God Dwells Within
All scriptures from the Vedas to the Ramayan, and all other religious books and spiritual paths to God, believe that God is omnipresent. He does not merely permeate everything, but He also resides in our hearts as Paramatma. In this form He is not just a divine presence, but also a performer of action. He calculates the consequences of our uncountable accumulated karmas, actions of the past, and gives the consequences in the form of our present destiny. And most importantly, He notes down our current actions. Actions in this sense means our thoughts, and not our physical doings.
Karmas were performed by all great Saints. Arjun killed millions in the war of Mahabharata and Hanuman destroyed Lanka. But what was their internal state of mind? This is what God observed, not their external actions. Similarly, our government has rules and laws. Only if a person commits a crime with premeditated intention to cause harm is his action deemed criminal. If it was an accident, his actions won’t be judged as a crime. Suppose the car a person was driving is in good working condition and he had the appropriate license. Suddenly, a man ran out in front of his car to commit suicide. The driver in this case will not be found guilty of any crime, because he had no premeditated intention.
A worldly court can only examine physical evidence, but God is not like this. He notes our internal intention, He judges it, and then He gives us the consequence. God does all this work Himself. If we were to reflect upon and practice this understanding, all crime and wrongdoing would cease. All law enforcement agencies and armies would be made redundant. Suppose a government gave its citizens the opportunity to do whatever they wanted with no consequences for twenty-four hours. You can imagine the condition that country would be in. This capacity for wrongdoing is within all of us, hidden. Due to fear of the law and punishment, we resist behaving in this way.
We must realise that God is seated within, noting our every thought, and organising the appropriate consequence for them. He will not listen to our excuses or give us time in court for our case. He will issue the punishment straightaway. This realisation must be practiced. So, you have heard it — fine. You can also read it — that is also fine. Still, it is not enough. It must be practiced.
An English translation of a discourse originally given in Hindi by:
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj
2 August 2011
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