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Summary of Question:	Picturing God; God As He, Not She?
Category:	Meditation
Date Posted:	Saturday, 12/29/2001 9:24 PM MST

It says in the Japji that God is formless so I am wondering how can you visualize God in your head when thinking of God. Being able to visualize would make it much easier to understand God better. Also, when I read the english translations of the Japji they say "HE is the creator", why do they call God "he"? I thought God is neither male or female.

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REPLY
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Dear One:
Sat Siri Akaal. God is All-in-All, this is affirmed by Guru Nanak in pauri 4 of Japji ("Nanak ayvai janni-ai sabh aapay sachiar") Indeed, it is very hard to picture God. So don't try, since God is in your mother, your father, the Guru, your dog, the plants and rocks, etc. This is why Sikhs DON'T worship icons or idols as representative of the One God, since God cannot be defined by a single form. GOd is in ALL forms.

God really has 3 aspects: Generator, Organizer, Destroyer. This is the cycle of life, and as we both know, the cycle of life on the earth plane very much needs the FEMALE aspect. In the first line of ardaas, we say worship the "Pritham Bhagauti" --which means worship Primal FEMALE power, understood by many as the Adi Shakti. So, when you read English translations of Gurbani, there is nothing wrong with saying She, Her instead of He, His, because God is all inclusive. God is NOT just male, She is Female, and God is BEYOND gender -- all three.

In English, we have no neutral, genderless word besides "it" and "it" usually refers to things, not beings, so for many many years, He/Him have been the words used for all sacred scriptural kinds of translations, but don't let them limit your thinking! My spiritual teacher often says that God is "He, She, It" in total! Be creative and substitute She/Her or It/Its throughout if you are reciting the English.
Guru ang sang,
-DKK