Who is God? How? What? Where?
God chooses to reveal Himself to His children in whatever fashion He chooses to, according
to His plan. The way I see Him is how He wants me to see. My truths needn't be universal but they are, relatively, my truths.
The
soul in your body, the soul in mine, the souls of everybody, they are separate and they are one. When you see all souls as one, that soul is God.
People think that their bodies are themselves. Which, in a way, is
better than thinking their business is what they are, or their position is what they are, or their property is what they are...whatever! If someone asks me, who I am, I could say: I'm Ashok - then I'm my name.
I'm an artist - I'm my job
I'm a millionaire - I'm my money or possessions
I'm my wife’s husband - I'm someone's relation or possession
I’m the manager of so and so – I’m my status in a company
I’m your guru – I’m the status someone gives me
These are all practical, convenient answers for our physical body and the society it dwells in, but the trick is to think of it only as a game and play the game. If I lose my money I'm not a millionaire, if I become a writer I'm not an artist. If my wife leaves me, I'm not her husband. Then what am I?
This world is an interactive tutorial created by all of us: we, the collective soul, the Paramatma. It is easier to understand Maya or illusion today than in ancient times. Think of the physical world as a vast virtual chatroom with people assuming various IDs. To exist in that world, we have to take certain forms, which are allowed in that program. You are here, Ashok is here but where are their souls? Your name, your present life, whatever your body is doing now, that is your ID for this world. You are also outside monitoring yourself. Right now, my self and your self are enjoying our talk. We planned this exchange, together, out there, and we are doing it in here, now.
When you go to school, you are given an uniform, to show that every student is equal. Here, we gave ourselves a body, or rather a virtual form. We have written our horoscopes, but we have allotted for some randomness and some flexibility, too. You can choose to be a fatalist and then your destiny will take over. You can choose to rewrite your program; then you can be in touch with yourself. It works both ways. Cheers!
Have you played a video game? This world is an arena. You log in, you play, you exit. You login again, you play better, you exit. The trick is to get better and better. What people mean when they say spiritually better.
Some people log in and then choose to change their ID, their settings, their skin. And they log out fast. Which is why you see kids die.
Another way of understanding God is to compare Him to an organism. We are all parts of one organism, God. We are tiny cells who go about their daily routine without knowing that we are part of a whole. If you are reading this, what is one cell in your eye thinking? Someone outside will say you are reading your mail, but the cell doesn't know: the cell is just doing what it's programmed to do. For the cell, you are God. For you, Paramatma is God.
The best way to go about it is not take my words as they are. Find silence, or some activity that is akin to silence, and ask your self. If you can't shut out assorted noises, create your own sound that will drown ambient noise. Chanting a mantra, the hum of the ac, breathing, anything. Your self knows the answers to your body's questions.
Truth wins. God is Truth. Truth is available to you.