God

Numerous are the names and various are the paths of one and the same reality. Some call it God, some call it truth, and some call it everlasting happiness. God, for me, is truth, and truth is that which exists in all times-the past, present and future. It is self-existent; it was never born, so it never dies. It is the fountainhead of light and love. Searching for God, without knowing truth, is in vain, for God is the ultimate truth.

A human being, though the highest of all living creatures, is still an unfinished being, longing for perfection, longing for a state of freedom from pains and miseries-and this leads him to seek the realization of truth. That truth is both within and without, so one can directly attain it by realizing the truth within himself It is possible to do this.

Pandit Usharbudh Arya, D. Litt., is the director of the Meditation Center in Minneapolis, and President of the Sadhana MandirTrust ashram in Rishikesh, India, where he makes his home. A prolific writer and speaker, he is the author of numerous books, including Superconscious Meditation, Mantra and Meditation, Meditation and the Art of Dying, and Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali, Volume I, as well as two thousand hours of recorded cassette courses on all aspects of the practice and philosophy of meditation. Ordained as a swami in the early 1990s, he is now known as Swami Veda Bharati.

This collection of essays on the yoga-Vedanta concept of God has been compiled from many lectures given on many different occasions. The reader will need to use his own wisdom to find the bridges that connect one chapter with the next, for where there seemed to be a choice between the spontaneity of inspiration and the logical progression of subject matter, we have favored the former.

The last chapter might seem a little "heavy" and complex to the average reader. However, if the preceding chapters have been read carefully, it will begin to make sense. To absorb it fully, one should read it slowly, taking short sections into contemplation many times over.

The publication of the work itself contradicts its fun- damental precepts: If you have not personally known God, you cannot speak of Him, and if you do know God you cannot speak of Him. In spite of this, it is hoped that the thoughts presented will evoke in many a desire to know God, which is the only worthwhile desire that there is.

I am grateful to all the devoted students and members of the Center for Higher Consciousness who have spent many hours transcribing from tapes, editing and typing the book. My thanks go especially to the Rev. Dr. Ward Knights, an esteemed friend, for editing many chapters. Whatever in this work is fulfilling comes from the guru's grace; whatever is faulty is mine.

Numerous are the names and various are the paths of one and the same reality. Some call it God, some call it truth, and some call it everlasting happiness. God, for me, is truth, and truth is that which exists in all times-the past, present and future. It is self-existent ; it was never born, so it never dies. It is the fountainhead of light and love. Searching for God, without knowing truth, is in vain, for God is the ultimate truth.

A human being, though the highest of all living creatures, is still an unfinished being, longing for perfection, longing for a state of freedom from pains and miseries-and this leads him to seek the realization of truth. That truth is both within and without, so one can directly attain it by realizing the truth within himself. It is possible to do this.

When a human being follows the truth with mind, action and speech, he can attain it in this lifetime. It can also be attained through selfless action, through selfless prayers, through selfless love, and through unalloyed direct knowledge.

Even though there are various concepts of God, according to various religious philosophies, I wonder how a human mind can limit itself to only one and call it God. God is not a particular being. God is the power of powers, the force which is the cause of all manifestation-and when one realizes this truth he gets freedom from the darkness of ignorance.

God will inspire seekers of enlightenment to find this ultimate reality.