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God is great means

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

God is great means nobody is equal to Him, nobody is above Him in any kinds of opulences. That is called bhagavān.
Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- Stockholm, September 10, 1973:

There are six kinds of opulences: wealth, I mean to say, reputation, strength, knowledge, renunciation, beauty. These are called opulences. If one person is very rich, he is opulent, he attracts attention of many persons. Similarly, if one person is very influential, strong, he also attracts. Similarly, if one man is very famous for his activities, he also attracts attention. Similarly, if one man is very beautiful or a woman is very beautiful, he or she attracts attention. If one is very wise, learned, he also attracts attention. These are called six opulences, and these opulences are possessed by us in small quantity. Every one of us may possess some riches, maybe little wise or very... Not very strong, little strong. Little, little quantity of these opulences are there in every person. But when you find a person that nobody possesses more than him all these opulences... The Sanskrit word is asama ūrdhva. Asama means "equally," and asama means "without being equal." And ūrdhva means "above." When you find somebody, above him or equal to him, anyone else is as rich, as famous, as opulent, as wise, as beautiful, that person is called God. This is the definition of God. God is great means nobody is equal to Him, nobody is above Him in any kinds of opulences. That is called bhagavān.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

"God is great" means He, nobody is equal to Him, nobody is greater than Him. That is greatness.
Lecture on SB 3.25.17 -- Bombay, November 17, 1974:
Just like a ghaṭa, or in a pot, there is, within the pot there is sky, and outside the pot there is sky. So the separation is due to the wall of the pot. If the... When the wall is broken, then the inside sky and the outside sky become one. This is Māyāvāda theory. Therefore here it is said, akhaṇḍitam. Akhaṇḍitam means not that the sky within the pot is fragmented from the whole sky. That cannot be. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, acchedyo 'yam. Acchedyaḥ, it cannot be cut into pieces. Akhaṇḍita. That means it is minute perpetually, eternally. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūto jīva-loke sanātanaḥ (BG 15.7). Sanātanaḥ means eternally we are small. Aṇu, aṇimānam. And God, or Kṛṣṇa, is Vibhu. "God is great" means He, nobody is equal to Him, nobody is greater than Him. That is greatness. God is great. But we say, "God is great," but we do not know how great He is. He is so great that millions of universes are coming from the holes of His body.
"God is great" means great in everything.
Lecture on SB 7.9.3 -- Mayapur, February 10, 1976:

Just like nobody can excel the Supreme Personality of Godhead in anything, similarly, when He is angry, nobody can excel Him. He becomes so angry. So He is always... "God is great" means great in everything. When He is angry, nobody can excel Him in His anger. And when He is very peaceful, nobody can excel Him. This is God. Asamaurdha. God means nobody is equal; nobody is greater. So when the Lord was angry, nobody can show His anger equally and nobody can become greatly anger or more greatly angry than Kṛṣṇa. He is always topmost. This is... So such anger was exhibited. Why? Now, it is said, sva-pitre kupitam. He's inducing, Brahmā inducing, that "We never seen the Lord so angry, but it is on account of your father, so it is your duty. You go there." (chuckles) The child will accept, "Yes. My father committed so many offenses. Therefore it is my duty to pacify the Lord." Therefore he is reminding because he was a child, "My dear child, it is for your father He has become so angry, so it is your duty. Go and pacify Him." So every word in Bhāgavata, there is meaning. Sva-pitre kupitaṁ prabhum: "Don't think that it is our duty; it is your duty. Although we are Brahmā, Lakṣmī, all right. So real duty is yours." This is little joking.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

"God is great," means whatever greatness, just as sky is the great, there are millions of sky, that is God's.
Room Conversation with Jesuit -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne:

Jesuit: Well you can speak about a mountain being great and that's not God.

Prabhupāda: But God can swallow millions of mountains. That is God. Your conception is: mountain is very great. But our conception is: God is so great that He can swallow millions of mountains. So whose greatness is greater, the mountain's or God's?

Jesuit: Well it's a different order altogether, one's...

Prabhupāda: "God is great," means whatever greatness, just as sky is the great, there are millions of sky, that is God's...

"God is great," means He's materially great and spiritually great. That is His greatness.
Room Conversation with Jesuit -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Material and spiritual, we both speak. "God is great," means He's materially great and spiritually great. That is His greatness. If you think that He's spiritually great and materially small, that is not great. That is not greatness.

Jesuit: You know, in the Bible it says God knows everybody yet and knows them by name.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is greatness. That is His greatness.

Jesuit: A knowing person...

Prabhupāda: You know yourself or you know myself, but you cannot know everyone.

Page Title:God is great means
Compiler:Rishab, Serene
Created:09 of Mar, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=3, Con=2, Let=0
No. of Quotes:5