What is God and what is our Relationship with Him?

The Lord is the great storehouse of consciousness. He is the embodiment of reason and the treasure-house of intelligence. He is the repository of love and compassion. We are parts of Him. He is the whole. The essence of which our souls is made, its fountain source is called the Lord. If we are a drop of consciousness, He is the ocean of consciousness. We are a ray of the essence of consciousness and He is the sun of the essence of consciousness. Every particle is a part of the whole. Our real substance is a part of that whole which is called the Lord.

The scriptures also proclaim that son is the soul of father. Just as a tree produces seeds and a seed grows into a tree, similarly all beings spring from God. All living beings are of the same essence as the Lord. They are His children. Just as a child is a part of the flesh of the mother, it lives in her womb and is brought up there, similarly we are born in God, are brought up in Him, and are connected with Him in the same way as a child is with the mother. In fact he is never separate from her. The mother's connection with the child is natural. He may be unwise or ignorant, but the mother takes care of him. In fact, she is obliged to do so. A mother is never neglectful of her child. Because of her genuine love, she cannot be indifferent to him. We have an even stronger connection with the Lord. We are particles of the Lord. The relationship between us and the Lord is that of a part to the whole. There is no distinction between the ocean and its waves. There is no difference between the sun and its rays. The Lord is never unmindful of us even for a moment. He is always looking after us. We have never been separated from Him. He is always with us and always pervades our entire being.

You are a mighty river. I am a fish. How can I know Your limits?

Sri Rag M1, 25-6

If we become childlike, the Lord Himself watches over us. But when we grow in our intellect and begin to reason and ruminate, then we feel unhappy. If we turn to Him and hold fast to His garment, live in the world but not let go our hold of Him, as a child does with his mother, we will be happy. Beg of Him, eat and drink and cry out, "Oh mother! I am yours, whether dutiful or otherwise. I am in your lap. Where else could I go if I left You?" This should, however, be said with love, truth and simplicity. There should be no cleverness about it. The waywardness of upright children is forgiven. The Lord also relishes love, simplicity and faith.

The simple realize the Lord.

Kabir, Gauri, 324-15

Continue to be children of God. Do not surrender the rights of your precious patrimony. Know the Lord as immanent and conscious. Remember Him as a living entity. Have devotion. He is both with and without qualities and is also beyond them. He who is with form is the formless One also.

Oh Nanak, He is gross as well as subtle.

Gauri M5, Sukh 281-18

He appears to His devotees in various forms. Just as in the ocean icebergs are formed owing to extreme cold, similarly, owing to the intensity and magnetism of devotion the formless appears with form but with the rising of the sun of knowledge the iceberg (form) dissolves into formless water.

Some say He is formless, others say He is with form. Some regard Him as father, others as mother or friend or husband. You may remember Him in any role or relationship. There need be no dispute about it. They all mean the same thing although in different words. Create love for Him in your heart.

The prophet Moses once went into a jungle. He found there a shepherd sitting and remembering God. "Oh Lord," he was saying, "if you had been a child I would have fed You with milk. I would have combed Your hair and would have clothed You with woollen garments." He was wholly engrossed in contemplation of the Lord in this fashion. Moses said to him, "You are an infidel." On hearing this the shepherd was taken aback and cried bitterly. He said, "Oh Lord, I have not been courteous to You. Oh! What shall I do?" Thereafter the prophet Moses went his way. Later when he went into a trance and met the Lord he was told:

Oh Moses! The learned ones' ways of devotion are different from those whose hearts and souls are consumed in love's fire. You have been sent to unite and not to separate. The united one you have broken away from me.

Maulana Rumi

Meanwhile the shepherd while still crying, also went into a trance. And lo! God appeared to him and encouragingly said to him, "I will drink your milk. I will put on your clothes and eat whatever you offer me." Presently, Moses went to the shepherd and said to him, "Please forgive me for what I said. God is very pleased with you." At this the shepherd replied, "Oh Moses, the One who came to you has visited me also." Remember Him with innocent love.

_______________

Footnote: