Finding Common Ground

THE UNITY, SINCERITY, ONENESS OF GOD, CHAPTER NO. 112

112.001 Say: He is God, the One and Only;

112.002 God, the Eternal, Absolute;

112.003 He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;

112.004 And there is none like unto Him.

This above definition of God given in the Holy Koran is consistent with that in the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad-Gita.

Bhagavad-Gita states –

“Whosoever meditates on the Omniscient, the Ancient, the ruler (of the whole world), minuter than an atom, the supporter of all, of inconceivable form, effulgent like the sun and beyond the darkness of ignorance, at the time of death, with unshaken mind, endowed with devotion and by the power of Yoga, fixing the whole life-breath in the middle of the two eyebrows, he reaches that resplendent Supreme Person.”

It proceeds to explain that this is possible only by daily remembrance of God. Gita also stresses the importance of being righteous.

This is then contrasted with those who worship things other than Him.

Bhagavad-Gita states –

Arjuna said, O Krishna, what is the situation of one who does not follow the principles of scripture but who worships according to his own imagination? Is he in goodness, in passion or in ignorance?

“Men in the mode of goodness worship the demigods; those in the mode of passion worship the demons; and those in the mode of ignorance worship ghosts and spirits.

Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride, egoism, lust and attachment, who are impelled by passion and who torture their bodily organs as well as the Supersoul dwelling within are to be known as demons.”

The message from the Koran that those who put their hope in the meeting with the lord should worship only him and live righteously (contrasted with those who worship the jinns or other creation) is also thus found in the Gita. This simple message is the essence of religion.

In the Koran it is stated that all creation is from God and to Him is the end of all things. He alone is eternal and absolute.

So also the Bhagavad-Gita states –

“From the unmanifested all the manifested (worlds) proceed at the coming of the “day”; at the coming of the “night” they dissolve verily into that alone which is called the unmanifested.”

“Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.”