God Simply - The Effortless Potencies of the Supreme Lord
Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the Absolute Truth is characterized by supreme effortlessness. While material scientists and philosophers assume that managing the universe requires immense labor and complex machinations, the Vedic literatures reveal that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has nothing to do. Because His energies are inconceivably powerful and perfect, He creates, maintains, and destroys the cosmic manifestation simply by His desire. Whether acting as the supreme creator or the silent witness in the heart, the Lord's actions are executed flawlessly and simply.
Effortless Creation
To understand the position of the Supreme Lord, one must realize that He is not a mundane engineer who must physically assemble the universe. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Lord creates everything simply by casting His transcendental glance over the material energy.
- These are the Vedic information. God means na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate. He has nothing to do; He has simply to desire. I think in the Christian Bible also it is said, "God said, 'Let there be creation,' and there was creation." He has to simply desire.
- As stated in the Vedas, He simply glanced over the material creation, and the agitation of matter immediately began.
- As the supreme transcendental Lord, He simply casts a glance over the material principle, and thus the agitation of matter begins, and the resultant actions are manifested one after another by six kinds of gradual differentiations.
- The Lord is not directly attached to this material creation. He simply glances over material nature; material nature is thus activated, and everything is created immediately.
The Supreme Witness
The Upaniṣads give the famous example of two birds sitting on the same tree representing the body. While the individual soul attempts to eat the bitter and sweet fruits of material life, the Lord, as the Paramātmā (Supersoul), sits alongside him, simply witnessing his actions.
- The Veda says that two birds, just like friends, they are sitting on the same tree. One bird is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird is not eating the fruit but is simply observing the activities of the other bird.
- This one tree is this whole body, and the two birds - one the individual soul and the other is the Supersoul - both of them are sitting as friends. One bird is eating the fruits of the tree, and the other bird is simply an onlooker.
- The Mundaka Upanisad completely distinguishes the Lord from the living entities. The living entity is subjected to the reactions of fruitive activity, whereas the Lord simply witnesses such activity and bestows the results.
- Since God is the witness of everyone's actions, He witnesses the actions of the enemies of His devotees and He is inclined to punish them. In other cases He simply witnesses what the living entities do and gives the results of one's sinful or pious actions.
Effortless Annihilation and Maintenance
The Lord is completely independent and aloof from the cosmic manifestation. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that even when the universe is destroyed, or when He appears to fight massive demons, He does so without any anxiety or exertion.
- Our definition of God is, na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate. "He has nothing to do." This is God. Na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate: "He has nothing to do." He is simply enjoying, dancing with the gopis, that is all.
- Although a demon may be very powerful and extraordinary in the eyes of an ordinary man in the material world, to the Lord, killing such a demon is no difficulty. He can kill millions of demons as simply as a child plays with dolls and breaks them.
- Again, when the cosmic manifestation is annihilated, it rests in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nonetheless, He is infallibly the supreme observer. Under any circumstances, the Supreme Lord is changeless. He is simply a witness and is aloof from all creation and annihilation.
- The Lord in His incarnation of Dhanvantari very quickly cures the diseases of the ever-diseased living entities simply by his fame personified, and only because of him do the demigods achieve long lives.
The Simple Path Back to Godhead
Because the Supreme Lord is full of boundless compassion, He does not wish to see the conditioned souls suffer in the material world. To rescue them, He does not demand complicated rituals or strenuous physical yoga; He simply asks for pure devotion.
- The Lord does not want the living entity to become entangled in the reactions of activities, be they good or bad. He simply wants everyone to go back home, back to Godhead.
- One can directly approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by executing these nine kinds of devotional service, of which hearing about the Lord is the most important.
- The merciful Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has simply advised us to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra: harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam.
- Although Maharaja Prthu was simply enthroned on the royal seat and was not at that time exhibiting his godly powers, the reciters like the suta, the magadha and the vandi understood that King Prthu was an incarnation of God.
Conclusion
The Vedic understanding of the Supreme Lord stands in stark contrast to the grueling struggle of material existence. Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that the Personality of Godhead is perfectly complete; He has nothing to do (na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate). While scientists theorize about complex cosmic origins, the Lord simply creates the universe with a single glance. While living entities exhaust themselves chasing temporary pleasures, the Lord simply sits within the heart as a neutral witness, observing and awarding the fruits of karma. Even the most terrifying demons are dismantled as simply as a child breaks a toy. Yet, the most profound aspect of the Lord's effortless nature is the simplicity of His mercy. He simply desires that the suffering souls return to His eternal abode, and to facilitate this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has inaugurated the simplest, most sublime method: simply chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. By taking up this easy process, anyone can bypass the complexities of material life and achieve the supreme perfection.
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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 Simply. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.