It is evident that people derive great joy from worshiping God—by chanting His holy name, remembering His pastimes, or taking a sacred dip in the river Ganga. However, some claim that this joy, born out of devotion, is merely imaginary and not real. They argue that since God cannot be perceived through the senses, people are deriving happiness only from fantasy or imagination.
However, they fail to understand that imagination is nothing but a reflection of some reality. All emotions—whether joy, sorrow, or fear—are born from some form of real experience. For instance, imagine a person walking in the dark who unknowingly steps on a rope and jumps in fear, thinking it to be a snake. Someone might argue that his fear is imaginary because there was no snake, but the very possibility of such fear arises from the real existence of snakes. If snakes did not exist, the thought of them wouldn’t even occur.
Similarly, when a worshiper derives joy from devotion to God, it is not an illusion but an experience rooted in reality. Just because God is beyond material perception, it does not mean He does not exist. A beginner in devotion may not immediately perceive God’s presence, but that does not invalidate the genuine bliss of devotion. This joy comes from a real source—God—who is, by nature, full of eternity, bliss, and knowledge (Sat-Chit-Ananda). Therefore, the happiness one feels in worshiping Him is not imaginary but a glimpse of divine reality.
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