God Is Superior - The Absolute Supremacy of the Lord
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently establishes that the relationship between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entity is one of absolute master and subordinate servant. While both are spiritual in nature, God possesses infinite, infallible potencies that position Him as eternally superior to the minute, fallible jīvas and the material cosmos He creates.
The Master of All Masters
The most fundamental truth of Vedic knowledge is that there is no truth higher than the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that God is the original cause of everything and the ultimate controller of all existence.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as all-powerful because no one can excel Him in any activity. In Bhagavad-gita the Lord says, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: "O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me."
- He is the master of all masters, the superior of all superiors.
- He is the cause of all causes, and being so, He is superior to all the conditioned souls within this material nature as well as the material cosmic manifestation itself. He is therefore the all-great Supreme.
- In this chapter it will be also explained that out of the two knowers, one is fallible and the other is infallible. One is superior and the other is subordinate.
Superior to the Material Energy
The living entities in this world are controlled by the three modes of material nature, but the Supreme Lord is never subjected to them. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that God's position is always transcendental and beyond the jurisdiction of material laws.
- Because Lord Visnu is not within the jurisdiction of the material qualities, He is always superior to the living entities who are controlled by the material energy. This is one of the differences between the Supreme Lord and the living entities.
- He is the living force of all things, but He is transcendental to the material qualities. He is omnipotent; He is expert in manufacturing everything, and on account of His superior, natural knowledge, He can bring everyone under His control.
- If a citizen is disobedient to the state law, he is immediately put into police custody. Similarly, anyone who has rebelled against the superiority of God is put under the stringent laws of material nature, and he must suffer. That is the position.
- The Lord and living beings are all individual persons. With the help of the material energies the living beings are also creating something, but none of their creations are equal or superior to the creations of the Lord.
The Superior Will and Direction
Nothing happens without the sanction of the Supreme. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that even the grandest cosmic events or the fulfillment of tiny individual desires are ultimately directed by the superior intelligence of the Lord.
- By His superior intelligence, the Lord gives everyone the chance to fulfill his desires to the fullest extent, and the resultant reaction is also awarded by the Lord.
- The creation and destruction of the cosmic manifestation are under the superior guidance of God. Thus the Battle of Kuruksetra was fought according to the plan of God.
- The particular living entity who was selected to be the descendant of Maharaja Puru, or the Pandavas, was not an ordinary living entity, and by the superior will of the Lord he was destined to be the successor to Maharaja Yudhisthira.
- Just like bona fide representative, Jesus Christ or other great, I mean to say, leaders of the religious faiths, they do not come with the inferior nature. They come with the superior nature of God. That we have to accept.
The Foundation of Surrender and Devotion
To approach God, one must first recognize one's own subordinate position. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the very act of surrender (prapatti) relies on the philosophical understanding that the Supreme Lord is infallibly superior.
- Unless the Lord is superior to the individual soul, there is no question of prapadye, or surrender unto Him. This word prapadye refers to the process of devotional service.
- Demigod worship by the general populace is also advised in the Vedic literature just so people can accept the superior power of God. The demigods are servants of the Lord deputed to look after the management of various activities of universal affairs.
- In the bhakti school, a householder brahmacari is allowed controlled sex life because the cult of bhakti-yoga is so powerful that one automatically loses sexual attraction, being engaged in the superior service of the Lord.
- Some great devotees of the Lord cannot surpass the boundary of awe and veneration. But other devotees are in such an intense compact of love with the Lord that they forget His exalted position and regard themselves as His equals or even His superiors.
Conclusion
The path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness begins with acknowledging the absolute supremacy of the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally the superior of all superiors, completely untouched by the material modes that bind the conditioned souls. To rebel against this superior authority is the root cause of suffering in the material world. However, when a living entity recognizes the Lord's superior intelligence and willingly subordinates themselves through devotional service, they are immediately freed from material entanglement. Ironically, while the Lord is the supreme master, when a devotee serves Him with pure, spontaneous love, the Lord is so magnanimous that He allows the devotee to treat Him as an equal or even as a subordinate, proving that His superior nature is ultimately one of boundless love.
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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 Superior. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.