The Hindu : Miscellaneous / Religion : Scriptures help visualise God

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Friday, May 28, 2004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Scriptures help visualise God

CHENNAI, MAY 28. It sometimes happens in life that when an individual excels in his chosen field, he tends to become intellectually arrogant. Such people then move away from God. Some others, possessing neither the depth of analytical ability nor humility, make a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. They denigrate other human beings and the Supreme Being Himself. Parables often speak of characters who demand tangible proof for the presence of God.

The invisibility of God has always been a point of discussion in spiritual sciences, said Sri Vignananidhi Theertha in a lecture on the occasion of Mohanadasa day (May 24). When a preceptor takes his disciple through the paces of (understanding) the deeper intricacies of religion, is he expected to demonstrate, as a professor of chemistry would in a laboratory, the existence of a phenomenon that is God? Further questions can follow. Does not the imparting of the concept of God remain incomplete without demonstration to the seeker the availability of God?

Daunting though it may appear, many spiritualists and saints have embarked on educating humanity. The inability to perceive Him with the naked eyes does not render the Supreme Being non-existent; nor is it a negative trait of God. Sri Jayatheertha has said that God is not a bull to be dragged by His horns. On the contrary His presence should be intuited. How is it possible? The scriptures have attributed specific forms of identity to help a devotee visualise Him — for example, the form of God in cooked rice has been deduced as Aniruddha.

However, individual effort alone can help a person perceive the Lord in everything he comes across. Prahlad was one who had achieved such a vision. Guided by his intrinsic faith, he saw God in every animate and inanimate object.

There have been situations when the Omniscient has not been perceived or identified though He lived among men. Duryodhana, driven by his self-serving thoughts and goaded by the evil persons such as his uncle, surmised that Lord Krishna was nothing more than a magician creating illusory appearances. The 18th century Haridasa (follower of Hari), Mohanadasa, supplicated himself to the Lord, and when he was given the role of the Moon, he gladly rejoiced, singing the Lord's glory, since he could now, from his vantage point, glimpse the hermitage of the prime devotee, Veda Vyasa.

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