The Idea of God being an incorporeal being finds acceptance in other religious traditions, too.

In the Grand Mosque in Mecca, there is a stone symbol named Sang-E-Aswad to which all pilgrims pay homage by kissing it from a distance. The stone signifies an incorporeal entity that doesn’t have tangible or tactile form. It is also referred to as ‘Noor-e-Ilahi’ नूर इ इलाही, which means ‘that light’, ‘that radiance’ or ‘that luminosity’.

In Japan, followers of a religious movement called Ananai-kyo meditate on a round, black stone they call ‘chikon seki’. The word means one he bestows peace. It is believed that one can experience peace by meditating on the stone, which is said to have divine qualities.

Jesus Christ said God is light and also said that the form of God is light. According to the Old Testament, God revealed Himself to Moses in the form of fire. The sanctuary lamp that burns before the altar in many Christian and Jewish places of worship symbolizes God’s eternal presence.

The founder of Skhism सिख, Guru Nanak गुरु नानक, called God ‘Ek Omkar Nirankar’ एक ओंकार निरंकार (One Supreme incorporeal). God has been vividly described in the Gurubani गुरुबाणी as supreme, bodiless, vice less, truth and immortal.

In Zoroastrianism, one comes across the ‘holy fire’. It is said that when the Parsis arrived in India from Iran, they bought with them fire which they called ‘Akhand Jyoti’ अखंड ज्योति (ceaseless fire).

Even today, when a new Parsi temple is built, fire from an existing temple is brought there. The fire is never extinguished and is said to signify immoral, luminous form of the Supreme Soul.

In other ancient civilizations also God was referred to by names that are not too different from the word Shiva, such as ‘Shuin’ Babylon, ‘Seva’ or ‘Sevajya’ in Syria, Egypt and Fiji, ‘Sibru’ in the land occupied by the progeny of Abraham, and Jehova by Moses and his followers.

The Sanskrit word ‘Shiva’ शिव, according to some scholars, is the confluence of two phonetic parts. ‘shi’ and ‘va’, meaning redeemer and liberator from sins and sufferings.

From all the above, we can conclude that there was definitely a point of time when most religions and cultures accepted, believed and worshipped God as an incorporeal Supreme Soul.