God Is Uncontaminated - The Pure Supreme Absolute Truth
Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly clarifies a vital distinction between the ordinary living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead: while the minute spirit soul easily becomes polluted by associating with the material energy, the Supreme Lord is completely immune. The Vedic literatures declare that the Lord is eternally uncontaminated. Whether He is residing in the spiritual sky or descending into the material universes, He remains forever situated in His pure, original, and transcendental form.
The Supreme Purity of the Lord
To help conditioned souls grasp how the Lord can exist within the material world without being infected by it, Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently employs the analogy of the sun. The sun's immense power allows it to remain pure even while interacting with filthy substances.
- Just as the sun is never polluted by any contamination, the Supreme Lord is never polluted by any sinful activity. Although Krsna's actions may sometimes seem impious, He is never polluted by such actions.
- An example sometimes given to explain the position of the Supreme Lord is that of the sun, which evaporates urine from the earth but is never affected by contamination. The Supreme Lord can never be accused of doing anything wrong.
- The individual atma becomes polluted by sin, but the Lord is never contaminated by sins. The Lord is compared to the powerful sun. The sun is never contaminated by anything infectious because it is so powerful.
- 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.
Untouched by the Material Modes
The material energy, consisting of goodness, passion, and ignorance, acts as a powerful spell over the conditioned souls. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Supreme Lord is the absolute master of these modes, and as the master, He is completely liberated and uncontaminated by their influence.
- The external energy of the Lord is very strong, but the Lord, as the master of the three modes of material nature, is ever liberated from the action and reaction of those modes. He, therefore, is uncontaminated, as stated in the Isopanisad.
- To confirm that the Lord is always pure and uncontaminated, Sri Isopanisad describes Him as suddham (antiseptic) and apapa-viddham (prophylactic).
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally alipta, uncontaminated by the external energy.
- The higher and lower natures exist due to ignorance and are being manifested in an infinite number of living entities. But the Supersoul, which is infallible, is uncontaminated by the three qualities of nature and is transcendental.
The Transcendental Form
A common philosophical error made by impersonalists is assuming that God must accept a contaminated material body when He incarnates. Śrīla Prabhupāda rigorously rejects this idea, asserting that the Lord's form is entirely spiritual, unalloyed, and full of eternal bliss.
- Krsna appears in this material world in His original eternal form, with two hands, holding a flute. He appears exactly in His eternal body, uncontaminated by this material world.
- 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 by the explanation that the Lord's position is pure and unalloyed.
- Devaki said - Your forms are eternal and all-pervading. They are self-effulgent, changeless and uncontaminated by the material qualities.
- The Lord, whose pure form is uncontaminated by the modes of material nature, can be perceived by pure consciousness. In the Vedanta He is described as being one without a second.
The Supreme Object of Affection
Because the Lord is free from all defects, He is naturally attractive to the purified consciousness of the living entities. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes that true religion simply means directing our unalloyed affection toward this supreme, uncontaminated truth.
- He is not the object of affection by material tinges of body and mind, but He is the full, naked, uncontaminated object of affection for all living entities because He is the Supersoul, or Paramatma, within everyone's heart.
- The Supreme Lord is uncontaminated by the modes of material nature; therefore He is attractive to the pure devotee. There is no need to practice meditation to attain such attraction; the pure devotee is already in the transcendental stage.
- My dear servants, this transcendental religious principle, which is known as bhagavata-dharma, or surrender unto the Supreme Lord and love for Him, is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature.
- We know that You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, who manifests His transcendental form in the uncontaminated mode of pure goodness.
Conclusion
The foundation of genuine spiritual understanding rests upon knowing the infallible nature of the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that while the tiny jīva soul is prone to the infections of material existence, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally uncontaminated. Just as the sun remains perfectly pure while drawing moisture from a filthy place, Lord Kṛṣṇa engages in cosmic activities and descends into the material world without ever being touched by the modes of goodness, passion, or ignorance. His form, His name, His pastimes, and His senses are entirely spiritual. By shedding the false Māyāvādī conception that God acquires a material body, and by taking up the pure path of bhāgavata-dharma, a sincere devotee can focus their complete affection upon the supreme, uncontaminated Absolute Truth and thus become perfectly purified themselves.
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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 Uncontaminated. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.