God Is Pure - The Supreme Uncontaminated Absolute Truth
Śrīla Prabhupāda continually emphasizes that the Absolute Truth is the supreme emblem of purity. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally situated above the three modes of material nature, He is never touched by the ignorance, passion, or mundane goodness that contaminate the conditional living entities.
The Supreme Purity of the Absolute Truth
To understand God is to understand absolute purity. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Lord's name, form, and qualities are completely spiritual and untainted by any material defect, making Him the perfect object of eternal meditation.
- The Personality of Godhead is pure, being free from all contaminations of material tinges. He is the Absolute Truth and the embodiment of full and perfect knowledge. He is all-pervading, without beginning or end, and without rival.
- The Personality of Godhead, who is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated, the self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling everyone's desire since time immemorial.
- To confirm that the Lord is always pure and uncontaminated, Sri Isopanisad describes Him as suddham (antiseptic) and apapa-viddham (prophylactic).
- The Lord is omnipotent and omniscient, and similarly, His name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and everything pertaining to Him are complete, pure, eternal and free from material contamination.
Uncontaminated by Material Nature
A common misconception is that the Lord assumes a material body when He descends to this world. Śrīla Prabhupāda strongly refutes this, clarifying that God and His incarnations remain completely transcendental, untouched by the cosmic manifestation, much like the sun remains unaffected by the clouds.
- Mayavada philosophy tries to designate the Lord as contaminated by a material body when He accepts forms of incarnation. This sort of interpolation is completely denied herein (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.6.40-4) by the explanation that the Lord's position is pure and unalloyed.
- God's incarnations are always situated on the platform of suddha-sattva, pure transcendence.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead can accept the reactions of anyone's sinful deeds and neutralize them because He is pavitra, pure, like the sun, which is never contaminated by any worldly infection.
- Your (the Lord's) inconceivable potency keeps You unattached to the mundane qualities. Surpassing all conceptions of material contemplation, Your pure transcendental knowledge keeps You beyond all speculative processes.
The Constitutional Purity of the Soul
Because living entities are minute fragments of the Supreme Father, they inherit His spiritual qualities. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes that our current suffering is an unnatural state brought about by artificial material contact, masking our original, pure identity.
- We spirit soul, we are as pure as God. God is pure. In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna is addressed as param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan. Pavitram means the purest. So we are part and parcel of God; we are also purest.
- Because you are part and parcel of God, you are as pure as God, but now you are put into this material condition. You are being contaminated in so many ways; therefore you are suffering, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi.
- The living entities, by their very constitution, are spiritually as good as the Lord, and the only difference between them is that the Lord is always supreme and pure, without contamination by the modes of material nature.
- By good or bad association you have acquired so many artificial, I mean to say, habits. So simply by association you can forget also. Then you come to the pure life. And God is pure.
Approaching the Kingdom of God
One cannot enter a fire without acquiring the qualities of fire. Similarly, Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that entering the pristine spiritual realm or associating intimately with the Supreme Lord requires the living entity to completely cleanse themselves of all sinful material habits.
- God is pure, and His kingdom is also pure, and anyone who wants to enter there, he must be pure also.
- We have to become sinless before going back to home, back to Godhead. Because kingdom of God ... God is pure, the kingdom is pure. No impure living entity can enter there.
- Dishonest men cannot go to back to home, back to Godhead. That is false. God is pure. One must be very, very pure. A thing which is not fire, it cannot be allowed to enter into the fire. One must become fire; then there is no trouble. Fire can enter fire.
- Without being pure, you cannot be engaged in the loving service of the Lord. The Lord is pure. Param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan. So you cannot approach Lord being impure.
Conclusion
The supreme purity of God is a foundational truth in the science of devotional service. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the antiseptic and prophylactic source of everything, completely untouched by the material modes of nature. Although the living entities are qualitatively one with the Lord and share His purity, they have become temporarily covered by material designations. To reestablish one's relationship with the pure Lord and return to His uncontaminated spiritual kingdom, a soul must sincerely take up the process of purification. By associating with the purest of the pure through chanting His holy names and following the instructions of His pure devotees, the living entity can wash away all artificial habits and reclaim their eternal, unalloyed position.
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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 Pure. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.