“I AM GOD" CONCEPT

"I AM GOD" CONCEPT

1. When Jesus Christ said: I AM GOD, Jews misunderstood him. Romans crucified him.

2. When Sufis [ The Mystical Muslims] said: I AM GOD, religious fanatics killed all of them.
In the 9th century, Sufi Ibn MansurAl Hallaj was dismembered for proclaiming " I AM GOD."

3. When Shirley Maclaine said: I AM GOD, they went after her also. Lucky for her, she only had to deal with verbal abuses not any physical attacks.

WHY ALL THESE ATTACKS?

Let us analyse "I Am God" concept in detail.

FROM WHERE DID THIS CONCEPT ORIGINATE?

It came from the Hindu belief that there is an immortal soul [ATMAN] within the material body of the man and that soul is the mirror image of God or "Paramathman". There are two important mantras in Hinduism which proclaim that.

1. AHAM BRAHMASMIN

I AM INDEED BRAHMAN _ THE GOD
The immortal soul is not the material body.

2. TAT TVAM ASI _ THAT THOU ART meaning again that the individual immortal soul within the body is indeed the supreme soul or Paramathman or God.

If one does not understand the whole story, I AM GOD statement sounds very egoistic and out right stupid. If you say in the Hebrew_Christian context, I am God makes no sense, where God is very personal and a separate entity altogether different from man.

A In 66 books of the Holy Bible, THERE IS NO MENTION OF IMMORTAL SOUL. In fact, there is no word "immortal soul" anywhere in the Holy Human soul in the Holy Bible is created at birth and it can be destroyed.

B When Jesus Christ said: I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE [JOHN 10:30], masses immediately denounced him for blasphemy by saying, "YOU MERE MAN CLAIM TO BE GOD [JOHN 10:33].

Masses attacked Jesus not because he broke the Sabbath laws or showing miracles but because "HE WAS EVEN CALLING GOD HIS FATHER, MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL TO GOD [JOHN 5:18].

Even though Christ said more than 81 times that HE IS THE SON OF MAN, by merely stating I AM GOD Jesus died on the cross.

C Jesus Christ said I AM GOD many times indirectly. Christ also said I AM SON OF GOD indirectly. Christ never said, I AM GOD in a direct answer to anyone...But he said BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS I AM. Those who heard that exploded with anger, condemning Christ for making statement of equalizing himself to God. The wrath of his enemies only grew when he said, I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE [John 10:30]

[JESUS CHRIST] SAID IN THE BIBLE:

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE, HE THAT COMETH TO ME SHALL NOT HUNGER, AND HE THAT BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER THIRST [ JOHN 6:35]

D When Sufis, the Moslem mystics visited Mecca, Moslem fakirs asked Sufis to pray to ALLAH facing east. to that Sufis answered, "WHEREVER WE LOOK, WE SEE THE FACE OF ALLAH." Later Sufis were asked, "ARE YOU GOD?" Sufis answered,"YES". That was enough for the fanatic masses to kill all those realized masters.

Hindus on their part believe that there is the imperishable soul within every man and that soul is an exact reflection of God. The soul within the man is called ATMAN and the God is called PARAMATHMAN [Absolute Soul ]. Of course, the ATMAN will remain captive within the body, life after life, until one realizes that HE IS NOT THE BODY BUT THE IMMORTAL SOUL WITHIN.

Of course, NOBODY REALIZES GOD by just repeating I AM GOD. That has to be achieved by good actions, good thoughts and by meditation. I AM GOD statement seen in many parts of the Holy Bible.

Jehovah to an inquiring Moses said, I AM WHAT I AM [Ex 3:14] Jesus Christ said I AM GOD many times indirectly. He said BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS I AM. Those heard that exploded with anger, condemning Christ for making statement of equalizing himself to God. The wrath of his enemies only grew when he said, I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE [John 10:30]

Lord Krishna said I AM GOD many times in the Bhagavad Gita.

HE WHO SEES ME IN EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ME, TO HIM I AM NEVER LOST; NOR HE IS LOST TO ME [GITA 6:30]

I AM THE SOURCE OF ALL SPIRITUAL & MATERIAL WORLDS. EVERYTHING EMANATES FROM ME [GITA 10:8]

EVERYTHING IS BORN OF ME. I AM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE OF ALL. NO ONE IS ABOVE ME [GITA 12:6,7]

So, what Shirley Maclaine said is nothing knew. It was repeated in history many times. In St. Thomas gospel Christ said: HE WHO DRINKS FROM MY MOUTH WILL BECOME AS I AM AND I SHALL BE HE. Through those lines Jesus Christ is telling the mankind that those who follow him will achieve Christ consciousness and INDEED WILL BECOME AS JESUS CHRIST.

In the ZOHAR [The book of Splendor] the mystical teachings of the Judaism, you may read that IF ONE MEDITATES, EVERYTHING WILL BE REVEALED AS ONE.

So a Hindu or a newager by stating I AM GOD is only repeating HIS OWN ONENESS WITH GOD OR HIS TRUE NATURE. Once again it is utter stupidity to think without proper meditation one can achieve Christ consciousness.

If by saying I AM GOD, one develops EGO, then that person is working against his objective of being one with God. A person who states I AM GOD, should become humbler than a blade of grass....

I AM GOD AND CHRISTIAN FAITH MOVEMENT:

I AM GOD concept has seen even in the FAITH MOVEMENT. According to the book, CRISIS IN CHRISTIANITY by Hank Hanegraaff, almost all FAITH HEALERS are repeating I AM GOD CONCEPT in their sermons. Most of them are not saying that THERE IS A GOD IN YOU, but like eastern philosophers that YOU ARE INDEED GOD.

Kenneth Copeland claims that God is not some creature that stands 28 feet tall....He is very much like you and I....A being that stands around 6'_2", 6'_3" that weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred of pounds ...and a hand span of nine inches across [page 121-Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

Kenneth Hagin states, " MAN....WAS CREATED ON TERMS OF EQUALITY WITH GOD [page 108 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

TBN president Paul Crouch once said," I AM A LITTLE GOD! Critics, be gone [page 112 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

One faith healer Morris Cerullo states,"YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT MORRIS CERULLO...YOU ARE LOOKING AT GOD. YOU'RE LOOKING AT JESUS"
[PAGE 11 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

BENNY HINN said: Never ever go to the Lord and say, "If it be thy well.....' Don't allow such faith destroying words to be spoken from mouth " [page 11 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

God has to be given permission to work in this earth realm on behalf of man....Yes, you are in control...So, if man has control, who no longer has it? God." [page 11 -Refer-Crisis in Christianity]

Why faith healers are talking like Hindu mystics?

Why faith healers do not listen to the statement GOD IS NOT A MAN
[ Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Hosea 11:9]

Why faith healers are forgetting statement in Exodus 9:14 which states,
THERE IS NO ONE LIKE ME IN ALL EARTH."

ALL THESE INTEREST IN "I AM GOD" CONCEPT ACCIDENTAL???
OR IS THERE SOMETHING BEHIND THIS INTEREST????

When Lord Buddha was asked the same question

"ARE YOU GOD?"
Buddha said: "NO"

"Are you an Angel?"
Buddha said: "NO"

"Are you a saint?"
Buddha said: "NO"

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU?"

" I AM AWAKE" answered Lord Buddha... The word BUDDHA in Sanskrit means to KNOW OR AWAKE IN KNOWLEDGE

.CONCLUSIONS:

1. "I AM GOD" statement has come from the mouths of many so called mystics around the world. Jesus Christ is one of those great mystics.

2. "I AM GOD" statement is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE USED FOR EGO GRATIFICATION, instead a person who states that is HUMBLER THAN A BLADE OF GRASS.

3 Anyone who is in search of "truth" will finally come to the realization that I AM GOD, whether that person is a Hindu or a Christian or a Moslem or a Jew or an atheist or an agnostic.

I am fascinated by the statement I AM GOD. It is often repeated by the right wing Christian preachers in their sermons to condemn eastern religions as well as Newage. Unluckily, they have no idea the truth behind the I AM GOD concept. I AM GOD concept does not orginate from the limited ego of a person but from the mind of a person who has attained self-realization