God Is The Master - The Supreme Controller of All Energies
Śrīla Prabhupāda consistently teaches that to understand the Absolute Truth, one must first understand the fundamental dynamic of reality: there is one supreme master, and everyone else is a servant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the absolute master of all creation, and the ultimate perfection of human life is to reawaken our natural, joyful relationship as His eternal servitors.
The Master of All Energies
The material energy is incredibly powerful and bewildering to the ordinary living entity, but it acts strictly under the direction of the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Bhagavān is the complete master of both the spiritual and material potencies, remaining completely unaffected by the material modes.
- This manifestation is bewildering to the living entities. The Lord is therefore the master of the energies, whereas the living entities are subjugated by them.
- As stated in Bhagavad-gita, nirgunam guna-bhoktr ca: although the Lord is not attached to the external energy, He is nonetheless the master of it.
- Lord Visnu is the master of this material world, and there is no question of His being controlled by material nature. Consequently, He is addressed here as purusottama, the best of all living entities - namely visnu-tattvas and jiva-tattvas.
- He is the origin of material creation, and it is due to Him only that everything changes. He is the protector of religion and annihilator of all sinful activities. He is the master of all opulences.
The Eternal Master and Servant
Our relationship with God is not a temporary arrangement; it is an eternal, spiritual fact. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that while we may share qualities with the Lord, we are constitutionally meant to be the predominated servants of the supreme predominator.
- The Lord and the living entity are not equal, for the Lord is always the master, and the living entity is always the servant.
- O my Lord, I am Your unmotivated servant, and You are my eternal master. There is no need of our being anything other than master and servant. You are naturally my master, and I am naturally Your servant. We have no other relationship.
- The first stage is that of servitude, wherein the Supreme Lord is accepted as the master and the devotee as the eternal servitor. When Lord Caitanya accepted this process, Ramananda Raya described the relationship between the servitor and the master.
- Everyone has an eternal relationship with the Lord, either as master and servant, friend and friend, parent and child, husband and wife, or lover and beloved. These relationships are eternally present.
The Illusion of False Mastery
The very definition of material illusion (māyā) is the tiny living entity's attempt to act as the supreme master. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that identifying oneself as the proprietor or controller is a puffed-up, false consciousness that only leads to suffering.
- What is false is the claim to the property, which is based upon a puffed up false consciousness that the individual is the proprietor, the master, or God.
- When a servant artificially tries to imitate the all-powerful master, it is called illusion.
- The Lord is the master of the potencies, and the living entity is the servant of them. That is the difference between the Lord and the living entity. However, you declare that the Lord and the living entities are one and the same.
- Krsna consciousness is acting according to Krsna's order. A conditioned soul illusioned by the external energy of matter does not know that the Supreme Lord is the master who is full of knowledge and who is the proprietor of everything.
The Proper Approach to the Supreme
Many people approach God with a list of demands, treating the almighty creator as their personal order-supplier. Śrīla Prabhupāda instructs that true religious life and real peace begin only when we approach God with a genuine desire to serve Him.
- Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum: people do not know that real advancement in life consists of accepting the Supreme Personality of Godhead as one's master.
- Those who are going to religious life making God as their servant, they will be failure. You must approach God as master. You should become servant.
- As soon as a devotee wants the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be his order supplier, the Lord immediately refuses to become the master of such a motivated devotee.
- Srila Yamunacarya has recited in his Stotra-ratna: By serving You constantly, one is freed from all material desires and is completely pacified. When shall I engage as Your permanent eternal servant and always feel joyful to have such a fitting master?
Conclusion
The foundation of pure knowledge is recognizing our inherent, subordinate position in relation to the Absolute Truth. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the singular, unrivaled master of all spiritual and material domains. While the living entities possess divine qualities in minute quantities, they can never become equal to or greater than the supreme master. The conditioned soul's attempt to usurp this position by trying to lord over material nature is the essence of criminal illusion. However, when a living entity completely surrenders, abandoning the foolish mentality of an independent proprietor or demanding order-supplier, they immediately taste the profound peace and transcendental joy of having perfectly found their eternal master.
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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 The Master. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.