Perfecting Human Life By Willingly Becoming Subordinate To God
The pursuit of genuine happiness and spiritual freedom begins with understanding our actual identity. By deeply analyzing the eternal relationship between the soul and the Supreme, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that every living being is constitutionally designed to serve the complete whole. When we abandon our artificial desire for independence and joyfully accept our subordinate position, we instantly awaken to the perfection of human life.
The Eternal Constitutional Position
Every individual soul is a minute, inseparable part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Because God is the infinite energetic source and we are His localized energy, our natural function is to engage in cooperative service. Highlighting this profound reality, Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that although we share the same spiritual quality as the Lord, we remain quantitatively tiny and must always depend on His supreme maintenance.
- The actual fact is that every living being is an individual part and parcel of the Supreme Being, and his constitutional position is subordinate cooperative service.
- A living entity is eternally subordinate to the Supreme Lord, and he has this knowledge with him, but, artificially, he thinks that he is God himself and that although he is God he has lost his knowledge due to maya.
- God is also living entity. He is the chief living entity, chief intelligent man or god, and we are subordinate. What is our relationship? God is the supreme father, we are all children.
- We are one with God, since we have God's qualities in minute degree. But God is the master, and we are always subordinate. Eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman: we are protected, we are maintained, we are predominated. That is our position.
- The natural position of the living being is always as a subordinate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When one agrees to act in such a position, he attains perfection in life, but if one rebels against this principle, he is in the conditioned state.
The Illusion of Artificial Independence
The entire spectrum of material suffering begins when the pure soul rebels against the divine order. Instead of acknowledging the supreme authority, the conditioned soul attempts to become an independent enjoyer, thereby falling under the stringent control of illusory energy. Pointing out this tragic mistake, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that denying our subordinate status traps us in a perpetual cycle of ignorance, fear, and frustration.
- The conditioned state is due to the soul's forgetfulness of his relationship of subordination to the Lord.
- One should be humble and know that he is subordinate to the Supreme Lord. Due to rebellion against the Supreme Lord, one becomes subordinate to material nature. One must know and be convinced of this truth.
- To be obedient to the wishes of the Supreme Lord is the natural position of every living entity. But due only to past misdeeds, a living being becomes averse to the sense of subordination to the Lord and suffers all the miseries of material existence.
- When one is deluded into separation from this pure knowledge (that the constitutional position of the living entity is that of subordination to the God), he becomes controlled by illusory energy and cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Universal Subordination to the Supreme Will
The absolute dominance of the Supreme Lord extends across the entire cosmic manifestation, leaving no individual or element fully independent. Even the most exalted administrators of the universe recognize their designated roles as faithful servants. Bringing this vast universal hierarchy into focus, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that everyone, from the tiny ant to the greatest demigods, functions perfectly only by remaining strictly subordinate to the supreme will.
- Beginning from Brahmaji, the leader of this universe, down to the insignificant ant, all are abiding by the order of the Supreme Lord. Thus the constitutional position of the living being is subordination under the control of the Lord.
- Living entities, including even great personalities as Brahma and Lord Siva, are all subordinate to the Lord. In the material world also, in His eternal form of Visnu, He maintains and controls all the affairs of the demigods, including Brahma and Siva.
- All the wonderful cosmic manifestations are existing by the supreme will of God, and all of them are subordinate to that supreme will. As we generally say, not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Everyone is subordinate to nature. Nature, however, is working under the direction of God; therefore everyone is subordinate to God.
- After instructing Indra, Lord Krsna asked him to return to his kingdom in the heavenly planets and to remember always that he is never the supreme but is always subordinate to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The True Meaning of Religion
Authentic spiritual life is not defined by sectarian labels, external rituals, or temporary cultural designations. It is rooted in a fundamental, scientific understanding of our relationship with the absolute center. Delivering this clear and practical vision, Śrīla Prabhupāda defines true religion as the simple realization that God is the supreme, great maintainer, and that we are His eternal, subordinate dependents.
- Religion does not mean stamping in different way. Religion means to know God the great and we are subordinate, maintained by God. This is religion.
- Religion without God Consciousness has no meaning, and God Consciousness means we are eternally related with Him. He is the Father, and everyone of us is the part and parcel or son. He is the Supreme Leader, and we are subordinates.
- God means the supreme brain, the supreme powerful, and we are teenies, we are subordinate; therefore our position is to abide by the orders of God. That is actually religion. That's all. Less powerful men serves the more powerful. That is the nature.
- The Bhagavad-gita religion is not Hindu religion or Christian religion or Mohammedan religion. It is the real religion, between the soul and God. The reciprocation, the exchange of dealings between the Supreme and the subordinate.
- You can call it, "This is Negro law," "This is white law," "This is black law . . ." No. That is not very scientific. God is great, we are all subordinates, and we have to obey the orders of God. That is religion.
Achieving Perfection Through Surrender
The culmination of all spiritual practices is the complete offering of one's will, intelligence, and actions to the Supreme. By recognizing our inherently dependent status, we are freed from the struggle of material existence and elevated to the platform of pure devotion. Concluding this profound subject, Śrīla Prabhupāda promises that the very moment a person firmly accepts their subordinate position and seeks the Lord's mercy, their return back to Godhead is guaranteed.
- As soon as one accepts that God is there and I am subordinate, and my business is to surrender unto Him, then immediately he becomes Krsna conscious.
- When the conditioned soul realizes that he is subordinate to the Supreme Soul, his position is called labdhatma, self-realization, or mukta-bandhana, freedom from material contamination.
- Understanding the subordinate position of the living entity takes millions of births, but when one is actually wise he surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- The living entities are always subordinate to the Supreme. Consequently their duty is to always seek the mercy of the Lord in order to be protected by Him in all circumstances.
- In pure devotional service one comes to the realization that God is great and that the individual soul is subordinate to Him. His duty is to render service to the Lord-if not, then he will render service to maya.
Conclusion
The supreme objective of human life is not to endlessly struggle against the laws of material nature, but to peacefully align with the divine order. As Śrīla Prabhupāda meticulously establishes, the soul's intrinsic happiness is unlocked only when we willingly accept our eternal, subordinate relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By abandoning the futile desire to act as independent masters and dedicating our actions to the Lord's service, we instantly achieve the ultimate perfection of liberation.
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 Subordinate to God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.