God Is Never - Conditioned by Material Nature
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently reminds us that we must never drag the Supreme Personality of Godhead down to the level of an ordinary human being. Because the Lord is the supreme controller of all energies, He is never conditioned by the material world, never subjected to the cycle of birth and death, and never influenced by the modes of material nature.
Never Materially Affected
The fundamental difference between God and the living entity is their relationship with the material energy. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while the minute souls are prone to fall under the illusion of māyā, the Supreme Lord is the master of māyā and is therefore never affected by it.
- The Supreme Lord is the master of the external energy manifested by the three material modes, namely goodness, passion and ignorance, and as master of this energy He is ever unaffected by the influence of such bewildering energy.
- Consciousness is already there, but because we are part and parcels, therefore we are affected. There is affinity of being affected by the material modes. But the Lord being Supreme, He is never affected.
- Since the Supreme Lord of such eternal and unchangeable qualities is never subjugated by anything like material influence, how can His activities and form be conceived to be under the influence of illusory maya, as is the case with the living entities.
- It is repeatedly said in the Katha Upanisad that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never affected by the influence of material nature.
Never Manufactured or Created
Atheists and pseudo-mystics often claim that an ordinary man can become God through meditation or austerity. Śrīla Prabhupāda strongly refutes this, declaring that God is never manufactured; He is eternally the Supreme Lord, and His spiritual form is never created or destroyed.
- Nobody can become God. God is never made. God does not become. God is always God, not that one is not God, and he becomes God by some mystic yogic power. This theory is going on amongst the Mayavadis, that by the mystic yoga practice, one can become God.
- God is never manufactured. God is God. Not by mystic power one becomes God or by so-called meditation or magical arts. No. God is God. Nobody can become God. Asamaurdhva.
- Understanding of God, or Krsna, is that one should be firmly convinced that God is never born, nor He is caused by anything. He is the cause of all causes. But He is not caused by anything. This is the difference.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the creator of everything, and although the living entities are not created but exist with the Lord eternally, their bodies are created, whereas the Supreme Lord's body is never created.
Never Impersonal or Void
Philosophers with a poor fund of knowledge mistakenly conclude that the ultimate spiritual reality is formless. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that while the Lord has an impersonal feature (the Brahman effulgence), His original, supreme identity is never impersonal or void.
- The Supreme Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead is never impersonal. All the Vedic scriptures glorify the transcendental performance of His various personal activities and pastimes.
- The Vaisnava philosophers know perfectly well that the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can never be impersonal or void, because He possesses innumerable potencies.
- The Brahman effulgence is impersonal, but the cause of that energy is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. From Him, in His abode, the Vaikunthas, this brahma-jyotir emanates. He is never impersonal.
- Here in this verse (SB 4.8.47) the word purusam is very significant. The Lord is never female. He is always male (purusa). Therefore the impersonalist who imagines the Lord's form as that of a woman is mistaken.
Never Partial or an Enemy
When living entities suffer due to their own karmic reactions, they sometimes falsely accuse God of being cruel. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Lord is the supreme father; He is never partial, never responsible for our sinful choices, and never the enemy of any soul.
- The Lord is never an enemy to any of the millions of living entities, but is always a friend to everyone. This is true understanding. If one thinks that the Lord is an enemy, his intelligence is pasu-buddhi, the intelligence of an animal.
- In the Vedanta-sutras it is confirmed that the Lord is never partial to any living entity. The living entity is responsible for his own acts. The Lord only gives him facilities, through the agency of material nature, the external energy.
- The sufferings of humanity are not to be equated with the pastimes of the Supreme Being, nor is the Supreme Being responsible for them. The Lord is never responsible for anyone's vices or virtues.
- Even though the Lord is equally well-wishing to everyone, the unfortunate living being, due to bad association only, is unable to accept His instructions in toto, and for this the Lord is never to be blamed.
Conclusion
To properly worship the Absolute Truth, one must rid oneself of all mundane speculations regarding His divine nature. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never compromised; He is never forced to accept a material body, never bewildered by illusion, and never manufactured by human endeavor. By deeply understanding that the Lord is eternally supreme, fully independent, and never subject to material conditions, a pure devotee achieves perfect shelter at His lotus feet, free from all fear and ignorance.
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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 Is Never. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.