Association with God - The Ultimate Goal of Life
The search for true happiness ends only when the spirit soul reconnects with its eternal source. Vedic wisdom explains that the supreme perfection of existence is not to merge into a void, but to reestablish one's original, blissful association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Our Constitutional Position
Every living entity is an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, designed specifically to engage in His loving service. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the original purpose of our creation is to enjoy life in the company of God, and any attempt to be happy independently is the root cause of all material suffering.
- Actually we are all spirit souls and are intended to associate with God in the spiritual sky where there are innumerable spiritual planets and innumerable spiritual living entities.
- Human society is the residential quarters for the Lord. This means that the human being is meant for God realization and association with God.
- The spirit soul can be happy only in the association of the supreme living being, the Personality of Godhead, and nowhere else.
- Practically our creation is for enjoying in the company, in the association of the Supreme Lord. But we thought that it is better to become an imitation God and try to lord it over the material nature. That is not possible; therefore we are suffering.
- Everything is zero without the Lord (Krsna), who is the digit that transforms zero into ten, two zeros into one hundred, three zeros into one thousand, and so on. Thus a "zero man" cannot become happy without the association of the Lord, the supreme - 1.
The Purifying Power of the Absolute
God is the supreme pure, and contact with Him immediately eradicates material contamination. Śrīla Prabhupāda uses the brilliant analogy of fire to illustrate that simply by associating with the Supreme Lord, a conditioned soul naturally acquires godly qualities and becomes thoroughly purified.
- As soon as you associate with the Lord, you become purified. Because Lord is all-pure. Just like if you associate with fire, you become warm. Similarly, if you constantly associate with the Lord, you remain purified.
- Associate with God means you gradually become godly. This is the meaning of chanting the holy name of God.
- Just like you associate with the sun immediately, er, sunshine - you become warm - similarly, by associating with God, you become God conscious.
- Foolish people do not know that association is the cause of acquiring qualities. Association with fire makes an object hot, even in the material sense. Therefore, association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead makes one qualified like the Lord.
- By the symptoms, how God is acting, how His energies are spread all over the world, if you study the energy of God, then you can see God, you can feel God, you can associate with God, and you become godly, or purified.
Practical Methods of Association
One does not need to wait for liberation to associate with the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that because the Supreme Lord is absolute, there is no difference between Him, His name, and His pastimes; therefore, hearing and chanting constitute direct, personal association.
- Chanting the holy name of God is as good as to associate with God; this is the absolute and relative relationship.
- Either you chant the holy name of Rama or you see the statue of Rama or you talk of His pastimes, transcendental pastimes, everything, that means you are associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Hearing of the Lord's pastimes is itself transcendental association with the Lord because there is no difference between the Lord and His transcendental pastimes.
- To associate with the holy name and chant the holy name is to associate with the Personality of Godhead directly. In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu it is clearly said, sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah - Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.234.
- By following the regulative principles, we will be avoiding the four pillars of sinful life, and by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, we will be associating with God constantly; thus there will be peace among all classes of men.
The Defect of Impersonalism
While many philosophers seek liberation by merging into the spiritual effulgence, this represents only a partial realization of the Absolute Truth. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that while monists temporarily attain the Brahman effulgence, their lack of personal association with God forces them to fall back into material existence.
- Both (the impersonalist and the devotee) want eternal happiness. One seeks happiness in impersonal Brahman, and the other seeks happiness in the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Merging into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord is called param padam, but there is a higher transcendental position, which is the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Although the monist philosopher is elevated to the status of being one with the effulgence of the Lord, because there is no facility for associating with the Lord and rendering service unto Him, he again falls into this material world.
- Those who aspire to merge into the Brahman effulgence are as abominable as demons. Devotees who aspire to associate with the Supreme Lord to render Him transcendental loving service are far superior.
- Neither the impersonalists nor the yogi can have real peace and satisfaction, but the devotee can become fully peaceful and satisfied because of his association with the complete whole.
The Ultimate Destination
The supreme reward for a life dedicated to bhakti-yoga is entering the spiritual sky. The great ācāryas confirm that a pure devotee, upon quitting the material body, is immediately transferred to the Vaikuṇṭha planets to eternally associate with the Lord face to face.
- The highest perfection of life is to attain His (God's) association, and nothing else. The bhakti-yogi, being completely engaged in the Lord's service, has no attraction for any other process of liberation like jnana or yoga.
- After quitting this body, (devotees) go back to Godhead and engage directly in the association of the Supreme Lord.
- In the Bhagavad-gita (8.15) also the same is confirmed, as the Lord says, "The great mahatmas, or the bhakti-yogis, after attaining My association, never come back to this material world, which is full of miseries and is nonpermanent.
- We have to enter the eternal planets and associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to be happy. If we do not attain this position, we will return to the material world.
- The devotee, who wants to enjoy the association of the Lord, enters into the Vaikuntha planets, which are innumerable, and the Supreme Lord by His plenary expansions as Narayana with 4 hands and with different names associates with him.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully illustrates that association with God is not merely a religious concept, but the supreme scientific reality of the soul's existence. The conditioned entity is suffering solely due to a lack of this divine contact. By artificially attempting to merge into the impersonal Brahman, one misses the true, dynamic bliss of spiritual exchange. However, by adopting the authorized process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness—specifically through hearing and chanting the holy names—the practitioner is immediately placed in direct contact with the Absolute Truth. Because God and His name are non-different, this association acts as a purifying fire, burning away all sinful reactions. Ultimately, maintaining this transcendental association throughout one's life guarantees the soul's safe passage to the Vaikuṇṭha planets, where the supreme perfection of eternal, face-to-face association with the Lord is fully realized.
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 Association with God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.