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Self-sufficient (BG and SB)

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 9.26, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa wants only loving service and nothing more. Kṛṣṇa accepts even a little flower from His pure devotee. He does not want any kind of offering from a nondevotee. He is not in need of anything from anyone, because He is self-sufficient, and yet He accepts the offering of His devotee in an exchange of love and affection.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

SB 1.2.11, Purport:

As it is explained in the first śloka of the First Chapter of the Bhāgavatam, the Supreme Truth is self-sufficient, cognizant and free from the illusion of relativity. In the relative world the knower is different from the known, but in the Absolute Truth both the knower and the known are one and the same thing. In the relative world the knower is the living spirit or superior energy, whereas the known is inert matter or inferior energy. Therefore, there is a duality of inferior and superior energy, whereas in the absolute realm both the knower and the known are of the same superior energy.

SB 1.10.36, Purport:

Although He has no obligatory duty, still He does everything so that others may follow. That is the way of factual teaching; one must act properly himself and teach the same to others, otherwise no one will accept one's blind teaching. He is Himself the awarder of fruitive results. He is self-sufficient, and yet He acts according to the rulings of the revealed scripture in order to teach us the process. If He does not do so, the common man may go wrong.

SB 1.11.4-5, Translation:

The citizens arrived before the Lord with their respective presentations, offering them to the fully satisfied and self-sufficient one, who, by His own potency, incessantly supplies others. These presentations were like the offering of a lamp to the sun. Yet the citizens began to speak in ecstatic language to receive the Lord, just as wards welcome their guardian and father.

SB 1.11.4-5, Purport:

The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is described herein as ātmārāma. He is self-sufficient, and there is no need for Him to seek happiness from anything beyond Himself. He is self-sufficient because His very transcendental existence is total bliss. He is eternally existent; He is all-cognizant and all-blissful. Therefore, any presentation, however valuable it may be, is not needed by Him. But still, because He is the well-wisher for one and all, He accepts from everyone everything that is offered to Him in pure devotional service.

SB 1.11.36, Purport:

Cupid, however, was himself captivated by the grave and exciting dealings of the goddesses of fortune, and he voluntarily gave up his bow and arrow in a spirit of frustration. Such was the beauty and attraction of the queens of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Yet they could not disturb the transcendental senses of the Lord. This is because the Lord is all-perfect ātmārāma, or self-sufficient. He does not require anyone's extraneous help for His personal satisfaction. Therefore, the queens could not satisfy the Lord by their feminine attractiveness, but they satisfied Him by their sincere affection and service. Only by unalloyed transcendental loving service could they satisfy the Lord, and the Lord was pleased to treat them as wives in reciprocation.

SB 1.16.24, Purport:

By the grace of the Lord, each and every planet is created fully equipped. So not only is this earth fully equipped with all the riches for the maintenance of its inhabitants, but also when the Lord descends on the earth the whole earth becomes so enriched with all kinds of opulences that even the denizens of heaven worship it with all affection. But by the will of the Lord, the whole earth can at once be changed. He can do and undo a thing by His sweet will. Therefore no one should consider himself to be self-sufficient or independent of the Lord.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.2.12, Purport:

When the conditioned soul finds by culture of knowledge that material necessities are unwanted things, he becomes detached from such unwanted things. This stage of knowledge is called vairāgya, or detachment from unwanted things. We have previously discussed that the transcendentalist is required to be self-sufficient and should not beg from the rich blind persons to fulfill the bare necessities of life.

SB 2.5.5, Translation:

As the spider very easily creates the network of its cobweb and manifests its power of creation without being defeated by others, so also you yourself, by employment of your self-sufficient energy, create without any other's help.

SB 2.5.5, Purport:

The best example of self-sufficiency is the sun. The sun does not require to be illuminated by any other body. Rather, it is the sun which helps all other illuminating agents, for in the presence of the sun no other illuminating agent becomes prominent. Nārada compared the position of Brahmā to the self-sufficiency of the spider, who creates its own field of activities without any other's help by employment of its own energetic creation of saliva.

SB 2.5.11, Purport:

Lord Kṛṣṇa is the background of the brahmajyoti (brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham). In the Nirukti, or Vedic dictionary, the import of pratiṣṭhā is mentioned as "that which establishes." So the brahmajyoti is not independent or self-sufficient. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is ultimately the creator of the brahmajyoti, mentioned in this verse as sva-rociṣā, or the effulgence of the transcendental body of the Lord. This brahmajyoti is all-pervading, and all creation is made possible by its potential power; therefore the Vedic hymns declare that everything that exists is being sustained by the brahmajyoti (sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma).

SB Canto 3

SB 3.5.9, Translation:

O chief amongst the brāhmaṇas, please also describe how Nārāyaṇa, the creator of the universe and the self-sufficient Lord, has differently created the natures, activities, forms, features and names of the different living creatures.

SB 3.6.39, Translation:

The wonderful potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is bewildering even to the jugglers. That potential power is unknown even to the self-sufficient Lord, so it is certainly unknown to others.

SB 3.16.21, Purport:

When the Lord says, therefore, that it is due to the causeless mercy of the brāhmaṇas that Lakṣmījī does not leave Him, we can understand that Lakṣmījī is attracted by the opulence of the Lord, not by the brāhmaṇas' benedictions upon Him. The Lord is not dependent on anyone's mercy for His opulence; He is always self-sufficient. The Lord's statement that His opulence is due to the benediction of the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas is only to teach others that they should offer respect to the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, the devotees of the Lord.

SB 3.16.27, Purport:

In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that in the spiritual world there is no need of sun, moon or electricity. This indicates that all the planets there are self-illuminated, self-sufficient and independent; everything there is complete. Lord Kṛṣṇa says that once one goes to that Vaikuṇṭha planet, he never returns.

SB 3.18.24, Translation:

Lord Brahmā continued: My dear Lord, there is no need to play with this serpentine demon, who is always very skilled in conjuring tricks and is arrogant, self-sufficient and most wicked.

SB 3.28.30, Purport:

There are two comparisons in this verse: first the Lord's face is compared to a lotus, and then His black hair is compared to humming bees swarming around the lotus, and His two eyes are compared to two fish swimming about. A lotus flower on the water is very beautiful when surrounded by humming bees and fish. The Lord's face is self-sufficient and complete. His beauty defies the natural beauty of a lotus.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.7.26, Translation:

Dakṣa addressed the Supreme Personality of Godhead: My dear Lord, You are transcendental to all speculative positions. You are completely spiritual, devoid of all fear, and You are always in control of the material energy. Even though You appear in the material energy, You are situated transcendentally. You are always free from material contamination because You are completely self-sufficient.

SB 4.7.34, Purport:

In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the Lord has no desire to achieve any result from His wonderful activities, nor has He any need to perform them. But still, in order to give an example to people in general, He sometimes acts, and those activities are very wonderful. He is not attached to anything. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti: although He acts very wonderfully, He is not at all attached to anything (BG 4.14). He is self-sufficient. The example is given here that the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, is always engaged in the service of the Lord, but still He is not attached to her.

SB 4.7.49, Purport:

As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu has nothing to demand from anyone. He is self-satisfied, self-sufficient, but He accepts the offerings of yajña because of His friendly attitude toward all living entities. When His share of the sacrificial results was offered to Him, He appeared very pleased. It is said in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26), patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati: if any devotee offers Him even a small leaf, or a flower or water, if it is offered with love and affection, the Lord accepts it and is pleased. Although He is self-sufficient and does not need anything from anyone, He accepts such offerings because, as Supersoul, He has such a friendly attitude toward all living entities. Another point here is that He does not encroach upon another's share. In the yajña there is a share for the demigods, Lord Śiva, and Lord Brahmā, and a share for Lord Viṣṇu. He is satisfied with His own share and does not encroach upon others'.

SB 4.7.50, Translation:

Lord Viṣṇu replied: Brahmā, Lord Śiva and I are the supreme cause of the material manifestation. I am the Supersoul, the self sufficient witness. But impersonally there is no difference between Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Me.

SB 4.20.28, Translation:

My dear Lord of the universe, the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, is the mother of the universe, and yet I think that she may be angry with me because of my intruding upon her service and acting on that very platform to which she is so much attached. Yet I am hopeful that even though there is some misunderstanding, You will take my part, for You are very much inclined to the poor and You always magnify even insignificant service unto You. Therefore even though she becomes angry, I think that there is no harm for You, because You are so self-sufficient that You can do without her.

SB 4.20.28, Purport:

The goddess of fortune is called cañcalā ("restless") because she is very restless and is always coming and going. So Pṛthu Mahārāja indicated that even though she might go away out of anger, there would be no harm for Lord Viṣṇu, because He is self-sufficient and can do anything and everything without the help of Lakṣmījī. For example, when Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu begot Lord Brahmā from His navel, He did not take any help from Lakṣmī, who was just sitting by Him and massaging His lotus feet. Generally if a son is to be begotten, the husband impregnates the wife, and in due course of time the son is born. But in the case of Lord Brahmā's birth, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu did not impregnate Lakṣmījī. Being self-sufficient, the Lord begot Brahmā from His own navel. Therefore, Pṛthu Mahārāja was confident that even if the goddess of fortune became angry with him there would be no harm, neither to the Lord nor to himself.

SB 4.24.18, Translation:

Lord Śiva, the most powerful demigod, second only to Lord Viṣṇu, is self-sufficient. Although he has nothing to aspire for in the material world, for the benefit of those in the material world he is always busily engaged everywhere and is accompanied by his dangerous energies like goddess Kālī and goddess Durgā.

SB 4.31.22, Translation:

Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is self-sufficient, He becomes dependent on His devotees. He does not care for the goddess of fortune, nor for the kings and demigods who are after the favors of the goddess of fortune. Where is that person who is actually grateful and will not worship the Personality of Godhead?

SB Canto 5

SB 5.3.8, Purport:

Being self-sufficient, the Supreme Lord does not need huge sacrifices. Fruitive activity for a more opulent life is for those who desire such material opulence for their interest. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ: (BG 3.9)) if we do not act to satisfy the Supreme Lord. we engage in māyā's activities.

SB 5.6.19, Translation:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, was fully aware of His true identity; therefore He was self-sufficient, and He did not desire external gratification. There was no need for Him to aspire for success, since He was complete in Himself. Those who unnecessarily engage in bodily conceptions and create an atmosphere of materialism are always ignorant of their real self-interest. Out of His causeless mercy, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva taught the self's real identity and the goal of life. We therefore offer our respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who appeared as Lord Ṛṣabhadeva.

SB 5.6.19, Purport:

Being the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva is complete in Himself. We living entities, as parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, should follow the instructions of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva and become self-sufficient. We should not create unnecessary demands due to the bodily conception. When one is self-realized, he is sufficiently satisfied due to being situated in his original spiritual position.

SB 5.6.19, Purport:

It is therefore said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum: (SB 7.5.31) due to gross ignorance, the conditioned soul does not know that his real self-interest is to take shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu. To try to become happy by adjusting the material atmosphere is a useless endeavor. Indeed, it is impossible. By His personal behavior and instructions, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva enlightened the conditioned soul and showed him how to become self-sufficient in his spiritual identity.

SB 5.19.5, Translation:

It was ordained that Rāvaṇa, chief of the Rākṣasas, could not be killed by anyone but a man, and for this reason Lord Rāmacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared in the form of a human being. Lord Rāmacandra's mission, however, was not only to kill Rāvaṇa but also to teach mortal beings that material happiness centered around sex life or centered around one's wife is the cause of many miseries. He is the self-sufficient Supreme Personality of Godhead, and nothing is lamentable for Him. Therefore why else could He be subjected to tribulations by the kidnapping of mother Sītā?

SB 5.25.9, Purport:

"Lord Ananta is the original person and the great mystic controller. At the same time, He is a servant of God, a Vaiṣṇava. Since there is no end to His glories, no one can understand Him fully.

sevana śunilā, ebe śuna ṭhākurāla
ātma-tantre yena-mate vaisena pātāla

"I have already spoken to you of His service to the Lord. Now hear how the self-sufficient Anantadeva exists in the lower planetary system of Pātāla.

SB 5.25.13, Translation:

There is no end to the great and glorious qualities of that powerful Lord Anantadeva. Indeed, His prowess is unlimited. Though self-sufficient, He Himself is the support of everything. He resides beneath the lower planetary systems and easily sustains the entire universe.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.3 Summary:

"The Viṣṇudūtas are all pure devotees of the Lord, the Supreme Person in regard to the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation. Neither King Indra, Varuṇa, Śiva, Brahmā, the seven ṛṣis nor I myself can understand the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord, who is self-sufficient and beyond the reach of the material senses.

SB 6.3.17, Translation:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is self-sufficient and fully independent. He is the master of everyone and everything, including the illusory energy. He has His form, qualities and features; and similarly His order carriers, the Vaiṣṇavas, who are very beautiful, possess bodily features, transcendental qualities and a transcendental nature almost like His. They always wander within this world with full independence.

SB 6.4 Summary:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul, Lord Hari, is the controller of both the living entities and the material nature. He is self-sufficient and self-effulgent. As the subject matter of perception is not the cause of our perceiving senses, so the living entity, although within his body, does not cause his eternal friend the Supersoul, who is the cause of creation of all the senses. Because of the living entity's ignorance, his senses are engaged with material objects.

SB 6.4.23, Translation:

Prajāpati Dakṣa said: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is transcendental to the illusory energy and the physical categories it produces. He possesses the potency for unfailing knowledge and supreme willpower, and He is the controller of the living entities and the illusory energy. The conditioned souls who have accepted this material manifestation as everything cannot see Him, for He is above the evidence of experimental knowledge. Self-evident and self-sufficient, He is not caused by any superior cause. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

SB 6.9.35, Translation:

These are our inquiries. The ordinary conditioned soul is subject to the material laws, and he thus receives the fruits of his actions. Does Your Lordship, like an ordinary human being, exist within this material world in a body produced by the material modes? Do You enjoy or suffer the good or bad results of actions under the influence of time, past work and so forth? Or, on the contrary, are You present here only as a neutral witness who is self-sufficient, free from all material desires, and always full of spiritual potency? We certainly cannot understand Your actual position.

SB 6.9.36, Purport:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, being self-sufficient, is full of transcendental bliss (ātmārāma). He enjoys bliss in two ways—when He appears happy and when He appears distressed. Distinctions and contradictions are impossible in Him because only from Him have they emanated. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the reservoir of all knowledge, all potency, all strength, opulence and influence. There is no limit to His powers. Since He is full in all transcendental attributes, nothing abominable from the material world can exist in Him. He is transcendental and spiritual, and therefore conceptions of material happiness and distress do not apply to Him.

SB 6.16.18-19, Translation:

(Nārada gave Citraketu the following mantra.) O Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, who are addressed by the oṁkāra (praṇava), I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. O Lord Vāsudeva, I meditate upon You. O Lord Pradyumna, Lord Aniruddha and Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, I offer You my respectful obeisances. O reservoir of spiritual potency, O supreme bliss, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are self-sufficient and most peaceful. O ultimate truth, one without a second, You are realized as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān and are therefore the reservoir of all knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

SB 6.16.18-19, Purport:

By nature the Lord is ānandamaya. Whenever we see Kṛṣṇa, He is always full of ānanda in all circumstances. No one can make Him morose. Ātmārāmāya: He does not need to search for external enjoyment, because He is self-sufficient. Śāntāya: He has no anxiety. One who has to seek pleasure from other sources is always full of anxiety. Karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs are full of anxiety because they want something, but a devotee does not want anything; he is simply satisfied in the service of the Lord, who is fully blissful.

SB 6.19.5, Purport:

Sometimes He is buried in the earth, and as if unable to come out Himself, He requests His devotee to rescue Him. Sometimes He requests His devotee to preach His glories all over the world, although He alone is quite competent to perform this task. Even though the Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all possessions and is self-sufficient, He depends on His devotees. Therefore the relationship of the Lord with His devotees is extremely confidential.

SB 6.19.5, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was quite competent enough to spread His name and mission all over the world, but still He depended upon His devotee to do this work. Considering all these points, the most important aspect of the Supreme Lord's self-sufficiency is that He depends on His devotees. This is called His causeless mercy. The devotee who has perceived this causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by realization can understand the master and the servant.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.3.3, Translation:

The Supreme Godhead is the supreme platform on which everything rests, the ingredient by which everything has been produced, and the person who has created and is the only cause of this cosmic manifestation. Nonetheless, He is different from the cause and the result. I surrender unto Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is self-sufficient in everything.

SB 8.8.23, Purport:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mukunda, is self-sufficient. Since He is fully independent, He was not in want of the support or association of Lakṣmīdevī. Nonetheless, Lakṣmīdevī, the goddess of fortune, accepted Him as her husband.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.4.64, Purport:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is self-sufficient, but to enjoy His transcendental bliss He requires the cooperation of His devotees. In Vṛndāvana, for example, although Lord Kṛṣṇa is full in Himself, He wants the cooperation of His devotees like the cowherd boys and the gopīs to increase His transcendental bliss. Such pure devotees, who can increase the pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are certainly most dear to Him. Not only does the Supreme Personality of Godhead enjoy the company of His devotees, but because He is unlimited He wants to increase His devotees unlimitedly.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.3.24, Purport:

Your forms are eternal and all-pervading. They are self-effulgent, changeless and uncontaminated by the material qualities. Such eternal forms are ever-cognizant and full of bliss; they are situated in transcendental goodness and are always engaged in different pastimes. You are not limited to a particular form only; all such transcendental, eternal forms are self-sufficient. I can understand that You are the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu." We may conclude, therefore, that Lord Viṣṇu is everything, although He is also different from everything. This is the acintya-bhedābheda-tattva philosophy.

SB 10.7.13-15, Purport:

The blessings of qualified brāhmaṇas can bring happiness not only to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but to everyone. Because Kṛṣṇa is self-sufficient, He does not require anyone's blessings, yet Nanda Mahārāja thought that Kṛṣṇa required the blessings of the brāhmaṇas.

Page Title:Self-sufficient (BG and SB)
Compiler:Labangalatika, ChandrasekharaAcarya, Visnu Murti
Created:09 of Feb, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=1, SB=46, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:47