he cannot comprehend the consciousness above. When we were in the state of the unborn child we had no knowledge of the world of man. If the vegetable kingdom could speak it would cry out, "Where is the world of man?" We cry out, "Where is the kingdom of the spirit?" (Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 117)

WE MAY MEET EACH OTHER IN THE WORLDS OF GOD:

“Although in body we are far from one another, yet -- praise be to God! -- with life and heart we are present in one assembly; we enjoy the spiritual meeting, abide under the shadow of one Blessed Tree, are attracted to the beauty of one Beloved and gaze in the direction of one Object. Therefore, be not sorry on account of the remoteness, but rather engage in the commemoration of God and praise Him. I HOPE THAT WE MAY BE TOGETHER IN ALL THE WORLDS OF GOD”. (Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 49)

THE PARADISE AND HELL OF EXISTENCE ARE FOUND IN ALL THE WORLDS OF GOD:

“The immortality of the spirit is mentioned in the Holy Books; it is the fundamental basis of the divine religions. Now punishments and rewards are said to be of two kinds. Firstly, the rewards and punishments of this life; secondly, those of the other world. But THE PARADISE AND HELL OF EXISTENCE ARE FOUND IN ALL THE WORLDS OF GOD, WHETHER IN THIS WORLD OR IN THE SPIRITUAL HEAVENLY WORDS. Gaining these rewards is the gaining of eternal life. That is why Christ said, "Act in such a way that you may find eternal life, and that you may be born of water and the spirit, so that you may enter into the Kingdom”. (Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 323)

To put in simply; as in example of mathematics if you have infinity on the X axis and infinity on the Y axis, similarly you have an infinite number of worlds on the material plane and equally infinite number on the spiritual plane.

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