Right from the day man admired the beauty and splendors of nature he wondered, “Who made this?” All the religions said, “God made this.” So his next question was, “Where is God?”
Our elders built temples, installed various deities to satisfy the faith, belief, and tradition of each individual and told the questioning minds, “God is everywhere and if you want to see Him go to the temple.” They prescribed Puja Vidhis to sanctify the whole atmosphere and also gave us various slokas to prove God is everywhere.
Let us see the cream of:
Purusha Suktam: “That Purusha is everything. What was, what is and what will be are all His manifestations only.”
Narayana Suktam: “The all pervading Narayana is the principle and your Self. What you meditate upon and whatever you see and hear are all Narayana only who is seated in your heart.”
Sri Rudram: “You, the Great Lord is the forest, chariot, horse, soldier, king, cow herd, cow, dacoit” and identifies the whole creation as His manifestation including the microbes: “You afflict people eating the left over food in vessels.”
In Bhagavad Gita, God speaks about Himself:
As Arjuna’s questions needed answers from beyond human comprehension God Himself talks through Krishna who was a mortal. Dyna Sloka says, “Narayana himself taught Gita to Arjuna.” Hence, in Bhagavad Gita there is no “Krishna says”; it is only “Bhagavan says”:
Raja Vidya Raja Yoga: “As I am the all pervading Moorthy, all the living and nonliving things reside in me. Truly speaking, I am not in them, they are all in me. Arjuna, how the mighty wind traverses freely in space, same way all the living and nonliving things move freely within me.” Rivers, glaciers, cloud, sun, moon, stars, planets, galaxies, and the whole universe move within Bhagavan.
Vignana Yoga: “There is nothing else besides me or beyond me, Arjuna. Everything is strung onto me like the beads in a garland.” He doesn’t say everything is threaded onto my garland. He says everything is strung onto me like the beads in a garland. What a beautiful garland with everything in creation as beads.
Viswaroopa Dharsana Yoga: “Arjuna, see the hundreds and thousands of shapes and varying sizes and colors. See the sun, moon and the entire universe centered as one in my body. Whatever wonders you desire to see, see all that within my body.”
Vigyana Yoga: “I am the taste in water, brilliance in sun and moon, in all the Vedas I am the imperishable “OM.” I am the manliness in man and in women I am fame, prominence, beauty, melodious speech, memory, wisdom, steadfastness, and forbearance. I am the fine fragrance in nature, the brilliance in fire, the life in all beings, and the Tapas of any one performing Tapas. I am the imperishable seed of all beings, the intelligence of the intelligent, the brilliance of the brilliant, the strength of the strong devoid of passion and attachment, the desire in all beings not trespassing into adharma, and all the aspects of Satva, Rajas, and Tamas originate from me alone.”
Purushotama Yoga: “I penetrate the earth and support everything with my vital energy and nourish the plants with moon light. Assisted by prana and apana I digest the food taken by every organism in four different ways: biting, sucking, licking, and drinking.”
Bhagavan guides us:
Bhakti Yoga: “Keep me in your mind and fix me in your intellect. You will always abide in me” and tells us how to remember Him always.
Vigyana Yoga: “In whatever form a bhakta worships me. I make that faith in that form firm and unflinching.”
So, always see Bhagavan as your Ishta Deivam. Keep your Ishta Deivam in your mind and fix Him in your intellect.
Viboodhi Yoga: “ I am the Universal Self seated in the heart of every being.”
Your Ishta Deivam is always in your heart. Look within your self. See how close God is!
Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga: “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you sacrifice, whatever you give, and whatever austerities you practice, do all that as an offering unto me.” When you do this day and night you will always be thinking of your Ishta Deivam. Bhagavan in the form of your Ishta Deivam will always be in your mind and intellect.
In Raja Vidya Yoga he promises: “Whomsoever thinks of me alone with an unwavering mind I personally protect what they have and provide them what they need.” He doesn’t say, I provide what they want; He says, I provide what they need. When you want something, you are the decision maker. When He provides what you need, He is the decision maker. Let your Ishta Deivam be the decision maker. Immerse yourself in Him!n
Ramki Durai has pursued Vedanta topics since 2001 and shares his knowledge through talks he gives at Sunnyvale Hindu Temple and also at Sri Lakshmi Ganapathy Temple in San Jose. `