How To See God?

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Q: What is the way to see God?

M: Where to see God? First, can you see yourself? If you can see yourself you can see God. Can anyone see his own eyes? Because they cannot be seen, can one say, 'I have no eyes?' Just like this, though seeing is always there, we cannot see God. To give up the thought that we are alien to God is to see God. The first and foremost wonder in this world is the thought 'I am different from God'. There is no greater wonder than this.

There is a story on Chandogya Upanishad which explains this. A man who was sleeping soundly in his house began to dream. In the dream somebody came and put some drug in his nose and then, after blindfolding his eyes and tying his hands, left him in the middle of a forest and went away. Without knowing the path to get back home, he wandered for a long time among the thorns and stones of the forest. Eventually he began to cry.

A deva appeared and asked, "Why are you crying? Who are you? Why did you come here?"

The blindfolded man gave the particulars of his name, village and so on. Then he said, "Someone came and deluded me with drugs, blindfolded my eyes, tied my hands, left me in the middle of the forest and went away."

The deva freed him from his ties, showed him a path and told him, "If you follow this path you will reach your village."

The man followed the instructions, reached his village and entered his own house. At that moment he woke up from his dream. He looked at the door and saw that it was locked from the inside. He realized that he had spent the whole night lying on his bed and that he had never been to a forest or returned from there. He understood that the cause of all his suffering was his avichara buddhi (his lack of discerning enquiry].

The idea that we are separate from God and the idea that we have to undergo some arduous sadhana to reach Him are as false as the ideas that this man had in his dream. While he was lying comfortable in bed his imagination led him to believe that he was suffering in a forest and that he had to make a great effort to get back to bed again. One attains God and one remains in the state of Self when the thought of wanting to attain stops.

From 'Diary Extracts' by Sri Annamalai Swami