Throughout my life, I've had numerous encounters with the divine. I firmly believe that the creator and governor of this universe, the true magician who controls our minds, bodies, and souls, has often appeared before me in human form. Yet, each time, I've been tricked by his divine play, unable to recognize him
I've often wondered what God and the Goddess truly look like. Do they resemble the idols and images we know them by, or do they appear as ordinary humans in this Kalyuga? If given the chance to behold them, would I even be able to recognize them. After all, we boast of our "artificial" intelligence, yet remain unaware that everything that happens to us is according to the divine will.
There have been instances where my eyes have seen a human being, but my soul has sensed the presence of the divine. Yet, before I could reconcile the confusion of my mind, senses, and spirit, the person has vanished from my sight. Accepting this as the divine's play, I've convinced myself that he will return again. And indeed, he has appeared in various forms, only to elude me each time. I being a humble human, incapable of fully comprehending him.
Just recently, on the evening of Diwali, my wife and I were walking towards an ATM when we passed a laborer couple with a child, standing before a garment shop and admiring a green sari. As we walked by, a thought occurred to me to purchase the sari for the woman, along with some clothes for her husband and crackers for their child, imagining the joy it would bring them.
However, as we moved on, my mind reassessed the situation, and I became convinced that the seemingly ordinary laborer couple were none other than Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Narayan, along with Lord Ganesha. Filled with this realization, I urged my wife to rush back and offer to buy the sari for the "Goddess." But alas, in the Diwali crowd, she could not locate them, and our efforts to find them were in vain.
Though I was unable to seize this lifetime opportunity to serve the divine, I remain steadfast in my belief that I will encounter them again, in some other form and place. For even if I may lack the material wealth of this world, but I've earned enough wealth for the Journey beyond this life by the divine's grace.
Shri Lakshmi Narayan Namah!! Shree Ganeshaya Namah!!
Shri Lakshmi Narayan Namah!! Shree Ganeshaya Namah!!