Understanding the Relationship between Man and God

Many imagine God to appear before them in response to Yagnas and Yagas [Vedic rituals] that they perform. All these are illusions. It is just imagination. What ultimately manifests before you directly is the ultimate truth. In reality God does not have any manifest form. These are all imaginations created by the mind. The mind keeps prompting for such imagination. If you think of God as Krishna, the feelings of Krishna are aroused in you by your mind. Depending on your feeling you see the manifestation. These are all imaginations.

Ultimately you have to discover the truth. These are all the actions of the mind. Till the mind vanishes, you have to proceed on the path. Mind keeps on prompting you for such imaginations. You have to control the mind. You have to focus on the atma [soul]. Atma has no form, no name. You have to install within yourself that nameless, formless atma. The whole world is the manifestation of the atma. Everything was created from the truth. Ultimately everything merges in the truth.

Can you try to find a place where there is no impact or power of truth? Wherever you look there is truth. ‘Ekatma Sarva Bhootantaratma’—the one atma is present in all beings. In all the beings, whether they be small insects, birds, animals, or humans, there is the same atma pervading. Therefore, whomever you see salute them. You are not saluting the individual but the atma within. Even if you look at the beggars, salute the atma in them.

Wherever you see, there is nothing but Divinity and God. If you have 1,000 pots filled with water, the reflection of the sun shining above will be the same in all the pots. Similarly, our body is like the pot, the water is desire, and the reflection is the same atma in all beings. Depending on what is there in the pot, the nature of the atma is manifested. Therefore, everything is the reflection, reaction, and resound of one’s own actions. Therefore, whatever you do comes back to you. You see your own form in the mirror. If you hate others you hate yourself. One must not blame God for one’s actions.

God is attributeless, sacred, pure, and wise. It is man’s ignorance to attribute qualities to God. In fact, God is beyond qualities. He is nirmalam (sacred), nischalam (steady), niswartham (selfless). He is beyond time and space. Don’t try to imagine God in a form. Install the principle that God is the atma present within you and contemplate on Him. In every step, everything you see, God is present. God is the current that makes fans work, the mike that absorbs the sound, and the speakers that help others listen. If you put off the main switch, all the lights will be put off. That is Divinity. When you forget Divinity, you forget everything. Love God.

Love God, conquer the demons of bad qualities, and develop the society. Only a person with character can develop the society. Only the one having love for God can lead a life of morality. Morality is the life-principle of man. Without morality there cannot be a community. It is not just jaati—a community. It is manavajaati—the caste of humanity. It is the society. The caste of brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras does not constitute a community. These are some rules and regulations created by man for leading his life and are not God given.

There is only one thing that God has given everyone—love. When you have love in your heart you will love everyone. When you don’t have love, you hate people and people become your enemies. ‘Love all, Serve all’. If you uphold these two principles you can prosper very well. A person with morality is one who does good things, helps others, and helps the poor people. It is not right for us to love only some people and forget others. The whole world is the embodiment of God. All animals, even ants, are embodiments of God. We should not differentiate that this is an ant and that is God. It was Thyagaraja (saint-poet) who said, “O Rama! You reside in an ant and in Brahma. You are in Shiva and Keshava.” Therefore, in every animal, there is God. We must not hate anyone. We must not get angry with anyone. We should not have the sense of difference with other people. Only when you lead such a life, you will realize your true Self.

You say “I”. ‘I’ is aham. Till this aham exists you don’t realize it. “I” is aham (symbolized by a vertical line). When you cross it by a horizontal line (symbolizing the cross), we have removed the head that is aham (ego). Then you become God. With the sense of belonging we say—‘this is mine, that is yours’. It becomes dwaita bhava—sense of duality. It is not correct to have such differences. Such ideas are not accepted by the Upanishads. Upanishads teach the single undifferentiable atmic principle. Then how can individuals have such differences when the atma is undifferentiable? The human body has been given mainly to discharge one’s duty. Duty is God. You have to do your duty. At the atmic level all are one and the same. Because of the body relationship you define a person as your relative. Because of the bodily relationship there is son and there is son-in-law. But ultimately there is no one. We are ourselves creating the differences where there are no differences. Therefore, you have to believe in the oneness of God.

In Ramayana, the same thing is taught. The streets of Ayodhya were decorated with wonderful decorations made of gold, pearls, and diamonds. The bazaars were filled with plenty and prosperity for the marriage of Sita and Rama. Who is Rama? One who really delights is Rama (Ramyate lti Ramaha). So, if you delight yourself, then you are Rama. Who is Sita? Sita is the atma. The marriage of Rama and Sita was the marriage between atma and Rama, and the people came to witness and enjoy the marriage of atma and Rama. Likewise, all have come here to this hall to have darshan [sight of a holy person] of Swami. Many people may come and go but the focus here is Swami. After Rama’s marriage, Sage Vishwamitra went back to the Himalayas. Wherever he went he discovered Rama. He is not Vishwamitra just for name’s sake. In reality, he is the friend of the world. He is the one who taught wisdom to everyone. All that we do is for attaining the love for God.

Source: My Dear Students Vol. 2; Divine Discourse on June 4, 2009,
Prasanthi Nilayam Campus Auditorium