In plain words
‘Ekameva advitīyaṃ brahma.’ What is, is One, not two. When a Brāhmin does pūjā, we call him ‘the pūjārī Brāhmin’; when he cooks, we call him ‘the cook Brāhmin’; when he reads the almanac, we call him ‘the pañcāṅgam Brāhmin’. He is only one, but we give him different names by the work he does, don't we! In the same way, though God is one, we imagine many forms and names for Him.
To confine the One who fills the universe to photos is pettiness
In truth God has no form and no name. Unable to recognise such a God, we read many books. We go to many gurus. For the God who pervades the whole universe we build a little shrine and worship Him. We keep a small photo in the house and do pūjā to it. Is that not bringing disrepute to God! If you want it that much, keep one photo; that is enough.
When the whole cosmos is within His belly, is it fitting to set food and delicacies before Him! For Him who moves within every being, is it possible to give a fitting name? For Him who moves in all the waters, can anyone manage to give Him a bath? For Him who has the splendour of a crore suns, how can you set a little clay lamp! Beyond the reach even of Brahmā, Hara and the rest: whose power is it to find such a form of His? What more than this can I make known? O noble ones of this gathering, counted among the good and virtuous!
For the sake of our living we fall into delusions and make up so many names and forms. This is not right sādhana. God fills the whole cosmos. He is in all beings, in all times. Such a God we worship with a narrow vision. That is the root cause of our unrest. Is it not pettiness to confine the all-pervading God to a small photo and worship Him! This is the mark of pravṛtti. Little by little it must turn into nivṛtti. Do any work you like. Hold a job, do business, study. Do it all. There is nothing wrong in that. But regard every action as God's action. Thinking, “Every action is for the pleasure of God”, leave the fruit to God. Who is doing it? ‘I am doing it.’ Who is ‘I’? ‘I’ am Brahman. With this feeling, root out the differences of upādhi. It is the differences of upādhi that keep you so very far from the divine. Look after the upādhi. But you must not depend on it. Ask a student, ‘What have you studied?’, and he says, ‘M.B.A.’ This degree belongs to the body, doesn't it! God has no M.B.A., no B.A., no degrees at all. There is only one degree. That is ‘nirguṇam’. That is ‘nirmalam’. That is ‘advaitam’. That is why God is always in Ānanda. Today, as I was coming here, some people said, ‘Happy birthday.’ I am always happy. So you need not tell Me ‘happy’. Give ‘happiness’ to those who are not ‘happy’.