GOD UPON EARTH
The concept of God upon earth is not difficult to understand. Even an ordinary mortal within his limitations can go wherever he wants to go at any time that he chooses. Why, therefore, should God not have the freedom to come down to this earth in any frame that He chooses, whenever He wants to? He is not bound by any dogmas as He is Infinite and nothing can bind Him.
We may look upon the advent of God upon earth in another way as well. God is Infinite. In fact, He is Infinity itself. Everything that exists before us is within that Infinity–all the shapes and forms, all of Space and Time. Everything must be within that Infinity and nothing outside of it. In that sense all the shapes and forms of the Universe are a manifestation of God.
And yet, we cannot say that only a part of God is present in any point in Space and Time. We must admit that the whole of God must exist within everything. The Infinite is that which exists in the vastness of the Universe and also within the tiniest of its atoms.
“His Glory is in every sphere
And all things whisper God is Here.”
The outer form of the ocean may reveal waves, whirlpools and ripples, but they are all the manifestation of the one Reality that exists–water, and water alone, in the form of the ocean.
It is thus evident from logic alone that the Infinite must be present in all shapes and forms everywhere in Space and Time and Therefore all persons walking upon this earth already have God within them and are a manifestation of Him.
Even as the invisible electric current that resides in a Power House manifests itself in the form of Light through a bulb, in a like manner the Invisible, Formless, God manifests Himself through the medium of a human body upon earth. The fact that He is in human form in any particular place upon earth does not detract from His Infinite Self. He is even then Infinite and present everywhere. It is like the Infinite Space that manifests itself in a finite vessel but remains Infinite.
It is a law of Nature that for every need there is an answer. Whenever the need for the manifestation of God arises in human form, God comes upon the earth in a form of His choosing. This finite, visible form of God is known as the Avatar of God upon earth. Some say it is God Himself in human form, while others say that it is a Messenger of God. There is little distinction between the two. What mankind is concerned with is the message the personality brings–and that is the message of God.
The sun cannot come down to earth in its fulness or else everything would be burnt to ashes, but the sun appears as a ray of light that enters the human eye and reveals the sun. That ray of light is like the human form God chooses upon earth for His work. Behind the personality of the Avatar is the Sun of Spirituality–God.
There are some who become excellent swimmers through practice, and there are others who are like the fish that is born in water and who no swimmer can equal. Similarly there are certain selected souls that have an absolute purity of heart and the total absence of ego within them, who carry the light of God quite naturally and spontaneously within them, from birth.
These are the Great Souls, the great manifestations of the Eternal Truth existing everywhere at all times, who come down to this planet earth to guide mankind from time to time and to set an example through their own lives, and to save mankind from moments of grave crises. These were the Great Souls that came upon this planet earth in the past, and perhaps many unnamed souls who simply came into this world, unannounced, did their work and left, without leaving a trace of their mark upon history.
These Great Souls are ageless and timeless and with us all the time in their invisible form. However whenever there is a need for their physical manifestation upon earth they appear from time to time.
In ancient Persia when there was a need for spiritual and moral revival, there was the advent of Lord Zoroaster. In India when the powers of evil held sway and there was a need for spiritual and moral revival, there was the advent of Lord Rama, and then the advent of Lord Krishna. When there was a need for liberation amongst the people of Israel, there was the advent of Moses to deliver them. When the world stood in need of a regeneration of faith, there was the advent of Lord Christ. In Arabia, there was the advent of the Holy Prophet of Islam at a time when the world stood in need of spiritual guidance. There was the advent of Guru Nanak when the spiritual need arose again India.
The world is a vast place with so many regions and so many different races and people. To show that God cares for them all, He sends His prophets and messengers and avatars to different people in different regions at different times in the garb best suited for them. What these holy personalities have in common is their teaching of Love and Peace. In that sense no religion contradicts another. The different religions of the world are like the beautiful flowers of the garden of God; and the vase is this earth.
Shri Nathji was the incarnation of God upon earth in the 20th century who came down upon this planet to reveal that there was just One God who appeared before people at various times.
Shri Nathji saved mankind from the greatest crisis that the earth had ever faced in its entire history–total self-annihilation through a nuclear holocaust. In that sense his work shall remain as the greatest in the history of mankind. His Eternal Message of Love and Peace shall live on for centuries to come, for without him there would have been no further history of the world.
It is not necessary that these Great Souls be recognised by all, for they do not come into the world to seek recognition. They may remain hidden and do their work silently behind the veil without letting the world know of their presence. Or they may reveal their inner self only to a few selected souls. They remain like the hidden river, which does its work while the streams and rivulets irrigate the fields. Whenever the Great Souls have come into this world they have, during their life- times, been recognised by only a few selected persons. However their coming into the world has shown the people of the world that there is a God above, who is watching over them and is concerned for their welfare–of this world and the next.
When Lord Rama came upon the earth he was recognised by only about seven or eight persons, when Lord Krishna came upon earth he gave his revelation to only one person, Arjuna, – and today the entire world accepts that one man’s experience. Lord Christ was recognised by only twelve people, but today their experiences have converted many. Amongst the Sikhs there were the Panj Pyaaraas, the Five Faithful, whose faith enlightened the generations that came. If water has satiated the thirst of one man, then the principle is established that it can satiate the thirst of all who are thirsty.
Such Great Souls who come into the world have no desire for name or fame or to collect large numbers of followers. On the contrary very few persons can recognise them. And these are the few to whom they have chosen to disclose themselves.
The events that centre around these personalities then become an example for the whole world. The isolated episodes, incidents and meetings in their lives become parables for the world for generations to come, showing the way to humanity.
Being in a limited human form they cannot interact with the entire world, and therefore their interaction is limited to the few that they can come into contact with. There are some people who accept them and others who do not, while the majority of the world may not even be aware of their existence upon earth.
One of the greatest proofs of their being God is that people experience the presence of God in them. It is a recognition deep down within the depths of every human soul that brings God before it. It is like thirst recognising water. People find themselves filled with an unexplainable feeling of Love and Peace in their presence. If they at all perform miracles it is in answer to the prayers of humanity and not to impress the world.