Gita3
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  • Welcome to Gita3 Online!
  • Copyright
  • The Inspiration
  • Gratitude
  • Introduction
  • The Battlefield of Life
  • Part One: Think Different
    • Think Different
    • 1. Leave the Problems | Learn from Problems
      • Hidden Stories
  • 2. Act First, Ask Later | Ask First, Act Later
    • Living or Existing?
  • 3. Spiritualists don't own | Spiritualists aren't owned
    • Spiritualising
  • 4. Know through study | Know through sincerity
    • Digesting Wisdom
  • 5. Be the Best | Try your Best
    • Circles of Life
  • 6. Train your Body | Train your Mind
    • Do Not Disturb
  • 7. See to Believe | Hear to See
    • Locating your Heart
  • 8. Live Before you Die | Die Before you Die
    • Your Memorial
  • 9. Ask God for your Wants | Give God what He Wants
    • Daily Prayers
  • 10. Can't See God Anywhere | Can See God Everywhere
    • Missing the Obvious
  • 11. Believe in Yourself | Believe in Krishna
    • Quietly Confident
  • 12. Make a 'To Do' List | Make a 'To Be' List
    • Practical Saintliness
  • 13. God is Far, Seated in Heaven | God is Near, Seated Within
    • Answer my Prayer
  • 14. The Wealthy Have the Most | The Wealthy Need the Least
    • The Balancing Act
  • 15. Pursue your Dreams | Discover the Reality
    • Frustrated Happiness
  • 16. I, Me, and Mine | We, Us, and Ours
    • Me to We
  • 17. Faith Opposes Knowledge | Faith Builds Knowledge
    • Building Faith
  • 18. Try To Be Happy | Try To Serve
    • From Selfish to Selfless
  • Summary | Think Different
  • PART 2: HOW TO
    • How to...
    • 1. How to Become Determined
      • My Mission
    • 2. How to Make Decisions
      • Decisions Decisions
    • 3. How to Overcome Temptation
      • A Battle Plan
    • 4. How to Find Purpose
      • Finding Purpose
    • 5. How to Become Successful
      • Building Blocks of Success
    • 6. How to Be Present
      • Mantra - Free the Mind
    • 7. How to Avoid Mistakes
      • Learning through Hearing
    • 8. How to Face Death
      • Life’s Change Agent
    • 9. How to Find Love
      • Loving Connections
    • 10. How to Perceive Beauty
      • Enjoy, Ignore or Engage?
    • 11. How to Detect Divinity
      • Connection Points
    • 12. How to Spiritually Progress
      • Spiritual Flow
    • 13. How to Find Freedom
      • Big Questions
    • 14. How to Avoid Burnout
      • Sattva Life
    • 15. How to Become Detached
      • Eternal Assets
  • 16. How to Change Outlook
    • True Lies
  • 17. How to Perfect Your Speech
    • Real Conversations
  • 18. How to Conquer Fear
    • Face your Fears
  • Summary | How To
  • PART 3: WHY NOT
    • Why not?
    • 1. “I don’t have the time.”
      • Killing Time
    • 2. “I already know all of this.”
      • Library for Life
    • 3. “I have so many duties to fulfil.”
      • Work as Worship
    • 4. “I’m not intelligent enough.”
      • Walk the Talk
    • 5. “I’d prefer to practically help the world.”
      • News of the World
    • 6. “I’m too active – I just can’t focus.”
      • The Yoga of Writing
    • 7. “I trust science and fact, not spirituality and faith."
      • Faith Issues
    • 8. “I'll do it in the future.”
      • Enemies of Growth
    • 9. “I don’t follow organised religion."
      • Mechanics of Spirituality
    • 10. “I don’t experience God – I’ve never seen Him”
      • Time for God
  • 11. "I have too many difficulties in my life"
    • Digesting Life
  • 12. “I will lose all my friends.”
    • Best Friends
  • 13. “I’m already happy.”
    • Hierarchy of Needs
  • 14. "I have too many bad habits"
    • Four a Day
  • 15. “I’ll lose my ambition and won’t be successful."
    • Chasing Dreams
  • 16. “I see religion causes more problems.”
    • Spiritual Solutions
  • 17. “I’ve seen too much hypocrisy in religion.”
    • The Truth about Lying
  • 18. “I don’t want to be forced.”
    • 12 months, 12 goals!
  • Summary | Why Not
  • APPENDIX
    • Bhakti: The Yoga of Love
    • The Author
    • Wisdom that Breathes
    • Read the Bhagavad-gita As It Is Online
    • Support this work
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On this page
  • “Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the self, and among logicians I am the conclusive truth.” (Bhagavad-Gita 10.32)
  • References
  1. PART 3: WHY NOT

10. “I don’t experience God – I’ve never seen Him”

I once met a lady who expressed frustration in her attempts to find God. She told me her story: two years of spiritual travels, countless nights of prayer, diligent scriptural exploration and regular introspection, but still no sign! “Will I ever find Him?” she asked. “I’m beginning to question whether He even exists.” What to speak of the ‘searchers,’ even the faithful often doubt that their Supreme friend is actually alive, alert and active. A seeming lack of reciprocation and intervention can discourage even the most dedicated spiritualist. Where is God when you need Him? Can we commit ourselves to a person we’ve never really directly interacted with?

In Chapter Ten, Krishna demonstrates how He is fully available for anyone who wants to perceive His presence. In a celebrated verse He explains how all beautiful, breath-taking and bountiful creations of the world are but a spark of His splendour. Krishna says He is the taste of water, the light of the sun and moon, the sound in ether and the ability in every person. Does a day go by without drinking water, seeing the luminaries in the sky, experiencing the silence around us and meeting gifted people?

God is fully available, but the question is whether we’re awake and alert. Whilst at university, I was obliged to read several books on effective management. As I browsed some old notes an interesting quote caught my attention: “The best managers create systems and inspire people, thus you don’t even see them and you don’t even know they’re there.” By their ingenuity, everything inconspicuously works like a dream. When Krishna explains how He manages the entire cosmos, He cites the analogy of a necklace. All universal affairs are actually resting upon Him, He says, just as pearls are strung upon a thread. The thread is the essential binding factor, giving the necklace its form and shape. Interestingly, however, the thread remains entirely invisible to our eyes.

People yearn for a direct experience and perception of things. The fact that we cannot see God at work, that He hasn’t appeared in person before our eyes, relating to us face-to-face, seems to be a major sticking point. “Show me God, and then I’ll believe in Him,” the sceptics posit. Even according to the management gurus of the 21st century, however, God would be a pretty average manager if He was frantically running around in front of us directing everything.

If you look at the top CEOs in the modern business world, they setup a managerial hierarchy and then take a back seat, allowing things to function effortlessly without their direct day-to-day involvement. You’ll probably find them relaxing at the golf course with their friends. Thus, the fact that we can’t see God creating and maintaining this universe may not be a disqualification, but rather credit to His expert organisational proficiency. He manages the material universes through others, and frees up His quality time to intimately relate with His loving devotees in the spiritual world.

References

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