God's Eyebrows - From Supreme Affection to Cosmic Annihilation
When contemplating the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Vedic literatures do not present a formless energy or a vague cloud of light. They describe a beautiful, eternally youthful person with distinct, transcendental features. Every limb and feature of the Supreme Lord is fully potent, possessing infinite beauty and incomprehensible power. Among these divine features, the Lord's eyebrows hold a place of profound significance. Śrīla Prabhupāda meticulously explains how the graceful movements of God's eyebrows serve as a focal point for the meditation of great yogīs, capable of severing the strongest ties of material lust. Simultaneously, these very same eyebrows are the ultimate instruments of universal destruction. By meditating on the dual nature of the Lord's eyebrows—their unparalleled, sweet affection and their terrifying, cosmos-shattering anger—a devotee can perfectly realize the absolute supremacy of the Lord.
The Pinnacle of Transcendental Beauty
The Supreme Lord is the reservoir of all beauty, and His face is the most captivating object in existence. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how the Lord's arched, dancing eyebrows gracefully complement His lotus eyes, exuding a nectarean affection that completely enchants the hearts of His pure devotees.
- His eyes, His nicely decorated eyebrows, His raised nose and His broad forehead are all very beautiful. He is more beautiful than all the demigods.
- Sincerely extolled in these words, Lord Visnu, shining very beautifully on the shoulders of Garuda, replied with words as sweet as nectar. His eyebrows moved gracefully as He looked at the sage (Kardama Muni) with a smile full of affection.
- When the Lord replied to the sage Kardama, the word vacasamrtena is specifically mentioned, since He spoke from the transcendental world. He replied in transcendental words, and when He spoke His eyebrows moved with great affection.
- The yogi then meditates upon the beautiful face of the Lord, which is adorned with curly hair and decorated by lotuslike eyes and dancing eyebrows. A lotus surrounded by swarming bees and a pair of swimming fish would be put to shame by its elegance.
Conquering Material Sense Attraction
The material world binds the conditioned soul tightly through the allurement of sexual desire and sensual charms. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the only way to conquer this deeply ingrained lust is to meditate on the supreme beauty of the Lord's eyebrows, which easily overpower the influence of Cupid.
- It is stated in this verse that the charming eyebrows of the Lord are so fascinating that they cause one to forget the charms of sense attraction.
- The yogi should also meditate on the Lord's arched eyebrows, which are manifested by His internal potency in order to charm the sex-god for the good of the sages.
- Yasoda said, "I want to enjoy the sight of His (Krsna) eyebrows moving in this cunning way, and I want to see His fearful eyes and beautiful face."
- Greed is generated from His lower lip, affection from His upper lip, bodily luster from His nose, animalistic lusty desires from His sense of touch, Yamaraja from His eyebrows, and eternal time from His eyelashes. May that Supreme Lord be pleased with us.
The Instrument of Cosmic Control
God's body is entirely spiritual and omnipotent; He does not need machines or massive armies to enforce His will upon the universe. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights how the mere movement of the Lord's eyebrows dictates the flow of invincible time and controls the greatest demigods in the cosmos.
- The sphere of outer space constitutes His eyepits, and the eyeball is the sun as the power of seeing. His eyelids are both the day and night, and in the movements of His eyebrows, the Brahma and similar supreme personalities reside.
- Simply by expansion of His (Lord Visnu) eyebrows, invincible time personified can immediately vanquish the entire universe. However, formidable time does not approach the devotee who has taken complete shelter at Your lotus feet.
- Lord Brahma said: At the end of the dvi-parardha, when the pastimes of the Lord come to an end, Lord Visnu, by a flick of His eyebrows, vanquishes the entire universe, including our places of residence.
- He (Lord Ramacandra) became angry, moving His eyebrows and thus frightening the ocean, who then allowed the Lord to construct a bridge to cross the ocean.
The Fierce Eyebrows of Annihilation
When the time for cosmic dissolution arrives, or when powerful demons must be killed, the Lord exhibits His terrifying anger. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how the Lord's rolling, frowning eyebrows become the birthplace of Lord Śiva’s destructive expansions, proving fatal to atheists but remaining beautiful to the surrendered devotee.
- At the time of devastation, when Lord Anantadeva desires to destroy the entire creation, He becomes slightly angry. Then from between His two eyebrows appears three-eyed Rudra, carrying a trident.
- The eleven Rudras, expansions of Lord Siva, come out of Lord Sankarsana's eyebrows due to His angry mood, and all of them together devastate the entire creation.
- He (Nrsimhadeva) killed the king of the demons (Hiranyakasipu), who challenged the Lord with a club in his hand, by placing the demon on His thighs and piercing him with His nails, rolling His eyebrows in anger and showing His fearful teeth and mouth.
- My Lord, who are never conquered by anyone, I am certainly not afraid of Your ferocious mouth and tongue, Your eyes bright like the sun or Your frowning eyebrows.
Conclusion
A systematic study of the Vedic literatures thoroughly immerses the sincere devotee in the personal, transcendental features of the Absolute Truth. As Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully explains, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not a void; His every limb is fully potent and breathtakingly beautiful. In the perfection of yoga, the meditator focuses intently upon the Lord's lotus face, drawing particular attention to His arched, dancing eyebrows. These eyebrows are so exceptionally charming that they put the elegance of swimming fish to shame. More importantly, they possess the spiritual power to completely neutralize the allure of Cupid, rescuing the meditating sage from the degrading charms of mundane sexual attraction. When the Lord is pleased, as He was with the great sage Kardama Muni, His eyebrows move with supreme grace and nectarean affection. Yet, these very same eyebrows hold the absolute power of universal control and devastation. Within the universal form, the movements of the Lord's eyebrows dictate the positions of supreme personalities like Brahmā and serve as the generating source of Yamarāja. When it is time to wind up the cosmic manifestation, the Lord does not need to exert physical effort; by a mere flick or expansion of His eyebrows, invincible time is unleashed. Displaying slight anger, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa rolls His eyebrows, and from between them emerge the fierce, three-eyed Rudras who proceed to devastate the entire creation. To the rebellious demons, the frowning eyebrows of the Lord—seen perfectly in the ferocious face of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva—bring absolute terror and death. However, to the surrendered soul, whether the Lord is smiling with affection or rolling His eyebrows in cosmic anger, every expression is recognized as the perfectly beautiful, supreme will of the Absolute Truth.
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 Eyebrows. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.