Sagun Nirgun
15: Ishwara
Jagadguru Shankaracharya advises that “Paramatman is like the rain.” He explains, “When it rains, it pours everywhere, and everything grows. What grows is not a result of the discriminatory behavior of the rain itself. It’s dependent on the quality of the seeds and the soil where the seeds germinate. Similarly, Paramatman is loving towards all. It’s one’s outlook and faith that one experiences Him. Let’s look at an example. Two friends, travelling to a distant land, decided to rest for a while in the shades of a tree. As luck would have it, they had chosen the Kalpavriksha tree (wish-granting tree), only they weren’t aware of it. As they were resting in the cool shade, they thought, “It feels cools. Wish I could have some drinking water.” Water appeared before them. One of them wondered, “Hope there are no snakes here.” Now snakes appeared. The other one thought, “Things we think about are appearing before us. This can only be the will of my Lord.” Soon after, he heard beautiful music coming from nowhere. Such is Paramatman. He is the wish-fulfilling tree. He grants every wish and fulfills every desire.
Often, we wonder, “If Paramatman is the father, He is non discriminative and loving to all, why does He reward the pious and punish the wrong-doers?” The truth is, Paramatman is non-discriminative. He does not punish the wrong doers but liberates them from their bad karma. This is a result of Virodhi-bhakti. For example, Hiranyakashipu, through Virodhi-bhakti, was continuously thinking about the Lord. Hence the Lord himself liberated him.
The Lord loves all His children equally. A Peepal leaf interspersed with a web of tiny veins, looks like the human heart that is interspersed with a web of thousands of veins. Such is the wonderous nature of Paramatman whose omnipresence makes one admire Him with awe!
Sant Tukaram Maharaj advises,
“Have strong faith that the Paramatman is with you,
There is no need to run hither-tether
to find Him one need only do,
Just ask His devotees, and they will guide you.”
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