Realizing God Within
God is not on a distant planet,
Somewhere far away.
God lives within the temple of our heart,
He is with us every day.
In this journey called ‘Life’, one of the most important lessons that we forget to learn is the truth about God. We love God, we pray to God, but, sadly, we don't realize God. The ultimate purpose of man on earth is to realize he is the Divine Soul, and to be ultimately liberated at death and experience unification with the Divine. Because we don't realize God, we return to planet earth and go through the merry-go-round of joy and sorrow, again and again.
Anybody with basic intelligence knows that God exists. The Creator of this universe, for want of a better name, is called God. Different religions give their God different names, just as several saints and mythological deities become God for civilizations around the world. The only reason that God has become such a creative piece of art, is because man is not able to comprehend God without name and form. God is the energy that is present everywhere. God is the Power that makes our heart beat. God is the very life, the spirit, the Soul, the Atman. Because we are unable to comprehend God, religions teach their followers to follow a God that adorns snakes, one who sits on a lotus flower in the ocean, one who will die so that we can be forgiven for our sins or even one who lives far away in the skies. Then we perform all kinds of rituals and follow superstitions, to please that heavenly God, which all along is within our own body. The God power in us gives life to each of the 30 trillion cells. It is the same God-Power in me and in you, and in the 8 billion people on earth. This is not 8 billion Gods, but one God, empowering all of this universe to live.
In our house, we have different kinds of bulbs and lights. We have televisions and air conditioners, hair dryers and other appliances. Each of them is different, but the power that comes to all these gadgets is the same. It is not a different power that is present in each of the appliances or gadgets. While we realize this, we don't realize that the power in you and the power in me is the same universal power that we cannot see.
What happens at death? In a fraction of a moment, the God Power within leaves and we are pronounced dead. It is different from sleep where we wake up. Death is different. It is not like a breakdown of our car or air conditioner, which can be repaired and reconstructed to work again. Death is the end for that body. Thereafter, the body is cremated or buried. Although we see this happening day in and day out, we don't realize the Divine that is within us. We search for God in a temple, monastery, and church. We look up at the sky. We fold our hands and cry. But we don't realize that the very 'I' hides the God that is within us. When we let go of the ego, when we transcend the body and mind, then we can realize God. God can never be found; God has to be realized.
Have you ever wondered why a human being normally doesn't pray with eyes open? Even when we go on a pilgrimage far away, once we reach our destination and we stand before our God, we automatically close our eyes to pray. This is because God is within. God is not outside in front of us. The power of God is throbbing inside us. If we contemplate this, we will realize the truth that God is within.
There are many methods of Realization. Different human beings are sparked with God-realization through different ways. The most common realization of God within is first the realization of the self, realizing who we are not, not the body, not the mind. Then it is realizing we are the Divine Soul. The Soul in me is the same energy. God energy! While it may be very easy to read this and even possible to understand it, it is a rare feat to realize it, to experience the Divine within.
Those who realize God within, realize that God is the cause, we are just effects. Without God we are nothing. Just like a statue, a pot or a plate are all made of clay, if there is no clay, none of them exist. So, without God, all of us perish. We return to dust.
Have you ever stopped to contemplate the beauty around you? There is so much natural beauty in the flowers and the trees, in the butterfly and the bees, in you and in me. What is the cause of all this beauty? It is the Divine life within. The moment life departs, the beauty disappears. When will we realize that it is the Divinity that causes all the beauty? Once we become conscious of God within, then we realize that God is everywhere. We see Divinity in all the beauty around us, as we live a life of eternal peace and happiness.
In this journey called 'Life', the most important lesson on how to live life in the Life Manual is realizing God within. Once we do, we will be blessed to live as the Divine Soul, in eternal joy and everlasting peace. For this, we must learn to give ourselves up, then we will find God.
IN A NUTSHELL