God is at once finite and infinite.
He is space.
He is measured.He can be measured.
He must needs be measured.He is beyond space.
He is measureless.He is boundless.
He is infinite.```
God is infinite Consciousness, infinite Bliss; yet He can also assume a finite form. He is infinite, He is finite and, at the same time, He transcends both the Infinite and the finite. He is life, He is death; yet again, He is beyond both life and death. Many people cannot agree with the idea that God can be finite. But let us think of one of God’s divine qualities called Omnipresence. According to our human feeling, when we think of Omnipresence we immediately think of vastness. True, He is as vast as the world. But because He is in everything, God is also in the finite. Again, God is Omnipotent. Where is His Omnipotence if He cannot become a small child, a tiny insect or an atom? At our sweet will we can do practically nothing. But just because God is Omnipotent, He can do anything He wants to do at His sweet Will: He can be vast, He can be infinitesimal.God the Infinite has entered into us, into these finite bodies, which last for fifty, sixty or seventy years. The Infinite gets the greatest joy only by making itself finite as well. We have to know, we have to feel and we have to realise this for ourselves; only then will we see God in His creation. Otherwise, we will think that God is in Heaven and, although we are His creation, we have no connection with Him.
Finite and Infinite, according to our outer understanding, are opposites of each other. But in God’s Eye they are one. The finite and the Infinite always want to go together. The finite wants to reach the Absolute, the Highest, which is the Infinite. The Infinite wants to manifest itself in and through the finite. Then the game is complete. Otherwise, it will only be a one-sided game. There will be no true joy, no achievement, no fulfilment.
Inside the finite is the message of the Infinite; in the finite is first the revelation and then the manifestation of the Infinite. The finite is necessary because it is through the finite that the Infinite plays its role in the cosmic rhythm here on earth. At the same time, the Infinite is necessary because it is in the Infinite that the finite has its eternal shelter. There it finds protection and perfection.
God is everything, but each person has to feel for himself what God is for him. God can be infinite Light, infinite Consciousness, infinite Power, infinite Bliss, infinite Compassion, infinite Energy. He can be personal, with form; again, he can be impersonal, without form. At times we get joy when we see God with form; at times we get joy when we see God without form. We can see Him in His impersonal aspect as a vast expanse of Light. In his personal aspect He can appear as a luminous human being with two hands, two eyes and everything else that we have. He will be the most illumined Being here on earth and there in Heaven. When He appears as a personal Being, we can have all kinds of intimate talks with Him face to face. Even spiritual Masters will not see the Supreme in the same way; for each Master, He may appear differently.
The Formless is necessary to realise the Highest, the Ultimate, the Infinite; and the form is necessary to reveal and manifest the Highest and the Inmost in an intimate way. That which is infinite in consciousness can be seen in the formless aspect. Again, it can house itself in form. That is why the heart can hold Infinity inside it. When you enter into the subtle physical, it is all formless; when you enter into the physical, it is all form.
If one starts his journey by thinking of God as a personal God with form, then he will realise Him as a personal God. If he starts his Yoga thinking of God as impersonal, then he will realise the impersonal aspect of God. It depends on how the seeker wants to approach God while he is in the process of aspiring. If someone practises Yoga while thinking of God’s infinite Consciousness, then he will realise God as infinite Consciousness. A spiritual Master may first realise one aspect of God; but when he has his full realisation, he sees God in all His aspects.
If you meditate in order to achieve something in a most tangible and intimate way, it is helpful to approach the Supreme in the form of the Mother, the Mother Divine. But if you want to experience something in abstract form, in the form of energy or ether, then you will approach an endless, formless form.
I see God as a luminous Being, the most luminous Being, who has infinite Love, Concern and Compassion for mankind. My disciples regard the Supreme as a personal God, as a human being. Although the Supreme has both personal and impersonal aspects, if you approach Him as a personal Being, especially in the beginning, your journey will be safer because the personal way is easier. If you want to see God’s impersonal aspect, you may become confused or afraid of the vastness. A human being may be only six feet tall, but inside him the soul has boundless capacity. Let us take the soul as the impersonal God and the body as the personal God. In the beginning it is much easier for the seeker to identify with his body than with his soul. If my soul wants to manifest its beauty or its strength through the physical, then the soul will give my body luminous beauty or solid strength. So the seeker can take the form as an expression or manifestation of the formless.
When the beginner meditates early in the morning, he should meditate on the Feet of the personal Supreme. Then, along with his own devoted love, he will feel God’s Compassion and Concern. He will say, “Here is someone who is really great, infinitely greater than I. That is why I am touching His Feet with such devotion.” He will feel that there is some purpose behind what he is doing. By touching the Feet of the Supreme, he is trying to become one with the Supreme. If someone is very tall, I won’t be able to touch his head. But I can touch his feet. Whether I touch his feet or his head, I can say that I have touched him. But when I touch his feet, immediately I get the feeling of purest joy and devotion.
Then after touching the Feet of the personal God, we have to concentrate on the Heart of the personal God. Touching His Feet may give us a devotional feeling, but we have to ask ourselves, “Do I consider Him as my very own? Or is it just because He is very great that I am touching His Feet?” We can touch the feet of a very great spiritual Master; but along with our veneration, we have to claim that person as our very own. If we feel that he is our very own, then our devotion gets dynamic power; it enters into activity. When we feel that the Supreme in human form is our very own and that we are His very own, only then can we have complete identification and inseparable oneness with Him. And from that oneness we get boundless joy.
When you feel that your spiritual Master is your very own, you want to give him something of yours. But there has to be an exchange. He will give you what he has and you will give him what you have. How do you actually exchange? It is through Light transmitted through the eyes. When the Master and the disciple look at each other, at that time what does each one do? The Master looks at the disciple with soulful Compassion and the disciple looks at the Master with soulful adoration. The Master, who represents the personal Supreme, has all Compassion; and the seeker has all adoration. So they exchange their offering and then they become inseparably one.
The eye is the place of vision and light. Adoration is a form of Light and Compassion is also a form of Light. Between the eyebrows, and a little above, is the third eye. This is the place through which we shall give what we have to the personal God and the personal God will give us what He has. This form of meditation can be practised by any aspirant who is trying to go beyond his limited existence.From:Sri Chinmoy,Beyond Within — A collection of writings 1964-1974, Agni Press, 1975
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