5 Ways to Feel Divine Presence Daily

Ways to Feel Divine Presence

• Recognizing the Divine
• Developing Bhakti
• Experiencing Joy
• Overcoming Desires
• Strengthening Spiritual Connection

How can we become a Devotee?

To inculcate devotion in the heart, it is necessary to first acknowledge the presence of the Supreme within the heart. When man becomes cognizant of this fact, he starts getting sensitive to the vibrations of the Divine, operating within him.

This is perhaps the most powerful practice for anyone who intends to develop Bhakti, devotion towards the Divine. Acknowledgement of the Divine is the first step towards the cultivation of devotion. When we acknowledge the divine through practice, that devotion shall give rise to unconditional joy. However the waxing of the joy, in the initial stages, depends on how frequently we acknowledge the presence of the Divine within us.

The experience of this joy, once we attain it, shall exist irrespective of external conditions of our body or even the mind, because we have pegged ourselves to something beyond the mind, something deep. This Joy stands by itself. The joy we experience owing to the mere acknowledgement of the Divine is always full and absolute. This is the joy of the divine.

The more the joy increases, slowly there shall be less dependence on mind produced sensations and desires. There shall emerge a distance between the desires and the causeless joy we attain as a result of recognition of the Divine within. We can understand and realize that at all times that human expression is a wonderful experience, an experience of blessedness, a royal road towards the experience of the Divine.

Without Guru we live in Psychological Simulations

If we do not train ourselves taking shelter of a Self-Attained Guru we will continue to view life situations purely from a psychological perspective, through the thoughts- contaminated screen. That is not the correct way to look into the splendor of life. Our conditioned position shall be maintained bound to contorted opinions and disturbances seeping into our consciousness from the news outside.

As we practice centering ourselves and focusing our attention on the darker neglected areas of our inner conscience, there shall emerge clarity, through the mere focus of undivided attention. It is important that we relieve ourselves from opinions, as the starting point. The Guru, at this stage is a vital entity who can help us undertake this journey towards the source of Joy.

We must understand that God is that very principle of consciousness that brings our awareness into everything that we see or perform. It is God alone who reminds us of things and makes us forget too. Whether we acknowledge it or not, it is God alone who is the wayfarer, always by our side. Only thing is that we have not been conscious enough to “see” and acknowledge. When we acknowledge it, through the words and vision of sages, through the words of a genuine Guru, we slowly become qualified to feel God’s presence with more practice trying to tune into “Him”.

Yoga and Facets of Yoga (योग)

When one attempts to Know God and feel Him, that attempt is Yoga. Meditation is one of the facets of Yoga. It is Yoga alone that makes us conscious of our own presence and when we become exceedingly conscious of ourselves, not in the context of the world but solely being conscious of ourselves, we shall become conscious of God, who is at our core and in whom we are situated, but have not realized it.

The more intently we try to know our own working, the more intense we shall feel the presence of something which is much larger, much magnanimous and colossal. The way we get closer to the Divine within ourselves is steadily climbing up the ladder of intellect—reasoning, probing, analyzing, discriminating, contemplating and reflecting, . But to begin with, we have to develop intense greed to know Him, to be with Him and to Love Him.

Guru Alone can Induce Spiritual Greed

In such a case, there has to be someone, seeing whom, you are reminded of Him. Undoubtedly it is the Guru, who is soaked in the glory of God, Bhagawan, situated in the joy oozing out of God’s presence around him, within him. Guru is that touchstone, in whose presence, spiritual greed to know God arises within us. Guru is the repository of Supreme Grace, whose very presence can ignite the latent fire of Spiritual Greed within us. Now let us understand the nature of spiritual greed.

Nature of Spiritual Greed

The two fundamental expressions in the world are to like and to dislike. Anything that is not in agreement with our inner feelings is what we dislike and anything that we feel is closer to us is what we like.

Even so, since the scriptures have given us an idea of who God is, that He is nearer to us than our mind or even body, he can be the ideal candidate for us to like, to love. All our sorrows will come to an end if we thus direct our thoughts towards the Lord, because we will be filled with so much joy and supreme satisfaction.

A drunkard goes on consuming liquor and drowns his sorrows, but when he becomes fully intoxicated, he no longer drinks, because he is not aware that he has drunk. Already he is so inebriated that he is in a different world. This is what happens, but in a positive way, when we realize the Supreme Being.

One is not conscious that one has any more desire, because when one attains Him everything is automatically satiated in full, with no room for anything more. There shall be cessation of all desires. There is no more feeling of want. One lacks nothing. When what one has, is limited, one may want more, but when one has attained that which is unlimited, one has no more wants, for now and forever.

Goswami Tulsidas, The Hero of Spiritual Greed

Who in the world, which sane person in the world will desire for lust; unending lust? Who shall desire intensely for Avarice; unending intense-insatiable Avarice? There is one being in this universe who is demanding both these vices with all sincerity and intensity. It is this sage the world knows by the name Goswami Tulsidas.

He demands these vices to appear in him. These are repulsive, reprehensible desires, any sane man shall retort back. But then Goswami Tulsidas is adamant, he only wants these desires to be satisfied. Nothing more, nothing less. We shall slowly remove the peels around these statements.

7/8 Questions from Sanatana Dharma

The scores generated in this Quiz may or may not be absolute. There may be right or wrong answers to each Question. A percentage towards 100 indicates that you are more aligned to the overall subject matter.

Sri Rama, The Bridge from Desire to Desirelessness

Many people believe it is impossible to begin any kind of work without expectation of the result. However the Bhagavad Gita totally contradicts this view. The Sanatana Dharma scriptures profess that unless we work with total selflessness, one cannot consider such work genuine. Such work cannot be of the highest quality.

So now the question is, what should be the motive behind work? Should there be any motive at all, is the question. Desire and desirelessness are the two banks that separate the river of work or action. Lord Rama is the bridge, who connects these two banks with effortless ease.

Lord Rama was born to King Dasharatha because of his intense longing to have the Supreme Being as his son. So from one perspective Lord Rama is an epitome of intense desire. Desire represents the fulfillment of all the longings of our heart.

Connection between Bhakti and Desires

Desires gain momentum when all our heart’s wishes start getting fulfilled one by one. When there is such fulfillment, there is also an increase in our desires because now the heart yearns for more. It is now not enough for the heart to settle down with less. In some way this increase in earnestness is also the way Bhakti or devotion operates.

Goswami Tulsidas’ love for Rama

After writing the scripture known as Ramcharita Manas, Goswami Tulsidas prayed to Lord Rama. He desired pure devotion unto Sri Rama’s Lotus feet.

To this the Lord enquired “What type of Bhakti do you desire? Do you want Bhakti similar to that of my brother Bharath or similar to the one Laxmana has; or do you desire Bhakti as Hanuman has for me?”

This made Goswami Tulsidas bow down humbly before the Lord. In a tone filled with humility and servility, Goswami Tulsidas said, “I do not deserve this type of elevated Bhakti. You have taken the names of elevated beings and I belong to the category of worms. How can I ever ask for such elevated form of Bhakti, that which I do not deserve?”

The Lord then probed; “Tell me Tulsi, then what type of Bhakti do you desire?” To this Goswamiji replied, “Oh Lord give me that Bhakti similar to the attachment that a lusty man has towards the female clan.”

How to love Lord Rama?

A lusty man worships beauty and has an undying thirst to satisfy his senses by associating with women. Having associated with women, his thirst only picks up the next time round. Trying to satisfy the desire of a lusty man is like pouring clarified butter into fire in order to extinguish it. This is the nature of lust.

Goswami Tulsidas argues that when you lust for a desirable object, such lust is always auspicious. How can the lust for the Supreme Being be inauspicious? Goswami Tulsidas enquires, Can’t the thirst for beauty be the thirst for the beautiful Lord? Lust that has its destination in the attainment of the Supreme Being can never be a wasteful desire. It is the highest desire that one can aspire for.

A man who is behind desires can never be happy. This is what the scriptures proclaim. They also proclaim that such a man can never be contented. Similarly a lusty man’s lust goes to the next limit.

Greed to Please Lord Rama

It is also possible that lust may have an upper limit beyond which he cannot lust further. He does not have energy. Then what else could stretch the mirage of satisfaction to a much higher limit? Well, there is avarice which is even more stretched. Perhaps this is boundless, thinks the lusty man, who wishes to crave more.

An avaricious man is never happy. He is like the blind, deep and dark well. You pour the entire wealth of the world inside this dark well of avarice, it is gobbled up without a trace, and the mouth of the well is open, gaping for more. According to Goswami Tulsidas, this is a good situation to be in; never contented, never satisfied. He prays to Lord Rama thus.

Goswami Tulsidas says, “I wish to be avaricious, the most avaricious man having unending avarice for the Supreme Being Rama. Having lust for Rama and if lust is satisfied, then having greed for Lord Rama which is unending. When the negative traits of lust and avarice are applied to the Lord, it the most auspicious state of being. Discontented, longing for that insatiable happiness, longing for Sri Rama. This is the highest state of being as per the scriptures that are dedicated to Bhakti Dharma.

Teachings of Tulsidas Goswami

Man should learn to positively apply attachment, greed, lust and selfishness in the direction of the Lord. It relieves one from the binding frailties of the world. When one yearns for the Supreme Lord, one develops deep bonds with Him. As we desire for Him, as a direct reflection, the Lord too yearns and desires for us.

A love-affair, if at all, has to be in relation with the Lord. There cannot be a better way to extend and express the love of our heart. Unless we direct this love towards the Supreme Personality, there can be no meaning to life. 

The heart of a materialistic man is sullied by the six vices that forms the dross of the mind. But when this dross is directed or aligned towards the Lord, it is immediately turned into nectar. Goswami Tulsidas wants to communicate this main teaching although he uses negative qualities to highlight the greatness of Bhakti process. This is a new way of branding Bhakti for generation next.