God Is Fully Independent - The Supreme Svarāṭ
Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is uniquely svarāṭ, or fully independent. While everything emanates from Him and He is cognizant of every detail of the universe, He remains completely self-sufficient and beyond the influence of any external force.
The Definition of Svarāṭ
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Supreme Truth is defined by absolute independence. He is the only being who is fully cognizant of all manifestations directly and indirectly while remaining the sovereign master of His own will and actions.
- I meditate upon that eternally effulgent Lord, who is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations and yet is fully independent.
- If we scrutinizingly try to understand the supreme truth, we can understand that He knows everything directly and indirectly. He is the only Supreme Personality, and it is He only who is fully independent. He alone instructed Brahma as the Supersoul within.
- The Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is smrti, explains, janmady asya yato 'nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah sva-rat: (SB 1.1.1) The Supreme Being, from whom everything has emanated, is directly and indirectly cognizant of everything and is fully independent.
- Sankarsana is the first expansion of Vasudeva, and because He appears by His own will, He is called svarat, fully independent. He is therefore infinite and transcendental to all limits of time and space. He Himself appears as the thousand-headed Sesa.
Qualitative Independence of the Soul
The living entities are parts and parcels of God, and Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that they consequently possess a minute particle of the Lord's independence. However, this small independence must be used in accordance with the Lord's will to avoid a sinful, conditioned life.
- Because we are part and parcel of God - God is fully independent - so we have got also little particle of independence. As soon as we misuse that independence, disobey the words of God, we become sinful.
- Because you are son of God - God has got full independence, almighty - therefore you have acquired the quality of your father. You have got little independence. So God does not interfere with your little independence.
- God has got full independence; you have got also independence. But your independence and God's independence not the same. Similarly, any quality you take, you have got little of it.
- The Lord is svarat, or fully independent, and the servant is also fully independent, or svarat, in the spiritual atmosphere because there is no forced service. There the transcendental loving service is due to spontaneous love.
Independence in Divine Appearance and Pastimes
Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that the Lord's activities and incarnations are never restricted by material laws or family obligations. As the fully independent master of all senses and potencies, He acts solely for His own transcendental pleasure.
- Being an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Rsabhadeva was fully independent because His form was spiritual, eternal and full of transcendental bliss.
- The appearance of Godhead in some particular family does not mean that He is limited by obligations to that family. He is fully independent and may appear and disappear. anywhere and everywhere, because He is all-pervading.
- The independent Personality of Godhead enjoys His pastimes by His internal potency and at the time of annihilation gives them up to the external potency, and He remains a witness to it all.
- The Supreme Person is totally independent of all others in these pastimes. While teaching Sanatana Gosvami (CC Madhya 20.296-298), Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu pointed out that one cannot count the number of lila-avataras.
Self-Sufficiency and Divine Mercy
According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, the Lord is so fully independent that He is entirely self-sufficient, requiring nothing from others. His interactions with His devotees or the goddess of fortune are manifestations of His free will and causeless mercy.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mukunda, is self-sufficient. Since He is fully independent, He was not in want of the support or association of Laksmidevi. Nonetheless, Laksmidevi, the goddess of fortune, accepted Him as her husband.
- My (Laksmi's) dear Lord, You (Kamadeva) are certainly the fully independent master of all the senses. Therefore all women who worship You by strictly observing vows because they wish to acquire a husband to satisfy their senses are surely under illusion.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is fully independent. Thus it is not always a fact that a living being's loss of all opulence is a sign of the Supreme Lord's mercy upon him.
- Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his Krsna-sandarbha, has described Sesa Naga as follows: Sri Anantadeva has thousands of faces and is fully independent. Always ready to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He waits upon Him constantly.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the absolute nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is defined by His total independence. As the svarāṭ source of all existence, the Lord is never bound by the conditions of material nature or the needs of others. By understanding this supreme independence, one can better appreciate the minute independence of the soul and the importance of using it in the spontaneous loving service of the independent Lord.
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