Who Is God ?

God is Satchidananda (Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute and Bliss Absolute). God is Truth. God is the Light of lights. God is all-pervading intelligence or consciousness. God is all-pervading Power who governs this universe and keeps it in perfect order. He is the Inner Ruler of this body and mind (Antaryamin). He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.

He exists,-past, present and future. He is unchanging amidst the changing phenomena. He is permanent amidst the impermanent, and imperishable amidst the perishable things of this world. He is eternal, perpetual, indestructible, immutable and imperishable. He has created this world through the three Gunas-Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas-for His own Leela (play). He has Maya under His control.

He is Swatantra or independent. He has good desires (satkama) and pure will (satsankalpa). He dispenses the fruits of actions of the Jivas. He is all-merciful. He quenches the thirst of the Jivas. He satiates our hunger. It is through His power you see, hear and talk. Whatever you see is God. Whatever you hear is God. God works through. your hands and eats through your mouth. On account of sheer ignorance and Abhimana (egoism) you have totally forgotten Him.

Eternal Happiness and Supreme Peace can be had only in God. That is the reason why sensible, intelligent, aspirants attempt to have God-realisation. God-realisation can bring an end to the ever-revolving wheel of births and deaths and bestow supreme happiness on mankind. This world is really a long, long dream. It is indeed a jugglery of Maya. The five senses delude you at every moment. Open your eyes. Learn to discriminate. Understand His mysteries. Feel His Presence everywhere as well as His nearness. He dwells in the chamber of your own heart. He is the silent witness of your mind. He is the Sutradhara or the holder of the string of your Prana. He is the womb for this world and the Vedas. He is the prompter of thought. Search Him inside your heart and obtain His Grace. Then alone you have lived your life well. Then alone you are a man. Then alone you are truly wise. Quick, quick. There is not a moment to waste, not a minute to delay. Now is the time, or never will it come.

II

God is love. He is an embodiment of eternal bliss, supreme peace and wisdom. He is all-merciful, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. He has neither beginning nor end. He is the Supreme Being or Paramatma. The Gita styles Him as Purushottama or Supreme Purusha or Maheswara. He knows everything in detail (Sarva-vid). He is the support for this world, body, mind, senses and Prana. Without Him not an atom can move. He is the womb for the Vedas. Indra, Agni, Varuna, Vayu and Yama are His assistants. Earth, water, fire, air and ether are His five powers. Maya is His illusive Shakti (power).

God is Swayambhu, self-existent. He does not depend upon others for His existence. He is Swayam Prakasha or Swayam Jyoti, self-luminous. He does not want any light to reveal Him. He reveals Himself by His own light. God is Swatah Siddha, self-proved. He does not want any proof, because He is the basis for the act or process of proving. God is Paripoorna, self-contained. He contains everything in Himself. The entire universe is in Him. God is Swasamvedya. He knows by Himself.

Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are the three aspects of God. Brahma is the creative aspect; Vishnu is the preservative aspect; and Siva is the destructive aspect. There are three other aspects: Virat is the manifested aspect; Hiranyagarbha is the immanent aspect; and Ishwara is the causal aspect. Virat is the sum total of all physical bodies; Hiranyagarbha is the sum total of all minds, i.e., He is the Cosmic Mind; and Ishwara is the sum total of all causal bodies (Karana Sareera).

Srishti (creation), Sthiti (preservation), Samhara (destruction), Tirodhana or Tirobhava (veiling), and Anugraha (grace) are the five kinds of activities of God.

God is the exquisite taste in 'vimto.' He is the sweetness in the words of a child. He is the strength in a wrestler. He is beauty in the Himalayan landscape. He is thrilling melody in music. He is the fragrance in jasmine and Champaka. He is the softness in the cushion. He is the Prana in the body and intelligence in Antahkarana (fourfold mind: mind, intellect, ego and the subconscious mind).

Earth denotes His all-supporting nature. Water proclaims the message of His purity and sanctity. Fire indicates His self-luminous nature. Air signifies His omnipotence. Ether speaks of His all-pervading nature.

He has the six attributes of divine wisdom (Jnana), dispassion (Vairagya), powers (Aishwarya), strength (Bala), wealth (Sri) and fame (Kirti). 14ence He is called Bhagavan. He is the wire-puller (Sutradhara) of all these physical bodies of beings. He is the Inner Ruler (Antaryamin) of all beings. He is in you and you are in Him. He is quite close to you. You were thinking in the beginning that He could be found only in Mount Kailas, Rameshwaram, Mecca, Jerusalem, sky or Heaven. You had very vague ideas. This body is His moving temple. The sanctum sanctorum is the chamber of your own heart. Close your eyes. Withdraw your senses from the sensual objects. Search Him there with one-pointed mind, devotion and pure love. You will surely find Him. He is waiting there with outstretched arms to embrace you. If you cannot find Him there, you cannot find Him anywhere else.

God-realisation alone can put an end to the Samsaric wheel of birth and death with its concomitant evils such as birth, disease, death, sorrow, pain, etc. Eternal happiness can be had only in God. That is the reason why sages and saints, scriptures and Srutis make a very emphatic statement and lay great stress on the importance and necessity of God-realisation. Bhakti or devotion can help one in the attainment of God-realisation. So cultivate Bhakti, come face to face with God, and taste the nectar of God-consciousness which alone is the summum bonum of human life and human endeavour. Purify the heart. Control the senses. Sing His Name. Feel His Presence everywhere. Repeat His Mantra. Meditate on His Form. realise Him. Rejoice in Him. Attain peace, bliss and immortality.

Reference : GOD EXISTS By SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA