God As a Well-wisher - The Ultimate Peace Formula
Every living entity is frantically searching for a genuine friend in the material world, someone who seeks their ultimate benefit without any selfish motive. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that this search ends only when we recognize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, as our original, eternal well-wisher. Understanding this divine relationship is the key to unlocking true peace.
The Ultimate Peace Formula
In the Bhagavad-gītā (5.29), Lord Kṛṣṇa provides a profound formula for ending material suffering. He declares that one who knows Him as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme well-wisher (suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām) attains true peace. Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently highlights this verse, teaching that our anxieties stem from forgetting that the most powerful person in the universe is also our greatest well-wishing friend.
- The sages, knowing Me (Krsna) as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries - Bhagavad-Gita 5.29.
- In Bhagavad-Gita 5.29 the Lord says: The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
- One should have complete faith in the words of Krsna, who says that He is the great well-wishing friend of everyone (suhrdam sarva-bhutanam). A devotee considers Krsna the only friend. This is called sakhyam. Pumsarpita visnau.
- Since He is addressed as the primeval philosopher and maintainer and well-wisher of the universe, the Supreme Truth cannot be impersonal. This is the verdict of Sri Isopanisad.
The Patient Supersoul
Even when we completely turn our backs on God, He never abandons us. Śrīla Prabhupāda beautifully explains that the Lord expands Himself as the Paramātmā (Supersoul) to sit within the heart of every living entity, from the highest demigod down to the animals. Like a loving parent who wishes the best for a rebellious child, the Lord patiently waits, offering the conditioned soul guidance from within and sending pure devotees from without to preach His glories.
- The Lord is compared to the sky because the sky is vast yet within the reach of all, not only of human beings but even of the animals. The Supreme Lord, in His Paramatma feature, exists as the best well-wisher and friend.
- The Supreme Lord is also described as suhrdam ("ever well-wisher"). The Supreme Lord is always a well-wisher, just like a father or mother. Despite all the offenses of a son, the father and mother are always the son's well-wisher.
- No one can be a greater well-wishing friend to any living entity than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is so kindly disposed towards everyone that in spite of our completely forgetting our relationship with the Supreme Lord, He comes Himself - sometimes personally.
- The Lord is unmindful of the nondevotees, although He is sitting within everyone's heart as well-wisher and Supersoul. However, He also gives them the chance to receive His mercy through His pure devotees who are engaged in missionary activities.
Resolving the Illusion of Partiality
If God is the well-wisher of everyone, how can He favor the demigods and kill the demons? This question troubled Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the Lord is entirely equal to all. He appears partial to His devotees only because the devotees actively accept His shelter. When unfortunate living entities, due to bad association, reject the Lord's instructions, they suffer. Yet, as Śrīla Prabhupāda notes, even when the Lord kills a demon or strictly disciplines a proud scholar, it is an act of absolute well-wishing meant to purify them.
- Pariksit inquired: My dear brahmana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, being everyone's well-wisher, is equal and extremely dear to everyone. How, then, did He become partial like a common man for the sake of Indra and thus kill Indra's enemies?
- Since the Lord says that He is suhrdam sarva-bhutanam (Bhagavad-Gita 5.29), the well-wisher of all living entities, how could He act with partiality by killing demons? These questions arose in the heart of Pariksit Maharaja, and he inquired from Sukadeva Gosvami.
- He (Krsna) is called the well-wisher for the devotees only. He appears to be partial to His devotees, but factually the matter rests on the living being to accept or reject equal treatment by the Lord.
- 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.
- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu acted as a very merciful well-wisher toward Vallabha Bhatta by externally neglecting him in many ways to purify him of his false pride in being a learned scholar.
Well-Wisher of Cows and Brāhmaṇas
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently points out that the Lord has a special affinity for the cows and the brāhmaṇas. In the standard Vedic prayer, the Lord is addressed as go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca (the well-wisher of the cows and brāhmaṇas). This is because the protection of cows (who provide milk for physical and spiritual nourishment) and brāhmaṇas (who guide society with spiritual knowledge) is the foundation of a peaceful, progressive human civilization.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped by the words brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca. Thus He is the well-wisher of the brahmanas.
- There is also a prayer in the Vedic literature that states: My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas, and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world.
- O Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the universe, O regulating principle, destination of the pure devotees, well-wisher of the progenitors of mankind, please remove the effulgence of Your transcendental rays so that I can see Your form of bliss.
Conclusion
There is no cheating and no end to the loving relationship between the soul and the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda guarantees that by abandoning our false material dependencies and fully accepting the Supreme Personality of Godhead as our dearmost friend and well-wisher, we will immediately find relief from the anxieties of the material world and experience unending spiritual peace.
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 As a Well-wisher. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.