Mystery of Controlling God through Love
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is described in the Vedas as the ultimate controller of all energies. Yet, Śrīla Prabhupāda unveils the deepest mystery of Vaiṣṇava philosophy: that this Supreme Controller can be controlled. This is not achieved by strength, logic, or mystic power, but by the intense affection of His pure devotees. This article explores the absolute independence of God, the futile attempts of materialists to dominate Him, the sublime process of bhakti-mārga, and the Lord's voluntary submission to love.
Supreme Independence of the Lord
Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that Kṛṣṇa is the master of time and material nature. While living entities are dragged by the laws of nature and time, the Supreme Lord remains aloof and superior. He explains that God is never controlled by external forces, nor can He be measured or captured by atheistic or demoniac attempts.
- Eternal time is never lost along with the life of Brahma. It continues, but it has no ability to control the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Lord is the controller of time.
- Lord Visnu is the master of this material world, and there is no question of His being controlled by material nature. Consequently, He is addressed here (in SB 4.20.27) as purusottama, the best of all living entities - namely visnu-tattvas and jiva-tattvas.
- Material nature is always under His control, and it is therefore not possible that material nature can control the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Hiranyaksa did not know that God is the greatest of the great and the smallest of the small. No one can capture the Supreme Lord or bring Him under his control. But the demoniac person always attempts to measure the length and breadth of the Supreme Lord.
Ambition of the Devotee vs. Impersonalist
Śrīla Prabhupāda contrasts the goal of the impersonalists (Māyāvādīs) with that of the devotees. He explains that while the ignorant seek to merge into God or claim to be God, the pure devotee understands the higher confidential truth: one can become the father or mother of God and control Him. This understanding is exclusive to the path of bhakti.
- A devotee can control the Supreme Controller. Why they shall become one with God? They'll be God's father, God's controller. This is bhakti-marga.
- Only a devotee can understand that to become one with God is not a sublime idea. In Vrndavana the devotees want to become the father or mother of God - to control God with love. This fact the Mayavadis, or Advaitavadis, cannot understand.
- God is never controlled. God is controller, but He's not controlled. So if we take ourself as so many samples of God, that is all right, but we are controlled God, not controller God.
- Only pure devotees can understand these things - to become the father or mother of God - to control God with love.
Power of Loving Service
How can the Unlimited be controlled? Śrīla Prabhupāda uses the analogy of a chaste wife controlling a gentle husband. He explains that this control is not exercised through force or power, which belongs to the Lord, but through unalloyed service and affection. It is the purity of the devotee's heart that binds the Lord.
- As chaste women bring their gentle husbands under control by service, the pure devotees, who are equal to everyone and completely attached to Me in the core of the heart, bring Me under their full control.
- They can keep You under their control because You are causelessly merciful to devotees who desire no material profit from You. Indeed, You give Yourself to them, and because of this You also have full control over Your devotees.
- The living being, unable to control the rulings of God, is forced to associate with the prostitute of polluted intelligence and accept various material bodies.
The Lord's Voluntary Submission
Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes the Lord's nature as bhakta-vatsala, meaning He is favorably disposed toward His devotees. Because the Lord is not controlled by the laws of karma or material desires, His submission to the devotee is entirely voluntary. He likes to be controlled by those who have no desire other than His satisfaction.
- The Lord likes to be under the control of His devotees.
- There are philosophers who do not believe in the Lord's incarnation and who ask - Why should the Supreme Lord come? But the answer is - Why should He not come? Why should He be controlled by the desire of the living entity?
- Of the three principal agents controlling the three modes of material nature, Visnu is the Almighty; even though He is within material nature for the purpose of maintenance, He is not controlled by the laws of material nature.
Conclusion
The desire to control God is generally a demoniac ambition, but when purified by the fire of devotion, it becomes the highest spiritual perfection. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the living entity is constitutionally a controlled servant; they are controlled either by the external energy (māyā) or by the internal energy (bhakti). When one surrenders completely, the Supreme Controller reciprocates that love by allowing Himself to be bound. As Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes, this mystery—that the Father of the Universe can become the son of Nanda Mahārāja—is the essence of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy.
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 Controlling God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience his teachings in their direct, verbatim form.