Cultivating Friendship with God
Summary: This essay presents the practice of developing intimate companionship with the divine as a transformative spiritual approach. It explores treating God not merely as distant authority but as trusted friend and advisor present in daily life. The discussion addresses how this relationship begins through imagination and faith, deepens through sincere sharing of thoughts and experiences, and evolves into lived reality that brings divine presence into the center of existence through reciprocal love and selfless offering.
"All the gods in the heaven of Brahman adore in contemplation their Infinite Supreme Spirit. This is why they have all joy, and all of the worlds and all desires. And the man who on this earth finds and knows Atman, his own self, has all his holy desires and all the worlds and all joy."
"Those who worship me fixing their minds always upon me, with unflinching sincerity and supreme faith, I consider them to be most perfect in Yoga."
"If any man be in Christ, there is a new creation, behold, all things are become new."
"I think of Agni as Father, as Kinsman, as Brother, as a Friend for ever."
You may have a thousand friends, but have you considered God as one of them? How frequently do you think of Him and seek His advice in your personal matters? Most people rush to God in times of trouble, but do you seek him when you need general counsel? This essay suggests a simple practice to manifest the power of God and His guidance in your daily life.
Make God your intuitive companion. Ask Him to be with you at all times and assist you in all your efforts. Treat Him as your close confidant, your trusted advisor, with whom you can share all your secrets and pour out your worries. Make Him your Divine Companion—someone you cannot leave, cannot do without, and who is always present with you, no matter where you are, what you're doing, or what you're thinking. Share your thoughts, fears, secrets, laughter, life, goals, losses, and gains with Him. When you're ready to rest, invite Him into your heart and let Him guide you to peaceful, beautiful dreams or complete tranquility.
It is through friendship with God that you realize the true meaning of friendship built upon trust, faith, and unconditional love. It is through our friendship with Him that we realize the purpose and significance of our very existence, our relationship with the world around and our responsibility towards it.
Your friendship with God may start with a thought, and with imagination on your part, it can strengthen and grow into an inseparable bond. With belief and faith, you may act as if He is right there with you, responding to your requests and prayers, and listening to your heart. Know that imagination is a gift from God, inherited by you as a part of your creation. It is diluted by the weaknesses of your mind, but enriched by the brilliance of your vision. If you practice with perseverance and certitude of faith, you will soon realize that something that began as a mere imagination in your mind has taken shape into a living reality, bringing God right into the center of your world and your life.
In the beginning of your relationship, you will have many expectations of him, and at times, you may be even disappointed with His responses, for He does not think the way we think and does not act the way we expect Him. He has reasons for everything that happens to us, which we may not know, understand, or expect. But live with the assurance that whatever He is causing to manifest in your life is part of His mysterious divine plan, in which the ultimate outcome can only be your good and your well-being.
He who spends the entire day in God’s company, feeling His presence and nearness, is never lost to Him. God will take care of him, all his responsibilities, and his needs. This is the message conveyed to us by God’s exclusive devotees in all the religions from the earliest times. They tell us that at times He also manifested before them and fulfilled their wishes.
In the company of God, we have nothing to lose except our pettiness and partial vision. With Him as our friend and benefactor, we have all the riches of the world at our disposal. In the light of His love and the power of His Truth, we are freed from the diseases of the human mind and the pettiness of our ordinary egoistic consciousness. He imparts to us such qualities that are only heard but not experienced. He develops in us a vision that is rare to achieve by ordinary mortals. He pours into our lives such delight and depth of experience that we can hardly even imagine.
In your friendship with God, do not be a mere passive receiver of favors and blessings. Reciprocate with all your heart and sincerity, like a true friend, with whatever you have. Instead of seeking favors from Him, give Him everything that you believe is truly yours. Deflect to him everything that comes to you as a reward or appreciation. Set aside all ideas of ownership and make Him the true owner of your life and your wealth.
Offer to Him your life and achievements in the spirit of true friendship with a sense of unparalleled sacrifice. Live a life that is not truly yours but of God. Live a life that is based not on your petty human considerations but on the sacred values of divine life.
It is in this giving and in this initiative that you will taste the true value of a friendship that is eternal and immutable in nature. It is through this sacrifice that you become a true companion to God. Not by seeking His favors or by using Him to further your own egoistic ambitions. When we overcome the need to use God for our own ends, we achieve the right to enter into a true relationship with Him. When we lose the urge to impress Him in order to gain His favors, we transcend wants and desires and become closer to Him. When we lose everything in order to gain Him, we really find in Him a true and valuable companion who will stay with us till eternity.
Now, you may wonder to which God we are referring here. God in this context is the highest supreme Self, your personal God, family deity, or your inner Self. Choose any of them, but just one, so that your mind can be stabilized in that.