भगवान क्या हैं - स्त्री, पुरुष, या नपुंसक? (Does God have a Feminine, Masculine, or Eunuchine Gender?)

Several devotees remain puzzled as to whether God they worship is a female or male entity. Most think it to be a male. Quite naturally since most spiritual masters throughout Maanav-history have spoken of Almighty in terms of masculine gender. For example, Jesus, the beloved son of God, said, “I and the Father are one” implying God is a male person because father anatomically means a male only!

Followers of certain religions and sects such as the Islam and Sikhism, etc., perceive God as a male. Muslims call their God Allah who they address in third person as ‘He’. Similarly, Sikhs call this entity ‘Waheguru’ and ‘Onkar’. They too speak of this in terms of third person as ‘He’.

Before we delve further, we must be clear about two points. First, many mystics have talked of Supreme Consciousness as God in a very broader sense. They never identified their God with any particular gender. To them, there God is a vast ocean of infinite light, the all-pervading highest spiritual realm. Second, lesser mortals have used God to mean different things. Some have used this word to denote spiritual entities of lowers realms such as Causal (Kaarann) realm. They call female entities of this realm Goddesses and male the Gods.

Interestingly enough, there is no mention of any Heavenly Mother by Jesus. Nevertheless, logically speaking, there has to be a heavenly mother, too if there exists a Heavenly Father…! 

Who is that heavenly mother?

Naturally, Heavenly Father and Mother of Jesus must have descended from some higher realm. That realm has to be the realm of Brhm (Supreme Consciousness) only.

In Sanatani spirituality, male forms of Supreme Consciousness (Parmaatma परमात्मा) are called Fathers and the female forms the Mothers. For example, it considers Lord Shiv, Vishnu and Brahmaa as fathers. In addition Shivaa, Laxmi and Saraswati as mothers.  

These divine fathers and mothers have originated from somewhere. Their realm of origin is the Purnn Brhm, the Ultimate-reality called Supreme Consciousness (Parmaatma परमात्मा).

Each of these fathers and mothers claim Supreme Consciousness (Parmaatma परमात्मा) to be their own ultimate form.

For the purpose this research-paper, the Brhm refers to Purnn Brhm or Supreme Consciousness.

Now, let us examine the question of what this Supreme Consciousness (Parmaatma परमात्मा) is?

In ShrimadDeviBhaagwat, divine mother Goddess Bhuvaneshwari says, “मैं  और ब्रह्म एक ही हैं। मुझ में और इन ब्रह्म में

कभी किंचितमात्र भी भेद नहीं है। जो वे हैं, वही मैं हूँ और जो मैं हूँ, वही वे हैं। बुद्धि के भ्र्म से भेद प्रतीत हो रहा है।
...ब्रह्म  एक ही है। केवल संसार-रचना के समय वह द्वैत रूप को प्राप्त होता है। फिर द्वैत की भावना होने लगती

है।... संसार के अभाव में मैं न स्त्री हूँ, न पुरुष हूँ और न नपुंसक ही। फिर सृष्टि आरम्भ हो जाने पर इस भेद की कल्पना हो जाती है।".

This literally translates as, “I and Brhm (Supreme Consciousness) are one. There is not even slightest difference between this Brhm and me. I am same that it is. It is same that I am. Difference (duality) is being felt due to confusion in intellect… the Brhm (Supreme Consciousness) is one. It becomes dual only when Creation of World begins. Then, duality (dichotomy) starts being felt…In absence of World, I am not a Female, not a male, and not a Eunuch. Then, this difference comes into imagination/existence upon start of the World…”

It is self-evident from the foregoing translation the Mystics’ God or Supreme Consciousness (Brhm) is gender-neutral. It means it is neither feminine nor masculine. In addition, it is not the third gender called Eunuch.

Then, what gender is it?

Well, one indicative answer to this perplexing and vexing

question is found in ShivPuraann. This spiritual text quotes Sutji,“इसी समय  उस पर संतुष्ट हुए ज्योति:स्वरूप महेशवर शिव शीघ्र उसके सामने प्रकट हो गए ।“ This literally translates as, “At this moment, pleased with him, the Light-form Maheshwar Shiv appeared before him.”

Shiv has many layers or levels of his being. His identity as Ishwar is lower to Maheshwar in terms of spiritual powers.

The use of phrase ‘Light-Form Maheshwar Shiv’ clearly means the real form of Shiv is ‘Light’. This ‘Light’ is known as Brhm (Supreme Consciousness), too. The Brhm (Supreme Consciousness) is the final stage.

Statements of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari make it amply clear that the Supreme Consciousness has no gender in terms of what we mortals think of as Feminine, Masculine or Eunuchine. The statement of Sutji means Gods such as Shiv are actually beings of light called Supreme Consciousness.

As such, God as understood by Mystics does not possess any Maanav-gender of our physical realm.

However, God as meant by Mystics does possess a special gender called ‘Jyotirling’ or the gender identified with light. ‘Ling’ means ‘Gender’. ‘Jyoti’ means ‘Light’. This is evident from the fact 12 famous structures called ‘Jyotirlings’ are in existence. These 12 are as follows: Somnath in Surashtra, Mallikarjun at Shri Shail,, Mahakaal in Ujjayani, Amreshwar in Onkar, Kedar in Himalaya, BhimShankar in Dakini,, Vishwanath in Kashi, Trymbakeshwar on banks of river Gautami, Vaidynath in Chitabhumi, Nageshwar in Darukwan,, Rameshwar at Setubandh, and Ghumeshwar in Shivalaya.

As a corollary of the discussion presented in this brief research-paper, it follows that women must be granted equal rights as compared to menfolk all over world. They must not be discriminated on any ground.

When Supreme God, also called Brhm (Supreme Consciousness) doesn’t possess any gender except the Divine light that which also is present in equal measure in all Maanavas (humans) then there is no reason to discriminate amongst Maanavas on grounds of gender.

Therefore, menfolk must accord equal respect and provide equal opportunities to womenfolk in all walks of life. This shall certainly promote world peace by ensuring peace in hearts and minds of womenfolk who otherwise mostly remain suppressed on most societies.

~ Dr Swaamee Aprtemaanandaa Jee

(Fotos: Courtesy of Gita Press Gorakhpur, Google)

Key Words

Dr Swaamee Aprtemaanandaa Jee, ShrimadDeviBhaagwat, Supreme Consciousness, Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, Feminine, Masculine, Eunuchine, Jyotirling, Purnn Brhm, Brhm, Gender, Jesus, Islam, Sikhism, Muslims, Sutji, Surashtra, Mallikarjun,Shri Shail,, Mahakaal,Ujjayani, Amreshwar, Onkar, Kedar, Himalaya, BhimShankar, Dakini,, Vishwanath , Kashi, Trymbakeshwar, Gautami, Vaidynath, Chitabhumi, Nageshwar, Darukwan,, Rameshwar, Setubandhu, Ghumeshwar, Shivalaya, Causal , Kaarann

REFERENCE MATERIALS
1. SHIVPURAANN

2.