Somebody says: "Can we see God?" Yes, you can see God. But how much prapatti? How much you have surrendered to God? Surrender to God . . . how much qualification you have acquired for seeing God? Seeing God is not very difficult, but at the same time it is very difficult. Just like if I want to see President Johnson, if I am unknown to him, oh, I will have to take so many formalities. I will have to write to his secretary, and the secretary will give me some time or may not give me some time. So many things. But if you are personally known to President Johnson, you are intimately thick and thin with him, and as soon as you call him, "Mr. Johnson, I want to see you," "Yes, you can come."
So it depends on the thick-and-thin–ship of your relations with Supreme Lord. If you can establish your relationship with the Supreme Lord in love . . . the Lord does not require our cooperation. He is full in Himself. He does not require my service, but still, if you love Him, then He reciprocates. So our reciprocation with the Lord depends on the proportion of our love, love of Godhead. This love of Godhead can be attained by Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. A proportionately, as I surrender unto the Supreme Lord . . . we must always know that our background of relationship is that we are subordinate and He is great. God is great. We cannot be equal with Him. We have to follow. He is the supreme leader. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa says that, "You give up everything." He is trying to give you leadership. He is prepared to give you all leadership, provided you are prepared to follow His leadership. That's all. Reciprocation. And in proportionately, proportionately as you accept His leadership, He also responds reciprocally. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. As you . . .
So everything depends on me. I can see God. Just like I am seeing you face to face, you are seeing me face to face, similarly, you can see Kṛṣṇa face to face. Just like Arjuna saw face to face. Why? Because the relationship was so nice that they were in friendly relation. So seeing of God is not very difficult. Simply we have to acquire that qualification. In the Brahma-saṁhitā—this is another Vedic literature—it is said:
- premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
- santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
- yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs 5.38)
Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena. Now, we have to prepare our eyes to see God. That's all. Just like we are seeing here a thing, say, suppose a motorcar. A layman is seeing, and another, mechanic, who knows how the motorcar is running, what are the machinery, how it is fitted, he is also seeing. So this layman seeing and the expert seeing is different.