There may be highly educated people, yet they may not be God-realised. Education is like the plan we draw up to build a house. Can a house be occupied just on the basis of a plan? It can be occupied only after it takes shape. Education is like this blueprint. It may prepare us to receive wisdom, but it does not itself bestow spiritual wisdom on us. Without bhakti, one cannot realise God.
Educated people sometimes demand proof that God exists. Their argument is that since God cannot be seen, He therefore does not exist.
But Ramakrishna Paramahamsa posed a question for such non-believers. Can we see stars during the day? The answer is obvious. We cannot. Does this then mean that there are no stars at all? In the same way, we may not be able to see God, but that does not mean He does not exist. We are the ones who are at fault, if we have not realised Him. We do not have the mental make up to realise Him. We must prepare ourselves to realise God, by singing His praise, and letting our minds dwell on Him, D. Gnanasundaram said in a discourse.
The Lord puts His feet in the hearts of His devotees. In His infinite mercy, He is like a rain-bearing cloud. To His devotees, He is a merciful God, showering them with blessings.
To His enemies, He is like a roll of thunder, striking fear in their hearts. If His devotees praise Him, He dances with joy, for He knows that here is another who, through bhakti, is going to be liberated from the cycle of births and deaths. God is not only happy when He Himself is praised.
He is happier when His devotees are praised. Among the nayanmars, Sundarar sang of the other nayanmars. His mother and father became nayanmars too, by virtue of being their being Sundarar’s parents.
If we try to speak of the Lord’s qualities, we will be at a loss for words. Nor will we be able to even list them all. So numerous are His good qualities. All we can do is to attempt to praise Him. In course of time, we will find peace of mind by thinking of Him, and our bhakti will take us close to Him. Even the smallest effort on our part to reach Him will please the Lord.
