God Ultimately - The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Śrīla Prabhupāda consistently challenges the speculative theories of mundane philosophers who conclude that the highest truth must be a formless void or an impersonal energy. The Vedic literatures provide a clear and progressive understanding of spiritual realization, leading the sincere seeker from partial understandings of the Absolute Truth to the ultimate conclusion. By studying the profound teachings of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Bhagavad-gītā, we discover that God is ultimately a person, the supreme cause of all causes, and the final destination for all living entities.
Ultimately a Person
A common misconception is that personality is a limitation and that the ultimate truth must therefore be impersonal. Śrīla Prabhupāda uses the analogy of a government to explain that while the vast energy of the Lord may appear impersonal, the ultimate source of that energy is the Supreme Person.
- As soon as He has got a brain, He is a person. Therefore God is person ultimately. Just like the government. Government is imperson, but the president is person.
- Here the word vigraham, "having specific form," is very significant, for it indicates that the Absolute Truth is ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is explained in the Brahma-samhita.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate issue, and in this verse Lord Siva confirms that ultimately the Absolute Truth is a person. He clearly says: tat tvam brahma param jyotir akasam iva vistrtam.
- Nor does the Lord become a formless entity at any time, for ultimately He is the eternal form, the primeval Lord. His impersonal aspect, or Brahman effulgence, is but the glow of His personal rays, just as the sun's rays are the glow of the sun-god.
The Three Features of the Absolute
The Absolute Truth is one, but it is realized in different ways depending on the practitioner's method of approach. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while empiric philosophers and yogis reach the impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā, the ultimate realization is Bhagavān.
- It is said that the Absolute Truth appears in three features - namely, impersonal Brahman, localized Supersoul and ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.
- The Absolute Truth is realized in three features - impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma and ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan. The word apavarga means liberation. pavarga means material existence.
- There are some theories, that is not fact, that ultimately the Absolute Truth is impersonal.
- Whatever a philosopher may describe is ultimately Krsna, or Lord Visnu.
The Ultimate Cause of Creation
The material universe operates under strict laws of nature, appearing to function mechanically. Yet, Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that behind the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the cosmos is the ultimate direction of the Supreme Lord.
- Ultimately the Lord does not need to do anything, and therefore He is nirvikara, changeless. Because everything is done under His direction, He is called srsti-karta, the master of creation. Similarly, He is the master of annihilation.
- My dear Lord, You have manifold energies, and these energies are manifested in manifold forms. With such energies You have also created this cosmic manifestation, and although You maintain it as if it were permanent, You ultimately annihilate it.
- Kuvera told Dhurva Maharaja: "He died or was killed in due course of time by the laws of nature. Eternal time, one of the features of the Lord, is ultimately responsible for annihilation and generation. You are not responsible for such actions."
- When the animation takes place, the living entities revive their own natural activities under the spell of time and energy, and thus the varieties of living beings are manifested. The Lord is ultimately the cause of all animation in the material world.
The Ultimate Reward for the Devotees
The ultimate goal of human life is not to merge into an impersonal energy but to establish a loving relationship with the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda assures us that the Lord ultimately rewards His sincere devotees by giving them His very self.
- Ultimately He is realized by the pretensionless devotees only. Therefore special stress is given to the devotional service of the Lord by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami.
- The Lord fully maintains His unalloyed devotees, and He guides them progressively on the path toward devotional perfection. As the leader of His devotees, He ultimately awards the desired results of devotional service by giving Himself to them.
- O King Pariksit, anyone who aurally receives the narrations concerning the characteristics of Lord Ramacandra's pastimes will ultimately be freed from the disease of envy and thus be liberated from the bondage of fruitive activities.
- My dear Lord, all actually learned persons know You as the Supreme Brahman and the Supersoul. Although the entire universe is afraid of Lord Rudra, who ultimately annihilates everything, for the learned devotees You are the fearless destination of all.
Conclusion
The search for the Absolute Truth finds its ultimate conclusion in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda systematically defeats the mistaken theories of impersonalists, proving that God is not a formless void, but the primeval Lord possessing an eternal, spiritual form. While He manifests as the all-pervading Brahman effulgence and the localized Paramātmā, these are only partial realizations; ultimately, He is Bhagavān. He is the supreme architect and destroyer of the cosmos, ultimately controlling the laws of nature and the flow of eternal time. For the conditioned souls, the material world is a place of fear and annihilation. However, for those who submissively hear the Lord's pastimes and engage in pure devotional service, the Lord acts as their fearless protector. By abandoning all pretension and taking full shelter of the Supreme Person, the devotee is ultimately freed from material bondage and awarded the supreme destination of returning back home, back to Godhead.
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 Ultimately. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.