Category:As Powerful As God
Theme Analysis
The concept of being "as powerful as God" serves to distinguish the Absolute Truth from the subordinate living entities. Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly emphasizes that the Supreme Lord is absolute, meaning there is no difference between His personal form and His holy name. Therefore, chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu is as powerful as associating with the Lord directly. Because the name is infused with the Lord's full omnipotence, it offers perfect protection and liberation to the sincere chanter, surpassing all other methods of atonement or yoga.
In Vedic theology, a clear distinction is drawn between the Lord's personal expansions (viṣṇu-tattva) and His separated parts and parcels (jīva-tattva). The plenary expansions of the Lord are completely equal to Him in opulence and are exactly as powerful as the original Personality of Godhead. However, the living entities, due to their minute constitutional nature, can never independently equal the Supreme Lord in power. The desire of the nondevotee to become as powerful as God is the root cause of material entanglement and false pride.
Despite the living entity's minute nature, the Supreme Lord can choose to empower His pure devotees with extraordinary, godlike strength to fulfill His divine mission. By constant association with the Lord and through His causeless mercy, elevated devotees or authorized representatives (such as Garuḍa or Lord Brahmā) can perform acts that appear as powerful as those of God Himself. Yet, the hallmark of a liberated soul is profound humility; even when endowed with immense delegated power, a pure devotee never thinks himself as free or as powerful as Kṛṣṇa, but always seeks His supreme protection. Even the greatest demigods in charge of universal affairs are ultimately subordinate and cannot disobey the Supreme Controller.
- The Absolute Holy Name: Because the Lord is absolute, every authorized name of God is completely nondifferent from Him and is exactly as powerful as the Lord Himself.
- Viṣṇu-tattva vs. Jīva-tattva: While the Lord's direct plenary expansions are fully as powerful as God, the minute living entities can never independently achieve supreme omnipotence.
- Empowerment by Grace: The Supreme Lord can delegate immense power to His pure devotees or representatives, allowing them to act with godlike capability to execute His will.
- Eternal Subordination: Even the most powerful beings in the universe, including Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā, are strictly subordinate to the Supreme Lord; a true devotee never falsely claims to be as powerful as God.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: As Powerful as God - Understanding Divine Omnipotence and Delegated Power.
Pages in category "As Powerful As God"
The following 29 pages are in this category, out of 29 total.
A
- All the names of the Lord are as powerful as the Lord Himself, but one can experience different transcendental mellows by chanting His different transcendental names
- All the nondevotee living entities are desirous of becoming equally as powerful as the Lord, although they are not fit to become so
- Any nomenclature which is meant for the Supreme Lord is as holy as the others because they are all meant for the Lord. Such holy names are as powerful as the Lord
- Anyone who is associated with the Supreme Lord is accepted as a first-class yogi. Devotees may not be as powerful as the Supreme Lord, but by constant association with the Lord they become as good as the Lord Himself
- Atonement is not as powerful as the chanting of the holy name of the Lord
E
- Except for the Lord Himself, everyone is subordinate; no one is independent of the Lord. Since no one is more powerful than or equal to the energy of the Supreme Lord, no one's name can be as powerful as that of the Lord
- Expansions of the Lord are limitless, but some of them are the living entities. The living entities are not as powerful as the Lord's plenary expansions, and therefore there are two different types of expansions
L
- Living entities are also part and parcel of Lord Visnu, but they are not as powerful; therefore when a living entity descends as an incarnation of Visnu, he is especially empowered by the Lord
- Lord Brahma could understand Maharaja Agnidhra's desire because he is as powerful as Lord Visnu
- Lord Garuda, the carrier of Lord Visnu, is the most worshipable lord, for he is as powerful as the Supreme Lord Himself. He is the personified Vedas and is worshiped by selected verses
T
- The brahmanas (dvija, the twice-born), are given a chance by the sastric regulations to become almost as powerful as the Supreme Lord
- The city of Dvaraka was well protected by the descendants of Vrsni, who were as powerful as the Lord, insofar as He manifested His strength upon this earth
- The holy name of the Lord is as powerful as the Lord Himself. Therefore, simply by chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord, many men can be fully protected from fierce death without difficulty. Thus a devotee is saved
- The holy name of the Lord is as powerful as the Lord. The Lord is the all-powerful Personality of Godhead, and He has innumerable names, which are all nondifferent from Him and are equally powerful also
- The liberated souls never think themselves as free as the Lord or as powerful as the Lord, but they always seek the protection of the Lord in all circumstances, both in the material world and in the spiritual world
- The Lord is all-powerful, and by His grace His pure devotee can be as powerful as He may desire, and there is no limit to it. And when the Lord withdraws His power from anyone, he is powerless by the will of the Lord
- The offenses (to the holy names) are: (b) to consider the name of Lord Siva or any other demigod to be equally as powerful as the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead - no one is equal to the Supreme, nor is anyone superior to Him
- The visnu-tattvas are living beings equally as powerful as the original form of the Personality of Godhead, and They display different categories of power in consideration of different times and circumstances
- There are hundreds of thousands of other names of Lord Visnu, and each one of them is as powerful as the Lord Himself. One can constantly chant any name of the Lord and thereby constantly associate with Him
- There is calculation that suppose God is cent percent perfect. So when you get you, your spiritual body, you may not be as powerful as God, but almost near to God. You get seventy-eight percent
- This word (bhagavan) can be used not only for the Supreme Personality of Godhead but for anyone who is almost as powerful as the Supreme Lord
W
- We cannot become the Supreme. At least, we don't find in authorized Vedic literature that a living entity can become as powerful as God. No. It is not possible
- Why one is induced to perform certain acts despite his desire to do something else is indicated herein (SB 5.1.11). One cannot disobey the orders of the Supreme Lord, even if one is as powerful as Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, Manu or the great sage Narada