If God is always with us, why can't we see Him?

At Shri Hit Radha Keli Kunj, Vrindavan, a private conversation with Pujya Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj. Sadhaks pose questions about their lives and sadhana, and Maharaj Ji resolves them.

Complete Discourse

Ashish Patel Ji, Shri Harivansh Gurudev, Gurudev, if God is always with us, then what is the biggest obstacle in seeing Him? It is body consciousness—identifying with the body. In this reside all defects, which exist in the inner instrument of the four faculties: mind, intellect, consciousness, and ego. This ego manifests as "I am male," "I am female," "I am wealthy," "I am learned," "I am wise"—whatever these ego identifications may be, they are the very obstacles to God's darshan. When we do sant sang, study scripture, and through sadhana erase this ego, then bhagavat realization comes.

In the realization of God, this ignorance, this lack of knowledge, is what the three-fold maya has created. This body, fixing the intellect upon it alone—this is the obstacle in bhagavat darshan.

Komal Ji from Haryana: Shri Harivansh Gurudev, Gurudev, you said in a satsang that we disciples, or anyone who listens to you, love you for ourselves, not for you. Maharaj Ji, how then can there be love for you? We always love for ourselves. If everyone loves for themselves, tell me honestly—all of you sitting here.

Did you come for me or for yourselves? You can speak falsely and say you came for me, but you came for yourselves. You came for answers to your own questions, for your own welfare, your own good fortune, your own happiness, and for the satisfaction of your own eyes. You speak of a very high thing. If you truly loved us, then your eyes would be pleased, and that is why you came. You will get happiness from darshan, so you came. You will get satsang, so you came. Your welfare will happen, so you came. But I am a sacrifice to Premanand. May it be so.

We do not say it will not be so, because it is God's creation—it is indeed like this, and it is also like this. But mostly everyone comes for their own happiness. Look, we have seen much. My life itself is not my own—I have given my very life to guru. And these things that belong to the guru, whether one places them on his head or tramples them under his feet, it is all the same. Such a person, thus, is a sacrifice—a true lover of the Beloved and guru. This is why God tested His lovers, putting them through trials, to see: do you love for Me or for yourselves?

Very few are found who love for us. It is not very common. But very few, who worship only qualities and do not love us—those who truly love us will say: let them think of Shri Ji and think of the world, I have nothing to do with it. My supreme Brahman, my Paramatman, is my Gurudev. For me, all this has no significance. Such a rare soul there might be—such a rare soul. Speaking well, we have heard it said: speak, friend, is everything in this world like this? Will faith be destroyed? Will it be destroyed? That is why we say: you love yourselves, not us. If you love us, then in whatever condition I am, your love will not be less for me, because you love me not for my qualities and defects—this is a rare thing. Look, tell me, raise your hand and speak. It is a different matter.

But this is a rare thing: that we never see any faults in our Sadgurudev, that we regard Gurudev as manifest supreme Brahman, that we give our very life in guru's command. This is a rare thing. This is a rare person. And those who are such people become bhagavat-realized people.

This text is taken from the video's auto-generated captions—there may be errors in the words. Be sure to listen to the video for authentic words.

Original video: Bhajan Marg (YouTube)