God

Monday, January 4, 2010, 13:26

'My God!' is often the exclamation that even a man who has little to do with religion makes on occasions. All religions talk about God and define Him in their own ways. He is at the same time considered as beyond human comprehension. Some saint even remarked, 'God defined is God defiled!', meaning that no definition would do justice to God's true nature.

Hindu scriptures have given a wide range of pointers indicating the significance, theoretical and practical, of 'God'. In prose and poetry; in very simple and also very abstract fashion, God's nature is described. While admitting that really He is beyond the scope of words or mind, the best possible effort is made all the same, with the hope that a seeker may not make the mistake of denying God or of sticking to some narrow, useless concept of God.

The karma-yogi dedicates all his works to God. The bhakti yogi's heart cries for God. The raja-yogi hushes up his mind in eager anticipation of realising God. And the jnana-yogi tries to see God as the very Self of himself and of all living beings. Children are enthralled by the stories of God. Teenagers wonder how God could not be wiser, seeing all the confusion in the world.

Young adults have God in a corner of their minds, but postpone sorting out the issue for a later time. Adults strive a little bit to know Him, but are distracted time and again by umpteen 'other interests'. Seniors know they had better get at Him now, but tired to think they should have begun the venture long ago; God-hunt (not gold-hunt) seems to demand a lot of vigor and concentration! Sannyasis meditate on Him, preachers go on talking about Him; but, hardly anyone seems to know Him. My God!

“One rare soul among thousands
Strives for success. inner perfection;

Of the few who strive and succeed,
Rarely again, one knows Me truly," says Sri Krishna in the Gita(VII.3)

The sages of the Upanishads agree,
“One brave seeker.

Seeking immortality. .
Withdraws his senses And beholds the Self" (Katha:II.i.l).

It is interesting that God is said to be dwelling in the very heart of ours. Then how do we not know Him? He is in all, but only some rare saints feel His presence! An apt illustration is given as follows. All of us, saints and sinners alike, are on a circle and God is in the center. The center, by definition, is at equal distance from everybody. But, the saints are facing the center and all others are with their back toward the center! Extrovert tendencies are solely blamed for our not beholding who is right within us. Pujya Gurudev would often ask us, 'how far is the waker from the dreamer?' The dreamer has to just end his dream to discover the waker in himself, as himself.

To be continued

About the author

Swami Chidananda

Swami Chidananda has been a spiritual teacher, speaker, and writer for two decades. He is presently the Joint Secretary of Rajghat Education Centre, Varanasi, which is a chapter of Krishnamurti Foundation India (KFI). His deeper calling took him to the study of the Vedanta under the world-renowned teacher Swami Chinmayananda. He served the Chinmaya Mission for sixteen years. He now lives on the banks of Ganga in Varanasi, working for the cause of right education as well as rural service.