Secrets of The Bible

The Creator

(Article-2)

by: Ghulam Akbar Malik

"Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

(Genesis, 1 / 2)

Historical Background:

Theancient man was simple and realistic. He was accustomed of believing in the things that are visible, perceivable or at least perceptible. He could not believe in anything invisible or supernatural. Although this way of thinking seems to be purely scientific, yet he was intellectually very backward. He could not apprehend the philosophical logics and reasons that form the basis of modern man's belief in existence of the Creator of universe. With the passage of time man advanced physically and mentally and after countless years of evolution, he found the treasure of intellectuality. Thus the series of revelations, inspirations, meditations and miracles began in the epoch of intelligent humans. The basic concept of the Creator of universe also developed during the same period. Is this concept scientific or
non-scientific? Setting aside this argument, it is a reality that majority of the people of our modern world believe in the existence of the Creator of universe. Who introduced this concept for the first time in human history? It is difficult to point out the name of that particular person. By observing the available religious records we will try to find out what this basic concept was and whom did the ancient man chose to call the Creator. Was he able to see Him or was He just imaginary?

It is believed that the Creator of universe is alive, is present everywhere and is a devising authority. The modern man is mentally very advanced and he could prove His existence with several logics. But how did the ancient man believe in the existence of a creator as he was not mentally skilled enough to understand such difficult logics? In other words, it was impossible for him to believe in a God who did not possess the abilities to speak, to move and to be visible.

Bible's God of Waters:

According to the book of Genesis, the mother of Ishmael, Hagar saw an angel of God having the same three signs. But on the basis of her observation, she called the angel, God. The book of Genesis tells us that Hagar ran away due to the harsh treatment of her mistress Sarai. The angel of theLordfound her near a spring in the desert. That spring was located beside the road to Shur. Hagar and angel of theLordtalked to each other. Thus she not only saw the angel of God, but also talked to him, as per the following verses of the holy book of Genesis:

"She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered"

(Genesis, 16 / 13-14)

Usually, the Hebrew sentenceata el roiis translated as,you are God who sees me, whereasbeer lahai roiis translated as,well of the living one who sees me. Its correct translation should be,well of the living one who is visible to me.Especially the meaning of wordroishould bethe one visible to me, which also gets confirmed by Hagar's own statement that,I have now seen. Thus Hagar is the one who sees and she describes her observation. The wordroiis still being used in Arabic, a branch of Semitic language asroyatorroya,which meansto seeorto dream. It should be kept in mind that Hagar is calledthe mother of Arabsand she was the one who uttered the words,ata el roi. According to Arabic grammar, the wordroimeansI have seenorI have dreamed. In addition to this, Hagar's question to herself; "have I now seen the one who is visible to me?"points to her doubt whether it was a dream or reality. It is possible that Hagar had this vision in a state of semi-consciousness because she was wandering in the desert, and was also exhausted and extremely thirsty. Another thing worth noticing is that Hagar saw the angel of God or the God himself near a spring. In Arabic, the wordrawiyastands forbeing irrigatedwhilerawiyyastands forwell irrigating waterora cloud pouring big drops of water.

The wordsroi, royat, roya, rawiyaandrawiyyabelong to the same tribe and if we concentrate on their structure, composition and meanings, concept of the God of waters, presented by the book of Genesis comes to our mind,"and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters."The Hebrew word roi (I saw), Arabic word roya (to dream) and rawiyya (well irrigating rain water) have been derived from the Indo-Aryan Vedic Sanskrit word ravi. The literal and technical meaning of this word isa light or flame that is visible, moves and it also makes a noise. According to Vedic traditions, God made Himself visible in the form of light or flame, He moved and His voice was also heard, that was the song of the creation of universe.

If the wordsraviandroibelong to the same tribe, then we can suppose that the concept of the Creator of universe was also transferred from Indo-Aryans to the Hebrews. So it is supposed that the initial concept of the God of waters was introduced by the Indo-Aryan tribes.

Vedic God of Waters:

If the theology in question was introduced by the Aryans, then whom did they call the Creator of the universe? Did they also witness that God who could move and speak? It is understood that the God of the Aryans was not only in the form of flame (light), but also had a deep relation with the water. To understand the reality of God, let us have a look at the Vedic concept about Him. The holy bookRig Vedassays that prior to the creation of universe,darkness was hidden in darkness and there was water everywhere. According toUpanishads,Parameshwar (God) himself took birth from the water.Bhavishya Puranasays in this regard,prior to the creation of the universe, there was darkness and water everywhere. In this primordial darkness, Brahma created himself through his own energy. ShivPuranaelaborates this concept further by saying,in the beginning, there was water everywhere. In the water, Vishnu (God) created a huge egg (the anda). He then himself entered the egg. Since Brahma was born of that golden egg, he is often called Hiranyagarbha.Varaha Puranatells us,when there was nothing in the universe, the only element that was present, was water and Vishnu had his abode in water. According toGaruda Purana,Narayana Vishnu is the sole doer (creator) of this creation. He is Narayan because he dwells in water [Nara= water, ayana = dwelling place].Thus in the light of these Vedic legends, it could easily be concluded that the concept of Bible's theology about the God of waters (darkness was over the surface of deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the water) has been taken from Indo-Aryans.

The Himalayans were detached from the rest of the world. They didn't even have a clue of the expansibility of the world or the fact that people belonging to different races lived in it. They were familiar with only two types of humans. One type was those who lived near the Himalayan God and were his spiritual offspring. Second type of humans was the tribes who lived in the lower valleys of Himalaya. They thought that the people belonging to lower valleys were not humans but demons andafreetsas it is said in the book of Vedic religion. They did not give them the status of human beings and considered them inferior or of low caste.

The Ultimate Reality:

What was the reality of the God who was witnessed by the Indo-Aryans? Just imagine that neither the universe was created, nor the earth and sky existed at that time, but the water was there. On which surface did that water flow? It is beyond imagination that the water could exist in the form of seas, rivers, lakes and streams in the massive void. Most probably the ancient Aryans named the floating clouds in void as water. The thunder of clouds was the voice of their Creator and their lightning was His moving form. On Mount Sinai, the same light was witnessed by Moses in the form of a flame. Interestingly, the wordsNarayanaof Sanskrit andMoseshave the same meaning. That God also guided Moses and Israelites in the form of clouds. The wordraviconveys the same meaning which is explained by Bible as,the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. So in this verse,the spirit of Godmeansflash of lightning from the clouds. According to Vedic beliefs, the essence of the creation isaapah(water). We can suppose that thundering clouds were voice of the Indo-Aryan's God, it was His order to give essence of creation (in the form of water) to the earth. He was visible in the form of effulgent lightning while commanding. Obeying His orders, rain fell from the sky and gave life to the living things on earth. The God Indra of Vedas was also the lord of waters and thunders. His weapon wasVajar(thunderbolt). He is also calledApsoojeetwhich meansthe conqueror of waters.He frees waters from the clouds and makes the rain fall. The book of Genesis states that God separated the water above the expanse from the water under the expanse. Thus the clouds were the water above the expanse, and the rain was the water under the expanse. The ancient man considered light and water to be the essential traits of the Creator of the universe. That is why they always considered it holy.  The holy ponds of Hindus, where they performashnaan(bath),the bathandablutiondone by Muslims, the tradition of Baptism in the Judaism and Christianity, all of these represent the holiness of water. Snow and hail were also considered to be the phenomena of God. The snow peaked mountains of Himalaya (Heavens), had a status of holiness. They were also considered the abode of Brahma, the creator of the universe. The snow of Himalaya melted during the summer season and when it took the shape of lakes and streams, they were said to be flowing from the Heavens (Himalaya). Hindus still call the river of Heavens asGangaorHimvati(bursting from the mouth ofHimorHimalaya).

Ancient man considered water, snow and hail to be the phenomena of God. Similarly, he thought the light to be the grace of God. Lightning, fire, sun, moon, stars and anything else that gave off light was considered holy. So it seems that the basic concept about the God of waters was introduced by Aryans. Thus we reach the conclusion that the concept of God of waters, presented by the book of Genesis was borrowed from the Indo-Aryan tribes.

The ancient Aryan tribes who lived in the upper valleys of Himalaya considered themselves the psychic sons of that God of waters. The water or snow that was showered upon them from the sky, burst forth from the mouth of their God when he talked in the form of thunder.  The clouds, specially the ones that surrounded a nearby peak of Himalaya in the form of mist and fog, were His reflection. Hence that peak was the abode of their God.

It may be kept in mind that there are several Gods in existing Vedic religion. However the prominent Gods are Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and Indra. The books of Vedic religion tell us that these Gods used to quarrel to bring each other low. But there was only one God i.e. Brahma in the beginning. Remaining Gods were introduced later. Several verses of the
Rig-Veda still present the concept of One God such as:

"Do not worship anyone except God."

(RigVed, 16-45-6)

"He is one and only one worship Him only."

(RigVed, 16-45-6)

The Indians still utter the Braham sooter and say that, "there is no Brahma (God) but God, one without second." Who changed the basic concept of the Oneness of God of Vedic religion? And why? I will try to find the answers but in some other article.

Islamic Doctrine:

Although Quran, the holy book of Muslims also says that the throne of God was on the water but the comprehensive doctrine of unity or oneness of God, presented by the Quran is different and it is the pivot round which the whole system of Islam revolves. The Muslims believe firmly that God is one and only one. The holy Quran says:

"Say He is Allah, The One; Allah the eternally Besought of all; He begeteth not nor was He begotten; and there is none comparable unto Him."

(Al-Akhlas: 1-4)

The holy Quran does not agree with the concept of holy Bible that God created man (or Adam) on His own image and likeness, by saying:

"Nothing is as His likeness; and He is the Hearer, the Seer."

(Ash-Shura: 11)

"And Allah is the Sublime Similitude. He is Mighty, The Wise.."

(An-Nahl: 60)

The Muslims also claim that the earlier Divine books also preached the unity of God, but due to Interpol oration made in the text of the scriptures, and inclusion of facts against the principals of unity of God, the Divine teachings were changed. Hence the founder of Islam was true and real Heir of the Divine teachings, revealed on Adam and his successors or prophets / messengers of God. He set the people on a right path and brought about reformation in their creed.

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