Everything Belongs to God's Own Energy
Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead acts with absolute independence, completely free from the jurisdiction of material nature. By studying his instructions, we can understand how the Lord utilizes His own internal potency to appear in this world, maintains His own eternal abode, and demonstrates unparalleled affection for His unalloyed devotees.
The Independent Will of the Lord
Ordinary living entities are tightly bound by the laws of karma and material nature, but the Supreme Lord acts entirely by His own sweet will. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa is perfectly self-sufficient and transcendental, possessing the ultimate freedom to dictate the laws of the universe without ever being subjected to them.
- If the Lord is able to change the reactions of one's past deeds, then certainly He is not Himself bound by any action or reaction of His own deeds. He is perfect and transcendental to all laws.
- He (God) is full of inconceivable potencies, God can accept our service through any sort of medium, and He can convert His different potencies according to His own will.
- Being self-sufficient, the Lord begot Brahma from His own navel.
- Another significant point in this verse (SB 3.31.12) is that the Lord comes, icchaya, by His own will.
Expanding by His Own Internal Potency
When the Supreme Lord descends into the material world, He is not forced into a physical body like a conditioned soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the Lord manifests His incarnations and pastimes through His own ātma-māyā, or internal spiritual potency, completely untouched by the material elements.
- The living entity is forced to appear in this material world under the direction of daiva-maya, but when the Lord appears, He comes by His own internal potency, atma-maya.
- The Lord descends either as Kapila or Rama, Nrsimha or Varaha, and whatever forms He assumes in the material world are all manifestations of His own personal internal energy. They are never forms of the material energy.
- If one can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He appears in different incarnations and understand that He has not assumed a material body but is present in His own eternal, spiritual form, then one can understand the nature of the Personality of Godhead.
The Lord's Own Abode and Eternal Form
Beyond the temporary cosmic creation lies the spiritual sky, the eternal kingdom of God. Śrīla Prabhupāda vividly describes how Kṛṣṇa resides in His own transcendental abode, existing perpetually in His original, spiritual body, which remains entirely distinct from the mundane forms of this world.
- In His (God's) own abode everything is eternal and absolute. The world is not conducted by the energies or powerful agents by themselves, but by the potent all-powerful with all energies.
- Only in Krsna's own abode is there a total absence of misery. In that abode there is no need of light from sun, moon or fire. The planets are self-luminous. Life there is perpetual and full of knowledge and bliss. That is what is known as sanatana-dharma.
- Here is a description of the transcendental and eternal form of the Absolute Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is not formless. He has His own transcendental form, which is not at all similar to the forms of the mundane world.
The Lord's Special Affection for His Own Devotees
Although the Supreme Lord provides for all living entities equally, He reserves a unique and intimate affection for those who fully surrender to Him. Śrīla Prabhupāda recounts how Kṛṣṇa considers His pure devotees to be His own men, demonstrating His boundless love by even sacrificing His own vows to protect their honor.
- It appears that the Lord (Krsna) is partial to His devotees. Everyone is related with the Lord. He is equal to everyone, and yet He is more inclined to His own men and devotees.
- At that time (Bhisma about to kill Arjuna) Lord Krsna wanted to please His devotee, Bhisma, by keeping Bhisma's promise, which was more important than His own. Seemingly He broke His own promise.
- The Lord assures herein that He is ready to give protection to His devotee even if there is need to cut off part of His own body.
- The Lord did this (taking up a chariot wheel and attack Bhisma) to show that His devotee was being maintained at the sacrifice of His own promise.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda perfectly illustrates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead acts with absolute sovereignty, completely unbound by the mechanical laws of material nature. When the Lord creates, maintains, or annihilates the universe, He simply utilizes His own independent potencies. His descents into this world are never forced by karma; He appears solely by His own sweet will and ātma-māyā (internal energy), maintaining His original, eternal form. Beyond the boundaries of the material cosmos, the Lord enjoys endless pastimes in His own transcendental abode, where the miseries of material existence are non-existent. Most wonderfully, although God is the supreme owner of all creation and is completely self-sufficient, He freely becomes subordinate to the love of His pure devotees. Recognizing them as His own dear men, He is willing to sacrifice His own body, His own promises, and His own independence simply to protect and glorify them.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category God's Own. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.