In Sanatana Dharma, God is the all-pervading consciousness beyond attributes, names and forms. However, He can assume any form to bless devotees. Just as the wind can waft as a gentle breeze, blow as a strong gust, or even beat heavily as a hurricane, the Almighty Lord, who controls the wind, can adopt unlimited bhavas.
Hence, we worship the one God in diverse forms such as Vishnu, Shiva, Ganapati, Hanuman, Durga and Saraswati. God’s diverse qualities are illumined in the various deities. Hanuman represents the principle of subduing the restless monkey mind.
The pranava (‘om’) is the primal sound. Therefore, Ganapati, who is of the form of the pranava, deserves to be worshipped first. Similarly, there are subtle meanings in the forms of all the deities. No m atter which form of divinity we worship, finally, we will attain the formless Supreme Truth.
In reality, the feeling that is the closest to our True Self and most familiar to us is love. It is our true nature. By “true nature,” Amma means that which cannot be changed. It may be temporarily hidden from us, but it can never be destroyed. It is forever within us, as our essence—an inseparable part of our being. This human life is meant to be born in love, to live in love and to eventually end in love.
The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian.
