Seeing Behind the Wonderful Things
Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals how to look beyond the superficial wonders of the material world to perceive the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By studying his teachings, we learn that all extraordinary manifestations are simply a display of Kṛṣṇa's unlimited energies. True realization comes from recognizing the supreme creator behind the creation and engaging in His devotional service.
The Ultimate Source of Wonders
Just as there is an intelligent engineer behind complex electronic inventions, there is a supreme intelligence orchestrating the entire cosmos. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that a pure devotee clearly understands Kṛṣṇa to be the ultimate source of all the wonderful things happening within the universe. By recognizing His supreme supervision, one is no longer bewildered by the mechanical workings of material nature.
- A devotee knows that all these wonderful things which are happening, behind this thing there is Krsna. And Krsna says - we believe that.
- In the Bhagavad-gita, where Krsna states - Under My superintendence the whole material nature is working. All wonderful things that you see in this material world are due to My supervision, My supreme control.
- When we see wonderful things happening in the cosmic nature, we should know that behind this cosmic manifestation there is a controller. Nothing could be manifested without being controlled.
- The external energy, or material nature, works under the superintendence of the time factor as the Lord Himself, and that is why material nature appears to have produced so many wonderful things in the cosmic manifestation.
- The Personality of Godhead has unlimited potencies to create and manifest many wonderful things, both temporary and permanent.
The Greatest Illusion in the World
When asked about the most wonderful thing in the world, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira pointed directly to the profound blindness of the conditioned soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that although we witness death claiming lives at every moment, the greatest wonder is our foolish, deep-seated belief that we ourselves will live forever. This illusion keeps the living entity firmly anchored to the cycle of repeated birth and death.
- When Dharmaraja asked Maharaja Yudhisthira what the most wonderful thing in the world was, Maharaja Yudhisthira replied: ahany ahani bhutani gacchantiha yamalayam.
- When Yudhisthira Maharaja was asked, "What is the most wonderful thing in the world?" he replied, - The most wonderful thing is that every day, every moment, people are dying, and yet everyone thinks that death will not come for him.
- This body will not exist, but we forget that. This is the most wonderful thing in this material world. Everyone is dying every moment, still, one who is living, he thinks that he will live forever. That is the most wonderful thing.
- Here the most wonderful thing is that everyone is seeing that everyone is dying every moment, but the man seeing, he's thinking that he will live forever. This is the most wonderful thing.
- The most wonderful thing that we have experienced, that "My father is dead, my father's father is dead, so I shall also be, die." Who will stay? Where is the struggle for existence, survival of the fittest? He never thinks. This is the eighth wonder.
Material Advancements vs. Divine Potency
The technological achievements of materialistic scientists are often praised as genius, yet they remain completely unable to stop the ultimate miseries of life, such as death. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that while a scientist might create an impressive space satellite, the Supreme Lord is the actual creator of the scientist's highly complex brain. Therefore, the inconceivable potencies of Kṛṣṇa are infinitely more wonderful than any mundane human invention.
- The ordinary man is surprised to see the inventions of a great scientist, but the statement of Jambavan confirms that although a scientist may be a creator of many wonderful things, Krsna is the creator of the scientist.
- An inexperienced boy may be struck with wonder by seeing the impersonal actions of electronics or many other wonderful things conducted by electrical energy, but an experienced man knows that behind the action is a living man who creates such energy.
- He (Lord Krsna) possesses supermost inconceivable energies of all different varieties. If a man's brain can produce a space satellite, one can very easily imagine how brains higher than man can produce similarly wonderful things which are far superior.
- They are making so many wonderful things, but they cannot stop death.
- Foolish people are enchanted by magical demonstrations, and when they see a few wonderful things done by mystical power, they accept a magician as the Personality of Godhead or an incarnation. This is not the way of realization.
The Wonders of Devotional Service
Taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa empowers a sincere practitioner to achieve true spiritual success that transcends ordinary human capabilities. Śrīla Prabhupāda assures us that by the grace of the Lord, a devotee can accomplish wonderful things far beyond mundane imagination. However, a pure saintly person remains completely humble, never taking the credit but offering all glory to the Supreme Master.
- A devotee who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord can also do wonderful things unimaginable to a common man, by the grace of the dust of those lotus feet. Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us to take shelter of the Lord's lotus feet.
- Lord Krsna: by His grace, a devotee can accomplish wonderful things unimaginable even to the most powerful scientist.
- In our material existence we are impure, and we cannot do anything wonderful, but if we purify our existence by tapasya, we can do wonderful things by the grace of the Lord. Therefore tapasya is very important.
- A saintly person never takes credit for such actions because he knows very well that when wonderful things are done on his behalf by the grace of the Supreme Lord, all credit goes to the master and not to the servant.
- People say so much about me, that I have done some wonderful thing. But I say that I am not a magician. I'm not a magician. My only credit is that I am presenting Krsna as He is. That's all. I am not diluting Krsna. That is not my business.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda perfectly contextualizes the nature of wonder within our spiritual journey. While the material world dazzles the uninformed with technological advancements and mystical feats, these are mere sparks of Kṛṣṇa's unlimited potencies. The true tragedy is the conditioned soul's willful ignorance of death, which stands as the most baffling wonder of all. However, by practicing pure devotional service and recognizing the Supreme Lord as the ultimate cause of all causes, a devotee taps into the divine energy, performing truly wonderful things for the ultimate welfare of the world while remaining perfectly humble.
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 Wonderful Things. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.