CHAPTER 7, TEXT 27: O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and hate.
This means that the idea that God looks like this
is a matter of human interpretation. Anthropomorphism states that we are superimposing human qualities upon something (and someone) that could not possibly possess those qualities. How can an all-powerful Creator have hands and facial hair? The Cambridge dictionary defines anthropomorphism more broadly as "the showing or treating of animals, gods, and objects as if they are human in appearance, character, or behavior" (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/anthropomorphism). So not only is the supposed creator of the universe an old man with a long white beard, so are weather phenomena such as lighting
and even the modern the portrayal of animals in animated films
Ultimately, the idea of anthropomorphism asserts that humans are not the center of the universe, but we superimpose our own idea of humanity on everyone and everything around us. We MAKE ourselves the center of the universe. There is a subtle negative connotation here, that to view the world colored by human characteristics is delusional and even damaging.
But anthropomorphism, in its simple way, is actually touching upon a deep eternal truth. The Yajur Veda states yatha pinde tatha brahmande, yatha brahmande tatha pinde, which translates, "As is the individual, so is the universe; as is the universe, so is the individual." This means eternal patterns of life and the universe are repeated from the macro scale to the micro scale.
For example:
Brain cells are tiny, invisible to the naked eye, and the universe is so large that we cannot grasp its enormity with the naked eye. But from the gargantuan to the minuscule, patterns are repeated.
Below is a figure of all the major river basins of the United States. Rivers are considered the "veins" of the land.
and the veins of a leaf
Ultimately, the Vedic scriptures would concur with the Christian conception that "God created man in his own image" (1:27, KJV) and not the other way around where humans create God in THEIR image, as in anthropomorphism. Prabhupad asserts that "those who are deluded by duality and nescience think that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is created by material energies." In fact, God is the source of material energies. He is not created or formed by material minds. Thus anthropomorphism is a mere shadow of a divine truth that indeed God is a person.
The problem with God being a person who created the universe is that He must be the most powerful, most beautiful, most intelligent, and basically, the most everything. When anyone is the most of anything, envy is bound to happen.
Aristotle defines envy as pain at the sight of another’s good fortune, stirred by “those who have what we ought to have.”
And that's our problem. Prabhupad writes that an ignorant person wants the peace and bliss of merging into the light of the Supreme Lord but is envious of Krishna's position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead (vedabase.com). We actually feel pain to accept the glory of God, and deep down we feel, "I ought to have that." Prabhupad writes, "The illusory energy is manifested in the duality of desire and hate." The perpetual cycle of desiring independent happiness and hating God is what keeps us bound by illusion in this world.
For people trapped in this cycle, "This is their misfortune. Such deluded persons, symptomatically, dwell in dualities of dishonor and honor, misery and happiness, woman and man, good and bad, pleasure and pain, etc." When humans turn away from absolute truth, then they plunge into the miseries of these dualities.
Dishonor and honor become relative and thus cheapened.
Misery becomes a necessary contrast to experience any kind of happiness.
Woman and man become adversaries, fighting for dominance and control and recognition.
Good and bad become the flavor from which life is lived, the only reference point my own perspective.
Pleasure and pain become the spice of life, the avoiding of pain just as poignant as the incessant striving for pleasure - both flicker in and flicker out.
In the midst of all of these dualities, the world revolves around human beings. Humans become the center of the universe. Humans create a God in our image, and we superimpose human qualities on all we see and experience. There is no understanding that there could be absolute honor, absolute happiness, an absolute identity, and an Absolute Truth.
To any logical person, anthropomorphism seems childish and deluded, because it implies that humans are the center. But if we could stretch our minds to consider that maybe on a divine level, God created man in HIS image, and this divine pattern is echoed everywhere, then we can understand that there is no one to be envious of. We see personality infusing every living being because God Himself has a personality.
If God is everywhere and in everyone's heart and in everything, then there is no duality, no battle for dominance and control and pleasure. When Krishna states that "all living entities are born into delusion" this is what He means - we all are attracted to attain happiness and repulsed by the idea of an authentic personal God whom to surrender to.
Full purport by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/7/27/
and even the modern the portrayal of animals in animated films
to how dogs are treated like humans
Ultimately, the idea of anthropomorphism asserts that humans are not the center of the universe, but we superimpose our own idea of humanity on everyone and everything around us. We MAKE ourselves the center of the universe. There is a subtle negative connotation here, that to view the world colored by human characteristics is delusional and even damaging.
But anthropomorphism, in its simple way, is actually touching upon a deep eternal truth. The Yajur Veda states yatha pinde tatha brahmande, yatha brahmande tatha pinde, which translates, "As is the individual, so is the universe; as is the universe, so is the individual." This means eternal patterns of life and the universe are repeated from the macro scale to the micro scale.
For example:
Brain cells are tiny, invisible to the naked eye, and the universe is so large that we cannot grasp its enormity with the naked eye. But from the gargantuan to the minuscule, patterns are repeated.
Below is a figure of all the major river basins of the United States. Rivers are considered the "veins" of the land.
This is a diagram of the circulatory system of the human body, the veins and the arteries.
and the veins of a leaf
This is only one way that patterns are repeated, from the macro to the micro.
As is the individual, so is the universe; as is the universe, so is the individual.
Ultimately, the Vedic scriptures would concur with the Christian conception that "God created man in his own image" (1:27, KJV) and not the other way around where humans create God in THEIR image, as in anthropomorphism. Prabhupad asserts that "those who are deluded by duality and nescience think that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is created by material energies." In fact, God is the source of material energies. He is not created or formed by material minds. Thus anthropomorphism is a mere shadow of a divine truth that indeed God is a person.
The problem with God being a person who created the universe is that He must be the most powerful, most beautiful, most intelligent, and basically, the most everything. When anyone is the most of anything, envy is bound to happen.
Aristotle defines envy as pain at the sight of another’s good fortune, stirred by “those who have what we ought to have.”
And that's our problem. Prabhupad writes that an ignorant person wants the peace and bliss of merging into the light of the Supreme Lord but is envious of Krishna's position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead (vedabase.com). We actually feel pain to accept the glory of God, and deep down we feel, "I ought to have that." Prabhupad writes, "The illusory energy is manifested in the duality of desire and hate." The perpetual cycle of desiring independent happiness and hating God is what keeps us bound by illusion in this world.
For people trapped in this cycle, "This is their misfortune. Such deluded persons, symptomatically, dwell in dualities of dishonor and honor, misery and happiness, woman and man, good and bad, pleasure and pain, etc." When humans turn away from absolute truth, then they plunge into the miseries of these dualities.
Dishonor and honor become relative and thus cheapened.
Misery becomes a necessary contrast to experience any kind of happiness.
Woman and man become adversaries, fighting for dominance and control and recognition.
Good and bad become the flavor from which life is lived, the only reference point my own perspective.
Pleasure and pain become the spice of life, the avoiding of pain just as poignant as the incessant striving for pleasure - both flicker in and flicker out.
In the midst of all of these dualities, the world revolves around human beings. Humans become the center of the universe. Humans create a God in our image, and we superimpose human qualities on all we see and experience. There is no understanding that there could be absolute honor, absolute happiness, an absolute identity, and an Absolute Truth.
To any logical person, anthropomorphism seems childish and deluded, because it implies that humans are the center. But if we could stretch our minds to consider that maybe on a divine level, God created man in HIS image, and this divine pattern is echoed everywhere, then we can understand that there is no one to be envious of. We see personality infusing every living being because God Himself has a personality.
If God is everywhere and in everyone's heart and in everything, then there is no duality, no battle for dominance and control and pleasure. When Krishna states that "all living entities are born into delusion" this is what He means - we all are attracted to attain happiness and repulsed by the idea of an authentic personal God whom to surrender to.
Full purport by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/7/27/
