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PRACTISING THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Think of God |
Do Everything with the Thought of God |
Think of God
Excerpts from Realizing God In Your Daily Life by Paramahansa Yogananda
Along with periods of meditation you should think day and night of God. "Door of my heart, open wide I keep for Thee.... Night and day, night and day, I look for Thee night and day. ("Door of My Heart" from Cosmic Chants) We must uplift our consciousness so that even the most worldly duties are performed with the thought of God.
Cultivate the will to think of God during activity. It is extremely important that you make this a part of your daily life. Don't follow this course a few days only and then forget all about it. Follow it as best you can every day. Even if you slip back into old habits, keep on trying. You will become spiritually strong and healthy in due time. (...)
Mental Whispers
Of greatest help in your development is the habit of mental whispering to God. You will see a change in yourself that you will like very much. No matter what you do, God should be constantly in your mind. When you want to see a special show, or to buy a dress or a car you have admired, is it not true that no matter what else you may be doing your mind is continually thinking how you can get those things? Until you fulfill your strong desires, your mind will not rest; it ceaselessly works toward fulfilling those desires. Your mind should be on God night and day in the same way. Transmute petty desires into one great desire for Him. Your mind should continually whisper, "Night and day, night and day, I look for Thee night and day." (...)
That is the philosophy of life by which we should live. Not tomorrow, but today, this minute.
There cannot be any excuse for not thinking of God. Day and night, rolling in the background of your mind, God! God! God! Whether you are washing dishes or digging a ditch or working in an office or a garden—whatever you may be doing—inwardly say, "Lord, manifest to me! You are right here. You are in the sun. You are in the grass. You are in the water. You are in this room. You are in my heart."
And when great love for God comes in your heart, you do not miss anything; no matter what you have or do not have in this world, you nevertheless feel fulfilled. Divine love transmutes all material desires—even the longing for human love, that mortal passion which so often brings pain either from its fickle nature or because it is snatched away by death. Loving the Lord, you can never turn back to being satisfied by lesser loves. In Him you will find all the love of all hearts. You will find completeness. Everything that the world gives you and then takes away, leaving you in pain or disillusionment, you will find in God in a much greater way, and with no aftermath of sorrow.
Practising the Presence of God
Excerpts from Love, Serve by Sri Daya Mata (SRF Magazine 1999)
I want to share with you some words from the Spiritual Diary. This book has not been far from my side ever since it was printed. After my meditation each morning, I pick it up and say, "What is the message for me today?" Then I read the thought for that day. Here is the one for July 29:
"Whether you are washing dishes or digging a ditch or working in an office or a garden—whatever you may be doing—inwardly say,
'Lord, manifest to me! You are right here. You are in the sun. You are in the grass. You are in the water. You are in this room. You are in my heart.'"
I have lived by that, practising the presence of God. If you choose to see God, you can see Him everywhere. Even with the many responsibilities that have been laid upon my shoulders these forty-odd years, that relationship with God is my life. I try to see Him in everything. Whether I'm meeting with people, writing, or thinking about the vast concerns of Guruji's worldwide work, this is what I live by. I find that my God is always with me, no matter what I am doing.
To devotees who say it is hard to find God, I say, "It is hard only because you make it so." Realize how simple the spiritual life can be. Go outside sometimes and just look up at the stars—there He is!
Or look at a tiny flower growing out of the ground—there He is!
I talk to Him all the time. That is what creates devotion. You don't speak of it to others; but it is there, secreted in your heart. That, along with meditation, is the way you begin to feel God in your life and in your consciousness.
Do Everything with the Thought of God
The next thought from the Spiritual Diary... is also very beautiful:
"No matter which way you turn a compass, its needle points to the north. So it is with the true yogi. Immersed he may be in many activities, but his mind is always on the Lord. His heart constantly sings:
'My God, my God, most lovable of all!'"
These are two of my favourite thoughts from the Spiritual Diary. Do everything with the thought of God, in the joy of His presence. Wherever you look, you will find Him. Whenever you think of Him, you will find Him.
"He walks with me, He talks with me, He tells me I am His own."
(From the hymn, "In the Garden")
He loves every one of you. He loves you. Believe it! Turn to Him! Each of us has a silent temple within where we can go, unknown to anyone around us, and talk to Him: "O my Lord, You are with me. O my Lord, I love You! I may not always understand You, but You are mine. You gave me life. I am Yours. Bless me that I can look after my family and fulfill my responsibilities. Give me the strength, wisdom, and joy with which to serve. I know, my Lord, that it is You who came with me into this world, and it is You alone who will be with me when I go; so above all, my greatest responsibility is to love You, but without forsaking the responsibilities and loved ones You have given to me." Include Him in whatever you do. That is what is important.
Let us meditate a few moments. Just forget the world. Enter that sacred temple within where only God and you exist. Pray to Him to reveal Himself, as Guruji taught us:
"O Lord, reveal Thyself, reveal Thyself. Thou art mine; I am Thine. Thou art my Love; I am Thy love. Thou art my joy; I am Thy joy. Bless me. I love You. I love You, God."
Calmness
Calmness is the only way to achieve a continuous state of God-awarness. In an inwardly calm state of mind you are able to practice the presence of God, to hold on to the consciousness of His presence while you are doing your work. —Sri Daya Mata (SRF Magazine, Summer 2010)
God is the Doer
Another way to progress spiritually is through constant practice of the presence of God. Paramahansaji taught that if you would know God you must train your first thoughts in the morning to go toward the Divine; and as you perform your duties throughout the day, think that He is the Doer and you are just the humble instrument. Use your intelligence, willingness, joy, and cheerfulness in serving Him. As the close of the day draws near, let your mind dwell deeper still in God. In these ways go forward with that consciousness of God alone, carrying it through all life's experiences with the greatest of joy in your heart, with the greatest courage and faith and willingness, and above all, with love divine, surrendered at the feet of the One Beloved. —Spiritual Opportunity In The New Year by Sri Daya Mata
Thinking of God
Joy lies in continually thinking of God. The longing for Him should be constant. A time comes when your mind never wanders away, when not even the greatest affliction of body, mind, and soul can take your consciousness from the living presence of God. Is that not wonderful? to live and think and feel God all the time? to remain in the castle of His presence, whence death nor aught else can take you away? —Man's Eternal Quest
God is Ever Near
He is nearer than the nearest, dearer than the dearest. Just behind the words of your speech, just behind your thoughts, just behind the love of your heart, just behind your will, just behind your sense of I-ness, is the great spirit of God. For those who think Him far away, He is far away; but for those who think Him near, He is ever near. The Bhagavad-Gita says,
"He who perceives Me everywhere, and beholds everything in Me, never loses sight of Me, nor do I ever lose sight of him." |
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The Lord never fails us. —Booklet for SRF Retreatants
Divine Aspirations
The minutes are more important than the years. If you do not fill the minutes of your life with thoughts of God, the years will slip by; and when you need Him most you may be unable to feel His presence. But if you fill the minutes of your life with divine aspirations, automatically the years will be saturated with them. —Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda
Desire for God
The greatest help in your development is the habit of mental whispering to God. You will see a change in yourself that you will like very much. No matter what you do, God should be in your mind constantly. When you want to see a special show, or to buy a dress or a car you have seen, is it not true that no matter what else you may be doing, your mind is constantly thinking of ways and means to get those things? Until you fulfill those desires your mind will not rest; it constantly works toward fulfilling such desires. With that same one-pointed concentration your mind should be intent on God night and day. Transmute petty desires into one great desire for Him. Your mind should continually whisper: "Night and day I look for Thee, night and day."—SRF Magazine 1985
God is Walking Through Your Feet
It is when you persistently, selflessly, perform every action with love-inspired thoughts of God that He will come to you. Then you realize that you are the Ocean of Life, which has become the tiny wave of each life. This is the way of knowing the Lord through activity. When in every action you think of Him before you act, while you are performing the action, and after you have finished it, He will reveal Himself to you. You must work, but let God work through you; this is the best part of devotion. If you are constantly thinking that He is walking through your feet, working through your hands, accomplishing through your will, you will know Him. —Man's Eternal Quest
O Father, no matter what my tests be, may I bear them joyously by feeling Thy presence always in my heart. Thus all the tragedies and comedies of life will seem naught but dramas of ecstatic entertainment.—Metaphysical Meditations
Let every beat of my heart be a new word in my endless love lyric to Thee. May every sound from my lips carry secret vibrations of Thy voice. Let my every thought be bliss-saturated with Thy presence. May every act of my will be impregnated with Thy divine vitality. Ornament with Thy grace my every concept, every expression, every ambition. O Divine Sculptor, chisel Thou my life to Thy design! —Whispers from Eternity
In waking, eating, working, dreaming, sleeping,
Serving, meditating, chanting, divinely loving,
My soul constantly hums, unheard by any:
God! God! God!
—Songs of the Soul
God is ever talking to you, saying: "Call Me, speak unto Me from the depths of your heart, from the core of your being, from the very depths of your soul, persistently, majestically, determinedly, with a firm resolve in your heart that you will go on seeking Me, no matter how many times I do not answer. If you unceasingly whisper in your heart to Me, 'O my silent Beloved, speak to Me,' I will come to you, My devotee." —How You Can Talk With God by Paramahansa Yogananda (Talk read by a devotee of Yogananda)