God Is Eternal - The Imperishable Nature of the Supreme Person
In the material world, everything is subjected to the harsh laws of time, eventually facing deterioration and death. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the spiritual reality is entirely different. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, His abode, His pastimes, and His fragmental parts and parcels (the living entities) exist entirely beyond the jurisdiction of material time, possessing a nature that is fundamentally and perfectly eternal.
The Chief Eternal Being
The Vedic literatures distinguish between the supreme creator and the subordinate living entities, while establishing that both share the quality of eternity. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights the famous verse from the Upaniṣads confirming that God is the singular, supreme eternal who maintains all other eternals.
- God is God eternally, and an ordinary living entity is eternally a part and parcel of God. God is one without a second, and the ordinary living entities are many without number. All such living entities are maintained by God Himself.
- He (God) is the nitya, or the chief eternal amongst all other eternals. He is the chief one, and all others are the dependent many. The many eternals are supported by the one eternal, and thus both the eternals are qualitatively one.
- Lord Visnu and the individual souls, who are part and parcel of Him, are both eternal. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13). Lord Visnu is the chief living being, whereas the individual living entities are parts of Lord Visnu.
- The living entity is eternal (nitya) like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the difference is that the Supreme Lord is the greatest, no one being equal to or greater than Him, whereas the living entity is suksma, or extremely small.
- The personified Vedas continued, "Both the Lord and the living entities are called nitya, eternal, and so are qualitatively one, yet the singular nitya, or the Supreme Lord, is the controller, whereas the plural nityas are controlled."
The Imperishable Spiritual Form
Because God is the creator of matter, He is never subjected to its deteriorating influence. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses a sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha form—a body composed entirely of eternity, knowledge, and bliss.
- He (God) is described there as sac-cid-ananda-vigraha, which means that He is the eternal form fully representing transcendental existence, knowledge and bliss. As such, He does not require a separate body or mind, as we do in material existence.
- According to the Vedic instructions, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has His eternal, transcendental form, which is always blissful and full of knowledge.
- The body of the ordinary living being is made of material elements and is therefore subject to birth and death. But the Lord's body, being all spiritual and thus eternal, neither takes birth nor dies.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is everlastingly, eternally the form of purusa, the predominator or enjoyer, and when He appears He never accepts anything of this material energy.
- The Lord's body, being all spiritual and thus eternal, neither takes birth nor dies. Nor can the Lord be forced to take birth in some particular family due to His past deeds, as an ordinary living being is.
Eternal Incarnations and Pastimes
Everything related to the Supreme Lord inherits His imperishable nature. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that when the Lord descends into the material world in various forms, neither His appearance nor His activities are temporary; they exist eternally in the spiritual realm.
- The Lord is eternally existing as Krsna, the SP of Godhead, in Goloka Vrndavana. He has also simultaneously expanded Himself in innumerable forms, beginning with Lord Rama, Lord Nrsimha, Lord Varaha and all the incarnations coming directly from Sankarsana.
- The Supreme Lord is unborn, there is no cessation to His appearance in different forms as incarnations like Lord Krsna and Lord Rama. Since His incarnations are eternal, the various activities performed by these incarnations are also eternal.
- All the pastimes of the Lord are eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, just as the form of Krsna Himself is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge - sac-cid-ananda-vigraha - BS 5.1.
- There is no limit to the Lord's appearance in different incarnations. All of these incarnations are eternal, blissful and full of knowledge.
- The activities of the Lord are eternal, and they are manifestations of His atma-maya, or internal potency.
The Condition of the Living Entity
The greatest tragedy of material existence is that an eternal soul is forced to endure the temporary miseries of the material body. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that because we are parts and parcels of God, our true nature is just as eternal as His.
- Because you have accepted this material body, you are foolishly thinking that you are not eternal. Otherwise, as God is eternal, you are also eternal.
- God is eternal, and we are also eternal, but the difference is that we are always changing our bodies. At death we forget the events of our lifetime; death means forgetfulness, that's all.
- God is eternal, we are also eternal. But because we have fallen down in this material existence, we have forgotten our eternity; we are changing body. We are thinking, "I am this body." This is our misgivings.
- The real problem of life, that we are eternal, as eternal as God, but we are subjected to birth and death.
- You should know that you are eternal part and parcel of God. God is eternal. Just like gold and a small particle of gold, both of them are gold. A small particle of gold is not equal to the gold mine. That is real understanding.
The Path of Sanātana-Dharma
The ultimate goal of life is to escape the temporary material world and re-establish our relationship with the eternal Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that sanātana-dharma—the process of pure devotional service—is the only method by which the eternal soul can return to the eternal spiritual kingdom.
- Sanatana-dharma does not refer to any sectarian process of religion. It is the eternal function of the eternal living entities in relationship with the eternal Supreme Lord.
- Sanatana-dharma is the process of bhakti-yoga, by which one can come to know the sanatana God and His sanatana abode. By this process only can one return to the spiritual universe, the sanatana-dhama, to take part in the sanatana enjoyment prevailing there.
- Every living entity is eternal, sanatana. God is also eternal, and we can live with God in His sanatana-dhama, His eternal abode. This reciprocation is called sanatana-dharma, the eternal nature and duty of the living being.
- When the living being directs his eternal service attitude toward the eternal Supreme Being, such service can never be hampered by any sort of material hindrance.
- A devotee does not desire anything in this material world. A devotee desires only to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This servitude exists eternally; the Lord exists eternally, His servitor exists eternally, and the service exists eternally.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda definitively establishes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead exists entirely beyond the deteriorating influence of material time. While the cosmic manifestation is temporary—repeatedly created and annihilated—the Supreme Lord is nitya, the chief eternal being who has no beginning and no end. Because He is the creator of the material energy, He never assumes a material body; His form is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, composed entirely of spiritual eternity, absolute knowledge, and pure bliss. This imperishable quality naturally extends to everything connected to Him. His holy name, His transcendental instructions, His wonderful pastimes, and His innumerable incarnations (such as Lord Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, and Varāha) are all flawlessly eternal. Crucially, the living entities are minute parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, meaning they constitutionally possess the exact same eternal quality. The greatest tragedy of conditioned life is that the eternal soul is currently forced to accept temporary material bodies, suffering the miseries of birth, disease, old age, and death due to material contamination and forgetfulness of God. The only solution to this unnatural state is to embrace sanātana-dharma—the eternal occupational duty of the soul. By engaging in unalloyed devotional service, the living entity awakens their dormant spiritual consciousness and successfully returns to the sanātana-dhāma (the eternal spiritual world), where they will engage in blissful, eternal servitude to the eternally perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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