The Divine Reality: God, Islam and the Mirage of Atheism

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Advaita Vedanta - A Bird's Eye View, Topic III: Philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, D. Krishna Ayyar (2011) Ishvara, (lit., Supreme Lord), in Advaita, is identified as a partial worldly manifestation (with limited attributes) of the ultimate reality, the attributeless Brahman. In Visishtadvaita and Dvaita, however, Ishvara (the Supreme Controller) has infinite attributes and the source of the impersonal Brahman.

Martin G. Wiltshire (1990). Ascetic Figures Before and in Early Buddhism: The Emergence of Gautama as the Buddha. Walter de Gruyter. pp.248–249, 253–255. ISBN 978-3-11-009896-9. According to the revelation of the Bible, the word truth (Greek, aletheia) does not refer merely to genuine doctrines or to actual facts, but to “all the realities of the divine economy as the content of the divine revelation, contained, conveyed, and disclosed by the holy word” ( Lee, Life-Study of 1, 2 & 3 John, p. 351). In theistic schools, in contrast, such as Dvaita Vedanta, the nature of Brahman is held as eternal, unlimited, innately free, blissful Absolute, while each individual's Self is held as distinct and limited which can at best come close in eternal blissful love of the Brahman (therein viewed as the Godhead). [85] Brahman of Dvaita is a concept similar to God in major world religions. [20] Dvaita holds that the individual Self is dependent on God, but distinct. [20] It is a pioneering effort which will hopefully guide the reader, and other writers, on how to answer the questions related to God’s existence and worship from the perspective of Islamic thought.”L. S. Vasil’ev, writing for the University of Pennsylvania, argued that syncretic Taoists used Brahman in their worship as a substitute for Tao. [132] And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). That is the Decree of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing. Hamza Tzortzis’s work is a much needed and welcome addition to the field of modern Islamic thought. It engages with the rising tide of atheism from an Islamic paradigm, and responds, in an erudite yet easily comprehensible manner, to the primary arguments espoused by the leading figures of New Age Atheism. It is clear that Hamza has spent much time in reading the works of many intellectuals, past and present, and compiling these arguments and counter-arguments. I found the book highly useful, and have no doubt that it will be well received by contemporary Muslims. {Dr Yasir Qadhi, Dean of Al-Maghrib Institute and professor at Rhodes College, Department of Religious Studies} Review by Dr Mohamed Ghilan Merv Fowler, Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices (Brighton: Sussex Academic, 1999), p. 82: "The original writers of these Mahayana texts were not at all pleased that their writings were seen to contain the Brahman of the Upanisads in a new form. The authors of the Lankavatara strenuously denied that the womb of Tathagatahood, [...] was in any way equatable with the 'eternal self', the Brahmanical atman of Upanisadic thought. Similarly, the claim in the Nirvana Sutra that the Buddha regarded Buddhahood as a 'great atman' caused the Yogacarins considerable distress."

In Vishishtadvaita, Ramanuja asserts that Brahman is God, and that this God is Narayana. In his commentary on the Brahma Sutras 1.1.1, Ramanuja defines Brahman as the "'highest person,' one who by his own nature is free from all imperfections and in possession of host of innumerable auspicious qualities of unsurpassable excellence." Using this definition, Ramanuja argues that Brahman must be God because Brahman's qualities are unsurpassably superior to all, and thus "only the Lord of all can thus be denoted, and 'Brahman' primarily denotes him alone". Ramanuja asserts that the relationship between God and the individual selves must be one of devotion, and moksha or liberation is said by him to be caused by the selves' worship of Brahman: "The cessation of bondage...is to be obtained only through the grace of the highest Person who is pleased by worshipper's meditation, which is devotion". [111] Achintya Bheda Abheda [ edit ] Fourth, the word is truth. The above three points, point to the fact that truth is the Triune God Himself. God, Christ and the Spirit are the basic elements of the substance of the truth, the divine reality. And this Triune God of truth being embodied in His word, makes His word, the word of truth (Eph. 1:13). In John 17:17, the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father, “sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

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Denise Cush; Catherine Robinson; Michael York (2012). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Routledge. pp.114–115. ISBN 978-1-135-18979-2. Other schools of Hinduism have their own ontological premises relating to Brahman, reality and nature of existence. Vaisheshika school of Hinduism, for example, holds a substantial, realist ontology. [86] The Carvaka school denied Brahman and Atman, and held a materialist ontology. [87] Brahman as an axiological concept [ edit ]