Have you ever experienced or realized God?

Perhaps you are thinking that this is a question that is above you. Perhaps you believe in God and have faith in God's existence. Whether you have had a personal direct experience of God–well, isn't that the realm of prophets or a select few lucky people on Earth? If this is what you think, than I have good news for you. 

The goal of Hinduism is to guide its followers to have personal experiences of God. Such experiences of God Realization, which is also known as enlightenment or samadhi in yogic circles are the precursor to achiveing salvation, which in Hinduism is moksha. Moksha is freedom for our soul from having to undergo the continuous cycle of reincarnation on Earth, thus enjoying eternal life in the heavens. This is the destiny of all souls on earth, yours and mine included.

You may also be wondering how God looks like, or how it feels to be in His or Her presence. If this is the case then you can seek out a God Realized guru and ask him or her. You can also comb through the multitude of ancient Scriptures in Hinduism like the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita or the Tirumantiram and the writings of contemporary God Realized gurus to find answers. 

One conclusive answer you will find from the testimony of those who have realized God, is that God is One. However, the description of God may vary from one person to another or one writing to another. In fact, if you have studied any Hindu Scripture, you might find descriptions of God in different forms that may even be contradictory in nature. For instance God can be described in the form of Pure Light, Pure Love or Pure Consciousness. Then again in the same Scripture there can be a description of God as a person with a human-like body holding different implements in His Hands. Then again God may also be described as a mysterious state of Nothingness that baffles and transcends all states of existence. Which is true? Well, all are true. All the different descriptions are different experiences of God that spiritual masters have had of God. Thus the authors write in the Scriptures about God in different forms, inspired by their divine encounters.

Insight: Read about the varying discriptions of God in the Vedas.

Learning to comprehend God’s Being is the first step toward reaching our destiny of attaining our personal experience of God. As these lessons progress we will explore God's nature. We will uncover the reality of our intimate closeness with God; and perhaps, you might even identify that you may have already experienced God and are just now realizing this fact. You may already be a God Realized person.

To help his sishyas understand the nature of God, my guru organized God’s nature into three Aspects. These Aspects are based on his personal experiences of God. The Three Aspects of God contain within them explanations to the varied experiences one can have of God and also explain the different descirptions of God found in Scriptures. The Three Aspects are different than the concept of the Trinity, where God is the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. (Though the Trinity is contained within the Three Aspects). 

Insight: Learn more about the differences between the Trinity and the Aspects of God.

The Three Aspects of God are Paramatma, Parashakti and Parabrahman. These names of Supreme Godhead can be found in the Vedas. They describe three Aspects of God that can be experienced by a devotee, regardless of their Hindu sect or even religion. Following is a diagram describing The Three Aspects of God. 

Essentially The Three Aspects divide God into Three unique Beings. Yet God is One. To explain this truth in Hinduism, here is a common analogy that is often used. Take a family man. This one individual, to his wife, he is her husband; to his children, he is their father; to his employees, he is their boss and to his friends, he is their buddy. In all his different relationships, though he is the same person, the experience of his wife, his children, his friends and his employees are all unique while having similarities. Even his name, though he will have one legal name, his wife, children, friends and employees will address him differently according to their social standing with him. 

Of course the diverse differences between Aspects of God are far more vast compared to a person as in the analogy. These differences are part of the mystery of God–such as how form and formlessness can exist as a One being–and part of the majesty and awesomeness of God.

In this first part of our exploration of God’s nature, we will focus on God’s first Aspect, Paramatma. In the second part Parashakti and Parabhraman will be the explained.

Paramatma, literally means the Greatest or Highest Soul. Paramatma is God as the First Soul or the Primal Soul. Primal Soul is the Uncreated or Original Soul Who created all other souls. This is the Aspect of God that is easiest for us to relate to and easiest to commune with. Paramatma is the compassionate form of God. When in prayer we are in communion with Paramatma. As Paramatma, God has a personal relationship with us, for He is our Creator.  

Paramatma is God as our Divine Father and Mother, Teacher and Friend. We experience Paramatma as living in heaven and existing apart from us. Paramatma is just like another person, who we can talk to and ask for help or wisdom. We communicate with Paramatma through our personal prayers during worship. God expresses His love for Creation through the forms of Paramatma.

Paramatma can take on any type of personal form, whether human-like or even animal-like. Paramatma may also appear as a male or female figure to His or Her devotees. My guru taught that Paramatma in the most original form is genderless, just as our soul, our spiritual body which is genderless. Depending on the sect of Hinduism, Paramatma can be represented by different forms. For instance, God Shiva as Dakshinamurthi, Nataraja, Shankara; God Vishnu as Venkateshwara, Krishna, Rama; Goddess Shakti as Amman, Lakshmi, Durga or Saraswati. 

Insight: Learn more about the forms of Paramatma.

The multitude of forms of God that we have in our Hindu religion are forms of Paramatma seen in mystic visions by devotees. These are not forms that were conjured in a devotees imagination nor are they forms that are merely symbolic in nature.

God can appear to anybody. One common way God can appears to us, is through our dreams. Dreams that are visions of God, are direct communications from God to us and are different from ordinary dreams. Ordinary dreams fade away from our memory almost immediately after we wake-up. However memory of divine dreams stay with us. 

An easy place to experience Paramatma is in the temple, especially during the high points of the puja. That is when the abishegam, deepam or aarati are performed. A devotee can feel the shakti that emanates from God in the temple as the feeling of peace and contentment that fills ones heart and mind. 

Insight: Learn more about experiencing Paramatma through temple worship.

Paramatma governs the forces of nature and life in the physical and spiritual universes through five essential powers or shaktis. They are, Creation-Srishti, Preservation-Stithi, Destruction-Samhara, Obscuring Grace-Tirobhava and Revealing Grace-Anugraha. 

Srishti–Creation: God Created the spiritual and physical universes and beings within them through srishti. Srishti is not limited to the beginnings of the universe, it heads any process of creation and rejuvenation. Srishti includes all forces of growth and creativity. It also includes the intellectual processes of formulating ideas and learning. Srishti is embodied in the Vedic Trinity as the deity Brahma, the Lord of creation and learning. The symbolic implements held by deities of Paramatma to represent Creation are instruments of sound or music like the conch, damaru, veena; objects of learning, like Scriptures and the lotus bud (the bud is the symbol of the issuance of creation).

Stithi–Preservation: The forces of maintenance and accumulation of abundance is governed by God through stithi. Stithi includes all the forces of renewal and systems of stability. It also includes the formulation of  rules, laws and governance. Stithi is embodied in the Vedic Trinity as the deity Vishnu, the Lord of dharma and abundance. The symbols held by deities to represent Preservation are the kumbha (water vessel) filled with water; hand held in gestures such as the abhaya mudra or chin mudra; holding flowers, plants, animals such as the parrot and sweet foods.

Samhara–Destruction: The forces of change and evolution that are precursors to the forces of creation and also the power of protection is samhara. Samhara includes all forces that cause degeneration for the processes of renewal or protection. It also includes the forces of willpower and aspirations for improvement. Samhara is embodied in the Vedic Trinity as the deity Rudra or Shiva. The symbols held by deities to represent destruction are weaponry such as the arrow, sword, sudarshana chakra, mace or the element fire.

Tiriobhava–Obscuring Grace: This is God’s activity of covering or limiting knowledge of spiritual truths from the soul. This action of Paramatma is necessary for the soul to enable the soul to go through it’s process of spiritual evolution. For instance, through tirobhava, we forget our past lives so we can live the current one without interfering memories from past lives. Tirobhava is embodied in the forces of anava and maya. There are no deities that specifically represent tirobhava. The symbols that represent obscuring grace are holding a lotus flower upside down or standing on a lotus flower.

Anugraha–Revealing Grace: This is God’s activity of teaching and discovery of knowledge (spiritual and material). It is through anugraha that God grants boons and propels the the spiritual evolution of the soul. Anugraha is embodied in the forces of karma and dharma; and as in tirobhava there are no deities that specifically represent anugraha. The symbol that represents revealing grace are God’s Feet.

Insight: Learn more about the God's five shaktis and their symbolism here.

These five shaktis of Paramatma work simultaneously to animate the universe and life. These activities of God that occur as the forces of nature is often poetically described by Hindu saints and educators as the divine dance; the leela or the tandava of God. Lord Nataraja, the King of Dance, is one of God’s forms that clearly depicts the perpetual motion of God’s activity in life.