We Have No Control Over the Waves of Material Nature
Śrīla Prabhupāda consistently shatters the grand illusion of material independence. While modern civilization prides itself on conquering nature through science and technology, the reality is that the conditioned soul is entirely powerless against the stringent laws of the universe. From the microscopic actions of our own bodies to the massive forces of weather and destiny, we are constantly being tossed by energies far greater than ourselves. True freedom does not come from artificially attempting to control the uncontrollable; rather, it comes from recognizing the Supreme Controller, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and surrendering to His divine will through the practice of pure devotional service.
The Illusion of Independence
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the foolish mentality of the conditioned soul is to think, "I am the master." Intoxicated by the false ego, people imagine they are completely independent and that the universe operates without a Supreme Controller. However, they fail to realize that their every action is strictly monitored and that they are tightly held in the grip of material nature.
- Everything is described in the Bhagavad-gita. You have no control. You are simply under the grip of material nature. Everything, whatever you are doing, immediately it is being recorded automatically.
- Completely under the grip of material nature, the rascals, they are thinking, "I am independent. There is no God, there is no control; I can do whatever I like." That is not the fact.
- So how we can think that there is no control, there is no government, everything has come out of its own course? There is controller, and He is called Isvara. Isvara means God. There is management of God. It is very commonsense understanding.
Powerless Against the Laws of Nature
Despite our technological advancements, Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that we are utterly defenseless against the miseries inflicted by material nature (adhidaivika-kleśa). We cannot stop a snowstorm, create rain for our crops, or prevent earthquakes and diseases. We are entirely dependent on higher powers, yet due to a dull brain, we mistakenly claim to be free.
- Everything is under the laws of nature. You have no control over it, you are completely dependent. But people, on account of dull brain, they think that they are free. They are not free.
- There are sufferings called adhidaivika, over which we have no control whatsoever. These are caused by the demigods or acts of nature, and include famine, pestilence, flood, excessive heat or excessive cold, earthquakes, fire and so on.
- The whole New York City is flooded with the snow, and we are all put into inconvenience. That's a sort of suffering. But you have no control. You cannot stop snow falling.
- Even you produce from your land, that is also God's mercy, because for agriculture, for example, if there is no rain, you cannot produce anything. Now, rain, you have no control over rain.
Carried by the Waves of Destiny
Śrīla Prabhupāda uses the vivid analogy of being tossed in the ocean to describe our condition within material existence. Swept away by the powerful waves of the three modes of material nature, the living entity has no control over their ultimate destination. Even our entry into our next body is entirely forced upon us by superior arrangement.
- Under the modes of material nature, we are being carried away by the waves of material nature, and we have no control over where we are going.
- The waves of the (material) ocean are tossing him (the living entity), and he has no control over them. His best solution is to get out of the water by transcendental Krsna consciousness. That alone will save him from all turmoil.
- By the laws of nature, the living entity is forced to enter the semen of a father and be injected into the womb of the mother. He is not in control of selecting what kind of father he will accept.
The Danger of Uncontrolled Senses
According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, the root cause of our entanglement is our lack of self-control. When people live purely in the bodily concept of life, they surrender entirely to their senses, engaging in unrestricted eating and sex. This lack of control is the defining feature of a fourth-class, animalistic civilization, guaranteeing repeated suffering in future births.
- One who is in a bodily concept of life has no control over sense gratification. Such a person can do anything sinful to eat, drink, be merry and enjoy a life of sense gratification, not knowing of the soul's transmigration from one body to another.
- Human civilization in which there is no control of sex life is a fourth-class civilization because in such an atmosphere there is no liberation of the soul encaged in the material body.
- Because people have no control over the senses and there is no institution to train them to control the senses, the poor fellows fall victim to the criminal offenses of sense gratification, and they are punished after death.
The Supreme Controller
Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes by identifying the true source of all control: the Supreme Personality of Godhead. While we may suffer under the jurisdiction of the material energy (Durgā), she is not independent; she works under Kṛṣṇa's direction. Therefore, the only logical solution to the miseries of life is to take shelter of the Supreme Lord, who is the master of all energies.
- Our message is that here in this material world, there are many controllers, many governors, many isvaras, but nobody is the supreme isvara. Supreme isvara means He has no controller over Him.
- Krsna is the controller of everyone, but there is no one superior to Him, no one to control Him; nor is there anyone equal to Him, no one to share His platform of absolute control. This may sound very strange, for there are many so-called gods nowadays.
- We have no control over these threefold miseries. They are controlled by Krsna's maidservant, Goddess Durga, who is material nature. She is not independent of Krsna.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda exposes the stark reality of our material condition: we are infinitesimal souls struggling in a vast, uncontrollable ocean of material energy. As long as we try to artificially pose as the independent controllers of our destiny, we will continuously be battered by the waves of natural disasters, disease, and the severe reactions to our own uncontrolled senses. The path to actual freedom does not lie in attempting to conquer material nature, which is an impossible task. True liberation is achieved by acknowledging our constitutional position as eternal servants and taking full shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Controller. By doing so, we are lifted out of the tossing waters of material misery and placed securely on the eternal platform of devotional service.
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 No Control. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.
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