WHERE DOES GOD LIVE?

One of the things that seem to elude half the planet is God. God, just where are you? Where are You hiding all the time? Where do we find You when we need You most?

One can get lost in the intellectual quest for God when in reality experiencing and feeling God is within our means and can be as real as fire and water.

In a village lived a certain man who took it upon himself to find God. No book or physical journeys convinced him enough that he had indeed found God. Seasons came and went.

On one winter morning, he happened to see an old woman busy building a fireplace; she nudged the logs in and out to make sure the fire was good and bright. Where there is fire, there is ash as well.

As she moved the ash to a side, the fire burnt ever so brightly. “Hmm, the fire seems to be alive despite the firewood reducing to ashes!”

The following day saw him walk quite a distance when fatigue caught up with him. He stopped to rest under a tree with the Sun happy and shining in the sky. This God searcher started a chat with the Sun. “Oh Sun, you are high up in the sky looking down on the entire planet. You would know where God is, wouldn’t you? Are you sure He isn’t hiding anywhere? Why can’t I find God for god’s sake?”

The Sun must have been amused and just then it was, albeit briefly, shrouded by passing clouds. As the clouds moved along, the Sun peeped back, visible again to this seeker. “OK, will I ever find God?” he sighed.

After the brief respite, he got on his feet and walked on. He came upon a pond that was covered entirely with thick green moss. Village folk were seen clearing the algae gathered there just so the water could look its normal form again.

“People, who do you think puts this sheet of moss over the water?” asked this curious passer by. “No one really, Sir, the water allows it to form on its own. Once the moss is cleared, you see clear water again.”

Thought this man, “The blanket of algae was so thick that you couldn’t even tell that there was water right underneath it.” He continued to think, “The same with the Sun. The Sun’s heat forms the clouds but when those clouds cover it, you can’t see it. You get ash from fire. It is the same ash that envelope the fire. Once you toss the ash aside, you see the fire again! The water, the fire, and the Sun were all there and hadn’t left its place or changed its form. The effort of removing the moss, the ashes and waiting for the clouds to pass was all one had to do!”

That’s when it struck him in one magical moment that it was the same with God, too! “Man is created by God but spends most part of his life being covered by the blanket of the world… Now, I get it, I do. Just how simple it is.”

God is within all of us.

Bhagavan Baba in His discourses often narrates a beautiful story from the sacred epic Mahabharata. When Draupadi cried out in desperation and utter helplessness “O Krishna, O Dwarakavasi (the resident of Dwaraka), O Mathuravasi (the One who resides in Mathura), please come to my rescue!”

Lord Krishna seemed to have taken quite a while. Having run out of names and ideas, Draupadi implored, “O Hridayavasi (the One who dwells in my heart), please help me.” In an instant, Krishna appeared and offered timely help. Krishna’s logic, Baba says, was pure and simple. “Draupadi, I had to go to Dwaraka and Mathura to traverse back to you as that is how you related to me. Hridayavasi was the easiest journey for me as I dwell in your heart.”

Looking for God is not like having to go through a haystack for a needle. He is in our hearts waiting to lighten our soul just like a beam of sunlight which is eager to enter a dark room through the tiniest hole in the door. Let us look within and we will definitely find Him. Ultimately that is what LIFE is – Look Inside For Everything, starting with God!

Illustrations : Rahul Raja

Dear Reader, did this article inspire you in any way? Do you have a similar story to share? Please tell us your reflections about this article by writing to h2h@radiosai.org mentioning your name and country. Thank you for your time.

- Heart2Heart Team