The Inconceivable Glories of God's Mystic Power

Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate reservoir of all mystic perfections. By studying his instructions, we can understand how Kṛṣṇa effortlessly bewilders the greatest demigods, how He empowers earthly rulers, and why atheistic demons persistently misjudge His supreme capabilities.

The Master of All Mystic Perfections

A mundane yogī may struggle for lifetimes to achieve a fraction of mystic success, but the Supreme Lord naturally possesses all perfections in full. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa is Yogeśvara, constantly surrounded by His inherent mystic potencies, which allow Him to act in completely inconceivable ways.

• Surrounded by His personal expansions and assistants like Visvaksena, the Supreme Personality of Godhead exhibits all His perfect opulences, such as religion and knowledge, and His mystic powers such as anima, laghima and mahima.
• All the visnu-murtis were surrounded by the opulences, headed by anima-siddhi; by the mystic potencies, headed by Aja; and by the twenty-four elements for the creation of the material world, headed by the mahat-tattva - SB 10.13.52.
• That is the inconceivable mystic power of the Lord, and as such everything is simultaneously one with and different from Him by His inconceivable potencies.

The Insignificance of Demigod Power

The demigods possess extraordinary abilities to manipulate material nature, but their power is finite. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights instances where great personalities, like Lord Brahmā, attempted to show off their mystic prowess to Kṛṣṇa, only to realize their powers were entirely insignificant.

• Brahma's stealing of calves and boys from Krsna may be a wonderful display of mystic power, but when Krsna exhibited His expansive power in so many calves and boys and maintained them without effort, Brahma could understand that his power was insignificant.
• When the celestial beauties saw that the Lord (Nara-Narayana) can produce innumerable beauties by His mystic internal potency, there was consequently no need to be attracted by others externally.
• Lord Visnu, by His mystic power, would assume a form that would captivate even Lord Siva. Therefore Lord Visnu was grave and at the same time was smiling.

The Source of All Universal Potencies

If any living entity in the material world displays incredible mystic strength, it is strictly because they have been empowered by the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that universally famous emperors and rulers, such as Kārtavīryārjuna and Mahārāja Pṛthu, received their aṣṭa-siddhi (eight mystic perfections) directly from Kṛṣṇa.

• I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are situated as Hiranyagarbha, the source of life, the Supersoul of every living entity. Your body is the source of the opulence of all mystic power. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
• He (Kartaviryarjuna) became the emperor of the entire world, consisting of seven islands, and received mystic power from Dattatreya, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus he obtained the mystic perfections known as asta-siddhi.
• As far as the destruction of the citizens is concerned, Maharaja Prthu maintained that he could uphold everyone by his own mystic powers.

The Delusion of the Demons

Because atheistic demons are driven by false ego, they cannot accept the absolute supremacy of God. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that when demons like Hiraṇyakaśipu witness the Lord's inconceivable activities, they foolishly dismiss His mystic power as mere trickery, hypnotism, or cowardly magic.

• Hiranyakasipu murmured to himself, "Lord Visnu, who possesses great mystic power, has made this plan to kill me, but what is the use of such an attempt? Who can fight with me?" Thinking like this and taking up his club, Hiranyakasipu attacked the Lord.
• Now I (Hiranyaksa) see You (the Lord) face to face, and I am not going to let You go. I shall kill You and save my kinsmen from Your mystic misdeeds.
• When demons are in adversity, they think that God is hiding Himself and is working by His mystic potency.
• Whoever sees Him accepts Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since He has some mystic power by which He hypnotizes people, everyone who sees Him becomes illusioned.

The Devotee's Appreciation of Supreme Power

Unlike the demons or the proud demigods, a pure Vaiṣṇava finds immense joy in recognizing the absolute superiority of the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that when a devotee factually understands Kṛṣṇa's position as Yogeśvara, their natural response is to surrender completely and engage in unalloyed loving service.

• The boys could understand that by drinking the water of the Yamuna they had died and that the merciful glance of Krsna had restored their lives. Thus they appreciated the mystic power of Krsna, who is known as Yogesvara, the master of all mystic yogis.
• One who is factually convinced of this opulence and mystic power of Mine (Krsna) engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt.

Conclusion

Śrīla Prabhupāda definitively establishes the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Yogeśvara, the original master and source of all mystic power. While worldly yogīs practice severe austerities to acquire minor perfections like aṇimā or mahimā, the Lord eternally possesses these powers in absolute fullness. This supreme opulence is so vast that it effortlessly humbles the greatest demigods, such as Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, proving that any power within the universe is merely a borrowed reflection of the Lord's internal potency. Atheistic demons, blinded by their envy and false prestige, stubbornly refuse to accept this reality, dismissing God's inconceivable actions as cheap hypnotism or deceitful tricks. However, the pure devotee views these same powers with deep awe and love. Factually convinced of Kṛṣṇa's unlimited opulence, the devotee abandons all desire to compete with the Lord and instead dedicates their entire life to His 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 Mystic Power. 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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