Where is god? Why am I not Seeing ? Do I have to die and go to heaven (or) wait for judgement day ?

 

We all have our own pictures of God, right? As kids, many of us imagined a kind, fatherly figure sitting on a throne in the clouds. In India, we think of Lord Shiva on the snowy peaks of Kailasha, or Lord Vishnu resting in the beautiful Vaikuntha. These are comforting images. In some religions, it is heaven. Father is in heaven and we need to do good in life and one day we die and go to heaven to see him. 

But have you ever stopped to think?  God is omnipotent (all-powerful) and omnipresent (everywhere at once). If that’s true, how can God be stuck in one place, be it heaven, Kailasha, or Vaikuntha? If God is everywhere, can there be a place where He is not? This is the concept great bhaktha prahalada story was hinting at, when he was asked by his father he says, he can find him everywhere. His father chooses pillar and ended up finding lord in the form of narasimha. So god is everywhere. 

If God is Everywhere, Why Can't I See Him?

This is the most common question. If God is in this room with me right now, why can't I see Him?  Simple reason is, we dont even know who is god so how you can see him?. For example you are trying to meet some X person and you dont know any details about X then how Will you recognize X. Even if X is infront of you,  you will not know X is actually is there. So first criteria to see God is to understand who he is, what are his attributes? Does he look tall, white color or black does he have mustache?? 

How i will know God?

First mistake that we are doing is, we are using wrong Tool to know God. To understand this, we need to know about three things:

1. Prameyam: The object you want to know (e.g., God).

2. Pramata: The person who wants to know (you).

3. Pramanam: The right tool or method to know it.

This is the key. You cannot see the smell of a perfume with your eyes, can you? You need a nose for that. You can't hear a picture with your ears. You need eyes. You are using the wrong tool! So choosing right Pramanam is important to understand or experience Prameyam.

Our five senses i.e. eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin are designed to experience the physical world. God, being the consciousness behind everything, is not a physical object. The correct pramanam or tool to experience God is a purified and logical mind (buddhi). You don't 'see' God; you 'understand' and 'experience' His nature.

The moment you truly understand the properties of God that, He is the consciousness in you, the energy in the sun, the life in a plant—you will feel His presence right here, right now. The reason we don’t feel it is because our minds are clouded by ignorance (avidya), just like clouds hiding the sun. The sun is always there; we just need the clouds to move. 

The God Who is Everywhere: Then what about vaikunta or kailasha ?

Advaita tells us, God is a reality without form or specific qualities. Think of it like space. Space is everywhere, in this room and outside. It doesn't have a shape of its own, but everything exists in it. Name for this is Nirguna Brahman (Attributeless Supreme). Nirguna Brahman is the formless, limitless consciousness that is the foundation of everything. It's not a 'He' or 'She' sitting somewhere, but the very existence in which everything happens. Good , Bad, Ugly nothing is beyond God and nothing is other than him. Hence there is no question where he lives, there nothing other than him hence he is here now.

So, what about Vaikuntha (Taking just as an example)? The texts describe it as a glorious place. But let's look at the symbolic meaning. Vaikuntha means "the place of no dullness" or "no limitation." It represents a state of pure, blissful consciousness, free from sorrow and anxiety. And what about the Kshira Sagara, the ocean of milk where Lord Vishnu rests? Symbolically, this represents the universe itself. Modern science sometimes describes the universe as a sea of energy waves. The Kshira Sagara is that celestial ocean of cosmic energy. So, Vishnu resting in this ocean means the divine consciousness is present right in the heart of this universe. Vaikuntha is not a distant GPS coordinate; it’s a state you can reach within yourself. So these are not like places you think, they carry philosophical meaning. They are trying to convey something meaning beyond location.

So, Should We Stop Going to Temples or any places of workship?

If God is everywhere, does that mean we don't need temples? Not exactly.

Think of it this way: electricity is almost everywhere in the atmosphere, but you need a battery or a power station to charge your phone. You can't just plug it into the air.

Until our minds are pure and strong enough to feel God's presence everywhere, we need these "spiritual power stations." Temples are places where divine energy is concentrated. The idols, the mantras, and the rituals are all tools designed to help us quiet our chaotic minds, focus, and purify our thoughts. They are like a gym for the mind, preparing it to grasp the ultimate knowledge.

Once that knowledge is complete, once you truly understand, then for you, the temple and your home are the same. A mountain or a market are the same. You see the divine everywhere. The search for God ends when you realise He was never in a distant heaven, but here and now, waiting to be discovered within you.

So you don't have to wait for judgement day or wait for heaven. Purify your mind and gain more knowledge about him so that you start seeing him everywhere.