Within God - The Complete Whole and Source of Everything
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that to understand the absolute supremacy of the Lord, one must recognize that nothing exists outside of Him. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the complete whole, meaning that all manifestations, energies, universes, and living entities are eternally situated within God, expanding from Him during creation and resting within Him during annihilation.
The Source and Resting Place
The material creation undergoes continuous cycles of manifestation and dissolution. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how the supreme body of Mahā-Viṣṇu is the ultimate resting place for the entire cosmos; universes emerge from Him with His exhalation and are withdrawn back within Him when He inhales.
- As a spider secretes saliva and weaves a web by its own movements but at the end winds up the web within its body, so Lord Visnu produces this cosmic manifestation from His transcendental body and at the end winds it up within Himself.
- After each annihilation of the material creation, all the living entities are merged within the body of the Lord, and after creation they are again impregnated within the material energy.
- The living beings remain asleep within the body of the Lord until there is another creation of the material world, and that is the way of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material manifestation.
- With the exhaling, universes are coming out, and inhaling, universes are going within the nostril of God. We understand that is God, not a magician you call Him.
The Container of All Energies
It is a profound mystery how a purely spiritual being can be the source of dull matter. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that because the Supreme Lord possesses unlimited potencies, both the superior spiritual nature and the inferior material nature exist seamlessly within Him under His complete control.
- One may argue, "If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely spiritual, how is it possible for Him to be the origin of creation and have within Himself both material and spiritual energies?"
- In both the spiritual and material worlds, He (the Supreme Personality of Godhead) is always the controller of all energies. The uncontaminated spiritual nature always exists within Him.
- The Supreme Lord has unlimited, variegated potencies of different names, which exist within Him as autonomous attributes and provide Him full knowledge, power and pastimes.
- Both Paramatma and the impersonal Brahman are within the Supreme Person. It is explained in the Seventh Chapter that material nature is the manifestation of the inferior energy of the Supreme Lord.
The All-Pervading Yet Localized Lord
God is not simply an impersonal force spread throughout space; He remains a localized person. Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms that by His inconceivable mystic power, the Lord stays in His personal abode, yet simultaneously, all the universes and living entities are held within Him.
- O Brahma, when you are absorbed in devotional service, in the course of your creative activities, you will see Me in you and throughout the universe, and you will see that you yourself, the universe and the living entities are all in Me.
- Every living entity and everything is within Him (the Supreme Person), and yet He is without, all-pervading. How is that? He is just like the sun, which is situated in one place and yet is present all over by its rays.
- Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura cites the example of mother Yasoda's seeing the whole cosmic manifestation within the mouth of Lord Krsna. By the grace of Lord Krsna, mother Yasoda saw all the universes and planets within the mouth of Krsna.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.
The Origin of All Attributes
Because God is the complete source, nothing can exist in the creation that does not first exist in Him. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that even qualities we perceive in the material world, such as the fighting spirit or romantic affection, find their original, pure existence within the Absolute Truth.
- Since the complete whole, or the Absolute Truth, is the source of everything, nothing is independent of Him. Everything exists within the body of the Absolute Truth.
- If sex is not there in God, then how it comes? If God created everything, so God did not create sex?
- Although Jaya and Vijaya assumed the bodies of asuras, they remained more powerful than anyone, thus proving that the Supreme Personality of Godhead desired to fight because the fighting spirit is also within Him.
- My (Rsabhadeva) heart is also spiritual, and I always think of the welfare of My devotees. Therefore within My heart can be found the process of devotional service, which is meant for the devotees.
Conclusion
To properly grasp the nature of the Absolute Truth, one must accept that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the complete and undivided container of everything. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that both the material and spiritual creations, the innumerable minute jīvas, and all varieties of energies and attributes eternally rest within God. Whether universes are emanating from His breathing during creation or merging back into His transcendental body during annihilation, nothing operates independently of Him. By realizing that everything exists within the Supreme Lord, a wise soul naturally abandons the illusion of independence and surrenders fully to His unalloyed loving 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 Within God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.