Learn to Practice the Presence of God

What does it mean to Practice the Presence of God?

To practice the presence of God is to engage the mind in God regardless of the actions of the body. God is an ocean of bliss and when we bring Him in our mind and heart, we experience bliss to the same extent as the depth of our own devotion. Swami Mukundananda ji says that to practice the presence of God means to love Him intensely to the point that every action is an offering to God. The moment we forget God, the heart compels us to remember Him and the mind slowly diverts to real devotion. Everything reminds the devotee of God. When we hear a bird chirping or the clouds passing through the mountain peak, we think about the beauty of God’s creation. If we experience shock upon realizing that we forgot God even for a moment, we know that we are practicing the presence of God. 

उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वर: |
परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुष: पर: || 23||

upadraṣhṭānumantā cha bhartā bhoktā maheśhvaraḥ
paramātmeti chāpy ukto dehe ’smin puruṣhaḥ paraḥ

Within the body also resides the Supreme Lord. He is said to be the Witness, the Permitter, the Supporter, Transcendental Enjoyer, the ultimate Controller, and the Paramātmā (Supreme Soul) (Bhagavad Gita 13.23).

God is seated in our heart and makes a note of our karmas and bestows results of our thoughts and actions at an appropriate time. That’s how close we are to God. The mindset to develop is to always remember God at all times and never forget God at any time.

The concept of practicing the presence of God was introduced to the western world through the work of Brother Lawrence, a 17th century French monk, who had resided in a monastery for 40 years. He was assigned the job of cooking meals and scrubbing utensils. Even though he did not like these tasks, he did them for the love of God. When Brother Lawrence went about his mundane chores, he would engage in conversations with God as if He was physically present and did the chores with him. He wrote letters to God as a way to communicate. It was only after he passed, that his letters were discovered and published in a book entitled The Practice of the Presence of God. 

Why can we not Practice the Presence of God even though He is omnipresent?

God is the soul of our soul. Even though He is seated in our heart, we are unable to feel His presence because we have turned our consciousness away from Him. We have become blind to extraordinary things because we fail to recognize the miracle of God which is evident in every atom of creation. Thus, God’s Yogmaya power keeps His divinity veiled from us until the time we become eligible for His divine vision.

नाहं प्रकाश: सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृत: |
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् || 25||

nāhaṁ prakāśhaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛitaḥ
mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam

I am not manifest to everyone, being veiled by my divine Yogmaya energy. Hence, those without knowledge do not know that I am without birth and changeless (Bhagavad Gita 7.25).

We will become eligible to receive God’s divine grace only when we completely surrender to God with full humility. Until then, we can (a) deepen our faith by regularly participating in Satsangs with like-minded devotees, and (b) learn to practice the presence of God as a way to cleanse the dirty heart and purify our intentions for devotional service..

How do we Practice the Presence of God?

When we bring God into our divine consciousness not just during prayer, but also when engaged in any task, we will start to intuitively feel His presence if we believe that He is everywhere and a witness to my thoughts and actions. We need to change our internal outlook and start practicing Karmayog as a way to experience God’s presence. 
As Jagadguru Shree Kripalu ji Maharaj has stated in the Bhakti Shatak (Verse 84):

मन हरि में तन जगत में, कर्मयोग तेहि जान।
तन हरि में मन जगत में, यह महा अज्ञान॥

Mana Hari Mein Tana Jagat Mein, Karmyog Tehi Jaan
Tana Hari Mein Mana Jagat Mein, Yah Maha Agyan.

Karmayog is the constant attachment of the mind to Shree Krishna while engaging the physical body in worldly duty. But the one who attaches the mind to the world and physically practices devotion to God is the greatest fool.

Swamiji has suggested some strategies to practice the presence of God. 

1. Develop a simple and pure heart. God only cares for purity of our intention and the simplicity of our devotional sentiments. We must learn to develop an intimate relationship with God instead of feeling awed by His opulence. Develop the sentiment that “He is mine and I am His.”
2. Focused contemplation. Contemplate on these words: “O Lord, I am Your servant. You are the reason for my existence. You are in the temple, in my heart, and in every atom of creation, but I have lost consciousness of Your presence. You are my gati (goal), mati (intellect), rati (love), witness and protector.” With such loving sentiments, use the body to do the worldly work but keep the mind in God.
3. Practice devotion in any bhav or sentiment. The path of bhakti follows the law of love. The law of love is proportionate in reciprocity to the extent of our love and devotion. In whichever bhav (i.e., dasya or servant, sakhya or friend, vatsalya or parent, madhurya or beloved) the devotee loves God, in that bhav the Lord reciprocates. The devotee forgets the reverence and loves God for His pleasure.
4. Directly practice the presence of God. We can use techniques like roop-dhyan or visualization of the names, leelas (pastimes), virtues, abodes, and saints of God to attach the mind to God in a dynamic way. There are many guided meditations conducted by Swamiji to enable us to practice the presence of God. 
5. Make an hour-long mansik (in your mind) appointment with God and/or Guru. Schedule a time to interact with Him through conversations, to serve Him in the mind or to focus on His divine attributes. As we transition to real-world activities, invite Him to stay with you and help you to focus on Him as you navigate the mundane and pleasurable tasks. 
6. Take a short devotional break. Set an alarm on any device at different intervals of time throughout the day as a reminder to practice the presence of God. Take a short mental break to express gratitude for being able to focus on Him. We can gradually shorten the intervals to practice the presence of God more frequently. 
7. Express gratitude. We need to find time daily to note our devotional sentiments and practices in our gratitude journal. Expressing gratitude, experiencing humility, and finding joy and love in the divine connection will enable us to practice the presence of God with greater focus.
8. Selfless love for God. The most foundational mindset is to love Him selflessly. Even when we ask God for devotional grace, our sentiment should be selfless – devotion for His pleasure not ours. Request God and Guru to guide you in the practice of the presence of God.