What do I need to do to See God?
Question
Scriptures say that God is so attractive that one who gets even a slightest glimpse of Him, falls in love with Him forever. I too want to fall in love with God. How can I see Him?
Answer
Yes, this is true, that God is all-attractive and those who can see his divine form fall in love with Him forever. There are a few subtle points to understand in this statement.
There are 3 eternal entities
Before the creation is manifested, Jeev and Maya lie dormant inside God. At the time of creation, God casts a glance at Maya and it becomes active. That Maya manifests itself in the form of uncountable brahmands. Each brahmand contains several lokas. Although Jeev, the individual souls, are divine and a fraction of God, yet they have eternally turned away from God. Bound by his causeless mercy, God sends them to these lokas and provides them with a material body, senses, mind and intellect as a means to reach Him.
But the senses, mind and intellect being material (created by Maya), are able to perceive only material matters. The poet saint, Tulsidas Ji says,
Scriptures say that God is so attractive that one who gets even a slightest glimpse of Him, falls in love with Him forever. I too want to fall in love with God. How can I see Him?
Answer
Yes, this is true, that God is all-attractive and those who can see his divine form fall in love with Him forever. There are a few subtle points to understand in this statement.
There are 3 eternal entities
- Brahm: The almighty God, who is eternal, conscious, omniscient and possesses infinite bliss
- Jeev: An eternal part of God that is conscious but ignorant and devoid of bliss
- Maya: An eternal but inert power of God
Before the creation is manifested, Jeev and Maya lie dormant inside God. At the time of creation, God casts a glance at Maya and it becomes active. That Maya manifests itself in the form of uncountable brahmands. Each brahmand contains several lokas. Although Jeev, the individual souls, are divine and a fraction of God, yet they have eternally turned away from God. Bound by his causeless mercy, God sends them to these lokas and provides them with a material body, senses, mind and intellect as a means to reach Him.
But the senses, mind and intellect being material (created by Maya), are able to perceive only material matters. The poet saint, Tulsidas Ji says,
गो गोचर जहँ लगि मन जाई । सो सब माया जानेहु भाई ॥
go gochar jahan lagi man jaee . so sab maaya jaanehu bhaee .
go gochar jahan lagi man jaee . so sab maaya jaanehu bhaee .
"The reach of the senses, mind and intellect is limited to the material realm only."
You may refute this statement saying that our scriptures state that God occasionally descends on this earth and during His descension period people did see Him. Undeniably, He descends, and you must have also heard that during His descension, each individual perceives Him, as per their level of devotion. When Lord Ram appeared in the court of King Janak at the time of Sita-Swayamvar, different people in the court saw Him in different forms. जाकी रही भावना जैसी । प्रभु मूरति देखी तिन तैसी ॥
देखहिं रूप महा रणधीरा । मनहुँ बीररस धरे सरीरा ॥ डरे कुटिल नृप प्रभुहिं निहारी । मनहुँ भयानक मूरति भारी ॥ हरि भक्तन देखे दोउ भ्राता । इष्टदेव सब सुख दाता ॥ jaakee rahee bhaavana jaisee . prabhu moorati dekhee tin taisee dekhahin roop maha ranadheera . manahun beeraras dhare sareera dare kutil nrp prabhuhin nihaare . manahun bhayaanak moorati bhaaree hari bhaktan dekhe dou bhraata . ishtadev sab sukh daata |
"According to their own mental disposition, people saw Him in different forms. Some saw Him as valor, which has taken a human form. Evil ones got scared as if they had seen a horrifying image. His devotees saw the two brothers and their joy knew no bounds".
Similarly, when Shri Krishna arrived in the assembly of Kans, He was perceived differently by different people, based on their level of devotion and purity of mind.
Similarly, when Shri Krishna arrived in the assembly of Kans, He was perceived differently by different people, based on their level of devotion and purity of mind.
मल्लानामशनिर्नृणां नरवरः स्त्रीणां स्मरो मूर्तिमान्
गोपानां स्वजनोऽसतां क्षितिभुजां शास्ता स्वपित्रोः शिशुः । मृत्युर्भोजपतेर्विराडविदुषां तत्त्वं परं योगिनाम् वृष्णीनां परदेवतेति विदितो रंगं गतःसाग्रजः ॥ भा १०-४३-१७ |
mallaanaamashanirnrnaan naravarah strinaan smaro moortimaan
gopaanaan svajanosataan kshitibhujaan shaasta svapitroh shishuh mrtyurbhojapaterviraadavidushaan tattvan paran yoginaam vrshneenaan paradevateti vidito rangan gatahsaagrajah . bha 10-43-17 |
"To some, His body seemed to be made of thunderbolt. To an ordinary person, He seemed to possess superior qualities amongst all men. To young women He appeared like the God of love, supreme in love and beauty. To the cowherd boys, He was their dearest friend. To the wicked kings, He was seen as their destroyer and to evil Kansa, He was seen as the ultimate destroyer; Yamaraj, the God of death. The wicked trembled seeing His enormous form with thousands of arms, legs and heads, spitting fire worth thousands of suns from each of His mouths."
It is understandable that one might like what they see or dislike what they see, but it seems absurd that viewers see varying number of hands, legs and heads, some see Him as a young child while others see Him in the prime of youth.
God has a divine body, and its uniqueness is that everyone sees His form according to the purity of their mind and sentiment. Just like one suffering with jaundice sees yellow color everywhere similarly we, due to our material senses and mind, see Him with our temperament. His Divine form, with full magnificence and bliss, is visible only to His completely surrendered devotees.
Thus, to see God, we need a pure mind. If Lord Krishna were to appear in front of us, we would see Him only as per our mental disposition. If we are a surrendered soul then we will fall in love with Him but if we are not, since our experience will be contrary, we might loose faith and dismiss the words of scriptures and saints. So instead of wanting to see God we should focus on purifying our mind. For doing so ponder on the following points
As the Vedas say,
It is understandable that one might like what they see or dislike what they see, but it seems absurd that viewers see varying number of hands, legs and heads, some see Him as a young child while others see Him in the prime of youth.
God has a divine body, and its uniqueness is that everyone sees His form according to the purity of their mind and sentiment. Just like one suffering with jaundice sees yellow color everywhere similarly we, due to our material senses and mind, see Him with our temperament. His Divine form, with full magnificence and bliss, is visible only to His completely surrendered devotees.
Thus, to see God, we need a pure mind. If Lord Krishna were to appear in front of us, we would see Him only as per our mental disposition. If we are a surrendered soul then we will fall in love with Him but if we are not, since our experience will be contrary, we might loose faith and dismiss the words of scriptures and saints. So instead of wanting to see God we should focus on purifying our mind. For doing so ponder on the following points
- We are an inseparable part of God, who is bliss.
- We can attain happiness only by knowing Him and establishing a relationship with Him.
- Only a genuine saint, who we accept as our teacher (Guru), can grant us the knowledge of God and our relationship with Him.
As the Vedas say,
तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरूमेवाभिगच्छेत् समित्पाणिः क्षोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम् ॥ मुंडको १.२.१२
tadvigyaanaarthan sa guroomevaabhigachchhet samitpaanih kshotriyan brahmanishtham . mundako 1.2.12
tadvigyaanaarthan sa guroomevaabhigachchhet samitpaanih kshotriyan brahmanishtham . mundako 1.2.12
This hymn indicates that the teacher must be both
1. a God realized soul (ब्रह्मनिष्ठम्) and
2. well versed in scriptural knowledge (क्षोत्रियं)
Such a saint will remove all the doubts and lead you on the simplest and the most authentic path of meeting God. When an aspirant sincerely practices devotion under his guidance, the aspirant's mind starts getting purified and when the mind is completely purified, the personal power of God - Swaroop Shakti enters the heart of the devotee and makes it divine. The Guru then infuses divine love in the divine mind and at that very moment, the devotee attains the ultimate goal of life of seeing God, attaining His divine love, bliss and eternal service.
The only prerequisite to seeing God, is to accept a genuine saint as your Guru and have complete faith in his words. Our scriptures, give us the example of
Saint Balmiki, who did not perform any penances or practice of devotion, he just followed the instructions of His Guru Rishi Narad, who instructed him to pronounce the word ‘mara’ continuously until he came back (mara is the reverse of the word Rama and in continuous chanting it becomes as rama rama). Valmiki did not ask saint Narad, when would you come back, how long should I chant mara etc.? He kept on chanting the name for years. Termites made his body their home, yet he continued to chant per the instructions of his Guru. This faith elevated him to an exclusive position of Brahmarishi, that was conferred upon him by his Guru Saint Narad.
1. a God realized soul (ब्रह्मनिष्ठम्) and
2. well versed in scriptural knowledge (क्षोत्रियं)
Such a saint will remove all the doubts and lead you on the simplest and the most authentic path of meeting God. When an aspirant sincerely practices devotion under his guidance, the aspirant's mind starts getting purified and when the mind is completely purified, the personal power of God - Swaroop Shakti enters the heart of the devotee and makes it divine. The Guru then infuses divine love in the divine mind and at that very moment, the devotee attains the ultimate goal of life of seeing God, attaining His divine love, bliss and eternal service.
The only prerequisite to seeing God, is to accept a genuine saint as your Guru and have complete faith in his words. Our scriptures, give us the example of
Saint Balmiki, who did not perform any penances or practice of devotion, he just followed the instructions of His Guru Rishi Narad, who instructed him to pronounce the word ‘mara’ continuously until he came back (mara is the reverse of the word Rama and in continuous chanting it becomes as rama rama). Valmiki did not ask saint Narad, when would you come back, how long should I chant mara etc.? He kept on chanting the name for years. Termites made his body their home, yet he continued to chant per the instructions of his Guru. This faith elevated him to an exclusive position of Brahmarishi, that was conferred upon him by his Guru Saint Narad.
उल्टा नाम जपा जग जाना । बाल्मीकि भये ब्रह्म समाना ।।
ulta naam japa jag jaana . baalmeeki bhaye brahm samaana
ulta naam japa jag jaana . baalmeeki bhaye brahm samaana
Balmiki, composed “Ramayan” (the life history of Lord Ram), before Lord Rama descended on earth in Treta Yug.
So, one who is guided by a God-realized saint and is solely surrendered to him can see God.
So, one who is guided by a God-realized saint and is solely surrendered to him can see God.
अतएव देखकर रूप-ध्यान करने वाली बात भूलकर भी मस्तिष्क में न लानी चाहिये । पहले अधिकरी बनने की साधना कर लो ।
Never entertain the thought that you may begin remembrance of His form after seeing Him. First practice the true devotion, completion of which will qualify you to see His divine Form.
Never entertain the thought that you may begin remembrance of His form after seeing Him. First practice the true devotion, completion of which will qualify you to see His divine Form.
- Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj