Question: I meditate on God for many hours at a time, but God never appears before me.

Sri Chinmoy: In India some village woman may say, "I meditated for six hours or eight hours, but God never appears before me. He is so unkind." But when she starts meditation, what does she actually do? At that time she thinks of her cow: "The cow is grazing and perhaps it is entering into somebody else's territory. Then it will be beaten." Her mind is roaming around, thinking of this person or that person. It is all imagination. Then she says, "I have meditated for so many hours."

If I ask her, "Please tell me, what did you meditate on," she will say, "I meditated on God." Then I will say, "Yes, but how many times did you feel the Presence of God?" Then she will answer, "All the time I was uttering God's Name, but I was thinking of my cow because the cow is disturbing my mind." Then I will say, "Well, you have to differentiate between your cow and God."