God Is Omnipresent - The All-Pervading Supreme Lord
Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the Absolute Truth is never restricted by the limitations of time and space. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is omnipresent; while maintaining His original, eternal form in the spiritual world, He simultaneously expands His energies and His localized feature to exist inside and outside of everything in the material creation.
The All-Pervading Effulgence
The Vedic aphorism sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma indicates that the Supreme Lord is present everywhere. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that this omnipresence is achieved through the Lord's spiritual effulgence, which permeates the entire universe just as the material sky covers all space.
- We can understand that the Lord, by the omnipresent rays of His effulgence, called brahma-jyotir, is all-pervading inside or outside of everything, like the omnipresent material sky, and thus He is also omniscient.
- The Lord, by the omnipresent rays of His effulgence, called brahma-jyotir, is all-pervading inside or outside of everything, like the omnipresent material sky, and thus He is also omniscient.
- The Personality of Godhead is omnipresent by His diverse potencies everywhere, just as the power of electricity is distributed everywhere within space.
- The principle of matter (mahat-tattva) is the consciousness of the omnipresent Lord, as asserted by the experts, and Rudradeva is His ego.
Refuting Pantheism
A common philosophical error is concluding that because God is everywhere, everything has become God. Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly refutes this pantheistic misconception, clarifying that while the Lord's energies are omnipresent, He maintains His distinct, supreme identity.
- The Supreme Spirit is omnipresent. This truth is imperfectly explained by the proponents of pantheism, the misconception that everything is the Supreme Spirit simply because the Supreme Spirit is everywhere.
- Once this misconception (that everything is the Supreme Spirit) is cleared up and if we remember that the Supreme Spirit is indeed omnipresent, we can create a spiritual atmosphere by performing all our activities in relation to the Supreme Spirit.
- If we remember that the Supreme Spirit is indeed omnipresent, we can create a spiritual atmosphere by performing all our activities in relation to the Supreme Spirit, with everything directed by one who is a self-realized soul. Then the whole thing is transformed into spirit.
- If, without this preliminary knowledge of the Lord's omnipresence, one simply attaches himself to the rituals in a temple, church or mosque, it is as if he were offering butter into ashes rather than into the fire.
Perceived by the Devotees
Although God is present everywhere, He remains invisible to atheists who rely solely on material senses. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the Lord's omnipresence is fully perceived and manifested only by pure, intelligent devotees who have developed spiritual vision.
- People who are asses, mudhas, duskrtis, cannot see God, but those who are intelligent can see God everywhere because God is omnipresent.
- The Lord's omnipresence is perceived and manifested by His unalloyed devotees like Vidura, just as electricity is manifested in an electric bulb.
- Realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's omnipresence is the perfect realization of the Absolute Truth to be attained through the study of the Vedic literatures.
- A pure devotee knows that since the Lord is omnipresent and omniscient, there is no need to offer prayers or worship Him for one's personal benefit.
The Power of Omnipresence
Because the Lord is not limited by physical proximity, His protection and guidance are universally available. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights how the Lord's omnipresence allows Him to perfectly manage the cosmic creation while intimately protecting His surrendered devotees wherever they may be.
- One must know from the above description of creation and annihilation that the supreme consciousness, being omnipresent, can take care of everything with perfect attention. That is the fact of the omnipresence of the Supreme Lord.
- By His appearance within the womb, the Lord encouraged the child (Pariksit) and gave him complete protection in a new body by His omnipotency. By His power of omnipresence He was present both inside and outside of Uttara and other members of the Pandavas.
- The Lord, being omnipresent, can be present with us if we want Him at all. By His omnipresence, He can always be with us if we are attached to His devotional service by hearing, chanting, remembering, etc.
- This (the Lord is within our hearts) does not suggest that we should not go to the places of worship, namely the temples, churches and mosques. Such holy places of worship are also occupied by the Lord because the Lord is omnipresent.
Conclusion
To properly understand the absolute nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one must accept His simultaneous localization and all-pervasiveness. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that through His spiritual effulgence and His diverse potencies, the Lord is omnipresent throughout the entire cosmic manifestation. While foolish atheists remain blind to this divine presence, a sincere devotee, acting with perfect knowledge, sees the Lord everywhere. By constantly engaging in the processes of hearing and chanting, the pure soul practically experiences the loving omnipresence of the Supreme Lord at every moment and in every circumstance.
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 Omnipresent. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.