TK Ramchandar
The 11th chapter of The Gita is on the universal form of the Lord. In this, Bhagwan Sri Krishna teaches us that everything in the universe is based on Him. ‘God is all’ is a profound statement and carries a deeper meaning. God is the substratum of everything in this universe. Just as gold is basis of the material in all gold ornaments, so also is God the basis of the universe. Without the gold, the ornament will not exist; without God the universe has no basis of existence. With that in mind, it is conceptually easier to understand that God is all. God is the mother and the father and the grandfather. We are all from Him and to Him we will eventually return. The food we eat, the water and sun that are needed to grow the food, the soil that is need to support the roots are all God. All the creatures in the world, beautiful and those that are not so pretty are also God. The very basis of our living bodies is because of God and the cause of our death. Through all of this, God is still unaffected by all the happenings just as the gold remains as gold regardless of the shape of the ornament. When we go to sleep, we return to God in our deep sleep and wake the next morning nourished by God’s touch. The great souls truly see God in all and are at complete peace with the world around them. Sri Ramakrishna famously worshipped his wife seeing the presence of Goddess Kali in his wife as well. God alone is the manifest individual, gross and subtle world and the unmanifest potential behind the world.
How do we see God in all? How do we practice what we learn in our satsang and BV classes? Start with the small things. As you go for a walk in the neighborhood, look around you and appreciate the beauty of the flowers, the incredible shades of green, and the humming birds and know that this is the Lord’s beauty. When you see a little child smile at you, it is Him. When your family has returned home safe for the evening, thank the Lord for his Grace. When we strive to constantly remember that the same Lord is in everyone, we will find that everybody is our friend and we have no reason to be angry with anyone.
Once a thief entered the ashram of Sri Ramana Maharishi and demanded money. All the devotees were alarmed. Ramana Maharishi calmly addresses the robber and told him to take whatever he needed. And then he asked the miscreant to stay and have dinner before he left. Ramana truly was able to see God in everybody. That is what we all need to learn to do!