1. No one knows what God really is. Different cultures around the world have had their own image and concept of God.

2. As we pray and develop our faith in God (any God), we begin to realize that we are experiencing something that is very close to us and not something from a distant supernatural place.

3. By and by, we realize that the God who we are praying to seems to connect to us from within ourselves. This is something I myself have felt as far back as 45 years ago. I am sure many others have felt so too.

4. Every major spiritual philosophy and religious literature has spoken of the 'God within'. Most prophets and religious leaders have always spoken of Knowing Oneself, regardless of the culture and the deity they prayed to.

5. The doubt naturally arises that if God is an individual being, how can he speak and connect from within every human being? Then we realize that God is not an individual person but a level of Consciousness that is within us.

6. If this higher level of Consciousness is within all humans it must also be within all animals and all other objects. Maybe it is this 'God' that transforms itself into the world.

7. Then why are only some people able to connect to this higher level of consciousness and not everyone? Why is it hidden from most people? This must be because it is covered by lower levels of consciousness.

8. So...all our religious rituals and prayers must be helping us to eliminate these lower levels of consciousness and helping us to connect this higher consciousness.

9. It is also observed that as people eliminate their lower levels of consciousness through prayer, they automatically become less animal like and more loving and tolerant and selfless. They become more empathetic.

10. With more involved experiences and analysis, people arrive at other aspects such as Karma, reincarnation, Liberation and so on.

11. It is then realized that it is about individual development rather than about an external God and helpless humans.

12. Modern ideas such as the String Theory help in reinforcing the idea of a pantheistic philosophy.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Sriram