God Gives Facilities - The Supreme Lord's Fulfillment of Desire
A fundamental question often raised by spiritual seekers is why the Supreme Lord allows living entities to degrade themselves into lower species or suffer in miserable material conditions. Śrīla Prabhupāda addresses this by explaining the profound nature of the soul's free will. The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not force anyone to love Him. Instead, because He respects our minute independence, He acts as the supreme sanctioner. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that whatever a conditioned soul deeply desires to do, God gives facilities for them to attempt it, providing the exact material body and circumstances required.
The Fulfillment of Material Desires
The material world is a vast playground designed for those who wish to imitate God. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the Lord sits within the heart as the Supersoul, observing our ambitions. If we stubbornly insist on enjoying material sense gratification, Kṛṣṇa does not stop us; rather, He provides the necessary physical apparatus (yantra) to execute those desires.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Purusottama, only gives them a chance to act according to their desires. Therefore, the living entities act by taking advantage of the facility given by the Lord.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul, is present in everyone's heart, and as the living entity desires, the Lord gives him facilities with which to work according to his ambitions in different grades of bodies.
- By His (God's) supreme will the living entity, or individual soul, gets the facility to lord it over material nature in various types of bodies, which are known as yantra, or the moving vehicle offered by the total material energy, maya.
- That "You can do whatever you like," that facility is always given to living entity by God. You can do whatever you like. It is not that we are, we are given no facilities to select, to make choice. We are given facilities and choice, everything to do.
Tailor-Made Bodies for Enjoyment
The incredible variety of life forms—from the highest demigods to the lowest animals—is not the result of random evolution. Śrīla Prabhupāda vividly illustrates that Kṛṣṇa provides specific bodies tailored to specific desires. If someone wants to act like a beast, the Lord supplies the perfect biological facility for that lifestyle.
- If I want to become a tiger, God will give me all the facilities to become a tiger. He will give me facilities, paws and nails and teeth, so that immediately I can capture any animal.
- If a man gets the body of a swine it must be considered the grace of the Lord because the Lord awards the facility.
- The drunkard does not derive any profit out of drinking, but because he has become a servant of the drinking habit and does not wish to get out of it, the merciful Lord gives him all facilities to fulfill such desires.
- Why you have got different types of bodies? We have manufactured it. God has given us facility. I wanted to become such and such. He has given us facilities, - All right, you become such and such.
God is Impartial
Because the Lord supplies these bodies, one might wrongly accuse Him of being responsible for the suffering of the living entities. Śrīla Prabhupāda firmly refutes this. The Lord is completely impartial. He simply supplies the facility based on the soul's stubborn demands; the soul alone is responsible for the subsequent karmic reactions.
- In the Vedanta-sutras it is confirmed that the Lord is never partial to any living entity. The living entity is responsible for his own acts. The Lord only gives him facilities, through the agency of material nature, the external energy.
- The Lord only gives them (living entities) the proper facilities for such activities and the regulations of the modes of nature, but He is never responsible for their past and present activities.
- One must act according to the direction of the Lord within the heart, but because the conditioned soul wants to act independently, the Lord gives him the facility to act and experience the reactions.
- Everything is done by Krsna, that's all right. But ye yatha mam prapadyante. As you want Krsna to do, He says: "Only just surrender unto Me." He wants that. But you want so many things. Therefore He gives facility - All right, do it, at your risk.
Facilities for Spiritual Advancement
While the Lord facilitates material desires, He is far more eager to facilitate our spiritual return. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that the human form of life is a special facility. If a human being uses their free will to sincerely desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, the Lord immediately shifts His arrangement, providing unlimited spiritual facilities to ensure the devotee's success.
- By associating with devotees they naturally become inclined to render service to the Personality of Godhead, and they immediately get all facilities from the Lord to advance in Krsna consciousness.
- Your sincerity of purpose will itself help you more and more because the Lord is sitting within your heart and as soon as he sees that you require to do something for His service, He will immediately give you all facilities.
- The form of the Lord as worshiped in the temples is called arca-vigraha or arcavatara, the worshipable form, the Deity incarnation. This facility is offered to neophyte devotees so that they can see the real form of the Lord face to face.
- A karmi's possessions are achieved as a result of karma, but those of a devotee are arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead just to facilitate his devotional activities.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals the ultimate choice we face. The Supreme Lord is sitting in our hearts, ready to facilitate whatever we desire. If we want to be animals, He will give us the facility. If we want to be gods, He will let us try and fail. But if we use our human facility to surrender to Him, He will personally arrange everything required for us to attain the supreme perfection of life.
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 Gives Facilities. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.