How Can I See God?
Late one Fall evening, just after the Deepavali celebrations in 2003, a middle-aged gentleman by the name of Bali walked in to the Hindu Learning Center in Toronto. He waited patiently until his turn came to see Swami-ji and as he walked into the inner sanctum where the Swami holds private meetings with those who come to seek, he bowed his head slightly and sat down. The first words that came out of his mouth were, “Swami-ji, I am so tired. For years I am searching for God and I still have not been able to see Him. I traveled to many sacred sites and prayed with great devotion. I met the Dalai Lama. I received the Dharshan of Sai Baba. But I am still not able to see God.”
Swami-ji smiled. This man’s story brought to mind a story he had heard from his own Sidda Guru, Gurumayai Chidvilisananda at the SYDA Ashram in Ganeshpuri in India. In one of her profound lessons, Gurumayi had told this story to a group of her devotees who were being qualified to wear the ochre robe. She had said that there was once a poor woodcutter. One day his axe flew off its handle and fell into the Holy Ganga river. With great faith, the woodcutter searched for his axe. After about an hour, he felt the cool metal under his searching feet. With intense joy, he retrieved his axe, kissed the metal and bowed to it reverently. Soon he was sitting on the bank of the Ganga chanting the hymn of Maha Laxmi as he sharpened the axe on a stone. He noticed that something phenomenal was happening. The more he rubbed his axe on the stone, the more the stone changed its form. He examined it carefully and found that it was no longer a stone but a rather, it was a piece of gold. Even with that divine gift, the woodcutter continued to live a very simple life and only took what he needed from the blessing that he had received in the form of his axe. One day a very powerful man came to seek the woodcutter’s daughter in marriage for his son. With great humility, the woodcutter gave his axe as dowry. The powerful man, puffed up with pride and haughtiness, threw the simple axe into the river and scornfully walked away. Gurumayi smiled and concluded her story. “The ignorant man had so much and yet he wanted more. The poor woodcutter was giving him more but the haughty man was so blinded by his greed that he did not recognize the presence of God in this simple gift of the axe.”
As Swami-ji looked at Bali, he could not help but think how his name matched with Raja Bali, the king who did not recognize Bhagavan Vishnu when he came in His form as Vamana, the Dwarf. Swami-ji asked, “In what form are you expecting to see God?” Bali was stunned. He had really not thought about it. Was he expecting to see a shimmering image of God appear before him? Was he expecting to have a dream about God? Did he think that he would close his eyes and hear the voice of God? Bali did not know. He truly did not know in what form he was expecting God to appear. And therefore he had kept searching.
Swami-ji said, “Bali, you have seen God so many times but yet you did not recognize Him. You have seen the Dalai Lama. You have been in the presence of Sai Baba. God came in the form of Man as Sri Krishna. God walked the earth as Lord Rama. Yuga after yuga, God is on earth in the form of Hanuman Devta. One of the thousand names of Vishnu Bhagvan is Vasudeva. That means that He is present in every living thing. You have to recognize Him. But moreso, He is present in the form of Man.” They both fell silent. Then Bali smiled. “You are right Swami-ji. I am in the presence of God. For so long I have searched. And for so long His message eluded me.”
Swami-Ji then told Bali the story of GUHA, ruler of the small Kingdom of Shrang-veh-pur. Guha was the devoted friend of Bhagvan Sri Ram. But how did he become a friend of Sri Ram? In his previous life, he was an aborignal hunter named GURUDRO. One day he was tracking a deer, but the deer was too swift for him. He kept following the deer (peche … peche) but he could not get off an arrow. Soon he was tired and climbed up into a tree to see if he could spot the animal. As he looked all around, he began absent-mindedly to pluck the leaves from the tree and throw them unto the ground. Unknowing to him, he was sitting on a sacred Bilva tree (bay leaves) and again unknowing to him, the leaves were falling unto a natural Shivlingam which was hidden just below the surface of the earth. As the leaves kept falling unto the Shivling, the positive energy of Lord Shiva began to influence Gurudro’s mind. When the deer appeared close by, he found that he did not want to kill it. He began to struggle with his conscience. He was torn with the thoughts of killing an innocent animal and his duty to feed his hungry family. Soon his attention fell on the spot where the Shivling rested. He descended from the tree, cleared the earth from around the Shivling and began to cry and pray aloud as he kneeled and hugged the Shivling. “Mera Kalyan karo Bhagvan,” he repeated over and over. Lord Shiva appeared before him in the form of a Yogi. He said, “Utto (get up) Grurdro. It is a sin to kill. But it is also a sin not to do your duty. Today is Shivaraarti, and because of your worship, your prayer is answered. Your past sins are forgiven. From here on, you will live as the King of Shrang-veh-pur. In Treta Yuga, Sri Vishnu will incarnate on earth as Sri Ram. You will be his friend.” And so in the Ramayana, when Sri Ram went to Gurukula (Ashram school), he befriended Guha who was at the same school. Later when Sri Ram went to Banbaas, he had to pass through Shrang-veh-pur and again met Guha, his lifelong friend.
[So you see, GOD comes in human form. First Bhagvan Shiva appeared in the form of a Yogi to Gurudro. In his next birth as Guha, God appeared to him in the form of Sri Ram].
God may come in the form of a child. He may come in the form of a beggar. He comes in the form of your parents and elders. He comes in the form of teachers. The only difficulty is for you - the devotee - to be able to recognize Him. When you pray, you beg God to help you to get that promotion so that you can earn more to be able to send your children to school. Suddenly the boss who was giving you trouble gets transferred and a new boss takes over. This new boss recognizes your hard work in the company and rewards you by giving you a raise in pay. Do you not recognize that God came in the form of that new boss?
A QUESTION IS ASKED: WHAT IS GREATER THAN GOD?
The answer is simply….A devoted wife…..or a great deciple of the guru…
Once there wa a great wife called SATI ANUSUYA , so great she was that all people admired her great powers of devotion to God and her husband …Swami Arti Rishi.
One day Narad Muni (messenger of the Gods) was passing by and saw the greatness of this wife and called her a “pati bratha” (Highly devoted to her husband) . He took news of this to heaven and related Sati Anusuya’s greatness to Durga, Laxmi and Saraswaty, wives of the Gods Bramha , Vishnu and Shiva. After hearing of such a great wife, Bramha, Vishnu and Shiva decided to test Sati Anusuya and so appeared at her door as beggars singing “Bare Pyar a se Milana sabse, dunya me insaan re” menaing who so ever come to your door …he or she could be god….After Sati anusuya opened her , the beggars request that she breast fed them ….She closed her eyes called her husband name being surprised at the strange request of the beggars..In her vision appeared Bramha Vishnu and Shiva …She understood immediately and invited them in…she sprinkled some water from her husbnd’s lota on the beggars after they were seated and they then became babies ….she then proceeded to breast feed them as babies…When the goddesses were looking for their husband they can’t find them…the gods in human form is in the hands of the devotee….
Throughout the centuries whether it is Christ, Budha , Krishna, Ram or Mohammed, or Sai baba…they are still humans who are an incarnation of the God…whether you know it or not God will come to you in Human form…..it’s the only way….other than the movies..
When we envision God in our meditation, it is because God is speaking to us from within via you Guru’s teachings…as only he can ignite the God within you…If someone says that they see God in their Vision….find out who their Guru is, because he is the human form through which that God came….When People do not have Good Gurus and Spritual guides (in Physical form) then their visions (spiritual forms) will be that of demons and Kal bhairos etc. which eventually results in bad dreams or horrible nightmares.
THEREFORE THE CLOSEST YOU CAN GET TO GOD IN A PHYSICAL WAY IS THRU YOUR GURU….A true Guru knows you life, your past , your present and your future…..that’s closest to God a person can get in life…the next step is the visions of God from within , developed from shakti (power) energized by the Guru.
Any message you receive from a True Guru is a message from God which resides within you after your have met your Guru….Gurudro was Hunter & butcher, Sati Anusuya’s babies were beggars, the woodcutter’s axe was a stone, and even Swamiji will appear ordinary sometimes to you, so tell me…. HOW WILL GOD COME TO YOU?
(If knowledge of God is within you , then YOU will be able to recognize the beauty and presence of God in all living things. But God can only ACT in human form. ( and your recognition can happen only thru the Grace of Guru’s Knowledge) Every encounter that you have with someone else is an act of God. If you come under the influence of a bad boss, God is teaching you respect and humility. He is teaching you that this is your karmic bondage for something that you have done wrong or something that you are not doing right. He wants you to recognize His presence and He wants you to change your behaviour. By the same token, when you follow the path of goodness in your life, God comes in the form of good people. Your prayers get answered through someone else who is sent there to help you out of your dilemma, such as a holy person like Swamiji. That is the presence of God - a God who is present in everything but a God Who acts on your life in His divine form as a Human Being….which can be recognized only thru the grace of the knowledge recieved from the GURU IN HUMAN FORM…
At the Hindu Learning Center of the Jyotish Ashram, Swami-ji wants you to understand the teachings of the great Rishis and Sages. ( THEY WERE KNOWN AS THE GODS WHO WALKED THE EARTH, Even the Gods such as Krishna and Ram worshipped them) . Swamiji is bringing this knowledge of the Rishis and Sages to you so that you can have a prosperous and happy life. Swamiji feels that the experience of happiness, prosperity and bliss IS AN EXPERIENCE OF GOD) He wants you to understand the beauty and practicality of Hinduism. (THROUGH the science of Jyotish, knowing your Past , Your present and your Future, and to be able to correct past karmas) Swami-ji wants to enable each of you to understand and apply the Hindu teachings to every aspect of your life to make your life healthy, happy and prosperous. We hope you have seen GOD in this attendance today , in yourself and in the others around you…..Today you could be sitting right next to God and you might not even know it….Now that you have received this knowledge today I hope in your meditation today you ask that YOUR GURU BLESS you with the vision of God within you…..THRU YOUR GURU”S GRACE may Lord shiva present himself today in your meditation……I myself bow to my guru SWAMI RAM CHARRAN JI and ask that he bless me always with this great knowledge of the Gods…
SAT GURU NATH MAHARAJ KI JAI
With great Love and Respect to all.
Sri Swami Ram
Hindu Learning Center / Jyotish Ashram.
E-mail: swamicharan@yahoo.com