God Is Wonderful - The Inconceivable Pastimes of the Supreme Lord
Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the Absolute Truth cannot be comprehended by mundane logic or the limited calculations of the human brain. The Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses inconceivable potencies, making His form, His energies, and His actions supremely wonderful. The Vedic literatures are filled with the glorification of these wonderful attributes, which inspire awe in the minds of neophytes and elicit pure, transcendental ecstasy in the hearts of unalloyed devotees.
The Wonderful Cause of All Causes
Material creators require tools, exertion, and personal endeavor to construct even the simplest things. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Supreme Lord is the wonderful cause of all causes because His energies work automatically and perfectly, requiring no such mundane effort.
- The Absolute is personal, but He is independent. He does not require to personally take a brush and colors to paint the flowers, for His potencies act so wonderfully that it appears as if flowers have come into being without the aid of an artist.
- My Lord, You are the cause of all causes, but You Yourself have no cause. Therefore You are the wonderful cause of everything.
- He is wonderful in the sense that although there may be unlimited emanations from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He always remains complete.
- The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is so complete that although innumerable Personalities of Godhead expand from Him, He remains the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. Purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate. Therefore He is the wonderful cause.
Authentic and Inconceivable Pastimes
In the modern age, many foolish people are misled by cheap magicians claiming to be God. Śrīla Prabhupāda strongly refutes these false claims, pointing out that true incarnations of the Supreme Lord display uniquely wonderful power that no ordinary human can replicate.
- As described in this verse by the word mahiyasah, the activities of an incarnation are not ordinary magic or jugglery, but are wonderful activities.
- At the present time, especially in India, so many rascals are claiming to be incarnations, and people are being misled. Therefore, the identity of an incarnation should be confirmed by the descriptions of the sastras and by wonderful activities.
- All glories to Lord Kesava, who assumed the form of a dwarf. O Lord of the universe, who takes away everything inauspicious for the devotees! O wonderful Vamanadeva! You tricked the great demon Bali Maharaja by Your steps.
- While Hiranyakasipu looked all around to find the source of the sound, that wonderful form of the Lord, which could not be ascertained to be either a man or a lion, emerged from the pillar.
Pleasing the Pure Devotees
The Supreme Lord is entirely self-sufficient and has no personal need to descend to the material world. Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that the Lord acts like a human being and performs wonderful activities simply to satisfy the desires of His pure devotees.
- When the Lord wants to take pleasure in pastimes, He comes down to this material world and acts like a human being, thus showing His wonderful, glorious activities to please the devotees.
- Devotees always want to see the Lord victorious in varied activities, and therefore, to please Himself and them, the Lord sometimes agrees to act as a human being and perform wonderful, uncommon pastimes for the satisfaction of the devotees.
- The cobbler began to weep, "Oh, my Lord is so wonderful, He can do anything." "Do you really believe that the Lord can push an elephant through the hole of a needle?" Narada asked.
- When Vasudeva understood that this was not an ordinary child but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he became fearless. Regarding his son as the Supreme Lord, wonderful in everything, he began offering prayers appropriate for the Supreme Lord.
The Power of Devotional Service
Recognizing the wonderful nature of the Lord naturally leads to glorification. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the simple act of hearing and chanting about these wonderful pastimes is the essence of bhakti-yoga, keeping the devotee eternally connected to the Absolute Truth.
- One should always chant and hear about the extraordinarily wonderful activities of the Lord, one should meditate upon these activities, and one should endeavor to please the Lord.
- This transcendental devotional service of the Lord is so wonderful that the occupation keeps the deserving devotee always rapt in psychological activities, without deviation from the absolute touch.
- The process of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very wonderful. One who is intelligent should accept that process and be satisfied with whatever comes, favorable or unfavorable, by His supreme will.
- It is not that one has to become very learned scholar to become a preacher. Simply it requires enthusiasm, "My Lord is so great, so kind, so beautiful, so wonderful. So I must speak something about my Lord."
Conclusion
A tiny fraction of material creation bewilders the most advanced scientists, yet the Supreme Personality of Godhead generates millions of universes merely by His wonderful, inconceivable potencies. Śrīla Prabhupāda consistently protects innocent seekers from being misled by mundane rascals and cheap magicians by emphasizing that a true incarnation of God is confirmed only through the authoritative scriptures and the display of unfathomably wonderful activities. Whether expanding as Lord Vāmanadeva to trick Bali Mahārāja or appearing as Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva from a pillar to protect Prahlāda, the Lord descends specifically to exhibit His wonderful pastimes for the pleasure of His devotees. By cultivating unalloyed faith in these extraordinary activities, and by constantly speaking and hearing about how wonderful Kṛṣṇa is, a sincere soul becomes completely fearless and firmly established in the supreme perfection of bhakti-yoga.
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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 Wonderful. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.