The word “God” is from the Gothic root “gheu”. It means,”the one invoked for worship”. It is related to Farsi “khuda”.

The words “theism” and “theology” use the greek word “theos”. This was used for all the ancient greek gods. It is related to the Sanskrit “deva” from the root “div”. The literal meaning of “deva” is the “Illuminated One”. In India the term “deva” is used for a being that is worshipped.

In Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Here the name of God given is “Elohim” implying the worshipped one (“Elohim” is plural). It is used many times in the Tanakh (Old Testament).

Since Christianity and Islam are now widespread, the term God is generally taken to mean the biblical “God of Abraham”. There is no reason the term should be reserved for this specific use.

One should look up the meaning of the term “Bhagavat” (Bhagavan) in a Sanskrit dictionary. Its basic meaning is “An Honored One”. Some Sanskrit dictionaries explicitly mention that the term can mean Vishnu, Shiva, Jina or Buddha.

The sage replied, “Ultimately, your true self is the Tao and the Tao is you.”

“I find that hard to believe, Master. The Tao is great; I aminsignificant. The Tao is powerful; I have but a little strength. The Tao is unlimited; I labor under many limitations. The Tao is everywhere; I can only be in one place at a time. As far as I can tell, the Tao and I are completely different. How can you say that
I am ultimately the Tao and the Tao is me?”

Instead of responding him directly, the sage handed the disciple a bowl: “Go to the nearby river with this bring some water, then we will continue the discussion.”

The disciple did so. When he came back, the sage looked at the bowl and frowned. “Didn’t I tell you to fetch the water from the river? This can’t be it.”

The disciple was confused by the disapproval of the Master and said “But it is, Master. I collected the water by dipping the bowl into the river. I assure you that this water is absolutely from the river.”

The sage said,”I know the river quite well. All kinds of fish swim in it, but I don’t see any fish in this water. Numerous animals come to the river to drink from it, and yet I see no animals in this bowl. Many children from the village frolic in the shallows of the river. Well, I
see no children here either. Therefore, this cannot be the water from the river.”

“Master, it is only a small amount of water, and so it cannot contain all those things!”

In reply the sage said, “Well, in that case, I want you to go pour the water back into the river.”

The disciple did so with a puzzled expression on his face. He couldn’t help but wonder what had possessed the sage to act so strangely. He completed his task and returned.

“Is the water back in the river?” the sage asked. The disciple nodded.

“Good,” said the sage. “That small amount of water you brought back is now the same water that touches the fish, the animals and the children. In fact, everything that the river is now applies to the water we were both looking at just a while ago.

“Think of the river as the Tao and the water in the bowl as your true self. From a limited point of view, that water seems very different from the river. It is understandable how one can be led to believe that the two are not the same and can never be the same.
The river is far greater than the bowl of water, just as the Tao is far greater than an individual human being.

“Having carried water from the river, you can now see it from an expanded perspective. The river is the source of the water, just as the Tao is the source of our true inner selves. You saw this for yourself as you dipped the bowl into the river, so you insisted that the water was the same even when I tried to convince you it was not.

“When you poured the water back, you saw that the separation of the water from the river was only temporary. It’s just like that for the true self. Our physical existence is only a temporary condition.
The eternal truth is that our innermost nature comes from, and ultimately returns to, the Tao. When all is said and done, we and the Tao are one.”

Just as the bowl contains the water in this story, we have physical bodies that contain our true selves. Having a bowl is useful in that it allows one to carry water from one place to another. Similarly,
having a body is useful in that it allows us to experience the physical realm as a part of it.

Sometimes we identify with the body so much, we become attached to it and think of it as the self. That’s like mistaking the bowl for the water. The water remains the same no matter what container it occupies. In the same way, your true self remains the essential “you” no matter how your body changes.

Just as the disciple learned a valuable lesson carrying water from the river and back to it again, we also learn from our experiences and various journeys through the material world. Just as the bowl of water is all by itself as it is being carried around, we can also
feel alone and isolated as we move through life, working on our individual lesson plans. This feeling, reinforced by physical perceptions, can make us forget that we are all part of a greater self.

The bowl cannot hold water forever. It may be accidentally dropped and smashed to pieces one day, or it may develop cracks and break apart after years of use. Similarly, the physical body cannot last indefinitely. Accidents, injuries, illness or age will eventually render it unusable.

The water must return to the river. Even if the water isn’t poured back, but spilled somewhere, it will still flow or seep its way into the river. Similarly, when the body is no longer a suitable vessel,the true self it contains must return to the source. Religious people
may call this source God; atheists may call it the laws of nature; we call it the Tao. Whatever its label, it is our point of origin as well as our ultimate destination.

Just as the water becomes one with the river, the true self merges with the Tao. That’s when we realize that the feelings of isolation and separation are illusory. You and I are never truly isolated or separated from the divine source of universal creation. We are never truly alone. Oneness, the Tao that unifies all, is the ultimate reality of the true self.

“Philosophy is a field of study in which people question and create theories about the nature of reality. It includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ontology, ethics, logic, metaphysics, and law. Philosophers concern themselves with such fundamental and mysterious topics as whether or not God(s) exist, what is the nature of being and the universe, what is truth, what is consciousness, and what makes actions right or wrong. The fundamental method of western philosophy is the use of reasoning to evaluate arguments. However, the methodology of philosophy is itself debated, and varies according to the philosophical and cultural traditions of people all over the world.” (courtesy – Wikipedia)

Philosophy is the acquisition of knowledge. – PLATO

Philosophy only is the true one which reproduces most faithfully the statements of Nature, and is written down, as it were, from nature’s dictation, so that it is nothing but a copy and a reflection of nature, and adds nothing of its own, but is merely a repetition and echo.— FRANCIS BACON.

Philosophy is the science by which the natural light of reason studies the first causes or highest principles of all things – is, in other words, the science of things in their first causes, in so far as these belong to the natural order. – JACQUES MARTAIN

The object of philosophy is the logical clarification of thoughts. Philosophy is not a theory but an activity. A philosophical work consists essentially of elucidations. The result of philosophy is not a number of ‘philosophical propositions’, but to make propositions clear. Philosophy should make clear and delimit sharply the thoughts which otherwise are, as it were, opaque and blurred.- Ludwig Wittgenstein

Some opinions on DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY:

Definitions of philosophy are controversial:

1.To define Philosophy is “notoriously difficult”.
2.There is “no straightforward definition”.
3.The method of philosophy is rational enquiry, or enquiry guided by the canons of rationality.

4.Philosophy does not try to answer questions by appeal to revelation, myth or religious knowledge of any kind, but uses reason, “without reference to sensible observation and experiments”.

5.Philosophy is critical thinking about thinking.

Subfields of PHILOSOPHY:

1.Aesthetics - Aesthetics(esthetics) is a branch of value theory which studies sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment or taste.

2.Epistemology – Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of Western philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge. The term “epistemology” is based on the Greek words “episteme” (knowledge) and “logos” (account/explanation); it is thought to have been coined by the Scottish philosopher James Frederick Ferrier. In Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, the Sanskrit term for the equivalent branch of study is “pramana.”

3.Ontology – is the study of being or existence. It seeks to describe or posit the basic categories and relationships of being or existence to define entities and types of entities within its framework. Ontology can be said to study conceptions of reality.

4.Ethics – (from the Ancient Greek “ethikos”, meaning “arising from habit”), is the study of value or quality. It covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right, wrong, good, evil, and responsibility.

5.Logic – is derived from Classical Greek “logos”, originally meaning the word, or what is spoken. It is said to be the study of criteria for the evaluation of arguments; although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy among philosophers.

6.Metaphysics - is derived from Greek: meta = “after”, phúsis = “nature”. It is the branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the nature of the world. It is the study of being or reality. It addresses questions such as: What is the nature of reality? Is there a God? What is man’s place in the universe?

7.Law – Laws of economics and psychology describe the nature of human behavior and interaction.

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY:

1.Western philosophy
2.Medieval philosophy
3.Modern Western philosophy
4.Analytic and Continental
5.Eastern philosophy – Hindu philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, and Jainism
6.Persian philosophy
7.Chinese philosophy
8.African philosophy

As of Now, I would like to restrict this Blog only to METAPHYSICS.