The Localized Expansion of God's Paramatma Feature

Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that God is never far away; He is sitting intimately within our own hearts. By studying his instructions, we can understand the omnipresent nature of the Paramātmā, His role as our supreme guide and witness, and how this localized feature relates to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The All-Pervading Witness

The Supreme Lord is not merely a distant creator; He is intimately present everywhere throughout the cosmic manifestation. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa expands as the Paramātmā (Supersoul), sitting within the heart of every living entity and within every atom to witness and sanction all activities.

• As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati: (BG 18.61) "The Supreme Lord in His Paramatma feature lives within everyone’s heart."
• God, in His Paramatma feature is sitting within everyone's heart - your heart, my heart, everyone's. You haven't got to find out God somewhere else. Therefore the yogis, they practice, "How to find out God within myself." That is called meditation.
• The Lord of supreme mysticism can simultaneously reside within everyone's heart, or even within the atoms, by His Paramatma feature, His plenary portion.
• The Paramatma feature, the Supreme Soul, is actually the witness of all activities of the living being, and only by His direction can the living being remember or forget what he might have done in the past.

The Inner Spiritual Master

God is the supreme well-wisher of all living entities. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights that for the sincere soul, the Paramātmā acts as the original spiritual master, providing constant inner inspiration and flawless guidance on the path of devotional service.

• Spiritual inspiration comes from within the heart, wherein the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His Paramatma feature, is always sitting with all His devotees and associates.
• One who is sincere and pure gets an opportunity to consult with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Paramatma feature sitting within everyone's heart.
• The Supreme Godhead in His Paramatma feature is present in everyone's heart, and He is always trying to induce the individual soul to surrender unto Him and to engage in devotional service; therefore He is the original spiritual master.

The Hierarchy of Realization

The Absolute Truth is realized in three progressive phases: Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that while the localized Paramātmā feature is superior to the impersonal Brahman effulgence, it is still a partial realization of the ultimate personal feature, Bhagavān.

• The impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth is not the highest. Above the impersonal feature is the Paramatma feature, and above this is the personal feature of the Absolute Truth, or Bhagavan.
• One who realizes the Supreme Personality realizes the other features, namely the Paramatma feature and the Brahman feature, and that total realization is brahma-siddhi.
• In each of His (God's) three features - Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan - the Lord is present everywhere in the material world. Yet He remains aloof, busy with His transcendental pastimes in His supreme abode.

The Plenary Expansions

To create, maintain, and interact with the material world, the Supreme Lord expands Himself into specific forms. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Paramātmā enters the material creation through the three puruṣa-avatāras, managing the cosmos and accompanying the conditioned souls.

• It is a fact that the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, in His Paramatma feature, enters the creation of this material world as Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu.
• The Paramatma feature of the Personality of Godhead is one of three plenary expansions, or visnu-tattvas, collectively known as the purusa-avataras. One of these visnu-tattvas who is within the universe is known as Ksirodakasayi Visnu.
• The Personality of Godhead, in His Paramatma feature, enters the creation of this material world as Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu, and in a very friendly attitude the Lord sits along with the conditioned soul in the body.

Conclusion

Śrīla Prabhupāda systematically establishes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never truly absent from our lives; He is constantly present as the Paramātmā, or Supersoul. Residing in the heart of every living entity and within the core of every atom, the Paramātmā functions as the ultimate witness to our actions and the sanctioner of our material desires. More importantly, for those who are sincere, this localized feature acts as the original spiritual master, providing divine inspiration from within to guide the soul back to the spiritual world. Entering the material universes as the three puruṣa-avatāras, the Lord flawlessly maintains the cosmic manifestation. Ultimately, while meditators and yogīs strive to realize this all-pervading Paramātmā, the pure devotees understand that seeing the Supreme Person, Bhagavān, automatically encompasses the realization of both the Paramātmā and the impersonal Brahman.

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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 Paramatma Feature. 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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