God Is The Supreme Source - The Fountainhead of Creation
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that any serious philosophical inquiry must eventually lead to the ultimate origin of everything. The Vedic literatures, especially the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā, clearly define the Absolute Truth as the supreme source from whom all energies and living beings emanate. This source is not a blind mechanism or a formless void, but the fully conscious Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Conscious Origin
Matter cannot generate life or consciousness on its own. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that because we possess consciousness and individuality, the supreme source from whom we emanate must be the supremely conscious person, full of original sentiment and individuality.
- Unless the Supreme Lord is conscious, the supreme source of all generation is conscious, wherefrom this consciousness can come?
- The supreme source is abhijna. He is not a stone or a void. How could He be? The creation itself is evidence of the consciousness of the Supreme. Everyone can appreciate the cosmic manifestation and how nicely it is working.
- The Personality of Godhead has every sentiment of a sentient being, like all other living beings, because He is the chief and original living entity, the supreme source of all other living beings.
- Synonyms for the supreme source of all energies, as explained in the very beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, are called Parambrahma, Paramatma or Bhagavan.
The Source of All Energies
Everything in existence is a combination of the Lord's superior and inferior energies. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that all creative agents, including the powerful demigods, are simply expansions drawing their power from this one supreme source.
- As explained in Bhagavad-gita, jiva-bhutam maha-baho: the whole world is energy released from the supreme source, the Personality of Godhead, who, it is further stated in Bhagavad-gita, acts in superior energies and inferior energies.
- Brahma creates, Visnu maintains, and Lord Siva destroys. But all such agents and creative energies are emanations from the Lord, and as such there is nothing except the Lord, or the one supreme source of different diversities.
- The philosophy of monism, explained very clearly, adjusts itself to the fact that the supreme source of all energy is the Supreme Personality, Krsna. This is described very clearly. It is also stated how the impersonal feature of Krsna can be understood.
- As the rivers draw water from the sea through the clouds and again go down to the sea, similarly our energy is borrowed from the supreme source, the Lord's energy, and it must return to the Lord.
The Reservoir of All Pleasure
Every living entity is constantly searching for enjoyment, but they seek it in temporary, material objects. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the Vedic hymns direct us to the true reservoir of all attraction, the supreme source of all pleasure.
- Everyone is after some pleasure of humor for enjoyment, but does not know the supreme source of all attraction.
- The Vedic hymns inform everyone about the supreme source of all pleasure.
- In this verse the verb vidanti is sometimes taken to mean "understanding." Thus when a person understands Brahman, or the supreme source of everything, he enjoys a blissful life.
Understanding the Source Through Devotion
The supreme source of creation cannot be mapped out by scientists or comprehended by mental speculators. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that one must hear directly from the Lord and engage in devotional service to truly understand Him.
- In other words, the supreme source of creation, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot be understood by our own endeavor.
- In this regard, Srila Sridhara Svami has composed a verse which conveys the idea that the supreme source of everything, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is so great and unlimited that it is not possible for the living entity to understand Him by any material acquisition.
- One should try to learn of the Transcendence from the Lord Himself, the supreme source of the Vedas, for the Lord alone has full knowledge of the Transcendence.
- One should pray to the Lord to be engaged in His devotional service eternally, so that by the grace of the Lord one can understand the supreme source of creation.
Conclusion
A river draws its water from the sea through the clouds and ultimately flows back into it. Śrīla Prabhupāda uses this beautiful analogy to explain our relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We have borrowed our energy and our very existence from the supreme source, and our ultimate perfection is to return that energy in the form of loving devotional service. The Māyāvādī philosophers fail to recognize that the supreme source is not a formless void, but the supremely conscious, original living entity, Lord Kṛṣṇa. By accepting the authority of the Vedas, abandoning futile material endeavors, and surrendering to the Supreme Lord, the conditioned soul taps into the supreme source of all pleasure and achieves a blissful, eternal life.
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 Source. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.