A devotee, a bhakta, should consider that God is in him. As he grows high in his devotion he begins to feel that he and God are one. A devotee feels three different relationships with God according to his evolution. As long as the devotee lives in the gross mind and on the gross plane, he considers himself different from God and he considers God different from him. When he grows in his devotion he begins to feel that he is a spark or aspect of God. Then, he begins to feel that God is in him. In the final consummation of bhakti, of devotion, this distinction between God and devotee is completely lost. In the final consummation of bhakti, God and his devotee are experienced as one.
In the Bible there are three statements. The first statement is: ‘Father in Heaven’ this means different from me. The second statement is ‘Thy kingdom come’ that means that you are in me. The third statement is ‘I and my Father are one’. This is the experience of the highest culmination of bhakti. According to the state of devotion, a relationship with God is experienced. If the aspirant thinks God is separate from him and he is separate from God, he is in the elementary stage. When he begins to feel that God is in him, he is experiencing yoga. However, there comes a moment when this distinction, this duality is lost. Therefore, there is no difference in the various statements.
God is a difficult question. Everybody thinks about Him according to their state of mind. That means one’s concept of God is in one’s own image. God should be considered as transcendent and immanent. Transcendent means beyond everything. He is beyond the mind, beyond the body, beyond the universe. That is called ‘transcendent’, but it is not the ultimate definition of God. God is immanent. He is omnipresent. He is in each and everything. Every atom of creation is permeated by divinity, and therefore He is also in you. Therefore, a jnani, a man of knowledge and experience, considers God as being in him, but at the same time he prays to Him because he thinks He is transcendent as well.