[Advaita-l] Have you seen God?

[Anand N]

Respected Group Members,

When I was young, i came across this exchange:
Vivekananda asks Ramakrishna: Have you seen God?
Ramakrishna answers: Yes, I have seen God. I see Him as I see you here,
only more clearly.

Even if these were not the exact words, this was an inspiring legend for me
who was on the search for truth. Then i landed upon Advaita Vedanta, which
i firmly believe in now.

Context to my question:
In my limited Shravana experience as a Vedanta student thus far,
I see that the question always raised in the Upanishads or Bhagavad Gita
is, teach me how to cross samsara or teach me about Brahman/God/Atma.
Vedanta teachers also shy away from the question, have you seen God or are
you a Jnani/Jivanmukta or are you enlightened?
Usually such questions are met with tangential answers such as how does
that benefit you or even if i am how will you tell etc.

My questions:
1. Isn't it natural that when one meets or studies under a teacher, one
asks him if he's seen God?
2. Is the traditional view that such a direct question to the Guru is
inappropriate?
3. Are there such exchanges in the Vedanta literature which i possibly
haven't yet come across so far? Could you please quote such references if
they are available.

Om Namo Narayanaya,
Anand