God Is The Supreme Being - The Chief of All Living Entities
Śrīla Prabhupāda often points out that even common dictionaries define God as the "Supreme Being." This simple definition contains a profound philosophical truth: God is a living entity, a person, but He is the supreme person, completely distinct from all other beings in His unlimited opulence and power.
The Chief Living Entity
The Vedic literatures confirm that both God and the individual souls are eternal, conscious living beings. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that they are never equal. The Supreme Being is the chief, the leader, and the original source of all others.
- According to the Vedic version, the Lord is the supreme eternal, the supreme living being.
- God is also a living being. That is said in the Oxford Dictionary. God means, "supreme being." So we are all beings, and God is the Supreme Being. We are limited by our power; God is unlimited by His power.
- The Lord is glorified because He is considered to be the chief of all self-realized souls. As said in the Vedas: the Supreme Being, the Personality of Godhead, is the chief living being amongst all living beings.
- Krsna, the Supreme Lord, is the foremost living entity. The word rsabha means "the chief," or "the supreme," and indicates the Supreme Being, or God Himself.
The Maintainer and the Maintained
To further clarify the difference between the Supreme Being and ordinary beings, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains their respective positions as the maintainer and the maintained. The greatness of God lies in His ability to provide for all other living entities.
- In the dictionary, English dictionary, God means Supreme Being. So Supreme Being, He's also living being. He's not a dead stone. The difference is that He is the maintainer, and we are maintained. He is the ruler; we are ruled.
- God is described as the Supreme Being, the chief of all living beings, because He is supplying the necessities of all others - eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman.
- If the Supreme Being is maintaining millions of trillions of living entities, He is great, or the living entities who are maintained by God, they are great? Therefore God is great and we are subordinate. This is natural conclusion. How you can go otherwise?
- The actual fact is that every living being is an individual part and parcel of the Supreme Being, and his constitutional position is subordinate cooperative service.
The Definition of Supremacy
What makes the Supreme Being truly supreme? Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that it is His possession of all opulences in full and the absolute singularity of His position. There cannot be two Supreme Beings.
- Supreme Being means everything supreme. In richness He is supreme. In bodily strength He is supreme. His knowledge is supreme. In beauty He is supreme. In renunciation He is supreme. That is the description, definition of God.
- Unless God is one, there cannot be God. God means, in the dictionary it is said, "Supreme Being." The Supreme Being can be one. If there is competition of Supreme Being, then he is not Supreme Being. That is the philosophy.
- Krsna says: "I am God." Mattah parataram nanyat: "There is no more superior person or superior position than Me," Krsna says. And "God" means that. In the dictionary "God" means the Supreme Being. Supreme Being means nobody is greater than Him.
- Bhagavan, the Supreme Being, Bhagavan. In your English dictionary the word God is explained as "the Supreme Being." Supreme Being means who is great, greater, or the greatest, of all other beings.
The Foundation of True Dharma
Because the Supreme Being is the absolute authority, true religion is simply the process of following His orders. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that humans cannot manufacture religious principles; they must receive them directly from the Supreme Lord.
- Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam: no one actually knows what dharma is, and no one can manufacture dharma. Dharma is the order of the Supreme Being. No one can manufacture state laws; they are given by the government.
- The simplest definition of dharma is that dharma is the order of the Supreme Being. Since the Supreme Being, God, is one, His order must be one. How, then, can there be different dharmas? It is not possible.
- According to the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, dharma means surrendering unto that Supreme Being. This is bhagavata-dharma, and everyone should be taught how to surrender unto God.
- The Supreme Being, the Personality of Godhead, is the essence of all Vedic knowledge, the root of all religious principles, and the memory of great authorities.
Conclusion
Mental speculators often try to equate themselves with the divine, claiming that everyone is God. Śrīla Prabhupāda completely demolishes this illusion by firmly establishing the definition of the Supreme Being. While every soul is a conscious entity, only Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Being—the singular, absolutely independent maintainer of all other living entities. He possesses all opulences in full and directs the vast cosmic manifestation. The living entity's true constitutional position is not to challenge the Lord's supremacy or attempt to merge into His existence, but to recognize their eternal subordination. By understanding that true religion (dharma) is simply obedience to the orders of the Supreme Being, and by engaging all one's senses in His loving service, the conditioned soul finds its natural, joyous relationship with the chief of all living entities.
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 The Supreme Being. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.