God Is Great - The Foundation of True Religion
Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that the phrase "God is great" is not merely a hackneyed slogan but the foundational truth of spiritual existence. To truly understand religion is to recognize that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is infinitely great and that all living entities are His eternally subordinate servants.
The True Meaning of Greatness
According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, the definition of the Supreme Being is that no one can be equal to or greater than Him. Because He is the supreme creator and maintainer of all universes, His greatness is absolute and without any competitor.
- Everyone knows God is great. "Great" means everyone is small; He is great. Nobody is equal to Him. Nobody is greater than Him. That is the meaning of greatness.
- Bhagavan, the Supreme Being, Bhagavan. In your English dictionary the word God is explained as "the Supreme Being." Supreme Being means who is great, greater, or the greatest, of all other beings.
- One cannot say, "I am God, you are God, he is God, we are all God." No. One who says this is a dog, not God, for God is great, and He has no competitor.
- You accept also, "God is great." And we say that nobody can be greater than God, neither anyone can be equal to God. That is our philosophy.
Qualitative Oneness and Quantitative Difference
Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that while the living entities are spiritual sparks possessing the same qualities as the Lord, they are infinitely small. This simultaneous oneness in quality and difference in quantity permanently establishes the Lord's supreme greatness.
- Since the living entities and Krsna, the Supreme Lord, are both spirit, they are qualitatively one. Quantitatively, however, the Lord is great and the living entities are small. This fact can be accepted immediately on the basis of Vedic information.
- The living entity is one in the sense because he is part and parcel of God. So if God is gold, the living entity is also gold. That is one in quality. But God is great and we are minute, small. In that way we are different.
- What is the difference between God and me? He is great, we are small. He is vibhu; we are anu. He's all-pervading, we are small. He is infinite; we are infinitesimal. That is the difference. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. That is the Vedic information.
- God is great, we are small. In quality we are one. Just like the president and the citizen, as man they are one, but in power, the citizen and the president, they are different.
Moving Beyond Vague Conceptions
Many people profess that God is great without actually knowing what that means. Śrīla Prabhupāda insists that to avoid sentimental speculation, one must study the authorized Vedic scriptures to comprehend the factual magnitude of the Lord's potencies.
- Many people claim, "God is great," but this is a hackneyed phrase. One must know how He is great, and that can be known from authorized scripture.
- At the present moment, vague idea, what is God; practically no idea. What is their God? "God is good." They . . . sometimes they say: "God is great," but what is that God, how great He is, how He is good, nobody knows.
- Rest of the world, they know God is great, but they do not know how great is God. That you will find in the Vedic literature. And that is our duty. That is kirtana, hari-kirtana.
- The Christian religion says "God is great." Accept! That is very good. But just how great God is, that you can understand from Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.
The Subordinate Position of the Soul
Because the Lord is the supreme maintainer, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the natural, constitutional duty of the minute living entity is to serve Him. Recognizing that God is great automatically awakens a mood of humble devotion.
- So if the Supreme Being, who is maintaining millions of trillions of living entities, He is great, or the living entities who are maintained by God, they are great? Therefore God is great, and we are subordinate. This is natural conclusion.
- God is great and we are part and parcel, therefore my duty is to serve and surrender unto God. That's all.
- God is so great, so I must render some service to God. This sense of service is further development. Just like from the sky the air develops, similarly, from the idea of greatness of God the sense of service develops.
- With devotion one should feel, "God is great, and I am very small. Therefore my duty is to offer my prayers to the Lord." Only on this basis can one understand and render service to the Lord.
The Illusion of Independence
The material disease occurs when the tiny living entity forgets its subordinate position and tries to artificially imitate the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that the small can never become the great.
- Generally this (to accept God is great and surrender to Him) is not our position in the material world. We are characteristically envious and consequently think, - Oh, why should I surrender unto God? I am independent. I shall work independently.
- Everyone says, "God is great," but he is trying to be as great as God. How it is possible?
- The small business is to serve the great. If the small falsely thinks himself that he is as great, that is ignorance.
- Apahrta-jnanah. His real knowledge is taken away. He does not know that he is small, God is great, his business is to serve God. This knowledge is taken away.
The Essence of Universal Religion
True religion transcends sectarian labels by establishing the universal fact of God's supremacy. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that whether one is Christian, Hindu, or Muslim, accepting that God is great and we are His servants is the essence of all pure faith.
- Real religious system is to understand that God is great; I am His servant. I am supported by Him; it is my duty to serve Him. This is religion. This is called bhagavata-dharma.
- We are embarassed by establishing artificial relationship with my family, country, and society, and so-called religions. These are all artificial. Real relationship, that "God is great and I am His servant," that is real religion.
- There is no difference of opinion if one is actually religious. "God created this world," "God is the supreme father," "God is great," this is accepted by everyone, either Hindu or Muslim or Christian. There is no doubt about it.
- Vaisnava philosophy is very simple: that God is great and everyone is His servant. Nobody can be equal to or greater than God. They are simultaneously one and different. In quality they are one, but in magnitude they are different.
Conclusion
To acknowledge that God is great is the awakening of true spiritual consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda consistently teaches that by studying the Vedic literatures to understand exactly how great the Lord is, the conditioned soul abandons its false ego and naturally engages in the loving devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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 Is Great. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.