The answer to this question came after many years of searching. God is same because we humans are the same, and different because each of us thinks that he or she is different from others or wants to be better than others. Since there is great fear of someone else being better, there is constant desire to improve the self or bring the other person down. God is a metaphor for a person’s concept of their highest self. The idea that there is an external God, a man in the sky is a myth created to restrict the masses journey towards enlightenment.

In every person there is a fundamental instinct to look for god—for a greater self. Even the atheist’s call that, ‘’But, I didn’t find god, and therefore god does not exist�, is an affirmation of the search and an important milestone in the search. The agnostic’s humbler affirmation, “I just don’t know� is a pause in the search.

What we settle on in the search for God, whether it be an agnostic stance, a believer in a religious explanation, atheism etc, is an inner truth and it is the point at which we stop searching and start settling. How we see God can be said to be a matter of how soon we give up on listening to the heart. For some the appeal of God is support in time of need, for others God is angry and punitive who prescribes unbreakable rules of conduct.

Where we think we found God, we literally pitch a metaphorical tent of values, attitudes and ideas.

Like old land settlers who stake their claim on the planet, we firmly stake a flag on our ideas and say that my idea of God is right. At best, the believer pities the atheist and the atheist rues the idiocy of the believer.

I have said two things so far, that God is a matter of identity and God is a matter of instinct. But beyond the basics, God is about humanity. Whether humanity comes in the form of religious belief with all the bells and whistles of a particular mythology or whether it comes in the guise of an adamant atheist, god is about the compassionate heart.

‘God’ incorporates all that is human and the best that humanity has to offer is love, compassion and creativity. A humanistic god is the vision of mystics and saints through time began. Their message has been to love unconditionally, without expectation. Often, the hurdle is described as the ego (aka identity and instinct).The mystic repudiates and seems to reject the ego because the ego is a barrier to finding god— or they can seem very ‘’I� oriented. Bulleh Shah wrote that, “I do not know who I am.� Mansoor Al-Hallaj repeated, “ I am god.� Just what did they mean?

On the surface both statements are contradictory. On the one hand, Al-Hallaj’s and other mystic’s assertion that they are God, sounds like the ultimate defiance against God of the ego. On the other hand, the statement that says, “I do not know who I am� is irresponsible--the mind-set of a pleasure seeking individual. These two ideas have often been misunderstood or misused.

Both statements are ultimately true because when Bulleh Shah (or any individual shouts I do not know who I am, that my identity is a mirage), he or she is right. Our identity is simply a constructed idea from the chaos of memories. Once the emptiness is realized, the person can go towards God, i.e., towards love and merge the self with love of god (humanity) and that merging can be such that he/she becomes a simple observer towards himself/herself or decide to go back to maya—the illusion of a self, but taking back the insights and the truth that emptiness gives. The path with god is not easy, because it often means a total change in values, but neither is maya—the illusion of a self.

Sadly, mystics have often been seen by the mainstream to offer a self-indulgent escapist philosophy and a person’s interest in the metaphysical almost a death knell to normal life. The truth is somewhat different. A true mystic acts as a positive catalyst in society, giving tremendous energy and stability to those around them. When you meet a true mystic there is a change in energy state from negative to positive.
Your reaction may be a sense of lightness, a feeling of hope and a greater will to be. Their inherent unconditional acceptance of who you are can give you the courage to follow your heart.