August Zushi Retreat
"Don't Search for God - See God" Part II

On Sunday, August 21, Swami Medhasananda continued his talk entitled, "Don't Search for God - See God", a topic he first took up for the May Retreat (see TVK June issue) and inspired by similar words from Swami Vivekananda. In that discussion Swami had incorporated various sources including scripture and the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda to support the truth that God is omnipresent and therefore "everything is the supreme reality". How ordinary devotees could practice this truth and the benefits of such practice would conclude this discussion.

"Not only human beings and animal beings, but matter, too, is made of conciousness. These are also God," said Swami. "Then again," he asked rhetorically. "if I can't see God, what is the relevance of such teachings to me? In my life? If this is the truth, then everyone should be able to realize it, not only a special or privileged few."

Swami went on to explain that the reason we cannot see it is that we are superimposing name, form and action on the reality, so we see many names forms and actions. Consciousness has taken concrete forms - we cannot see H2O as water vapor, but as water and ice. Take the coil of rope in darkness mistaken as a snake. Our ignorance being the darkness and we superimpose a snake for the rope and we see a snake. We superimpose layer upon layer.

"The myriad forms of God are temporary, that consciousness is eternal," he continued. "Remove and eliminate these super-impositions. Jesus said let them see who have eyes to see. Each soul is potentially divine." The swami said that our vision has become jaundiced and we have to cure our vision. We are hypnotized by the body, mind and senses - the ego. The cure is concentration on our true nature, the Atman; existance-knowledge-bliss-absolute, through discrimination and meditation. As we progress through this process we will begin to see the divinity in our family, friends, then in all, in living beings and inanimate objects.

"If we love God, then we want to serve God. Love, an abstract idea, must have expression. A natural reaction is to serve that God in others. Work is transformed to service, and this service is transformed into worship," said Swami. We offer only the best to God, and this is practical application not theoretical understanding. As Swami Vivekananda explained, we have this theoretical understanding that God is everywhere and in everything. Yet, if we get a shove on the street and fall, we immediately jump up and confront the person who did it. All this theoretical understanding is gone. We don't reflect; 'Well, God has given me a shove.' Immediately, we confront the person.

"This is the fundamental difference between theoretical and practical Vedanta. It has no meaning unless it is practiced, and it must be practiced to be realized. The difference between intellectual understanding and practical realization is a heaven and hell difference." ･