God and the Nondevotees - Illusion, Annihilation, and Mercy
The material world is the designated residence for souls who have chosen to forget their eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the nondevotees, driven by envy and ignorance, constantly challenge God's authority, prompting the Lord to respond with a perfect balance of strict justice and absolute mercy.
The Mentality of Nondevotees
Atheism is a product of material contamination. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that because nondevotees are covered by the modes of passion and ignorance, their intelligence is impure, leading them to concoct blasphemous philosophies and harbor the impossible desire to equal the Supreme Lord.
- Nondevotees are under the sway of passion and ignorance. One who is in passion cannot become detached from material hankering, and one who is in ignorance cannot know what he is or what the Lord is.
- All the nondevotee living entities are desirous of becoming equally as powerful as the Lord, although they are not fit to become so.
- Mayavadi philosophers wrongly think that because the Supreme Person has entered the body of a poor man, the Supreme Lord has become daridra-narayana, or poor Narayana. These are all blasphemous statements of atheists and nondevotees.
- Considered with scrutiny, the conclusion of nondevotees, who say that God has no name, and that of devotees, who know that His name is not material, are practically the same. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material name.
Bewildered by Illusion
God perfectly reciprocates with the desires of every living entity. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that when nondevotees stubbornly challenge the Lord's supremacy, He fulfills their desire by plunging them into deep forgetfulness and allowing them to be punished by the stringent laws of material nature.
- O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure (SB 10.2.32).
- The Lord left in His own body; He did not leave His body as is generally misunderstood by the conditioned souls. This statement defeats the false propaganda of the faithless nondevotees that the Lord passed away like an ordinary conditioned soul.
- The nondevotees challenge the authority of the Supreme Lord, and therefore the Lord dictates in such a way that the nondevotees forget the Lord's service, life after life, and are punished by the laws of nature.
- The Lord gives opportunity to the nondevotees to fulfill their desires, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca (BG 15.15)).
The Lord's Anger and Annihilation
While the Lord is generally neutral, He is fiercely protective of His devotees. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Supreme Lord personally descends into the material world, fully displaying His transcendental anger, to use His divine weapons to punish and annihilate those who harass the faithful.
- In Bhagavad-gita (4.8) also it is said that the Lord appears just to give protection to the devotees and to annihilate the nondevotees. The nondevotees are found in the material world, not in the spiritual world.
- Lord Visnu has a club and cakra to punish nondevotees. Do not risk punishment by attempting to disturb the devotees.
- Why God should not be angry? He must be angry. But He is angry on the nondevotee, not on His devotee. On the demons He is angry.
- When You (Visnu) appear in these incarnations, You are pleasing to the pious and religious devotees, but for nondevotees You are the annihilator.
The Absolute Mercy of God
Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is absolute, there is no duality in His actions. Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that the Lord's act of killing a nondevotee is actually an expression of His supreme mercy, resulting in the spiritual liberation of the slain miscreant.
- Since the Lord is absolute, everything done by Him is good for everyone. But when He descends on earth, He acts for the protection of the devotees and for the annihilation of the impious nondevotees.
- The Lord killed many inimical nondevotees, but they all received sarupya; in other words, they returned to their original spiritual bodies. One who does not know the Lord's position says that God is unkind to him but merciful to others.
- The Lord gives special protection to the family members and descendants of a devotee, even though such members are themselves nondevotees.
- The Lord says in the Bhagavad-gita that no one is dearer to Him than one who actually preaches the glories of the Lord to convert the nonbelievers and nondevotees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully clarifies the profound dynamic between the Supreme Lord and the nondevotees. Conditioned by the modes of passion and ignorance, nondevotees act with impure intelligence, constantly desiring to usurp the Lord's position and concocting offensive, Māyāvādī philosophies to justify their atheism. In perfect reciprocation, the Lord fulfills their desire to remain in illusion, allowing them to be punished by the stringent laws of material nature. However, when these miscreants overstep and disturb the peaceful devotees, the Lord personally descends. Displaying His divine anger, He uses His cakra and club to annihilate the offenders. Yet, the ultimate beauty of Kṛṣṇa's character is His absolute nature; there is no difference between His loving embrace and His lethal strike. Those inimical nondevotees who are killed by the Lord are instantly purified of their sins and frequently awarded sārūpya-mukti, attaining spiritual bodies in the transcendental realm. This proves that God is never truly unkind. His mercy is so boundless that He even extends special protection to the nondevotee family members of His pure servants, and He reserves His deepest affection for those courageous preachers who dedicate their lives to converting the faithless back to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
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 and the Nondevotees. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.