God Becomes - The Supreme Controller Conquered by Love
The Absolute Truth is entirely self-sufficient, yet out of boundless mercy and a desire for loving exchanges, He actively participates in the lives of the conditioned souls. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains the profound mystery of how the invincible Supreme Lord voluntarily becomes a son, a friend, a messenger, and even a servant, simply to reciprocate the pure love of His devotees.
Expanding for Transcendental Joy
God is not a solitary, inactive void; He is the supreme enjoyer. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that although the Absolute Truth is one without a second, He voluntarily expands and becomes many specifically to enhance His transcendental pleasure and engage in loving relationships.
- The principle of creation is that the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is by nature joyful, and He becomes many in order to enhance His transcendental joy.
- One may ask why Narayana has created us, why it is we are part and parcel of Narayana. Eko bahu-syam. Why has Narayana become many.
- God became many for His enjoyment, and thus our position is that of the enjoyed. That is our constitutional position and the purpose for our creation.
- When there is need to manifest the cosmic world, it is done by His will: "Although I am one, I shall become many." This is the Vedic aphorism.
Conquered by the Devotee's Love
The greatest opulence of the Supreme Lord is His willingness to be commanded by love. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that although no one in the universe can conquer God, He happily becomes subordinate to the desires of His unalloyed devotees.
- God is not conquerable, but He becomes conquerable, He is conquered, by a devotee who gives up this nonsense process of understanding Him by his limited knowledge and becomes submissive.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes dependent on His devotee. The Lord is invincible, yet He is conquered by His pure devotee. He enjoys being dependent on His devotee, just as Krsna enjoyed being dependent on the mercy of mother Yasoda.
- The Lord is always perfect in Himself, and thus He has no hankering for Himself. He, however, becomes a master, a friend, a son or a husband to fulfill the intense love of the devotee concerned.
- It is the beautiful and exalted nature of devotional service that the infinite Lord becomes submissive to the infinitesimal living entity because of it.
Becoming the Associate of the Devotee
When a devotee surrenders everything to Kṛṣṇa, the Lord takes on practical, intimate roles in their life. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights how the Supreme Lord became the chariot driver for Arjuna and the dependent son of Mother Yaśodā, perfectly reciprocating their devotion.
- On account of the Pandavas' faithful devotion to the Lord, He agreed to become their charioteer, their advisor, their friend, their messenger and sometimes their bodyguard. Such is an example of the result of devotional service towards Visnu.
- An actual example (of by devotional service even God becomes subordinate to devotee) is that the Supreme Lord Krsna became the chariot driver of Arjuna, and when Arjuna asked Him to draw his chariot between the two armies, Krsna executed his order.
- He (the Lord) appears to be dependent upon His devotees. He appears as the son of Yasodamata not because He is dependent on her care but because He accepts such a role by His causeless mercy.
- His (God's) becoming the associate neighbor of the inhabitants of Vrndavana, as the son of Nanda-Yasoda, the friend of Sudama, Sridama and Madhumangala, or the lover of the damsels of Vrajabhumi, etc. That is part of His personal features.
The Compassion of the Lord
God is never indifferent to the suffering of the living entities. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how the Lord becomes incredibly compassionate when He sees the misuse of religion or the unnecessary slaughter of innocent creatures, prompting Him to descend as an incarnation to rectify the situation.
- God became very much compassionate. When people were too much addicted in killing animals unnecessarily, He appeared as Lord Buddha. Sadaya-hrdaya darsita-pasu-ghatam. Pasu-ghatam.
- The Supreme Lord became too much compassionate when He saw that people are unnecessarily killing animals, as it is going on still. Instead of . . . at least those who are claiming Buddhist, they are killing animals.
- He (Krsna) is compassionate always; He becomes so compassionate that He comes to stop this nonsense. That is buddha-sarira. Lord Buddha appeared when there was too much animal slaughter.
- At that time (of Buddha's appearance) it became so excessive, pasu-ghatam, animal slaughter, that the Lord became compassionate, and He appeared to stop this. He originated a new set of . . . set-up of religion: No more animal killing. No more.
Becoming Overwhelmed with Love
When the Lord descends as His own devotee in the form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He demonstrates the absolute zenith of spiritual emotion. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the Lord frequently becomes overwhelmed, agitated, and ecstatic when experiencing the profound bliss of transcendental love and separation.
- "As a result of this chanting," the Lord (Caitanya) said, "I sometimes become very impatient and cannot restrain Myself from dancing and laughing or crying and singing. Indeed, I become just like a madman.
- There was a tumultuous noise as they all chanted the holy names "Hari" and "Krsna." Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became overwhelmed with ecstatic love.
- Upon reaching the temple of Bindu Madhava, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, seeing the beauty of Lord Bindu Madhava, became overwhelmed in ecstatic love. He then began to dance in the courtyard of the temple.
- In this way, the Lord's restlessness was awakened by ecstatic feelings, and His mind became agitated. No one could understand what course such ecstasy would take.
Rejecting Māyāvādī Nonsense
While the Lord voluntarily assumes subordinate roles for His devotees, He never loses His supreme status. Śrīla Prabhupāda fiercely refutes the Māyāvādī misconceptions that claim the Lord becomes an ordinary fallen soul, or the foolish invention that Nārāyaṇa becomes poverty-stricken (daridra-nārāyaṇa).
- You should be very, very careful to avoid these Mayavadi rascals. There cannot be such thing as "Narayana has become daridra." It is impossible.
- Narayana is the master of Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, and only fools think that He somehow becomes poverty-stricken.
- Someone has invented the word daridra-narayana, trying to show that Narayana has become poor and that the beggar who comes to my door to beg is also Narayana. This is not authorized in the Vedic literature.
- This is a false theory that when God falls down He becomes a jiva, and when He is again revived in His original position, He becomes God. This is nonsense theory. It has no meaning. God never falls down.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully illustrates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead's ability to "become" is a testament to His unlimited power, compassion, and desire for loving reciprocation. Although the Absolute Truth is one, He voluntarily becomes many to expand His transcendental joy and enjoy relationships with the living entities. Most wonderfully, the invincible creator of the universe willingly becomes conquered by the love of His pure devotees. By the influence of yogamāyā, Kṛṣṇa completely forgets His majestic opulence to become the dependent son of Mother Yaśodā, or the intimate friend and obedient chariot driver for the Pāṇḍavas. Out of profound compassion for the suffering of the world, He becomes powerful incarnations, such as Lord Buddha, to halt the unnecessary slaughter of innocent animals. Furthermore, in His descent as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord becomes entirely overwhelmed by the ecstasy of kṛṣṇa-prema, crying and dancing like a madman to teach the world the zenith of spiritual emotion. However, while the Lord's pastimes of love and mercy are limitless, Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly warns against the offensive Māyāvādī misconceptions that falsely claim God "becomes" an ordinary, fallen jīva, or that the master of the goddess of fortune becomes a poverty-stricken beggar (daridra-nārāyaṇa). The Supreme Lord never falls down; whether He becomes a son, a friend, a chariot driver, or a compassionate avatāra, He remains eternally the infallible, all-powerful Absolute Truth.
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