Infinitesimal (Conversations and Letters)

Expressions researched:
"infinitesimal" |" infinitesimally" |" infinitesimals"

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

One of the four Kumāras known as Sunanda said, "O supreme truth, if the living entities were not infinitesimal sparks of the supreme spirit, then each minute spark would have been all-pervading and there would be no necessity of its being controlled." We are limited. And that is living entity. This is a very nice example.

Reporters Interview -- June 29, 1974, Melbourne:

Satsvarūpa: "The living entities are atomic parts and parcels of the supreme spirit. There is, however, a measurement for the length and breadth of the atomic spiritual spark. It is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, Eighty-seventh Chapter, thirty-sixth verse, that if you divide the top of a hair into one hundred parts and again if you divide one part of that into another one hundred parts, such 1/10,000th part of the tip of a hair is the length and breadth of the individual soul. This is also confirmed in the Vedas in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad. This atomic magnitude of the individual living entity is again described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Eleventh Canto, Sixteenth Chapter, eleventh verse, as follows. This is a speech given by one of the four Kumāras known as Sunanda on the occasion of performing a great sacrifice. He said, 'O supreme truth, if the living entities were not infinitesimal sparks of the supreme spirit, then each minute spark would have been all-pervading and there would be no necessity of its being controlled.' "

Prabhupāda: That is very... Otherwise... If the living entity is equal to the Supreme Being, then... Suppose you are a living entity. You could speak everything of what is going on in others' mind or body. You cannot say what I am thinking. I cannot say what you are thinking. Therefore I or you are not all-pervading. We are limited. And that is living entity. This is a very nice example.

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

One should surrender unto Sri Krishna if one wants to know Him as He is, and that is the real process to approach the Infinite by the infinitesimals.

Letter to Raja Mohendra Pratap -- Cawnpore 13 July, 1947: To summarise the conclusions of Bhagavad-gita it may be said that,

1) God is one and everything is in Him and He is in everything. 2) To render transcendental service unto God is to serve everything that be, just like to water the root of the tree is to water the different branches and numerous leaves of the tree or to supply food to the stomach is to vitalize all the senses and the sense organs of the body. 3) The parts are automatically served when the Whole is served but when the parts are served the whole may not be served or not served at all. 4) The parts and the Whole being eternally related, it is the eternal duty of the parts to render service unto the Whole. 5) A recipient of the services of the parts, God's sat-cit-ananda vigraha i.e. the all-attractive Cognizant and all-blissful Personality eternal. He can reveal Himself by His own potency without any help of the external potency called maya in order to be cognizable by the limited potency of the parts and as such He is not only the greatest of all but he is the smallest of all. That is His prerogative. 6) He is better realized when He by His causeless mercy agrees to descend in this mortal world but he He is never realized by the partial speculations of the empiric philosophers however systematic and long-termed it may be. 7) Sri Krishna is the Personality of Godhead and is the Summum Bonum Cause of all Causes proved by fact and figures in the statement of Bhagavad-gita, but He reserves the right of not being exposed to the sensual speculations of the empiric philosophers. 8) One should therefore surrender unto Him if one wants to know Him as He is and that is the real process to approach the Infinite by the infinitesimals. 9) Sri Krishna is easily available by the religion of love i.e. by love and service as conceived by the damsels of Vraja who had practically no education whatsoever and much less any claim for high class birth right.

10) The highest service that can be rendered to the mankind is, therefore, to preach the philosophy and religion of Bhagavad-gita for all the times, all the places and all the people.

1969 Correspondence

In material life everyone is thinking that I am so wonderful, I am so expert, but actually the living entity is an insignificant spark of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. So when we see we are becoming aware of our infinitesimal nature, then we begin to also understand something of how infinitely great Krishna is.

Letter to Gajendra -- Los Angeles 20 July, 1969: Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter of July 17, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. The sentiments you have expressed are very nice, and they are just suiting for spiritual advancement. The actual Vaisnava always feels himself lowly and unqualified, but this submissiveness and humbleness is his actual qualification for becoming perfect in Krishna Consciousness. In material life everyone is thinking that I am so wonderful, I am so expert, but actually the living entity is an insignificant spark of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. So when we see we are becoming aware of our infinitesimal nature, then we begin to also understand something of how infinitely great Krishna is. One cannot be falsely puffed up and still expect to make progress in spiritual life. Rather one must learn to accept his constitutional position of Krishna's tiny servant. Then Krishna is pleased to reveal Himself to such devotee, and the devotee becomes more and more perfect in rendering transcendental service to the Lord.