WHERE IS GOD?

As in the sesame seed oil exists,
As in milk ghee is present,
As fragrance resides in a flower,
As the juice exists in a fruit,
As fire is latent in a faggot
So Is the Divine immanent in subtle form

Oil is present throughout the sesame seed. Ghee is present in every drop of milk. Fragrance is present in an invisible form in a flower. A fruit is filled with sweet juice. In every piece of wood fire is latent. In the same manner the Divine is immanent in the entire cosmos in a subtle form.

God is present not in some country or some body. Like vision in the eye and hearing in the ear, God is present in the mind as Consciousness (Chaitanya). The cosmos is the visible manifestation of the invisible Supreme Self.

While the Divine is in such close proximity to him, man in his ignorance goes seeking God everywhere. The Divine is effulgent in every man as Sath?Chith?Ananda (Being?Awareness?Bliss), the Cosmic Consciousness.

Reflections of the sun shining in the sky can be seen in the oceans, rivers, the lakes and in wells. Though the reflections are varied, the sun is one alone. The Divine is present in man like the unseen thread which holds a garland of gems together. The entire cosmos is permeated by the Divine and is the visible manifestation of the Divine.

Nothing in the world, no object, no human being, no creature can be found wherein God is not present. Though man appears in the world in different forms, speaking different languages, his essential humanness is common to one and all. There is only one race, that is the human race. God is only one. He is Sath?Chith-Ananda.

Just as a seed sprouts and grows into a plant wherein a flower blossoms, so does the Divine seed grow in the heart of man and blossoms as a flower, Sath Chith?Ananda. Just as it is natural for a seed to become a fragrant flower, so is it natural for man to experience the bliss of the Divine (Sath?Chith?Ananda).

There are many evidences to demonstrate the Divinity that is inherent in man. But few men are ready to make the sacrifice that is required to experience this Divinity.

The ancient sages regarded human life as full of fragrance to be enjoyed. They considered life as full of nectarine sweetness. When man is oblivious of this sweetness, he ceases to be human. Sacrifice (Thyaga) is the sweetness in humanness (Manavathva). The scriptures declare: Only through sacrifice can man realise the eternal Divine. But, immersed in selfishness, man fails to recognise this truth.