To understand one’s relationship with God, one must first understand the meaning of God or Ishvara. In the vision of the Shruti, Ishvara is the all-intelligence which is both the maker and the material of this entire universe, including I, the individual entity. Let us understand this briefly. If we look at our universe, we find that it is an incredibly vast and complex but organized system. It is a coming together of many diverse forces of nature, laws that we study in modern science and that are working together in an organized manner to uphold the entire cosmic system.

For the creation of any organized system, there must necessarily be (1) the intelligence or knowledge to create it, and (2) the material with which it is created. Take any object, such as a watch, or a computer, or an electric bulb, or even a simple piece of cloth. Traditionally, the example of a clay pot is given. To create any of these, you necessarily need a creator who has the intelligence to make that object and you also need the material with which it is made. In the context of the entire universe, the creator cannot be anything like we know creators – it cannot be a person. If it were a person, then who created his body and mind? Where does he sit and create the universe and who created that place? The Shruti calls Ishvara “sarvajña” i.e. all-knowledge or all-intelligence. In the vision of the Shruti, the creator was the intelligence itself and not any person with a physical form.

The organized system of natural forces pre-requires intelligence. One can ask why a law of nature does what it does. Why does the earth go around the sun in an orbit at a particular speed and direction? Why is the sun at a particular distance from the earth and not any farther or nearer? Scientists studying natural phenomena have observed the high level of organization in the universe. Such organization pre-requires intelligence and the intelligence itself is the creator. The material to create the universe also cannot be like any other material. If there was some material, like we know materials, with which this universe was made, then where did the material to make that material come from? If we think in such terms, then we will go into infinite regression. The Shruti wants us to understand that the intelligence itself was the material.

The intelligence was itself the maker as well as the material of the entire universe. It manifests as the laws which bring about and hold together this entire universe as one complex system. To help us understand this vision, the Mundaka Upanishad gives the example of a spider’s web. In the case of a spider’s web, which is a purposeful and structured creation, the maker is the spider and the material too comes from the spider itself. Similarly, the universe is nothing but a manifestation of the all-intelligence, Ishvara. This is the Vedic vision of God. It doesn’t say there is one God, it says there is only God. Whatever is there is nothing but the all-intelligence Ishvara. This is important to understand. People ask, “Where is God?” The Shruti makes us wonder where is God not. This is the important implication of the fact that Ishvara is not just the maker but also the material. If Ishvara was only the maker, like the makers of any object here, then he would make the universe and be done with it. His association with the universe would end there and then. But that is not the Vedic vision. The all-intelligence is also the material. Every atom, every particle with which this entire physical universe is made is nothing but the all-intelligence Ishvara.

Therefore, Ishvara was not just there at the beginning of the universe, but the universe right now, in this present moment, is nothing but Ishvara. The clay pot is at all times and in all places clay – the material. The universe at all times and in every inch of it is Ishvara. That is why we say – कण-कण में भगवान हैंI It is a simple way of putting a profound vision of reality. The effort in the teaching of the Upanishads is to help us understand this reality better. The more we appreciate this reality, the better will we understand our relationship with Ishvara.

I, the individual, have a very intimate relationship with Ishvara. Every cell of the body is Ishvara, every breath is Ishvara, every sound heard, sight seen is Ishvara, every thought, feeling, emotion is nothing but Ishvara. I, the individual, play many roles in this world. The role of a son to my parents, that of a father to my children, husband to my wife, teacher to my students, and so on. But all of these roles are variable. They vary from time to time, person to person. But if there is one relationship which is constant and invariable, it is my relationship with Ishvara. At all times, I am related to Ishvara. This has to be understood.

To help us understand this fact, we have the medium of prayer. Prayer is the expression of the relationship of an individual with the whole i.e. Ishvara. It is the acknowledgment of a reality which should become the foundation of our lives. Following is an example of such a prayer:

त्वमेव माता च पिता त्वमेव ।

त्वमेव बन्धुश्च सखा त्वमेव ।

त्वमेव विद्या द्रविणम् त्वमेव ।

त्वमेव सर्वम् मम देव देव ॥

In a simple, well-known prayer like this, the knowledge of this highest reality is given. A beautiful thing about the Vedic tradition is that in a few lines, sometimes in few words, a complete truth is effectively communicated. Most of us know this prayer but if we recite it with the awareness of its deeper meaning, it becomes a medium for appreciating our relationship with Ishvara.

Furthermore, the presence of Ishvara in our everyday life can be understood in the form of all the forces which are working to provide us with what we have. As an individual, I make an effort. The result of that effort is delivered to me by the organization of multiple forces that I don’t know of. The result is delivered to me by the forces of Ishvara. Graceful acceptance of what is delivered is called praśāda buddhi. It is gratitude in the true sense of the word. Generally, when we talk of gratitude, we express our thanks for all the good in our life. That is a limited thankfulness based on one’s own limited understanding of good and bad. True gratitude is thankfulness for everything that has been delivered, whether it seems good or bad at present. That is praśāda buddhi. It ensures an equanimous reception of all circumstances. Whatever one has, it is because of the organization of multiple forces of Ishvara. Whether it is the education that one is so proud of, or the career that one thinks one has “self-made”, or even the food that one gets to eat every day – it is all because of an alignment of numerous forces of Ishvara that any of it becomes possible. Acknowledgment of this fact is at the foundation of Vedic life in the form of daily prayers.

Through prayers, and daily rituals like pūjā and homa, one is to devote some time every day to appreciate one’s relationship with Ishvara. Through the act of offering (various objects like flowers, fruits, water etc. during a ritual), one is to bring to the mind the understanding that all aspects of an action are Ishvara. What is being offered is Ishvara, the offerer is Ishvara, the act of offering is Ishvara, and the purpose for which it is being offered is also Ishvara. One is to take this understanding to all actions of one’s life such as eating, studying, working etc. In all these actions, one is to bring to one’s mind this understanding that all aspects of the action are divine. It helps one overcome the I-sense, the ahaṃkāra, that “I am the doer of the action” and “I am the enjoyer of the result”. Unless and until this false identification with one’s individuality, this sense of separation is not overcome, one will remain bound in the cycle of causation i.e. saṃsāra. There is release only when this ignorance is removed.

In this manner, one’s relationship with Ishvara is appreciated every day, in every action. Generally, we think of Ishvara as a distant entity, who is separate from us, whom we wish to “reach”, to “find” and so on. We need not think so. We need to understand that our relationship with Ishvara is that of non-separation. We are always one with Ishvara and the effort in life is to take the mind to this knowledge.