God Is Not Subjected To - The Independent Supreme Controller
Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that one must clearly distinguish the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the conditioned living entities. Because the Lord is the supreme creator and controller of all energies, He retains absolute independence and is never subjected to the material laws, miseries, and illusions that bind ordinary souls.
Not Subject to Material Laws
The master is never controlled by his own servant. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that because the Supreme Lord creates and directs the material energy, He is entirely transcendental and can never be subjected to its stringent laws or the three modes of material nature.
- Material nature is subordinate to the will of the Supreme Lord, and therefore He cannot be subjected to the laws of material nature. It is contradictory for the Lord to be subjected to the laws of His own inferior energy.
- In Bhagavad-gita (7.12) it is very nicely explained that although the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance are born of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is not subject to them.
- Narayanah paro 'vyaktat: Narayana is beyond the material creation. Because He is the creator of the material world, He is not subject to the conditions of the material world.
- He (God) is not subjected to the threefold miseries created by the material energy because He is beyond it. The modes of material nature do not touch Him. It is explained here, svayam-jyotih: He is light Himself.
Not Subject to Birth and Death
Ordinary living entities are forced into the cycle of repeated birth and death by the reactions of their past deeds. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that when the Lord descends into the material world, His appearance is an independent pastime, completely free from karmic subjugation.
- His (God's) birth does not, like that of the living entities, take place under the influence of material nature and the bondage of the reactions of past deeds. His works and activities are independent pastimes and are not subject to the reactions of nature.
- The word amrta-bhuh is significant in this verse. The Lord sometimes appears like an ordinary child taking birth, but this does not mean that He is subject to birth, death or old age.
- Sukadeva Gosvami said: After Lord Brahma had thus spoken, glorifying the Supreme Lord's activities and prowess, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never subject to death like an ordinary living being, appeared from the womb of Aditi.
- One should know with firm conviction that the Lord, being transcendental, is never subject to any curse or benediction. Only ordinary living entities are subjected to curses and the punishments of Yamaraja.
Not Subject to Illusion or Defect
A conditioned soul is inherently flawed by four defects, including the tendency to be illusioned by material energy. Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is absolutely perfect and is never subjected to the bewildering influence of māyā or the destructive force of time.
- The Supreme Lord is not subject to fall down into illusion (maya) any more than the sun is subject to fall beneath the clouds.
- Vidura is clearing the misconception that when the Lord either descends on the earth in His incarnation or appears Himself with all His potencies, He too is subjected to the influence of maya, just like an ordinary living entity.
- Bhagavan is not subject to the four deficiencies of the living entities. Being imperfect, living entities are illusioned and subject to commit mistakes. They also have the tendency to cheat others.
- Both the conditioned soul and the material nature act within the time factor, but the Lord is not subject to the actions and reactions of time, for time has been created by Him.
Not Subject to Mental Speculation
Empiric philosophers falsely believe they can capture the Absolute Truth within the boundaries of their mundane intellect. Śrīla Prabhupāda sternly rejects this, stating that God can never be subjected to our limited imagination or the arguments of our imperfect senses.
- God cannot be subjected to our imagination. Our imagination is limited, and our senses are imperfect.
- The process of bhakti-marga is the process of submission. There is no question of subjecting God to our imagination.
- The question may be raised, "Since there are so many varieties of philosophers theorizing in different ways, which of them is correct?" The answer is that the Absolute Truth, Transcendence, is never subject to direct experience or mental speculation.
- Because He (God) is all-powerful, He is not subject to the conditioned soul's arguments regarding His existence or nonexistence. He is pleased to protect His devotees by killing their enemies. He enjoys both the killing and the protecting.
Conclusion
To accurately realize the supreme position of the Absolute Truth, one must completely discard the idea that God is bound by the same forces that govern humanity. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is fully independent; He is never subjected to the laws of material nature, the cycle of birth and death, or the bewildering influence of illusion. Furthermore, His infinite nature cannot be subjected to the tiny, imperfect imagination of mundane speculators. By abandoning the futile attempt to measure God with material intelligence and instead embracing the path of submissive devotional service, a sincere soul can properly understand the unparalleled, transcendental supremacy of the Lord.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category God Is Not Subjected To. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.