9 Ways to Connect with God

To be in gods consciousness is like being in ecstasy all the time. Love towards something higher than us is the highest form of love, purest love because it is unconditional love, once you know how to love God, how to have faith in God, how to surrender yourself to god then there is no scope for worry, anxiety, tension, hatred or anything. Your life would become so beautiful, so useful. 

So here are 9 ways to connect with god. 

1) Shravanam 

Listening to the glories of god, listening about god, not this has to be developed. 

The perfect example of shravanam is examples full of Hanumanji.

Hanumanji is known to be present at the place where the glory of God is being expressed, where the kathas and levels of the gods are being spoken. 

They believe that Hanuman in any form would come and sit in that audience where all these things are going on.

So definitely listen to some satsangs, read some glories of god, and see that you spend some time on these activities. 

2) Keertanam

Singing the glory of God. Singing, chanting is so important, gopis are the best examples, whenever they meet, they would be together, they would do nothing else, not talking and gossiping, but singing the glory of Lord Krishna.

So the singing together, keertanam, such activities are beautiful and we should spend some time in these activities, this is a very easy way of connecting with god.

3) Smaranam 

Always remembering god in life, all the time the best example is Prahlad. He was always in thought of god, all the time.

Prahlad is said to have received the knowledge of Vishnu when he was in the womb of his mother, hence he was born with the memories of Vishnu and he grew up remembering the god all the time the while.

We always remember god, but when?

when we are in a miserable state, when we are having pain and suffering, when we want something, when desires are not being fulfilled, but remember, we should remember God in success as well as in failure, in good days or bad days, in happiness and misery, so remember god all the time.

4) Padasevanam

Serving the feet of the god.

The best example is Bharat, Ram’s brother. When he went to Ram, he coaxed him that please come back, Ram didn’t, he just brought Rams padukas and he put them on the throne and he started serving that and ruling the world.

So it’s a very very strong example, you don’t need a human in a human form, even some symbolic things are also great for you to run the whole show.

So learn to be egoless, and surrender to the feet of the higher reality, after all, who is running the world, not you and me, keep your ego down, surrender to the higher reality and be humble and happy.

5) Archanam

Offering something to god. the best example is Shabari, a poor woman old woman always waiting for Ram to come to her and when am came she was flabbergasted, she was so joyful she wanted to give something but then what did she do?

she got some berries and offered him that too she tasted that the berries had to be sweet and then she offered.

What a great thing, God doesn’t want anything, but your full-hearted bhakti, your surrender that is what makes things beautiful, you may not have anything big to offer, even a simple leaf, a flower, or even water offering to god is sufficient, but what you are offering is your full heart, your full bhakti and that are what is required.

6) Vandanam

Paying obeisance to god. The best example here would be Akron.

Akron was such a personality where God showed him his form, his original form because he was just paying his obeisance to him, he wanted to see god through and through.

He wanted to understand god in every little part and that feeling was so strong that God came in front and showed him his ROOPA.

Now, this is something that has to go deeper into our personality.

It is like you want to see god but there has to be the feeling behind and god is going to give your darshan, so it is very clear, you believe in god fully.

Ishwar Satya hai, god is truth, when you have that strong faith that you believe in god, god is there in front of you, understand this. 

7) Dasyam

A dasya bhava, Meerabi was the example, tum mere Thakur, main Teri dasi, you are my lord and I am your servant.

Not this means that in whatever situation lord puts you in, you are happy with that, you are doing your part in that, whatever situation it is,

So that is dasya bhava, always serve, always be in the serving the state in the listening state in an accepting state in the state when you are seeing nothing else but gods hand everywhere,

So in good or bad everywhere you see God’s hand and you just remain humble like a servant and live life very joyfully.

8) Sakhyam 

Take god as your friend, your friend who knows everything about you, who is always there with you in trouble or need.

You believe as Ramakrishna Paramhansa used to say that think your one hand is your hand and another hand is God’s hand, so whatever you are doing, you are doing with the help of your friend.

Krishna and Arjun were also, very good friends and Arjun would ask Krishna where to go and Krishna would show him here and Arjun will move ahead to do his action.

So somewhere this sakhya bhava is a friendship with god, deep friendship is what is important. Sudama, Krishnas childhood friend,ofcourse they parted but when they met, that oneness as a friend was so strong that that scene when you see in front of you,

How Krishna is running to meet his friend Sudama when he is approaching is so lovely so beautiful.

This sakhya bhava is one of the very good bhava which we can create with god when we are doing the work we should always believe that God’s hand is therewith us gods strength is there with us.

God’s energy is there with us that’s why we can do everything in life. 

9) Atmanivedanam

You are merging with god and once you merge with god you see everywhere nothing else but god. Here is the best example is Sant Tukaram.

Sant Tukaram would see god everywhere, once he was making chapati and he kept the chapati and the dog came and picked up one chapati.

Tukaram ran after the dog saying that wait Krishna I have to put butter on that, don’t eat without that, or your stomach will ache.

I mean he cannot think of anything except god everywhere, he would be calling Krishna Vitthala everywhere Vitthala so that strong feeling that you are merging with God, everything in nature, everything in the atmosphere is nothing else but god and you are with everything around.

To merge and to expand yourself and you are you know in ecstasy in a beautiful, remember you are a speck in this whole cosmos above, stay connected with this power and be humble and be happy.