The Trinity, Allah, the Self, and Nirvana

People seem to be confused about which religion has explained God truly. Muslims say that there is no god but God (Allah) while the Hindus believe in countless deities. Christians have the Trinity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Hindu philosophy Vedanta says that there is only Brahman (God the formless), and Atman (the Self). However. Buddhists don't believe in God, and they say we are selfless, but they do believe in Nirvana. So many different ideas; which one is true?

They are all true; you just have to know how it all links together. They are all terms to explain God, and the more you understand one of them, the easier it is to understand God. Of course, the explanation of God will not tell you anything about Him until you have experienced Him. Nevertheless, you need to know where to look.



Muslims disliked the idea of a Trinity because they are strictly monotheistic, and wanted to explain that there isn't three of Him; only Allah. They Judeo-Christian beliefs don't respect the Hindu's worshipping many deities, and this is what sets them apart. This is pretty funny, considering that the Trinity explains different aspects of God while the Hindu deities are exactly that. The Hindus primarily believe in the unity of God, the all-pervading existence, which they call Brahman. Atman, the Self, is what you really are, and there is not separation between Atman and Brahman anyway. Brahman is the ocean, while Atman is the immersed in it in the same way as a drop of water joins with it.

How are Hindu beliefs the same as the Christian Trinity? The Son of God is the Self, the Atman. The Father is the all-pervading aspect of the Trinity, Brahman. The Holy Spirit is the Messenger, the Savior. The Holy Spirit is different for everybody, but He appears to you in the way that will help you the most. This is why the Hindus worship different deities; they can relate to them. They appear to them in visions. Some people don't prefer the Holy Spirit to appear in form, so instead He would work directly through them, as intuition does.

Even though that all fits together, Buddhist beliefs seem to still contradict. They only believe in Nirvana, and Buddha explains there to be no-Self, or the Anatman. He says that we are selfless, and we don't keep anything separate from everything else. Nirvana makes the same point as Muslims do, in the sense that there is only God and no separation of things. There is no-Self, because there is no separation between it and Nirvana. It is all one in Nirvana. Nirvana means "blowing out," explaining that every thought of this world is only covering up the awareness of no-thing. It must be extinguished so we are aware of Nirvana; we must be all-pervading. So there you go! Nirvana is also the same thing as Brahman, since it is all-pervading! It is God the Absolute.

It is all the same, just different ways of categorizing Him. Still, don't depend on this to know God. Go experience Him.