Mystic Mantra: Longing for God

Despite the doubts that keep swirling around in our heads about the existence of God, human mind and heart has been searching for God since times immemorial. And such a pursuit often develops into a longing for God, a longing as old as human consciousness itself. The tales of our sages meditating in the Himalayan region or on the banks of the holy rivers are evidence of such a longing. Mahatma Gandhi’s experiments with truth was another path in a similar search for God whom he defined as Truth. In the Bible, one finds several references to such a cry of the heart for God. King David for example recites this prayer: “My God, You are my God; I earnestly search for you, my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water; I have seen You in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you.” The Jews used it much before the Christians 

I am, however, convinced that the longing expressed in these words is something that is reserved not only for the spiritually advanced person but also for all of us, regardless of religion. And the reason for such longing is simply because God created us for himself. He is our ultimate destiny.

If indeed God is our destiny and if our ultimate happiness can be found in Him alone, how is it that so many “ungodly” elements crop up? Sheila Walsh, puts its beautifully: “God placed us in a world surrounded by a million and one temptations, knowing that not one of them will ever fully satisfy us apart from Him. It’s either sneaky or the most radically beautiful love story ever told. Just as God in Christ pursued us through the mud and mire, the beatings and the bloody path up to the cross, He calls us now to pursue Him. Not only that: He promises that if we seek Him, we will find Him”.

It is, hence these worldly distractions that often push us into doing those things that take us away from our inborn desire for Him. God, however, tells us in the Bible: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me…You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart”. Can we really then escape from God?