Extract taken from: (Bhagavan, Bhakti, Bhakta and Bhagavatha: God, devotion, the devotee, and the scripture)
In the word GOD, you have three letters: G O D. ‘G’ refers to Generation (or creation). ‘O’ refers to Organization (that is, keeping creation going). ‘D’ stands for Destruction. GOD combines the three aspects of generation, organization and destruction. When people refer to God, they regard Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as each a God. God is the one who wields authority over all the three. This Divine entity pervades the entire universe in the form of atoms. ‘Subtle as the atom, vast as the vastest in creation, the Atma pervades everything as atom’ says a Telugu poem.
The Vedas declare:
Sarvata pani padam tat sarvothokshi siromukham,
sarvata srutimalloke sarvamavritya thishthati
(with His hands, feet, eyes, head, mouth, and ears pervading
everything, God permeates the entire universe).
God is the witness to all that you do. You may hoodwink anybody, but not God because He is always in you and with you. Without the grace of Bhavani-Shankara, all your efforts will be futile. Names and forms are not important because they are subject to change. Body is like a water bubble, mind is like a mad monkey. You cannot rely on them. But there is something within, which is true and eternal. That is divinity. In order to manifest this latent divinity, you need to develop devotion, which in turn strengthens your faith. Tree becomes bigger and stronger as the roots go deeper. Likewise, faith becomes stronger as the devotion increases. No name and no form can ever help you if vishwas (faith) and shraddha (steadfast devotion) are lacking in you.
There is infinite divine power latent in everybody. If you can manifest it, you can even stop the sun from rising, as Sumati did, and you can even bring the dead back to life, as Savitri could do. When you manifest divine power, you become God.
Nirguno Nishkriyo Nityo
Nirvikalpo Niranjanah
Nirvikaro Nirakaraha
Nitya Muktosmi Nirmalah.
(Atma Bodha, Verse 33)
(Actionless, ever abiding, free from delusions, ever blissful, unchanging, formless, ever liberated and untainted am I). (SSS Vol.25, p. 295)
God is the embodiment of Truth
Vedaham etam purusham mahantam
Aditya-varnam tamasa parastat
Tam eva viditvamimrityum eti
Nanyah pantha vidyate yanaya
I know the Veda, the great totality;
radiant as the sun, beyond darkness.
Those who know that become immortal.
There is no other path.
– Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 3.8
(SSS Vol.28, p. 118)
In ancient days the sages, who were doing Tapas and finally had a vision of the Reality, declared that they had realised-the Divine, whose effulgence was that of the sun, beyond the darkness of ignorance. They also taught that God is the embodiment of Truth and had to be experienced as such. They declared that one who does not see this truth is akin to an animal. That is why there is the saying that one who is revelling in untruth is only .an animal. (SSS Vol.28, p. 119)
It is only from Truth that the entire creation has come out.
There is nothing in the world without the basis of Truth.
This is pure goodness (suddha sathwa)
Behold, ye people!
(Poem)
(SSS Vol.31, p. 85)
Truth is beyond Time and Space
Uttering the truth is easy. But indulging in falsehood is a tortuous process. One has to take a lot of trouble to cover up one lie with more lies. That is why it has been said: Satyam bruyat, Priyam bruyat, Na bruyat Satyam apriyam (Speak the truth, speak what is pleasing. Do not utter truth that is unpleasant). God is the embodiment of truth. Truth is the foundation of the universe. This truth transcends the mind and speech and is beyond the categories of Time and Space. Vedanta has described it as Ritam. It is also called Transcendental Truth. Truth is that which remains unchanged over time. You must live up to this truth. You must realise that the Divine is present in everything. Only when you can recognise the omnipresence of the Divine will you be able to experience the Divine. (SSS Vol.21, p. 214)
God is Satya swarupa (Embodiment of Truth). (SSS Vol.31, p. 94) Truth is that which does not change in all the three periods of time. One has to follow the path of truth to propagate the Principle of Truth and Divine Love. God loves those who follow the path of truth. Jesus propagated the divine message of Love. He said, ‘Death is the dress of life.’ So, He said, one has to give up body attachment and develop attachment to the spirit. Body is like a water bubble. It is merely a vesture of the individual soul. (SSS Vol.31, p. 475), 25 December 1988
God is the embodiment of truth and cleanliness and dharma and if we develop this aspect of truth and cleanliness you become one with God. (SSB 1974 Part II, p. 140)
God is Truth, Goodness and Beauty. (SSS Vol.8, p. 6)
The sages of this land drew inspiration and instruction from each other, and learnt the Truth, Ishavasyam idam sarvam (Isha Upanishad) ---This Universe is enveloped in God---that God is the string on which the worlds are strung. (SSS Vol.8, p. 201)
God has no specific name and form. He is nirgunam, niranjanam, sanathanam, niketanam, nitya, suddha, buddha, mukta, nirmala swarupinam (attributeless, pure, everlasting, final abode, eternal, unsullied, enlightened, liberated and embodiment of sacredness). Whatever names and forms man attributes to God are for his own satisfaction. Therefore, you should make efforts to see God in all forms. (SSS Vol.35, p. 208)
Brahmanandam Parama Sukhadam Kevalam Jnana murtim
Dvandva atitam Gagan asadrisham Tatvamsyadi Lakshyam,
Ekam Nityam Vimalam achalam Sarvadhee Sakshibhutam
Bhavatitam Trigunarahitam Sad Gurum Tam Namami.
(God is the embodiment of eternal bliss, He is wisdom absolute, the One without a second, beyond the pair of opposites, expansive and pervasive like the sky, the goal indicated by the mahavakya – tat tvam asi, eternal, pure, unchanging, the witness of all functions of the intellect, beyond all mental conditions and the three gunas of sattva, rajas and Tamas). (SSS Vol.35, p. 351)
God is love; so, you must become love, in order to merge in Him. He is beauty; so, be beauty, with no ugliness in you. Then, you can be one with Him, He is compassion, be compassionate. Water mixes easily with water, not with oil. Oil mixes with oil only. (SSS Vol.8, pp. 44-45)
God is love, God is peace: God is strength. (SSS Vol.8, p. 201)
God is Love; Love is God. His Akara (Form) is Prema (Love); His Svabhava (essential nature) is Ananda (Bliss); His Rakta (life-blood) is Satyam (Truth). (SSS Vol.7, p. 128)
God is the source of all Love; Love God, Love the world as the vesture of God, no more, no less. Through Love, you can merge in the Ocean of Love. Love cures pettiness, hate and grief. Love loosens bonds; it saves man from the torment of birth and death. Love binds all hearts in a soft silken symphony. Seen through the eyes of Love, all beings are beautiful, all deeds are dedicated, all thoughts are innocent. The world is one vast kin. (SSS Vol.6, p. 188)
Once, Lord Vishnu asked Narada which among the five elements was the greatest. Narada replied earth is the greatest. Vishnu remarked, ‘Three-fourth of the earth is enveloped with water. In such a case, which among the two is greater?’ Narada agreed that water was great.
Vishnu said, ‘But the sage Agastya drank up the ocean in a single gulp. So, is Agastya greater or water?’ Narada replied, ‘You are right my Lord, Agastya is greater than water.’ Vishnu asked again, ‘But this Agastya is a tiny star in the sky (Akasha). Now is this star greater or the sky?’ Narada replied, ‘It is the sky that is greater.’ The Lord agreed and said, ‘Your understanding is correct. The sky indeed is greater. In His incarnation as Vamana, the Lord asked for three steps from king Bali. And in the course of taking the gift of three steps, Vamana assumed the form of Trivikrama and covered the entire earth in one step, and the space from the earth to the sky in second, and there was no room for the third step. King Bali had to offer his head for the third step. So, now, is God great or the sky?’ Narada replied, ‘Swami, when the mere foot of the Lord covers the entire sky, how much greater His full form would be? God indeed is greater.’
‘God, who envelops the entire cosmos, dwells in the heart of His bhakta (devotee). So now, is the heart of the devotee greater or God?’ asked Vishnu . Narada replied, ‘Indeed, the devotee is greater than God.’
God is Bhakta Paradina, He is the servant of devotees. There is none superior to a devotee in this world. God’s heart can be melted only through love. So, develop total love. This is not the worldly love that exists between parents and children, husband and wife, friends, and relatives. Worldly love is tainted by selfishness, but divine love is absolutely selfless. Your life will be sanctified only when you attain divine love. (SSS Vol.32 Part II, pp. 122-123)
A God who does evil is no God at all. God had no likes and dislikes; he is above and beyond all traits and characteristics. He is Gunatita (beyond all gunas). So, how can He be hating or revengeful? He is Love. He is Mercy. He is Goodness, He is Wisdom, He is Power. He gives you what you ask; (so be careful what you ask). (SSS Vol.5, p. 13)
God is above gunas. He is not affected by gunas. So He does not attach importance to blemish. God is omnipresent. Because He assumes some form, we believe that God is of a particular form. That God is omnipresent is the Truth. How can we demonstrate this Truth? Here is a small example for this. We know that earth, water, fire, air and space are the five elements. For these elements, there are attributes.
Amongst these five, the most important one is earth. Earth has got all the five attributes, the qualities of sound, form, touch, taste and smell. Because of these five qualities, the earth becomes immobile, becomes stationary and heavy. When we go to the second element, water, it gets some mobility. In water, one of the qualities, namely smell, has disappeared. Only four attributes remain. Because one of the attributes has disappeared, it has acquired some mobility.
When we go to the third element of fire, it has got the attributes of sound, touch and form only. Since two qualities have disappeared, fire has become even lighter and fire is able to move faster than earth or water.
When we go to air, it has lost three of the attributes. It has got only two of them, namely sound and touch it has no form. Since three of the attributes have disappeared, air has become much lighter and moves faster and freely occupies the whole space. The last one, the fifth element is space, or Akasha. This space has lost all the qualities. Neither form nor touch, nor smell nor taste are present in Akasha. So it has become omnipresent. It is so light that it is present everywhere.
God has no attributes or gunas at all, and therefore, is able to be present everywhere. If space or Akasha, which has only one quality, namely sound, is present everywhere, then God, who has no quality or no attribute at all, can be present everywhere. One may at this point get a doubt that if God is omni-present and is above gunas, how is it that the gunas are not in Him but He is in the gunas?
The moment we say that He is everywhere, it follows that He is present in the gunas also. He is in the gunas, but the gunas are not in Him. How is this possible? For example the mud is present in the pot, but the pot is not present in the mud. The pot is created. The pot has a form. The form has been given in an artificial way. However, if God is in His formless aspect, it is not possible for people to easily recognise the formless aspect. So, He takes a human form, and comes to the world. In this way, He wants to demonstrate to the people the ideal path they should follow. (SSB 1977, pp. 73-74)
God is not like a lecturer who teaches a lesson and leaves the classroom. God is like a physical director who teaches by his own example. That is why I say: My life is my message. God teaches by demonstration. Today some people carry on propaganda to cast aspersions on the actions of the Divine by misrepresentation and misinterpretation. They declare: God punishes you, God persecutes you.
This is totally misconceived. It is not God s business to punish you or harass you. The punishment and the persecution are consequences of your actions. God is the giver of the fruits of your actions. He is like a postman who delivers letters in different homes. In one house the letter brings grief. In another the letter causes joy. Is the postman responsible for joy in one home or the grief in another? It is the message contained in the letters that is responsible for the different reactions. God is the spring of fresh and sweet water in the heart. (CWBSSB, p. 123)
God is positive, man is negative. (CWBSSB, p. 125)
God exists in everyone and therefore to say that God does not is to show one’s own lame hand and say that he himself does not exist. To say that God does not exist is as ridiculous as saying that he has been born to a barren woman. (SSB 1974, p. 7)
God is the very embodiment of Atma and He is the self that is present in everyone. To say that such a God is not present in one’s mind is to say that he, himself, does not exist, and that is the same as proclaiming that one does not believe in himself. God exists in everyone. (SSB 1974 Part II, p. 7)
God is all Names and all forms, the integration of all these in harmonious charm! Gods designated in different faiths, adored by different human communities, are all limbs of the One God that really is. Just as the body is the harmonious blending of the senses and the limbs, God is the harmony of all the forms and names that man gives Him! (SSS Vol.8), 22-6-1969
God is his devotees’ never-failing friend and guide. God is all-knowledge, all-power, all mercy. (SSS Vol.12, p. 293)
God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-pervading. God is inherent in every living being, in every non-living thing. (SSS Vol.15), 27-10-82
God is all-pervasive and nothing exists without the power of the Divine. (SSS Vol.19, p. 90)
God is all powerful and omnipresent, the One without a second. (SSS Vol.19, p. 220).
God transcends the Gunas (attributes). He is without cause. He is without form and is unchanging. He is beyond all thoughts and fancies. He is eternal, pure, omniscient and infinite. The cosmos is the embodiment of the Divine. There is nothing, not even an atom, in the world without the Divine. (SSS Vol.25, p. 295)
God is all-pervading. He is omnipresent. He transcends time, space and circumstances. According to one s level of understanding of the Divine, God exists at that level. The mind is the means, of comprehending everything in the world. In the world, which is a projection of the mind, the Lord exists as Cittaswarupa (Universal Consciousness). (SSS Vol.25, p. 296)
God is not somewhere away from you, someone distinct from you. He is in you, before you, behind you, beckoning, guiding, guarding, warning, prompting, the Inner Voice speaking ever with you. You need not seek Him, He is there ready to respond to the call from the heart. Call on Me and I am always by your side. (SSS Vol.8, p. 195)
God is but the appearance in Form of the Formless, Intangible, Immanent, Absolute, the Nirakara Paramatma, the Akasha (space) within the Hridaya (heart) of man and all living beings as well as of all the other Bhutas or Principles, unbound, without beginning or end. (SSS Vol.7, p. 365)
The word God is the indication that there is the Padartha, that there is God. If there was no God, the word God would not have originated and gained currency. You may see God or you may not, but the word is proof that there is God. (SSS Vol.7, p. 366)
God is Omnipresent; He is in the past, the present, the future. The future comes up and becomes the present and moves down into the past, but, the present is always present. God is always present, watching the future rolling on into the past!
And, God is and can be, only one, not more! ‘There is only One God and He is Omnipresent! There is only One Religion, the religion of Love. There is only One Language, the language of the Heart.’ This God has to be visualised by means of constant spiritual discipline. Do not involve yourselves in doubts and hesitations. If only you observe the disciplines and purify the Consciousness, you can see the God installed in your heart. (SSS Vol.7, p. 366)
God is no stony-hearted despot. He is Compassion, He is Grace, personified. Once you have cleansed yourself by tears, He draws you near and grants you consolation and courage. Without a cleansed heart, realisation is impossible. (SSS Vol.8, p. 110)
God is all-powerful; God is everywhere; God is all-knowing. Adore such a Formidable Limitless Principle so long as you have breath, so long as you are conscious. Have no other thought other than God, no other aim than knowing His command, no other activity than translating that command into action. That is what is meant by surrender. Render yourself unto Him. When you intend going on a journey, you hand over the keys of your car to the chauffeur and sit in comfort and security in the back-seat, forgetting the possible troubles on the way. You have surrendered your life into the hands of that man, his intelligence, alertness and skill. Some men do not fully surrender; they are too egoistic for that! They interrupt him every minute with tips, hints, and suggestions about driving; with questions and doubts regarding the condition of the car or the road! And, so, they confuse him and confound his confidence so much that they inflict accidents upon themselves! Be steady, have Faith, and reach the goal safe. Life is the car; your heart is the key. God is the sarathi (chauffeur). Surrender to Him and be rid of further bother. Travel safe and arrive happy. (SSS Vol.8, pp. 439-440)
God is the embodiment of compassion. He watches for a grain of goodness or humility so that He can reward it with tons of Grace. (SSS Vol.8, p. 203)
God is in you, God is in every word of yours, every deed and thought. Speak, do and think as befits Him. Do the duty that He has allotted to the best of your ability, and to the satisfaction of your conscience. That is the most rewarding Puja (ritualistic worship). (SSS Vol.8, p. 191)
The Divine is the core, the essence of your being. God is everywhere; when He is recognised and adored as the In-dweller of your body, it becomes a Temple, and it is no more a burden. God is shining, announcing Himself through you; He is expressing Himself through every thought, word and deed that emanates from you. (SSS Vol.9, p. 208)
God is no ordinary thief! God too when He comes in the role of a thief, looks for the most precious thing, the thing He values most, the thing you have taken most pains to foster. He carries away the pure thoughts, the deeds soaked in the sweetness of sympathy and compassion, the feelings of Love that do not crave requite. This Thief makes people richer by His theft! Richer in happiness, serenity and self-esteem. This thief is loved the more, the more He steals! He wakes up the sleeping and then steals what the household has kept for Him. Many times, the people pretend sleep so that He may come and steal the things they have kept for that very purpose. He calls out: Tasmat Jagrata, Jagrata! ‘Therefore, wake up, wake up;’ and then, He carries away the treasure He seeks and finds. You feel you have nothing to give Him, and that you are poor and downtrodden. Once you offer your heart to God, there is no more wail or want. (SSS Vol.9, p. 101)
God is bound to you by the closest bonds of Love. Parents might fall out; brother might take up arms against brother; sister might slip away without recognising sister; children might not revere or even recognise their parents. Those are but social or economic ties, they might declare. But, God will never desert you or deny you, or turn away from you.
God is the nearest, the dearest, the most loving, the most eager companion, comrade and kinsman for man. (SSS Vol.9, p. 107)
Develop nearness, proximity, kinship with God. Win Him by obedience, loyalty, humility and purity. Make your lives simple; fill the daily tasks with love and mutual co-operation; be tolerant towards the errors and failings of others; look upon them with sympathy and understanding; be calm and without agitation, under all conditions. Then, you can be happy and the country can be happy. Your sentiments will be unselfish and your emotions, tender. Envy, hatred and vindictiveness can gain no entrance into the stronghold of your mind, where! mercy, benevolence and indulgence stand guard. (SSS Vol.7, p. 213)
God is not involved in either rewards or punishments. He only reflects re-sounds and re-acts! He is the Eternal Unaffected Witness! You decide your own fate. Do good, be good, you get good in return; be bad, do bad deeds, you reap bad results. Do not thank or blame God. Thank yourself, blame yourself! He does not even will that creation, protection and destruction shall take place. They follow the same law, the innate law of the maya-ridden universe. (SSS Vol.7, p. 213)
God is above and beyond the limits of Time and Space. He is beyond all characteristics and qualities; no list of such can describe him fully. For Him, all beings are equal. The difference between man, beast, bird, worm, insect and even a god is but a difference of the `Vessel (the Upadhi). God appears in different forms on different occasions. Sometimes He comes with a part of His glory, sometimes with fuller equipment of splendour; sometimes for a particular task, sometimes to transform an entire era of time, an entire continent of space. (Bhag Vahini, p. 2)
God is omnipotent. He knows no distinction between possible and the impossible. His Wizardry, His Sport, His Ply, His Pranks cannot be described with the vocabulary that man commands. Though He has no Rupa or Form, He can assume the Form of the Universal Person, embodying all the Creation in His Form. He is One but makes Himself Many. Matsya, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Kalki – people relate to each other that these are Divine Forms He has assumed. But, that is not describing Him as vast as His Magnificence. We have to visualise all forms as His; the vitality of every being in His breath. In short, every bit in Creation is He, the Manifestation of His Will. There is nothing distinct or separate from Him.
But, for the protection of the world, for the upholding of Dharma, for fulfilling the yearnings of the devotees, He wills specially and assumes a special Form and moves in the world; He confers great joy on the devotees but His divine acts, which convince them of His Advent; they are thus confirmed in their faith and prompted to dedicate their activities to God and thus save themselves and liberate themselves. Therefore people consider the Forms aforesaid which were assumed with this end in view, as specially sacred and they worship God in those incarnated Forms. On certain occasions, for resolving certain urgent crisis, God has incarnated with Forms embodying part of His Divinity with some Divine powers and potentialities. Examples of such incarnations for the protection of the world are plenty. (Bhag Vahini, pp. 213-214)
There can be no limit or obstacle to His Will. There can be no bounds to the manifestation of His Power and His Glory. He fructifies all He that He wills; He can manifest to whatever Form His wills. He is unique, incomparable, equal to Himself alone. He is His own measure, witness, authority. (Bhag Vahini, p. 217)
God has four qualities and it is only when you cultivate them that you can understand Him. They are – Divine love (prema), Beauty (Beauty (Soundarya)), Sweetness (madhurya), and Splendour (shobha). (SSS Vol.5, p. 287)
If God is on your side, you have the world in your hold. This is the lesson driven home by the Hindu scriptures. ‘Give up all bonds of fight and duty, surrender unreservedly to Me; I shall guard you from sin and liberate you from that sad cycle of entrances and exits on the stage of life. You can remain ever in your own Reality of Eternal Calm,’ the Lord has assured. (SSS Vol.6, p. 194)
Not only for man, but also for birds and animals, not only for living beings but also for the non-living, God alone is the Lord, rule, protector and refuge. (Vedavani, p. 17)
God is not drawn into desire; He has no wants; He is full, free and ever content. He has no aversions or attractions. He has no bonds of kith or kin. The Lord is above all attachments; he has no favourites, or foes. God has no will or want. He does not confer or withhold. He is the eternal witness. To put it in the language that you can understand, He is like the postman, who is not concerned with the contents of the letters that he hands over to the addresses; one letter might communicate victory, another, defeat; you receive what you have worked for. Do good and have good in return; be bad and accept the bad that comes back to you. That is the law, and there is really no help or hindrance. (SSS Vol.7, p. 82)
God is known as Ishvara, since He is the source and store of prosperity and power. He is known as Shankara, for He is the embodiment of sanctity and auspiciousness. God has no birth or death. He has no wants, no desires. There is no single thing which He lacks and longs to acquire. But, man ignores God who is the very basis of his life and refuses to recognize things as mere things. His mind has become a bundle of desires. (SSS Vol.18, pp. 155-156)
God is the Prompter, the Promoter, the Sacrificer, the Sacrifice, the Product achieved and the Recipient of the product. He is Yajnabhuk (the consumer of the offering); He is Yajna-bhrith (guardian of the yajna) and Yajna krith (performer of the yajna). He is all; it is only when He is all that the act becomes genuinely yajna. (SSS Vol.11, pp. 154-155)
God is the echo of the hills, the flutter of the leaves, the whisper of men, the babble of children, the Om (divine sound) that is wafted everywhere. God is present at all places, but to recognise Him, saints have had to prescribe a thousand methods! He is in every one, yet he evades discovery by all but a few. Being all-powerful, he is the Giver of all gifts, the Providence bestowing upon us all the wherewithal. Sarvam avrtya tisthati (He remains All encompassing). (1008 Pearls, p. 472) There is nothing except God. Nature is His Manifestation. Man must recognise God in all human beings and in all else that exists. (SSS Vol.14), 13-8-1978
God is inscrutable. He cannot be realised in the outer objective world; He is in the very heart of every being. (SSS Vol.12, p. 225)
God does not have such distinctions or gradations. For the welfare of His devotees, God is prepared to do anything. Without devotees, where is God?! God’s greatness and noble acts are all due to devotees. (SSB 2000, p. 113)
God is the Doctor. Seek Him, rely on Him, you will be free from Disease. (SSS Vol.14, p. 196)
God can be known only by experience and not by experiments. (SSS Vol.27, p. 142)
God is the moving force in every one. He is behind all good impulses and useful attitudes, you are all separate beads strung together on that one thread, God. (SSS Vol.1, p. 145)
God exists, but is invisible. He rotates the sun and the moon to drive out the darkness from the universe. He props up millions of stars high up in the sky, preventing them from tumbling down. He whirls the world round and round, without an axle to the wheel. He spreads the invisible winds and controls the oceans from engulfing the lands. He holds aloft the canopy of the skies overhead without its crashing down. He works unseen behind the scenes making the world dance on the screen. God does exist. (GG, p. 20)
To indicate this, God is designated as `Vedavid (known through the Vedas).
God is not an alien living in far-off lands
God is close to each, in the heart He shines;
Sin is not an act or fact in far-off lands
Sin is in your mind, polluting word and deed.
God or the devil, good and bad, are denizens of one s own heart. Where God is, there the devil cannot be. (SSS Vol.10, p. 299)
Lord is described as (1) Nirguna nirakara, (2) Saguna nirakara and (3) Saguna sakara.
kavim Puranam anusasitaram
anor aniyamsam anusmared yah
sarvasya dhataram acintya-rupam
aditya-varnam tamasah parastat
(Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 8:9)
Kavi, Puranam, Anushasita; subtler than subtle, the sustenance and bliss of all; having unpicturable form with the splendour of the sun as His complexion, beyond all trace of ignorance and darkness.
Kavi is not merely a poet; it means also one who is aware of the Lord. He knows all; He sees all. Hence he is mentioned as `Sarvajna krantadarsi . He who sees the next step, for all creation the Kavi is the motivator, the prime basis.
Purana Lord is the most ancient, but He is modern as He is ancient, He is sanathana, primeval, beyond beginning, He is also nutana, new every moment. Purana means, pura navamiti formerly new, new every minute of the past and the present.
Anushasita Independent, unchecked Master. He lays down the conduct of all.
Anoraniyam subtler than the subtle.
Sarvadhara: there are two categories - adhara and adheya which is seen by the eye or heard by the ear.
Achintya rupam the unpicturable form; a form that cannot be delineated or imagined.
Aditya-varnam, with the splendour of the Sun as His complexion which means `He is self effulgent as the Sun; He is independent; He is the source of Light, He shines with . He is the effulgence of the Sun and makes the Sun shine.
tamasah parastat means `beyond darkness . He is the Witness of darkness or Ajnana for para means witness, one unaffected; and no darkness is as dark as Ajnana; it is so deep and so tamasah parastat, means `beyond maya . (GV, pp. 146-150)
God transcends the categories of kaala (time), desha (space) and vastu (matter). No one can say God is present in one country and not in another. It is not possible to declare that He is present in one thing and not in another. This means that God cannot be assigned to any particular place, time or object. The term ‘Bhagavan‘ means One who pervades everything. That being so, can any particular place be assigned to Him? He is immanent everywhere. It can be firmly asserted that God is everywhere. Again with regard to time, it cannot be said that God was present at one time and did not exist: at another time. How can one, who has no beginning, middle or end and who is present in all the three categories of time, be limited by time? Because of His omnipresence and all-pervasiveness, God is described as ‘Sarvatmaka’ (the Spirit present in all things). Every term that is used to describe God is pregnant with significance.
God is not a vyakti Swarupa (specific definable entity). He is the Indwelling Spirit in all. The Atma Principle that permeates the universe is One only. That Atma principle assumes a form from time to time for the sake of redeeming the world and establishing righteousness. (SSS Vol.22, pp. 181-182)
The Lord is the beginning and the end of every aeon. Hence, He is called Yugadikrit (the creator of Yuga). God is not only the creator of each aeon, but He is also described as a sustainer of the yuga.
In sustaining the yuga, the Lord is all-powerful. He is omni-competent. Hence, He has the appellation ‘Yugadhara’ (the supporter of yuga). He is also known as Yugandhara. Divinity is the power behind the creation, sustenance and dissolution of every aeon. (SSS Vol.22, p. 55)
God should not be regarded as some separate power or entity. Time is a manifestation of God. Hence, God is adored as Kaala (Time), Kaalakaala (the Master of Time, the Controller of Time), Kaalatita (One who transcends Time), etc. God is also known as Vatsara as the Divine in-dweller in all beings.
Desire plus life is man! Life minus desire is God
God is All. He is all forms, His is all names. There is no place where He is not; no moment when He is not! (Even the Devil has the Syllable Dev, to indicate his affinity). Thunder is God’s message; the rain is His Grace. (SSS Vol.8, p. 41)
He is here, there, everywhere, inside and out, above, below around. Accommodate all Forms of God in your heart; do not exclude some and welcome others. (SSS Vol.8, p. 43)
God is Love; so you must become Love in order to merge in Him. He is Beauty; so be Beauty with no ugliness in you. Then, you can be one with Him. He is compassion, be compassionate. God is sweetness. His words are sweet, His sight is sweet, He sounds sweet, He is sweeter than sweetness itself. (SSS Vol.8, p. 45)
God is not a strong hearted despot. He is Compassion. He is Grace personified. Once you have cleansed yourselves by tears, He draws you near and grants you consolation and courage. Without a cleansed heart, realisation is impossible. (SSS Vol.8, p. 110)
God is the refuge of the forlorn. (SSS Vol.8, p. 195)
God is the aggregate of all individual jivas; and Virataswarupa (cosmic form) that of all individual bodies; and Hiranyagarbha (cosmic mind) that of all individual minds. Thus God and man are essentially identical. Individuals who have recognised such great truths and the Divinity of man find statements declaring that God does not exist ridiculous. Only foolish people who do not recognise the significance of these profound verities disbelieve in God. (SSB 1979, p. 42)
Out of concern for and seeing the predicament of man, Krishna has given in the Bhagavad Gita a very apt description of God.
anor aniyan mahato mahiyan
atmasya jantor nihito guhayam
tam akratuh pasyati vita-soko
dhatuh prasadan mahimanam atmanah
(Kaṭha 1.2.20),
Aṇor aṇiyan mahato mahiyan, that is to say, God exists everywhere and manifests Himself as both the Infinitesimal and the Infinite. (SSB 1979, p. 85)
Ignorance will never vanish, until discrimination dawns. ‘This world is but God and nothing else, everything; every being is but His Manifestation, bearing withal a new name and a new form’. (JV, p. 34)
God is the content of everybody that you see around you; but you do not make any effort to know Him! Serve others with reverence - that is the easiest and best method to cognise the Divine content in each. Since all are His Forms, His sparks; His children, feel that kinship with every community; pray for the welfare and prosperity of all mankind, whatever the political boundaries which might shut them from one another. (SSS Vol.8, p. 33)
God is described as ‘Aprameya’. It means that God cannot be measured like any limited phenomenon. Only the Vedas can give a satisfying glimpse of His glory.
‘Ya te Rudra Shiva tanura ghora papakashini taya nastanuva shantamaya girisamta bhichakashihi’, it is said. That is to say, God is described as having two distinguishable forms - serene and the terrible. The Narasimha form of God that emerged from the pillar was mild and serene, beautiful and beneficent for Prahlada, the staunch devotee, and at the same time, the form was terrible for Hiranyakashipu, the father, who hated God to the utmost. Well, even Nature, the concretisation of the will power of God has these two aspects the mild and the fearful; Water is’ an essential ingredient for sustaining life in beings. It is vital and health-giving as well as fatal and death dealing. (LKV, p. 26)
The essential truth of all religions is that god is one. Jesus proclaimed the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. One can have only one father not two. When Jesus was born three wise men followed a star to reach his place of birth. Seeing the new-born babe they bowed to the divine child in their hearts. Before leaving, each of them spoke about the child as follows to the parents. One sage told Mary, ‘He loveth God’. The second sage said: ‘God loveth him’. The third man said: ‘He is God’. What is the inner significance of these three pronouncements about Jesus? The first statement that ‘He loveth God’ contains the implication that Jesus is a messenger of God. A messenger can love his master, but the master may not so easily love his messenger. The second statement declared that ‘God loves him (Jesus).’ Why? Because he is the Son of God. The third statement ‘He is God’ bears out what Jesus said: ‘I and my Father are One.’ It means that as the Son of God he is entitled to acquire his Father’s place. The unity of Father and Son was proclaimed by the third sage.
Their inner meaning of all this is that every human being in the world is a messenger of God. What does this signify? What is the message that the human being is expected to convey? That he is a ‘messenger of God’, not of the devil. A messenger of god must propagate the divine teachings of God to the world. You have no right to call yourselves messengers of God if your actions are bad, your thoughts are evil and you preach wrong ideas. Such persons can only be called agents of the Devil.
From today, as ‘messengers of God’, you have to demonstrate to the world the purity, the Truth and the Love that the Divine symbolises. When you lead a life of purity and morality, you are entitled to regard yourselves as ‘Sons of God’. God is the embodiment of Love and you should not do anything, which is contrary to the love that God represents. You should develop those good qualities which can make your worthy ‘sons of God’.
In the Bible it is recorded that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. When they asked him why He was doing so, Jesus answered: ‘I am washing your feet as your servant, so that you may learn to serve the world.’ Every man is, to begin with, a messenger of God. When he fulfils his duties as a messenger, he realises that he is a Son of God and then achieves oneness with the Divine. (SS Jan 85 , pp. 4-5)
‘Every object maintains its inner genuineness. When it does not it degenerates. When fire loses its capacity to burn it reduces itself to cold coal. Sugar can no longer be sugar if it loses its sweetness. This sweetness in sugar, the heat in fire, is identified with God.’ (NGM, p. 4)
He is in you, and it is God that has prompted you to project Him into the outer world, as this idol or that image, to listen to your outpouring and give you peace. Without the inspiration, solace, and joy that he confers from within; you will be raving mad, as one who has lost his moorings and is tossed about, rudderless on a stormy sea. Hold on to Him in the Heart, hear Him whisper, in the silent words of counsel and consolation. Hold, converse with Him, guide your footsteps as He directs, and you reach the goal, safe and soon. The picture before which you sit, the flowers which you place on it, the hymns you recite, the vows you impose on yourselves, the vigils you go through - these are activities that cleanse, that remove obstacles in the way of your getting aware of the God within. (MBI, p. 16)
Students! You must give up your selfishness and strive to please the Lord in whom you have faith by dedicating your lives to the service of the Divine. The whole universe is permeated by the Divine. He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and All knowing. Be conscious that He is not confirmed to any place. He is everywhere and in everything including your body. He cannot be seen by dissecting the body. But when the mind is directed towards God, He can be experienced. The men who landed on the moon declared they did not find God there. God cannot be found through machines (Yantras). He can be experienced through Mantras. (SS Jul 88 , p. 173)
‘Look upon external nature as the vestment of God’. ‘It is the expression of His will, the manifestation of His glory, His Power, His Might and His Majesty. See this in every blade of grass, in every petal, every fruit.... The Universe is the Universal Principle manifested in multifarious particulars. Man is god in miniature’. (NGM, p. 4)
God too is shaped by human imagination, inclination and intellect into various forms, grand or grotesque, frightening or charming. The Scriptures say, ‘As the will so the happening’ (Yad Bhavam Tad Bhavati)
‘He is in you and it is He that has prompted you to project them into the outer world as this idol, or that image to listen to your outpourings and give you peace. The Seeker does not reduce God to stone; he elevates the stone image into a replica of God. The idol is just a prompter and a reminder, a case, container or residence, which God is invited to occupy. The Supreme is not squeezed into the small; the small is recognized as symbolic of the Supreme. Through the Seen to the Unseen, from the drop to the sea, from the patent to the latent that is how idol worship helps the aspirant, in fact, no one can conceive of the Almighty without picturing it as Power, Light, Mercy, Wisdom, Energy, Intelligence.’ (NGM, p. 12)
God is in all. But all men are not in God. That is the reason why they suffer. (FDD, pp. G-10)
God is the light, God is the most distant star as well as the blade of grass under your feet. (FDD, pp. G-16)
G O D = Generator, Operator and Destroyer of the World Drama (or One who supervises the three cosmic functions of Generation, Organisation and Dissolution). (NNSG Vol.5, p. 219)
People ask, ‘Where is God?’ But, even without knowing it, a so-called unbeliever believes in God. (SS Apr 95 , p. 90)
The feminine aspect of God represents His compassion, His eagerness to pardon, His readiness to cure and correct errors, His tenderness, and His sweetness. (LIC, p. 57)
God is a fulltime task. It requires constant vigilance, constant prayer and constant awareness of the One. (LIC, p. 71)
God is one acceptable to all Religions. That God is Truth. That God is Righteousness. That God is Peace. That God is Love. (I, p. 6)
Only those who are ignorant of the Glory of God will insist on One Name and One Form for His adoration and what is worse, condemn the use by others, of other Names and Forms! Since you are all associated with Sathya Sai Organizations, I must warn you against such silly obduracy. Do not go about proclaiming that you are a sect distinct and separate from those who adore God in other Forms and Names. Thereby you are limiting the very God whom you are extolling. Do not proclaim in your enthusiasm ‘We want only Sai; we are not concerned with the rest’. You must convince yourselves that all forms are Sai’s; all names are Sai’s. There is no ‘rest’; all are He.’ (Uniq, pp. 110-111)
God is not present in some unknown place. We may ask where is God? Mad man! God is everywhere. Love is God? Truth is God. Sacrifice is God. You are the embodiment of truth, righteousness, peace and love. It is foolish question to ask where is God? Many asked Ramakrishna Paramahamsa ‘Have you seen God? Ramakrishna had intense love. The moment he utters Krishna, he was losing body consciousness. People asked Ramakrishna ‘Have you seen God?’. Yes, I have seen he said. Where have you seen Him and how did you see Him? He replied, ‘I see God just as I see you’. Then will He be seen by me? This is the sort of questions are asked by many modern students. I too want to see God. How to see Him? Is it an object present in the market? Or would you like to open some doors and see? It is not that. Wherever you see, there is God. But you are not making the necessary enquiry or investigation. Then Ramakrishna put a question ‘Sir, you are working so hard for your wife. You are very much worried for the welfare of your children. You have been thinking all the time to earn money and property. You are very much worried for all sorts of things; you spend all the time for your family, wife and children. How will the one who is completely submerged in anxieties and worries know God?’ If you have the same worry and anxiety that you have for your family, for God also, you can see Him. How can you see God without proper enquiry, without yearning and pining? How do you hope to see God with your negative feelings and thoughts? (DTB Vol.3, pp. 8-9)
There is nothing special in this world. God is not particularly special. Anil Kumar said the latest God has come. There cannot be latest God, newest God, and dearest God. God is only one. God is one in the past, present and future. (DTB Vol.5, p. 13)
An outsider is one who expects a reward. The one who does not expect anything is the master of home. The one from the family works from the morning till the evening. No one will ask for a wage by the evening. This is because he is the master of the house. On the other hand, a coolie comes to the house. He works from morning till evening, and asks for his wages. The one who works in the spirit that it is his work is the owner. You should not be a coolie. You should never be a labourer but you should be a leader. Have the feeling that you are God if you want to be a leader. On the other hand, one who asks God grant me this, grant me that is a labourer. If you do it properly, you will have the reward. You don’t need to ask for it. Oh mind, don’t ask. If you ask more and more, it will be less and less. Everything will be granted without asking. Oh mind, therefore, do not ask. Did He not shower His Love on Shabari without asking? Did He not go to Jatayu and grant it higher worlds without asking. If you ask, it will not be granted. The desire of those who do not ask will be fulfilled.
If you ask, you consider God different from you. He is your own if you do not ask. If you ask, you are an outsider. We should not be an outsider. We should be one of the family. What does the servant know? All the useless junk is known to the servant. But the inmates of the house know what is in the Godrej locker like diamonds, and gold ornaments. So you know everything about the house as the inmate of the house. All the useless things will be known to you if you are an outsider.
We are not here to watch useless things. We should know what is useful. Useful things are within you, the valuable diamonds of good qualities, good thoughts, good words and good deeds. So, see what is within and not what is outside. (DTB Vol.5, pp. 14-15)
Converse with God who is in you. Derive courage and inspiration from Him. He is the Guru most interested in your progress. Each will come in his own good time, at his own pace, through his own inner urge, along the path God will reveal to him as his own. (EL, p. 218)
If you want to see God, you should firmly believe that you are not the body. You identify yourself with the body due to your illusion. Students should understand this clearly. All that is seen outside is only a reflection and not the reality. You see Sai Baba in front of you. You identify Sai Baba with the body. But I am not the body. You and I are one. Once you understand this clearly, there will be no difference whatsoever. If you slap someone on the cheek, it amounts to slapping yourself. If you abuse others, it amounts to abusing yourself. You are bound to face the consequences of your of your actions. You are the cause of your happiness or suffering. Others are not responsible for it. In fact, there are no others. All are one. It is your own thinking that creates the feeling of separateness in you. You should make efforts to understand your true identity. You are the