The Lord then pointed out that there is no limit to the śaktyāveśa-avatāras and that they cannot be counted. However, some can be mentioned as examples. The śaktyāveśa incarnations are of two kinds—direct and indirect. When the Lord Himself comes, He is called sākṣāt, or a direct śaktyāveśa-avatāra, and when He empowers some living entity to represent Him that living entity is called an indirect or āveśa incarnation. Examples of indirect avatāras are the four Kumāras, Nārada, Pṛthu and Paraśurāma. These are actually living entities, but there is specific power given to them by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When a specific opulence of the Supreme Lord is invested in specific entities, they are called āveśa-avatāras. The four Kumāras specifically represent the Supreme Lord's opulence of knowledge. Nārada represents the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. Devotional service is also represented by Lord Caitanya, who is considered to be the full representation of devotional service. In Brahmā the opulence of creative power is invested, and in King Pṛthu the power for maintaining the living entities is invested. Similarly, in Paraśurāma the power for killing evil elements is invested. As far as vibhāti, or the special favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is concerned, it is described in the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā that a living entity who appears to be especially powerful or beautiful should be known to be especially favored by the Supreme Lord.
Creative power
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
The atheist does not believe in the creator, but he cannot give a good theory to explain the creation. Material nature has no power to create without the power of the puruṣa, just as a prakṛti, or woman, cannot produce a child without the connection of a puruṣa, or man. The puruṣa impregnates, and the prakṛti delivers. We should not expect milk from the fleshy bags on the neck of a goat, although they look like breastly nipples. Similarly, we should not expect any creative power from the material ingredients; we must believe in the power of the puruṣa, who impregnates prakṛti, or nature. Because the Lord wished to lie down in meditation, the material energy created innumerable universes at once, in each of them the Lord lay down, and thus all the planets and the different paraphernalia were created at once by the will of the Lord. The Lord has unlimited potencies, and thus He can act as He likes by perfect planning, although personally He has nothing to do.
SB Canto 3
My dear sons, the Lord is the controller of the three modes of nature and is responsible for the creation, preservation and dissolution of the universe. His wonderful creative power, yogamāyā, cannot be easily understood even by the masters of yoga. That most ancient person, the Personality of Godhead, will alone come to our rescue. What purpose can we serve on His behalf by deliberating on the subject?
When something is arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should not be disturbed by it, even if it appears to be a reverse according to one's calculations. For example, sometimes we see that a powerful preacher is killed, or sometimes he is put into difficulty, just as Haridāsa Ṭhākura was. He was a great devotee who came into this material world to execute the will of the Lord by preaching the Lord's glories. But Haridāsa was punished at the hands of the Kazi by being beaten in twenty-two marketplaces. Similarly, Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, and Prahlāda Mahārāja was put through so many tribulations. The Pāṇḍavas, who were direct friends of Kṛṣṇa, lost their kingdom, their wife was insulted, and they had to undergo many severe tribulations. Seeing all these reverses affect devotees, one should not be disturbed; one should simply understand that in these matters there must be some plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Bhāgavatam's conclusion is that a devotee is never disturbed by such reverses. He accepts even reverse conditions as the grace of the Lord. One who continues to serve the Lord even in reverse conditions is assured that he will go back to Godhead, back to the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Lord Brahmā assured the demigods that there was no use in talking about how the disturbing situation of darkness was taking place, since the actual fact was that it was ordered by the Supreme Lord. Brahmā knew this because he was a great devotee; it was possible for him to understand the plan of the Lord.
Brahmā was the first living entity, and he was empowered by the Supreme Lord to act in charge of the mode of passion; therefore, he was given the required intelligence, which is so powerful and extensive that he is almost independent of the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just as a highly posted manager is almost as independent as the owner of a firm, Brahmā is described here as independent because, as the Lord's representative to control the universe, he is almost as powerful and independent as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord, as the Supersoul within Brahmā, gave him the intelligence to create. The creative power, therefore, of every living entity is not his own; it is by the grace of the Lord that one can create. There are many scientists and great workers in this material world who have wonderful creative force, but they act and create only according to the direction of the Supreme Lord. A scientist may create many wonderful inventions by the direction of the Lord, but it is not possible for him to overcome the stringent laws of material nature by his intelligence, nor is it possible to acquire such intelligence from the Lord, for the Lord's supremacy would then be hampered. It is stated in this verse that Brahmā created the universe as it was before. This means that he created everything by the same name and form as in the previous cosmic manifestation.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
The dancing movement of Kṛṣṇa's earrings, eyes and eyebrows is very attractive to the damsels of Vraja. Activities in devotional service increase the sense of devotional service. What else is there for two eyes to see beyond the face of Kṛṣṇa? Since one cannot adequately see Kṛṣṇa with only two eyes, one feels incapable and thus becomes bereaved. Such bereavement is slightly reduced when one criticizes the creative power of the creator. The unsatiated seer of Kṛṣṇa's face nonetheless laments: "I do not have thousands of eyes, but only two, and these are disturbed by the movements of my eyelids. Therefore it is to be understood that the creator of this body is not very intelligent. He is not conversant in the art of ecstasy but is simply a prosaic creator. He does not know how to arrange things properly so one can see only Kṛṣṇa."
Easy Journey to Other Planets
Matter itself has no creative power. When it is manipulated by the living energy, material things are produced. Matter in its crude form is therefore the latent energy of the Supreme Being. Whenever we think of energy, it is natural that we think of the source of energy. For example, when we think of electrical energy, we simultaneously think of the powerhouse where it is generated. Energy is not self-sufficient. It is under the control of a superior living being. For example, fire is the source of two other energies, namely light and heat. Light and heat have no independent existence outside of fire. Similarly, the inferior and superior energies are derived from a source, which one may call by any name. That source of energy must be a living being with full sense of everything. That supreme living being is the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or the all-attractive living being.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Paramātmā and ātmā, it is not very difficult to know. Just like you are father and you have got many children at home. So they, because they are children, they are, I mean to say, as ingredients, you and your children are the same, but still, you are superior, and the children are dependent. Your children are not different from you, but still, you are superior and they are inferior or junior. So qualitatively one, but quantitatively different. So quantitatively different—ātmā, Paramātmā; and qualitatively one—ātmā is spirit, Paramātmā is spirit. It is called acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, simultaneously one and different. One in quality, different in quantity. You can create. You are also qualitatively one with God. You have got creative power. Just like we are creating this flying machine, sputniks. That is also flying in the sky, and the Paramātmā has created the millions of planets floating in the sky. So you have got the creative power, but you cannot create like that, Paramātmā. That is the difference. Can you?
If I study myself as sample of God, a little sample of God, then you can understand God. Just like you take a drop of Pacific Ocean water, and you chemically analyze the constituents of that drop of water, then you can understand what is the constituent ingredients in the Pacific Ocean. You can understand. The difference is, as I have already explained, God and we, individual souls, are of the same quality. The quality is not different.
Just like we have got creative power, God has got also creative power, but by your creative power you can manufacture a big airplane or a sputnik to fly in the sky, but God's creative power, millions and trillions of planets are floating in the sky. Just like the sun. You see every day, the sun is there in the sky, and it is lying in one corner of the sky, but this one planet itself is fourteen hundred thousand bigger than this planet. This planet is only a teeny, small planet in consideration of other planets. So we cannot know even what are there in this planet. So many things are unknown. So all these planets are floating. That's a fact. So that is the difference between God and me. I can create a small aeroplane, and I can take the credit that our science is so much advanced that we don't care for God. No, you cannot do, sir. You cannot manufacture a planet. That is not in your power. Similarly, there are so many things. You have creative power, God has got creative power, but your creation and God's creation there is vast difference. So this is the understanding of God. So God is great. How great? Nobody is equal to Him, nobody is above Him.
Revatīnandana: "One should, therefore, follow the path of the Bhagavad-gītā as it is expressed in the Gītā itself and beware of self-interested people seeking personal aggrandizement who deviate others from the actual path. The Lord is definitely the Supreme Person, and His activities are transcendental. One who understands this is a liberated person from the very beginning of his study of the Gītā."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Simply if you understand that "I have got also the, what is called, intuition to control, and God is the supreme controller," simply if you understand this, then immediately you become liberated, simply if you understand He is the supreme controller, He is the Supreme Person, simply this understanding. That is stated in the beginning of this transcendental knowledge. Janma karma (ca) me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). God also working. He is also creating; I am also creating. I am creating a sputnik, a toy planet, and God is creating innumerable, unlimited planets. That is the difference. I can also create something, but that is not as good creative power as God. But I have got some creative power. I have got the tendency for enjoyment. Similarly, God has got the tendency for enjoyment. So there is nothing different from you, God. Only the difference is that He is unlimited; I am limited. I am very small; He is very great. He is infinite; I am infinitesimal.
So Bhagavān creates by His energy. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca, bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4). He can create. Just like, take for example, water. Water... Sometimes we also create water by perspiration. Perspiration, we may create one satap(?), one ounce or two ounce water, or say four ounce, five ounce. So similarly, this same creative power is of Kṛṣṇa, but He can create millions of Pacific Oceans. The process is the same. We can create a little thing. We have created this airplane; that is also flying in the sky. And there are millions and millions of planets; that is also flying and floating in the sky. So that is the difference. We can create a small airplane, airship, and flying in the sky, and Bhagavān has created innumerable universes flying in the sky, and He has created the sky also. The creative energy is there. You have got the creative energy, but you cannot create another planet which is floating in the sky. That is not possible. That is the difference between living entity and Bhagavān.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So here is the information of creation. The creation is from a person, not from the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth. Creation, there must be brain; otherwise how there is question of creation? We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. We are..., we have also creative power. So as soon as there is question of creative power, there must be a brain behind the creation, and brain means a person. Creation cannot be possible from void or impersonal thing. We have several times discussed this point, that the government, this word, appears to be impersonal, but actually, behind the government there is a person—the president or the king, like that. So this creation, cosmic manifestation, is possible through the creative power of the Supreme Person; therefore God cannot be impersonal. Impersonal feature is one of the manifestation of God. God must be a person. This is the conclusion. Sa eva idam: this cosmic manifestation was created. In another place it is stated, aham evāsam agre: before creation, there was God, Kṛṣṇa. And when this material creation will be finished, He will remain.
So you have got the creative power, God has got the creative power. But God's creative power cannot be compared with your creative power. You have got the creative power, but not exactly like God. This is the conclusion. You cannot become God. You can imitate or you can do something very little. Just like little children, they play with little toys. Similarly, you can play with little toys and advertise yourself great scientist. That's all. But you are nothing. You are nothing. This is to be realized. This is called bhakti-yoga. The rascals are puffed up, "I am God." Foolishly. How you can be God? You may have some qualities, very minute quality of God, but you cannot claim that you are God.
So Kṛṣṇa is acting everywhere by His energy. This kāla, this time, is another form of Kṛṣṇa. Just like Kṛṣṇa has got various forms, advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Advaita, one, without a second. Acyuta, does not fall. That is the difference between Kṛṣṇa and ourself. We are part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa is acyuta, He does not fall down. We fall down. This is the difference. The example is... Just like the fire, big fire, and the sparks, they are also fire. The quality of big fire and the small sparks of fire, they're the same. Therefore qualitatively, we are one with Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa has got propensities, we have got also propensities. Kṛṣṇa has got creative power, we have also got creative power. In this way, compare anything. In minute quantity... Kṛṣṇa has got independence, full independence; we have got independence, but not full independence. But we have got independence. So that is the difference.
The conditioned state of life means influence of material nature. When we are very much influenced by the material nature... We have already discussed: guṇa. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). Material nature means the three guṇas, three material qualities: ignorance, passion and goodness. Goodness is better than the other two qualities, ignorance and passion. But mostly, especially in this age, they are conducted or influenced by the modes of ignorance and passion. People do not know what is the aim of life. Just like they are called śūdras. Śūdras means they do not know what is the aim of life. Just like animal. Animal does not know what is the aim of life. That is ignorance. And passion is power, creative power, or working for sense gratification. That is called passion. And goodness means knowledge. One can see what is what.
So the great body, this universal body, as Kṛṣṇa showed universal body to Arjuna, so it is possible for Kṛṣṇa to show the universal body, virāḍ-rūpa. You cannot show. You cannot show. It was Arjuna's request to exhibit the virāḍ-rūpa because Arjuna knew it that "Because I am accepting Kṛṣṇa God, so many God will be there later on. A man will claim to become God. But as I am requesting Kṛṣṇa to show the virāḍ-rūpa, similarly, if some fool accepted the another fool as God, he should request him, 'Please show your virāḍ-rūpa.' Then accept him. Otherwise don't accept." So God has virāḍ-rūpa. So both God and we are, living entity, are of the same quality. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi means so 'ham. These words, Vedic words, are there to indicate that "Qualitatively, I am as good as God. He is spirit soul; I am also spirit soul. He has got creative power; I have got creative power. He has got senses; I have got senses." Everything just similar, facsimile. In the Bible it is said, "Man is made after God." Is it not said like that? That means God has exactly the same form. And therefore man is made also, the same form. So in this way both God and the living entities, they are anādi. Anādi, there is no beginning.
So these vīrya, these living entities, seed-giving father is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we are in quality as good as Kṛṣṇa, as good as Kṛṣṇa. Mamaivāṁśa. The living entities, they are, Kṛṣṇa claims, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā: (BG 14.4) "And they are My part and parcel." So why we should be other than Kṛṣṇa? We are exactly of the same quality. If Kṛṣṇa is spirit, then we are spirit. He is complete spirit; we are partial spirit. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). Kṛṣṇa is living force; we are also living force. Kṛṣṇa has got creative power; we have got also creative power. Exactly all the qualities. Kṛṣṇa has got loving propensity; we have got loving propensity. Wherefrom this love has come? Because Kṛṣṇa loves Rādhārāṇī, and we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa; therefore we have learned how to love. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), the Vedānta-sūtra: "Everything is born out of the Supreme Person, everything, what we see." We are sample Kṛṣṇa, sample Kṛṣṇa. All the propensities, that we have inherited from our supreme father. Everything is there. Kṛṣṇa has got the same propensities. So why Kṛṣṇa should be imperson? That is not complete knowledge.
So if we accept the process, it is not difficult. So our life should be trained up in this way, nivṛtti-mārga. Then we can make process for going back to home, back to Godhead. First of all we should understand that we are part and parcel of God. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, and actually it is fact. What is God? God means what we are doing, He is also doing, because we are part and parcel. Just like your son, your daughter. They are your part and parcel of your body. So what is the difference? They are also acting, you are also acting. Similarly, God, Kṛṣṇa, is the supreme father. So so far the activities are concerned, the same. But the difference is that God is great; we are small. That is the difference. God can create the so many planets. Just like the sun globe, it is... There are other globes also. They are bigger than sun. Anyway, the sun is very big. So God has created this big globe, means fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth—or even this earth—floating in the air. You can float a big 747 airplane also floating in the air, but you cannot make a globe like sun and floating in the air. That is the difference between you and God. The creative power is there. Because we are part and parcel, the value is there. Just like gold mine and a small particle of gold. So small particle has... It will be called gold, and it has got some value. But not as good as the gold mine. This is the difference between God and ourself. We should understand.
So God is also active; the living entities are also active. But His actions and my actions are not comparable. Just like God is creator; I am also creator. So in this way I am one. I have got creative power; God has also creative power. But God creates innumerable universes, and you can create a motorcar. That's all, no more. Or atom bomb—to kill. You cannot create a planet; you can create a sputnik. With great difficulty it flies in the sky. But God's creation—innumerable planets, they are floating without any machine. Still, the rascal says, "There is no God. I am God." You do like God; then you become God. What you have done like God? You have created a toy flying in the sky. Therefore you are so much proud that you compare yourself with God? This is called demons, demonic. Unnecessarily, without any authority, when a man claims that "I am God," that is demonic.
So Kṛṣṇa is the supreme nitya, eternal, and we are also eternal. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mamaivāṁśa jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ (BG 15.7). We are eternal, and Kṛṣṇa is also eternal. That is qualitatively one. Kṛṣṇa is cetana, living force. We are also living force. So in that way, we are one in quality. But His living force and our living force, different in quality. His creative power, my creative power, your creative power, they are different. You can create a few skyscraper buildings, but Kṛṣṇa has created millions and trillions of universes. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). Jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi. We are simply experiencing one jagad-aṇḍa, or universe, but there are jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi, there are millions and trillions of universes.
So everyone may be controller. They are very much fond of becoming God. God means controller. So everyone can become... He is. Kṛṣṇa has given. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, so the quality of controlling must be there. Although very insignificant part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, still, the power of controlling is there, very minute quantity. This is understanding. Svāṁśa vibhināṁśa. Everyone... Viṣṇu-tattva is also Kṛṣṇa's aṁśa, part and parcel. Yasya kalā-viśeṣaḥ. Kalā-viśeṣaḥ means part, part of the part. Kalā, aṁśa, and aṁśa's aṁśa, that's called kalā-viśeṣo. So that kalā-viśeṣa, Kṛṣṇa, Mahā-Viṣṇu, He's creating millions and millions of universes. So just imagine what is the creative power of Kṛṣṇa.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
In the material existence, the sattva-guṇa is considered to be first class, the rajo-guṇa is considered to be second class, and the tamo-guṇa is considered to be third class. But even if we remain in the sattva-guṇa, that is also not transcendental platform. Sattva-guṇa means brahminical qualification. Satya śama dama titikṣa ārjava jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). These, these are the symptoms of sattva-guṇa. But rajo-guṇa-tejo īśvara bhāvaś ca yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam. Just like kṣatriyas: They're very powerful. They want to control. They are not afraid of fighting. These are kṣatriya qualifications. Rajo-guṇa. Creative power. They want to expand their kingdom, ruling over the people, taxing the people. These are the qualification of the rajo-guṇa. And tamo-guṇa means śūdra, ignorance and lazy. That is tamo-guṇa. These are the symptoms. They have no activity. They cannot become independent, because they are very lazy. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, they have their independent life, but the śūdras, they are dependent.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
This sun planet, according to your modern science, it is fixed. But we cannot understand why sun should be fixed. Every planet has its orbit. So sun must be moving in the orbit. That is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā: yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ rājā. He's the king of all planets—rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa tejāḥ. Aśeṣa tejāḥ means inexhaustible temperature. The sun planet has got inexhaustible heat and temperature. That we can experience. Nobody can say what is there that the sun planet is diffusing unlimited temperature and heat for millions and trillions of years, still, it is not exhausted. So this is called aśeṣa. Aśeṣa. There is no end. Just like we are in the fire. Unless we put some fuel, fuel, it is not possible to continue the temperature. But there, the supply is so, so sufficient that there is no end of temperature. Every planet is self-sufficient. That is described in the Īśopaniṣad. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁ yat kiñcit jagatyāṁ jagat... (ISO 1). No. Pūrṇam idam, pūrṇam adaḥ, pūrṇaṁ pūrṇāt udacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam eva avaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). The Supreme Lord is pūrṇa. Pūrṇa means complete. And whatever He creates, that is also complete. The actions and reactions of sun planet to diffuse heat all over the universe is complete. By Lord's grace, by Lord's creative power, energy. That is also inferior energy. This is not superior energy. This is inferior energy. So still it is complete.
General Lectures
So here, the original cause is being explained by Vyāsadeva. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Now, what type of that supreme cause is that? Is it a stone or sentient? No. Vyāsadeva informs, no. The original cause, how it can be a stone? Original cause cannot be. It must be sentient. Creator must be sentient. Without brain, without creative power, how there can be creation? Where is your argument? No, that is not. These are false arguments. Therefore Vyāsadeva gives you information that He is sentient, in full knowledge. In full knowledge.
The jīva are explained in the Bhagavad-gītā as part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. The example is given, just like the fire, big fire, and the sparks. The sparks are small, but, but in quality they are fire. They are not different from fire. If a spark of fire falls on your cloth, it will immediately burn. So the burning quality is there, either in the big fire or the small fire. Therefore, qualitatively we are one with God. The quality of burning. Another example is just like the drop of the ocean water. Chemical composition of this drop of ocean water is the same as the chemical combination of the big mass of water. So Kṛṣṇa, He is all-powerful. We are also powerful. Kṛṣṇa can create. We also can create. Kṛṣṇa can create, just like innumerable planets floating in the air. We can create a small, teeny aeroplane or sputnik flying in the air. You see. So the creative power is there, but there is far difference between Kṛṣṇa's creative power and my creative power.
God is also like us, a being, but He is Supreme Being. As we are being, we have got our brain, we have got our creative power, we can do something, we can manufacture something like airplane, sputnik, but God has got big brain. We may float one mechanic airplane in the air, but by the God's brain, millions and trillions of heavy planets are floating in the air. That is God's brain. He has got also brain; He has got also creative power. We have also creative power, but we have got little and He has got supreme power. That is the difference. 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 serve the more powerful. That is the nature.
Philosophy Discussions
We say that the living entity is part and parcel of God, mamaivāṁśa. Under the circumstances he has got almost all the qualities of God, but partially, because God is great and we are minute. So even though we have got all the qualities of God—not all, certain percentage, say seventy-eight percent—in minute quantity. Just like God has creative power, we have got also creative power. We have created the 747 flying machine. All right, get credit for that, but you cannot create a flying ball like sun floating in the sky. That is difference between God and me. You can take credit that you are keeping suspension in the air a big machine, 747, but it is not in your power that you can float millions and millions of planets floating in the air. That is not possible. Therefore God is great; I am small. That is real Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Hayagrīva: He says, "These perfections which I am attributing to God, which are infinite, immutable, independent, all-knowing, all-powerful..."
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Hayagrīva: "...these perfections are in some fashion potentially in me...,"
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Hayagrīva: "...although they do not show themselves."
Prabhupāda: But they are finite. They are finite, very small particle. That I have already explained many times, that the creative force is in me. I can create also. Now in the modern scientific knowledge, so I have created a big plane floating in the air, but I cannot create another planet with so many mountains and vast water, oceans, and trees. That I cannot do. That is done by God. This planet is also floating in the air and the tiny 747 plane is also floating in the air. So that is created by me, infinite, ah, finite. I have no other more power. Even if I float a city like plane, still I am finite. But God has created this planet or many other planets with so many things—mountains, seas and forests and cities and so many. That is the difference between... The creative power is there. Because I am part and parcel of God, I have got that creative power. So I have got also little knowledge. I know my knowledge within my atmosphere, but God knows everything.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: You have got some experience, I have got some experience and another has experience. But so far you are talking of Bhagavad-gītā... Because you say that Aurobindo has written on the Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā says, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, Kṛṣṇa says:
- mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat
- kiñcid asti dhanañjaya
- mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ
- sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva
- (BG 7.7)
Like that. He says that mattaḥ parataram: "There is no more superior, supramental or Supreme Personality..." As you say supramental, it is with reference to a person. Just like Aurobindo, supramental. That means it is with reference to the Aurobindo person. Is it not? Any mental. As you say, "mental," it is with reference to a person.
Guest (1): Even if somebody says he is supramental or not, a yogi automatically, when he is in touch with the creative power, he gets the, gets the knowledge of past, present and future.
Prabhupāda: Then why your knowledge and my knowledge different?
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Young man: All the religions that have been taught to me have not given me a clear view of God, a clear concept. They didn't seem to know it themself.
Prabhupāda: No, concept is there as you told me: "The God has made human being after His own image." Then we can get the idea that God is a person like a human being, He has got two hands, two legs, one head, because after His image we have been... Now, if we study ourself and increase that quality... Just like I am. I can eat. I can eat a certain amount of foodstuff, but God can also eat, but He can eat the whole universe. So eating is there. But the difference of eating is there also. I can create one airplane, but God has created very, very big airplanes like these planets, and they are floating in the sky without any power crisis. That is God's creation. Here we are floating the airplane or running the car with the power, petrol, given by God. You cannot manufacture petrol. Just like in your country there is enough stock of petrol. But you have not created it. So who has created? Your creative power is to drill and get the stock. So much creative power you have got. But you cannot create petrol. Then the Americans would not have come here to beg petrol. That is the difference. You can create something by the ingredients given by God. You can create this table. Because wood is given by God, the instrument is given by God, and the intelligence given by God, the hand is given by God, so in this way you create the table. Then whose property it will be, your property or God's property? Whose property? If I give you wood, instrument, your salary, and you create something, the ultimately the thing created, to whom it should belong? To you or to me?
Young man: To you if you're...
Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore everything belongs to God. The petrol belongs to God; the land belongs to God; we also belong to God. But because we have forgotten God, there is crisis. Therefore, if you want peace, then you must accept here this principle that everything belongs to God. That is Vedic information.
Jesuit: But I can't accept the example because the little drops of water which have salt and so on, all together coalesce to form the huge ocean but the ocean is still finite. It is not infinite. But you and I are finite...
Prabhupāda: That is already explained.
Jesuit: If we coalesce together, then that how many of us that there are...
Prabhupāda: No, I'm not comparing that combined together that we shall be equal to God. I don't say that.
Jesuit: I didn't follow you then.
Prabhupāda: I don't (indistinct) some men here, or the whole universal souls combined together, still they are finite. They're not infinite. Yes, multi-billions of zeroes cannot make one. So I don't say that, but the quality is there very minutely.
Jesuit: Imitation of the divine powers.
Prabhupāda: Not imitation, actually we have got. Just like, another example, gold and a particle of gold, a small fragmentary, that will be called gold, but not the gold equal to the mine.
Jesuit: No.
Prabhupāda: Therefore the philosophy is acintya-bhedābheda, inconceivable one and different simultaneously. One in quality, but different in quantity. God's power... I have got some creative power, and God has got creative power. So the creative power is there. But God has created millions of the planets that floating in the air and we have created a 747 airplane, we want to take more credit than God. That is our foolishness.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: We are part and parcel of the supreme spirit, God. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). "All these living entities, they are My part and parcel." Qualitatively, we are one. Just like a small particle of gold is also gold. It is nothing else. Similarly, we being part and parcel of God, we have got that godly qualification. God can create. We can also create. That example I have given in my last magazine, that we have created this big 747 airplane, but we cannot create a mosquito. That is also plane, with pilot. That is God's creation. So the creative power, both of us, we have got, but we are limited, and He is unlimited. That is the difference.
| Page Title: | Creative power |
| Compiler: | Matea, MadhuGopaldas |
| Created: | 31 of Oct, 2009 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=3, CC=0, OB=3, Lec=21, Con=4, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 31 |