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the ugly as in the handsome person, in the beggar as in the king, in
men, women, animals and birds, everywhere he sees only the pure
presence of God. Tukaram prays, "Make my mind such, Oh Lord,
that it sees men, women and children, all as Narayan." We have
in Hinduism such mad rites as the worship of the serpent, the
elephant-headed God, and trees; but we see greater madness in the
seer-saints.
From the ant to the sun and the moon,
in all that they see, everywhere, they behold the Lord, and in their
hearts beat the waves of the ocean of joy. "An endless,
boundless bliss, a sea of joy, wells up." This divine and
beautiful vision, you may call an illusion if you like. But this
illusion is a source of comfort, a fund of joy. In the majestic
ocean he sees the grandeur of the Lord, in Mother Cow he sees the
mother-like tenderness of God, in the earth he sees His patience, in
the clear sky, His purity, in sun, moon and stars, His brightness
and beauty.
In the flowers he sees His softness,
and in evil men, the Lord who tests and tries us. Thus he practices
the art of seeing the one God at play everywhere and doing so, one
day, the seer saint merges into the Lord.
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