Absolute Opulence of God's Possessions

Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that the Supreme Lord is the ultimate owner and controller of all that exists. By studying his instructions, we can properly define the term Bhagavān, understand the foolishness of material ownership, and appreciate the transcendental nature of the Lord's divine possessions and energies.

The Six Opulences in Full

The word Bhagavān specifically denotes the possessor of all opulences. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation in their absolute, unlimited totality, distinguishing Him from all other powerful beings.

• Bhagavan possesses all opulences, the totality of knowledge, wealth, power, beauty, fame and renunciation. When we find someone who possesses these opulences in full, we are to know that he is God.
• God is complete in six opulences, namely wealth, fame, strength, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. Since He possesses His six opulences, the Personality of Godhead is the ultimate truth in absolute knowledge.
• The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full in six opulences. His position is unique, for He possesses all riches, strength, influence, beauty, knowledge and renunciation.
• If one is very rich, very powerful, very wise, very beautiful he is called opulent, similarly, there are six kinds of opulences. When all these six kinds of opulences are possessed by somebody, He is called Bhagavan, or God.

The Supreme Proprietor

In the material world, conditioned souls constantly fight over the temporary illusion of ownership. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that Kṛṣṇa is the factual proprietor of all planets, and our claims to possess the earth, sky, or ocean are completely false because we did not create them.

• Krsna proclaims that He is the enjoyer of all activities and the proprietor of all planets (sarva-loka-mahesvaram). An individual may possess a large tract of land, and he may be proud of his ownership, but Krsna claims to possess all planetary systems.
• We do not possess it; we falsely claim it. This is our position. Actually it is the possession of God. God has created this land, this ocean, the sky, the air, the fire. You have not created. So how claim?
• Appearing as Vamana and begging Bali Maharaja for three feet of land, the Lord took possession of the entire three worlds. Thus Bali Maharaja became a great devotee of Lord Vamana.
• Of these possessions, with one step I have occupied Bhurloka, and with My body I have occupied the entire sky and all directions. And in your presence, with My second step, I have occupied the upper planetary system.

Transcendental Potencies and Energies

God's possessions are not limited to physical spaces; they include the vast, inconceivable energies that run the universe. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the Lord possesses the superior (parā) spiritual energy, the inferior (aparā) material energy, and the marginal living entities, making Him the absolute master of all existence.

• The Lord possesses His internal energy, His external, marginal and relative energies, the manifestation of the cosmic world and the living entities. The external energy is manifested by the qualitative modes (gunas) of material nature.
• Lord Visnu, the Personality of Godhead, possesses different energies, known as para (superior) and apara (inferior). The living entities belong to the superior energy. The material energy, in which we are presently entangled, is the inferior energy.
• In his Bhagavat-sandarbha, Srila Jiva Gosvami states: "The complete conception of the Absolute Truth is realized in the Personality of Godhead because He is almighty and possesses full transcendental potencies."
• The Supreme Lord is the supreme living being, and He has the greatest mind and possesses the supermost inconceivable energies in great variety.

The Eternal Forms and Paraphernalia

The Supreme Lord's possessions are not merely abstract energies; they include His eternal, spiritual forms and transcendental paraphernalia. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Lord eternally possesses magnificent spiritual bodies, specific weapons like the disc and club, and celebrated ornaments like the Kaustubha gem, which exclusively distinguish Him as the Absolute Truth.

• Here the Lord is significantly described as yajnavayava. One should not consider the Lord to have the body of an ordinary boar. He can assume any form, and He possesses all such forms eternally.
• Generally the Visnu form is manifested with four hands holding four objects (a conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower). However, here (SB 4.30.6) Lord Visnu is described as possessing eight arms with eight kinds of weapons.
• Generated from the great ocean (of milk) were the celebrated gems Kaustubha-mani and Padmaraga-mani. Lord Visnu, to decorate His chest, desired to possess them.
• These Visnu forms appearing before Lord Brahma possessed the mark of Srivatsa and the Kaustubha gem, which are special characteristics possessed only by the Supreme Lord. This proves that all these boys and calves were in fact directly expansions of Visnu.

The Wealth of Devotional Service

The relationship between the Supreme Possessor and His devotees is beautifully paradoxical. Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that although the Lord possesses everything, He happily depends on the love of His pure devotees, who in turn desire no material wealth, knowing that devotional service is the supreme possession.

• A pure devotee is one who feels He (God) does not possess anything material. A devotee is always happy in possessing the devotional service of the Lord.
• Even though the Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all possessions and is self-sufficient, He depends on His devotees.
• His (God's) transcendental qualities are so attractive that even the liberated souls (atmaramas) are also attracted by them. Although possessed of all personal qualities, He is nevertheless omnipotent.
• The pure devotees of the Lord are always most dear to Him, although He is always kind and merciful to all living entities. Here the word gunamayam is significant because it indicates the Lord's possessing transcendental qualities.

Conclusion

Śrīla Prabhupāda definitively clarifies the concept of supreme ownership by identifying Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate possessor of all opulences. The very title Bhagavān dictates that the Lord holds all wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation without limitation. The material world is plagued by the false ego of conditioned souls who audaciously claim to possess the land, the sky, and their bodies, forgetting that every element is generated from the Lord's external energy (māyā). The Lord's possessions extend across His infinite internal, external, and marginal potencies, establishing Him as the absolute energetic source of the cosmos. Yet, the most profound aspect of God's opulence is found in His relationship with His pure devotees. While He owns the entire creation, He willingly allows Himself to be captured by the love of a Vaiṣṇava, proving that the highest, most valuable possession any living entity can attain is pure, unalloyed devotional service.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category God's Possessions. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.

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