Understanding the True Nature of God's Partiality
One of the most persistent misconceptions among materialistic thinkers is the accusation that the Supreme Personality of Godhead acts with partiality. Because the Lord routinely protects the demigods and kills the demons, He appears biased. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda definitively clarifies that God's perceived partiality is entirely transcendental, born of His boundless love for His surrendered devotees and His absolute, impartial justice toward all living entities.
The Illusion of Partiality
To the conditioned eye, the Supreme Lord seems to pick sides, especially when He descends to participate in universal conflicts. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that it is fundamentally impossible for the absolute, complete Supreme Lord to possess mundane biases.
- Actually Krsna is not partial to anyone, but externally it appears that He is partial. This partiality (of Krsna on the battlefield showing some partiality and sides with Arjuna), however, should not be accepted in the ordinary sense.
- It is not possible for the Lord to be partial.
- Since the Lord is equally disposed toward everyone, how can He be partial?
- When the Lord (Krsna) descends on this material world by His all-merciful energy, He plays like a human being, and therefore it appears that the Lord is partial to His devotees only, but that is not a fact.
The Natural Reciprocation of Love
What appears as partiality is actually the Supreme Lord's perfect reciprocation of love. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that just as a loving father gives special attention to an affectionate and obedient child, the Supreme Lord naturally favors those who dedicate their lives to His unalloyed service.
- It appears that the Lord (Krsna) is partial to His devotees. Everyone is related with the Lord. He is equal to everyone, and yet He is more inclined to His own men and devotees.
- This (God is equal to everyone, because of natural affection He favors His devotees) partiality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is natural. A person cares for his children not because of partiality but in a reciprocation of love.
- He (Krsna) is called the well-wisher for the devotees only. He appears to be partial to His devotees, but factually the matter rests on the living being to accept or reject equal treatment by the Lord.
- Partiality in receiving the Lord's mercy is relative to the recipient, and it is not due to the partiality of the all-merciful Lord.
Questions and Accusations of Partiality
The Lord's apparent favoritism has been a subject of deep inquiry for pure devotees and a point of angry accusation for demons. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out how kings like Parīkṣit Mahārāja questioned this apparent contradiction to establish the truth, while demons like Hiraṇyakaśipu used it to blaspheme the Lord.
- Pariksit inquired: My dear brahmana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, being everyone's well-wisher, is equal and extremely dear to everyone. How, then, did He become partial like a common man for the sake of Indra and thus kill Indra's enemies?
- Since the Lord says that He is suhrdam sarva-bhutanam (BG 5.29), the well-wisher of all living entities, how could He act with partiality by killing demons? These questions arose in the heart of Pariksit Maharaja, and he inquired from Sukadeva Gosvami.
- The Lord is equal to all living entities. Since the demigods and demons are both living entities, how is it possible that the Lord was partial to one class of living beings and opposed to another.
- The demon Hiranyakasipu accused the Lord of being partial because the demigods worshiped Him, but in fact the Lord, like the government, is not partial at all.
The Lord's Absolute Impartiality
In ultimate reality, the Supreme Lord never favors one entity over another based on prejudice. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that what we perceive as victory or defeat in the material world is actually the mechanical interaction of the three modes of material nature (guṇas).
- Behind material nature is the Supreme Personality of Godhead; but one's victory and loss under the influence of sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna are reactions of these modes, not of the Supreme Lord's partiality.
- Generally the demigods are surcharged with sattva-guna, and therefore when the demons and the demigods fight, the demigods are victorious because of the prominence of their sattva-guna qualities. However, this is not the partiality of the Supreme Lord.
- The visibility of one's qualities doesn't depend on the partiality of God; it is due to various coverings in different proportions. Thus one can understand how far he has advanceod in terms of sattva-guna & how much he is covered by rajo-guna & tamo-guna.
- The question may be raised why the Lord, who is all-merciful, helps one to remember and another to forget. Actually, His mercy is not exhibited in partiality towards one and enmity towards another.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully resolves the philosophical dilemma of God's partiality by distinguishing between mundane bias and transcendental reciprocation. As the Supersoul within the heart of every living being, the Supreme Lord is flawlessly equal, facilitating the free will of both the pious demigods and the rebellious demons without a trace of enmity. The fluctuations of universal dominance are merely the mechanical reactions of the modes of material nature. However, when the Supreme Lord descends to protect His devotees, His actions reflect a natural, loving reciprocation—just as a father naturally favors a devoted child. Furthermore, because God is absolute goodness, even the demons who are "partially" targeted and killed by Him achieve the ultimate benediction of liberation. Thus, the so-called partiality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is simply another magnificent exhibition of His unlimited, all-encompassing mercy.
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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's Partiality. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.