Explaining God

It's no use asking for explanations about God. You might hear lovely words,
but deep down they are all empty phrases. Just as you can read a whole
encyclopedia about love and not know what it is to
love. No-one is ever going to manage to prove that
God exists, or that he doesn't exist. Certain things in life were made to be
experienced, but never explained.
One of these things is love. God - who is love - is another. Faith is a
childish experience, in that magical sense.
Jesus Said: "The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the
children."


The three stories that follow speak of how innocent the search is:

Beginning at the beginning

A man asked al-Husayn:
- What do I have to do to be closer to
God?
- Tell Him a secret. And don't let anyone in the world know what the secret
is. In that way a bond of trust will be established with the
Divine.
But the man went on:
- Only that will help me get closer?
- Establish a firm relation at the start of your spiritual journey. Pray.
It's also important to have will power. And if it's possible to enjoy a little
solitude, all the better.
- But how do I reach the ideal stage of communicating with
Him? -
- I have already explained all that you need - said al-Husayn. - But
you want to reach the end before you even begin, and that is just not
possible.

Loving without fear

A pilgrim arrived at the village where Abu Yazid al-Bistrami
lived.
- Teach me the quickest way to reach
God.
Al-Bistrami answered:
- Love Him with all your strength.
- That I already do.
- Then you need to be loved by the
others.
- But why?
- Because God looks at the hearts of all men. When He visits yours He will
surely see the love you have for Him and He will be happy. However, if He also
finds your name written with affection in the hearts of others, He will
certainly pay far more attention to you.

Wanting to take a short
cut

- Why do you make us waste time looking for God when you know Him so
well?
- said a disciple of Hasan de Basra. - You could tell us what He is
like.
- Yes - answered Hasan de Basra. - But it so happens that one afternoon I
was standing in front of a swamp when I noticed a man getting ready to cross it.
I shouted out: "Careful there, you could slip on a rock and get all
wet!"
- The man answered back: "If that happens, I will be the only one to get
dirty. So, Hasan, if you slip and fall in your path, all your disciples will
slip and fall with you."
"At that moment I understood: God is an individual challenge, each person
is responsible for his own search. A master can share his experience, but never
the results."

By Paulo Coelho Warrior of the Light