Question: When you speak of seeing God face to face, what is your conception of God? Is He some being?

Sri Chinmoy: God is with form; He is without form. He is with attributes; He is without attributes. If an individual wants to see God as an infinite expanse of Light and Delight, God will come to that person as an infinite expanse of Light and Delight. But if he wants to see God as a most brilliant, most luminous being, then God will come to him like that. Of course, when I say God takes the form of a luminous being, I am understating the case. He is not merely luminous; He is something I cannot describe to you in human terms.

In my case, I have seen God in both ways — with form and without form. But when I speak of God, I speak of Him as a being, because this idea is easier for the human mind to grasp. When you say there is a form, a shape, it appeals to individuals. Otherwise, God becomes only a vague idea. If I say God is Bliss, and if the seeker has not experienced Bliss, then he will be hopelessly confused. But if I tell a seeker that God is like a person, an all-powerful father who can say this or do this, he can conceive of it and believe it.

When a human being thinks of some being greater than himself, immediately he thinks of it as similar to a human being. It is much easier to conceive of the idea of God through form. But I will never say that those who want to see God without form, as an infinite expanse of Light, Delight, Energy or Consciousness, are wrong. I just feel that the other way is easier.