The Vedas have compared all the limbs of the Lord to the lotus. The face, hands, feet, eyes – these have all been compared to the lotus flower. Where is the lotus born? It is born in the mud and it stands in water. It cannot survive even a second without water or this mud. And yet, it does not allow either of them to enter into itself! Here lies the ideal for man. He is born in the mud of cycle of rebirth. He floats on the water of life. He is allowing both the mud and water to enter into him and not making any effort to remain aloof like the lotus. Instead, he is developing intense attachments, which is wrong. Actions will have to continue but in the midst of these, the taste of Divinity latent in the human must be experienced. Though several have made the effort, none of them appear to have been successful. What is the reason? The answer is that God’s Grace has not been prayed for:

Man cries at birth and then again at the time of death;

In between, he cries many times.

But has he ever cried for the practice of Dharma, which is languishing

Does cry for God?

These two are what he must cry for, the languishing of Dharma and for God. (SSB 1996, p. 90)

The Lord is Prema; Prema is Paramatma. If you fill your heart with Prema, hatred, envy, greed and egoism cannot enter it. (SSS Vol.3, p. 138)

What is important is constant meditation on the Lord, not the labels of caste or creed. (JV, p. 30)

The Lord is accessible and available to all. He is all mercy. (JV, p. 28)

The Lord is in every heart, in the subtle as well as the gross forms. (JV, p. 39)

As the body is for the jiva, the world is for the Lord. Whatever happens in any part of the body affects the jiva; so too, all that affects any part of the world moves the Lord; he becomes cognisant of it and he reacts to it. (GV, p. 70)

The Lord is like the lotus, unaffected by the environment where He is; that is the reason why His eyes, his face, are all compared to the lotus. Do not discard the one form and one name - the form and name you have selected, when some one’s tongue wags. Hold fast; and save yourselves. Do not compare and cavil at others’ Ishta devatas. It is wrong to undermine the faith of another and disturb your own. Faith is a plant of slow growth; its roots go deep into the heart. Silence is the best sadhana, to guard faith; that is why I insist on silence here also, as a first step in sadhana for you. (SSS Vol.5, p. 68)

Lord is described as (1) Nirguna Nirakara, (2) Saguna Nirakara and (3) Saguna sakara.

kavim puranam anusasitaram

anor aniyamsam anusmared yah

sarvasya dhataram acintya-rupam

aditya-varnam tamasah parastat

(Bhagavad Gita, 8:9)

Kavi, Puranam, Anushasita; subtler than subtle, the sustenance and bliss of all; having unpicturable form with the splendour of the sun as His complexion, beyond all trace of ignorance and darkness.

1. Kavi - is not merely a poet; it means also one who is aware of the Lord. He knows all; He sees all. Hence he is mentioned as ‘Sarvajna krantadarsi’. He who sees the next step, for all creation the Kavi is the motivator, the prime basis.
2. Purana - Lord is the most ancient, but He is modern as He is ancient, He is Sanathana, primeval, beyond beginning, He is also nutana, new every moment. Purana means, Pura Eva Navam iti Purana formerly new, new every minute of the past and the present.
3. Anushasita - Independent, unchecked Master. He lays down the conduct of all.
4. Anor aniyan - subtler than the subtle.
5. Sarvadhara: there are two categories - adhara and adheya which is seen by the eye or heard by the ear.
6. Achintya rupam – the unpicturable form; a form that cannot be delineated or imagined.
7. Aditya-varnam, with the splendour of the Sun as His complexion which means ‘He is self effulgent as the Sun; He is independent; He is the source of Light, He shines with’. He is the effulgence of the Sun and makes the Sun shine.
8. Tamasah parastat: means ‘beyond darkness’. He is the Witness of darkness or Ajnana for para means witness, one unaffected; and no darkness is as dark as Ajnana; it is so deep and so tamasah parastat, means ‘beyond maya’. . (GV, pp. 146-150)

The Lord who is beyond time and space prior to the beginning and subsequent to the end can never be described in terms of mushroom memories of man the temporary phenomena of human family and human society.

Do not make God modern to suit your fancy. He is neither ancient nor modern. His countenance never changes, nor His Glory. Take the Lord to be your father or mother, but only as a first step to overstepping that relationship and merging in the Absolute. Do not stop on the steps; enter the mansion to which they lead. The atma sambandha is the everlasting, unchanging sambandha. (SSS Vol.2, pp. 119-120)

The Lord is natana sutradhari: He who pulls the strings in the play of dolls. It looks as if the dolls dance of their own accord and play out a plot of their own, that there is no one behind the drama to direct it, that the dolls are alive and full of activity. The strings are invisible to you. It is the mind that deceives you thus. Until the mind is cleared of doubt, you have to cleanse it by moral conduct and spiritual discipline. Then the Truth will be reflected in it, clearer and clearer as the process is continued. The appetite for worldly goods must be blunted; it must fade and fall, as the petals of a flower grow old. They should not be plucked and cast aside. The noise of the market place should give place to the silence of the altar; then only the secret whisper of the conscience can be heard, the warning signal of the Shastras be recognised. (SSS Vol.2, p. 96)

The Lord Venkateswara is celebrated as the Lord of the Seven Hills; His temple is on the seventh hill and one has to traverse and go over six hills to reach Him. This is symbolic of the six obstacles of kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), Moha (Attachment), mada (Pride) and matsarya (Hate). One has to go across these passions and cast them behind him, then he can stand face to face with the Lord. (SSS Vol.7, p. 157)

(Lord Venkateswara)

The Lord is hailed as the Yajnapurusha. He is known as Yajnabhrut, i.e., the Lord of the Yajna. He is the Master of all that takes place in the Yajna. From this, the supreme significance of the Yajna should be obvious. The Lord is also known as Yajnakrit and Yajnabhuk. That is, He is both the performer and the enjoyer of the sacrifice. The Lord is thus the protector and the destroyer of the sacrifice. All the sacred things that are offered in the sacrificial fire, including the mantras (holy sacred formulae) and yantra (ritual diagramatic representations), are accepted by Him. When each offering is made with the Mantra, ‘Svaha’, it means that it is being offered to the Divine. Hence, everything that is offered must be pure, sweet and enjoyable.

We have to look upon our body as the sacrificial platform. Our mind is the altar on which the offerings are to be made. Our desires represent the ghee that is poured into the sacrificial fire. Our hatred is the sacrificial animal. Our mental conflicts are the blades of Kusha grass. Our heart is the sacrificial fire. It is with these elements that life should be turned into a sacrificial Yajna. Every pure thought should be regarded as ‘Samidh’ (holy twig), which is offered in the fire.

The essential significance of Yajna consists in the spirit of sacrifice. Knowledge or strength or wealth that is not used for the good of others is useless. The object of Yajna is to make man realise that all the powers given to him should be offered to the Divine to elevate one’s life. To perform Yajnas and Yagas in the true spirit no special sacrificial altars or priests are necessary. The external Yajna is only a reflection of the internal Yajna. Through the performance of the external Yajnas, by rituals, religious practices and righteous deeds, the Inner-Self is purified. At the time of ‘Purnahuti ’ (completion of the Yajna) many sacred and fragrant articles are offered in the sacrificial fire. Precious gems like diamonds, rubies, emeralds etc., are also put into the fire.

Even pure silk cloth is offered. The significance of this is that man should offer to the Divine his pure unselfish heart and such noble qualities as Satya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema (truth, virtue, peace, love), compassion and kindness for all beings alike. (SSS Vol.16, pp. 153-155)

The Lord assumed various Forms according to the needs of the situation, the Forms best suited for the destruction of the wicked Danava (the Race of Evil-minded Ogres), and for the protection of the good and godly, and the preservation of the Scriptures that reveal the Truth, the Veda. In this manner, the Lord incarnated as the Fish, the Tortoise, the Man-lion, and the Short-statured (Matsya., Kurma, Narasimha, and Vamana). Of all the incarnations, the supremost and most blissful is the Krishna-form. Still, you must realise that the chief purpose of all incarnations is the preservation of Dharma (Justice, Righteousness, Morality, Virtue). (Bhag Vahini, p. 160)