We All Yearn for God

When we step out into the open at the end of a busy day, and take one look at the blue sky, the lush green trees, or the bright flowers, we feel refreshed and rejuvenated. Is there any one that is not delighted by the sights and the sounds of nature? All of us are drawn to the beauty and brilliance of God's creation - the splendid colors in the rainbow, the glow in the fire, the radiance in the sun, the exquisite light of the moon, and the infinite other sources of joy.  Hence, there is no human being who is not a devotee of God, proclaims Valmiki Maharishi.

How do we know that He has become this world?  How do we know He is the ultimate artist of this superb creation?

Shree Krishna Himself reveals to Arjun that everything has emanated from Him:

bhoomirāpo'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva cha
ahankāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛitir aṣhṭadhā   (Bhagavad Gita, 7.4)

"Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, and ego-these are the eight components of my material energy."

Not only does everything originate from Him, He pervades the entire universe.  Hence, we derive immense joy from His magnificent nature.  If spending some time in the lap of nature were to give us this much of happiness, imagine the joy we would derive from seeking its creator in His personal form.  The bliss of His personal form is ecstatic.  King Janak, an embodiment of wisdom, who never identified himself as the body, was overwhelmed by love with one glance at the divine form of Shree Ram.

Bewildered by his own emotions, he says:

sahaja birāgaroopa manu morā, thakita hota jimi chaṅda chakorā

"By nature, my mind is free from all worldly objects, but I am spellbound by the sight of Shree Ram, like the partridge (chakora bird) is fascinated by the nectarous rays of the moon."

Such is the divine charisma of His personal form!  Sukhadev Paramhansa heard one verse from Shrimad Bhagavatam that expounded the sublime beauty of the personal form of Shree Krishna, and went into rapture.  So, the moment we start developing a relationship with our ishta dev (personal form of God), we lay the first stone for His temple in our heart.  We feel His constant presence as we take our mind to His names, virtues, pastimes, divine abode, and saints.  That is when we start moving towards His ocean of bliss, inch by inch.  Just one drop of this ocean is sweeter than all the joy we derive from His creation.