All the scriptures.....

All the scriptures, from the Vedas to the Ramayana, and all other religious books and spiritual paths to God believe that God is omnipresent. He doesn’t merely permeate everything, but He also resides in ours hearts as paramatma. In this form He is not just a divine presence but also a performer of action. He calculates the consequences of our uncountable accumulated karmas or actions of the past, gives those consequences in the form of our present destiny, and most importantly, He notes our current actions. Actions in this sense are our thoughts, not our physical actions.

Karmas were performed by all great Saints. For example, Arjuna killed millions in the war of the Mahabharat. Hanuman destroyed Lanka. But what was the internal state of their mind? This is what God observed, not their external actions. Similarly, our government has particular rules and laws. Only if a person commits a crime with premeditated intention to cause harm is his action called a crime. If it was an accident, his action won’t be judged a crime. For example, the car a person was driving was in good operating condition, he had a license, and suddenly a man walked in front of his car to commit suicide. He won’t be found guilty of any crime, because he had no premeditated intention. A worldly court can only examine physical evidence. God is not like this. He notes our internal intention, judges it and gives a consequence. God Himself does all this work. If we were to reflect upon and practice this understanding, all crime and wrong actions would come to an end. It also would put an end to all police departments and armies. Otherwise, if a government gave an opportunity for its citizens in the next 24 hours to do whatever they wanted with no consequences, then after 24 hours you could imagine what condition that country would be in. The capacity for this wrongdoing is in all of us, hidden. But due to fear of the law and punishment, we resist acting out in this way.

So what we have to realize is that God is really and truly seated within and He is noting our every thought and organizing the consequences we will receive for that. He won’t listen to our excuses or give us time in court for our case. He will straightaway give us a punishment. This realization has to be practiced. You heard it – that’s fine. You also read it – that is also fine. Still, it’s not enough. It has to be practiced.

For example, you believe your physical father is your father. This is very firm in your understanding. Why? You repeatedly thought, “He is my father.” You did this on the basis of what he and others told you. So to practise the understanding of God’s presence, repeatedly think, “God is seated in my Heart. I am not alone. We are together.”

Dva suparna sayuja sakhaya samannam vriksham parikhasvajatey.

(Shvetashvataropanishad, 4/6)

Ur prerak raghuvansh vibhushana.

(Ramayana)

He is residing in everyone, even in evil rakshasas. Look at the situation that occurred with Hiranyakashipu. He said to Prahlad, “Does God dwell in the home of demons?” Prahlad said, “Yes, He does.” “Well,  is He in this pillar?” “Yes, He is.” Finally when Bhagwan Narsingh appeared, Hiranyakashipu had no doubt about this. So we have to practice this. Everything we have achieved in the world we have accomplished through practice. When you are driving, you simultaneously talk to friends in the car, talk on the phone, see what is behind you, avoid what is on the road, look to the left and right. Is this some special skill that we humans possess? No, this was all accomplished through practice. All the amazing things that you see circus performers do is the result of practice. Just add one more practice to what you already know – practice the presence of God. If you do, you will become peaceful. The amount of anxiety, restlessness and lack of peace in the world is escalating. Whether we become a victim of this or transcend it is in our hands.

God gave us such a machine in the form of the mind, that the intellect can’t go against its own judgments. The mind acts according to the intellect, and the senses act according to the mind. None of these can revolt against each other or strike. Whatever the intellect decides, it follows in a straight line all the way down.

A five year old boy is on his way to school and he passes by a shop that is making jalebis, “Oh, yummy!” But he didn’t bring any money with him today. He thinks, “If I take even one, the shopkeeper will punish me! He has a terrible temper.” With great regret, he longingly gazes at the jalebis as he walks past the store, just because his intellect said, “You will get a beating.” So everything is dependent on the intellect.

Atmanagwam rathinam vidhi shariragwam ratha meva cha…

(Kathopanishad 1/3/3-4)

God gave us a chariot. There is a passenger seated on this. There are horses, who are being guided by bridles. The reins of the bridles are in the hands of a driver, who is determining the direction of the chariot. Why were we given the chariot? The Vedas say you were given this chariot in the form of the body to go to God. The passenger is the soul. The horses are the senses. The reins are the mind. The driver is the intellect. In the world, horses can run away with a chariot, but our chariot is different – as the intellect dictates, so the other parts have to obediently follow.

In the heat of the hot season, who wants to get up in the morning? No matter who it is, everyone feels sleepy. Your spouse shakes you, “Hey, it’s six o’clock.” “6:00??? Oh, no I have to get up to go to the office.” You don’t think, “Just go to sleep! Forget about the office!” If you forget about the office, they will forget about you by firing you. So in all these instances of life, we are careful. Similarly, we have to come to this realization of God’s presence through practice. If we say, “No, I won’t do it,” we will still have to come back to this even if it is after 10,000 lifetimes. Plus if we do it, we attain peace.

If everyone were to accept and follow this, the pious age of satyuga would come again on this earth. Otherwise, every rule and manner of civil behavior we have to externally enforce. This doesn’t create true peace. Instead we think the really important things to do in life are to make more money, act according to our whims, and engage in as many sensual entertainments as possible. These tendencies will only go away when we remember God’s presence. If we don’t practice remembering Him, then the consequence is tension and the suffering that comes from incarnating in lower species – because there is no guarantee that we will receive a human birth in our next life.

Iha che dashkadbodhum prasharirasya visrasah.

 (Vedas)

The human form is only occasionally received in millions of lifetimes.

 Kabahunk kari karuna nar dehi,
deta Isha binu hetu sanehi.

(Ramayana)

God grants this sometimes according to our karmas. Thus, begin by practising this every hour. Don’t say anything aloud. No one has to know what you are doing. For just one second think, “He is seated within.” Then repeat this every 30 minutes. You can still do this while working. You don’t have to enter into meditative trance to do this. Then repeat this every 15 minutes. After this, the feeling, “He really is seated within,” will come naturally.

Think of the pride that a billionaire like Mukesh Ambani or Bill Gates has when they think about their position in life. But what would we feel if we fully realized that supreme God who is the Lord of the universe is seated in our hearts? This feeling would remain and we wouldn’t be able to perform wrong action.