Category:Becoming One with God
Theme Analysis
This category explores the sharp distinction between the impersonalist's goal of merging and the devotee's goal of service. Śrīla Prabhupāda defines the desire to become one with God as the "last snare of maya"—a subtle form of sense gratification where the living entity, after failing to lord it over the material world, attempts to usurp the Lord's position in the spiritual world. While impersonalists undergo severe austerities to achieve this oneness, devotees reject it as "hellish" (kaivalyam narakayate). The quotes clarify that real oneness is not an annihilation of individuality but a qualitative oneness of interest and character.
- The Last Snare of Maya: The desire to merge is described as an extension of the material ego. After being frustrated by material sense gratification, the living entity tries to become the Supreme. This is considered an illusory snare because the part can never become the whole.
- Hellish Liberation: Pure devotees find the idea of losing their individuality and service attitude to be worse than residence in hell. They prefer to remain separate to enjoy the exchange of love. Great souls like Bilvamangala Thakura and the four Kumaras are cited as examples of those who abandoned the goal of merging once they experienced the fragrance of the Lord's lotus feet.
- Beyond Equality: Devotional service (bhakti-marga) allows a devotee to surpass even the concept of equality with God. In Vṛndāvana, devotees become the Lord’s father, mother, or controller through love, a position far more exalted than simply "becoming one" with Him.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Why Devotees Reject Becoming One with God.
Subcategories
This category has the following 8 subcategories, out of 8 total.
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Pages in category "Becoming One with God"
The following 130 pages are in this category, out of 130 total.
A
- A devotee can control the Supreme Controller. Why they shall become one with God? They'll be God's father, God's controller. This is bhakti-marga
- A living entity's unlawful desire to become one with the Lord in every respect is the root cause of the entire material manifestation, for otherwise the Lord has no need to create such a manifestation, even for His pastimes
- A pure devotee of Narayana looks equally upon the happiness enjoyed in heaven, the transcendental bliss of becoming one with the Lord, and the tribulations experienced in the Kumbhipaka hell
- A pure devotee, as will be explained by Kapila Muni, does not aspire for any of the five liberations. He especially despises as hellish the idea of becoming one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- A pure devotee, who is attached to the activities of devotional service and who always engages in the service of My lotus feet, never desires to become one with Me. Such a devotee, who is unflinchingly engaged, always glorifies My pastimes and activities
- A special distinction between devotees and the other transcendentalists, namely the jnanis and yogis, is that jnanis and yogis artificially try to become one with the Supreme, whereas devotees never aspire for such an impossible accomplishment
- Actual devotional service continues even after liberation. When the devotee goes to the spiritual planet in the kingdom of God, he is also engaged there in serving the Supreme Lord. He does not try to become one with the Supreme Lord. BG 1972 purports
- Actually, to be one with the Supreme Lord means to be one with the interest of the Lord. Becoming one with the Supreme Lord does not imply becoming as great as the Supreme Lord. It is impossible. The part is never equal to the whole
- After being frustrated in material sense gratification, one wants to be liberated and become one with the Absolute Truth
- Although Mayavadis may be honored at first as very learned scholars, ultimately they descend to physical activities of politics, social work, etc. Instead of becoming one with the Supreme Lord, they again become one with these material activities
- Artificially trying to become one with the Absolute is suicidal. One cannot annihilate his natural condition
- At last, when frustrated, he (the living entity) gives up his material activities and tries to become one with the Lord and speculate with much jugglery of words, but without success
B
- Because of the fragrance of His lotus feet, carried by the air and mixed with the aroma of tulasi, their minds changed; instead of becoming one with the Supreme Lord, they thought it wise to be devotees
- Because the impersonalists cannot appreciate the spiritual happiness of association and the exchange of loving affairs with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, their ultimate goal is to become one with the Lord
- Because the living entity tends to be controlled by material nature, he cannot at any stage become one with the Supreme Lord
- Because the Mayavadis think that they have become one with Narayana, they address one another as Narayana. They say, "You are Narayana, I am Narayana, everyone is Narayana." From this misconception, the idea of daridra-narayana (poor Narayana) arises
- Becoming a servitor of the lotus feet of the Lord is better than becoming one with the Lord
- Becoming one with God does not always indicate that a living being merges into the existence of the Lord
- Becoming one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not very important for a devotee. Muktih svayam mukulitanjali sevate ’sman - Krsna-karnamrta 107
- Bhakti, or devotional service to the Lord, means to become free from material entanglement and then to enter into the kingdom of God, becoming one like Him
- Bhukti means material enjoyment, and mukti means to become freed from material anxiety and to become one with the Lord
- Bilvamangala Thakura lamented: I was situated as a monist in order to become one with the Supreme, but somehow or other I contacted a naughty boy and became His eternal servitor
- Both becoming the most powerful man in the material world and desiring to become one with the Lord are different illusory snares. And because the pure devotees of the Lord are surrendered souls, they are above the illusory snares of maya
- By undergoing severe austerities and penances, one cannot become one or equal with God, but one can attain most of the godly qualities
C
E
- Even the greatest of the empiric philosophers speculating on becoming one with the Supreme Lord cannot become a paramahamsa because the malicious mind is there
- Even those who are on the path of salvation desire to become one with the Absolute Truth and desire to commit spiritual suicide for sense gratification. But the Bhagavatam says that one should not live for sense gratification
- Even though Brahma was the first dominating deity in the material world and therefore able to do many wonderful things, he would never, like the nondevotee, have the audacity to think of becoming one with the Lord because is a pure devotee
H
- He (one who is engaged in devotional service relishes the fruit of love of Godhead) no longer desires to satisfy his senses, and he no longer desires to become one with the Supreme Lord by merging into His effulgence
- He (the conditioned soul) must give up the foolish idea of becoming one with the Lord and the desire to have some wonderful powers just to get the ephemeral adoration of the world
- Here one word, sangatatma, is misinterpreted by the Mayavadi philosophers, who say that the self of Dhruva Maharaja became one with the Supreme Self, the Personality of Godhead
- His (the living entity) attempt to become one with the Supreme Lord is a false illusion
I
- If one is puffed up with the idea that he is the Supreme Brahman, or that he has become one with Narayana, or that he has merged into the brahmajyoti effulgence, then he has not grasped the perfection of life
- Impersonalists can only mislead their disciples, for their ultimate aim is to become one with the Lord. This is against the principles of the devotional cult
- Impersonalists undergo severe austerities to acquire knowledge to become one with the Lord. But ultimately they become dependent on some rich disciple who supplies them with money to build monasteries and temples
- In that condition of spiritual consciousness, the contributor, the contribution, the consumption, the performer or leader of the performance, and the result or ultimate gain-everything-becomes one in the Absolute, the Supreme Brahman. BG 1972 purports
- In the material world the spirit of enjoyment of the living entities by dint of their own actions gradually fades by the laws of nature, and thus the illusory energy dictates in the ears of the conditioned souls that they should become one with the Lord
- In the material world, although materialists want to become one with God or compete with God, everyone directly or indirectly engages in the service of the Lord
- Inhabitants of Vrndavana never desired anything like elevation to the heavenly planets or merging into the effulgence of Brahman to become one with the Absolute Truth because of their great desire to love Krsna
- It appears from this verse (SB 3.15.43) that the four Kumaras were impersonalists or protagonists of the philosophy of monism, becoming one with the Lord. But as soon as they saw the Lord's features, their minds changed
- It is astonishing to see how a person kicked by the laws of the Lord's illusory energy thinks of becoming one with the Lord. He wants to become Lord by accumulating wealth & power, but when he is frustrated he wants to be one with the Lord
- It is astonishing to see how a person who is being kicked by the laws of the Lord's illusory energy at every step can falsely think of becoming one with the Lord. Such thinking is the last snare of the illusory energy
- It is called ahangrahopasana, ekatvena, to become one. One in quality, not in quantity. We cannot become God. That is not possible. But we can attain God's quality
- It is maya's business to try to build up the living entity, to puff him up, and maya's last snare is to make the living entity think that he can become one with God
- It is not that he (a pure devotee) thinks of becoming one with the Supreme and attaining liberation. Rather, his liberation lies in his personal relationship with the Supreme Lord Himself
- It is not that they (living entities) are covered by the material energy in conditioned life but become one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead when freed from the influence of material energy. Such an idea is offensive
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- Kapiladeva said to Devahuti, "Those who assemble together to understand My qualities, pastimes and form, and thus glorify Me congregationally and derive transcendental pleasure therefrom, such fortunate devotees never desire to become one with Me"
- Krsna's friends, the cowherd boys, did not consider Him the Supreme Lord either. The gopis even used to chastise Krsna. If a devotee can have such a relationship with Krsna, why should he want to become one with God
O
- Of course, there are five kinds of liberation: sayujya sarupya samipya salokya. By liberation you can become one with God. That is not very difficult
- Often when one is baffled in the pursuit of sense gratification, he takes to salvation and tries to become one with the Supreme Lord. Consequently, all these states are simply different types of sense gratification
- One must know that he is finite and that the Lord is infinite. Thus it is not possible to actually become one with the Lord even if one aspires for this
- One path involves worshiping different demigods for promotion to the planets of the demigods, and another involves realizing the Absolute Truth and His impersonal feature and becoming one with Him
- Only a devotee can understand that to become one with God is not a sublime idea. In Vrndavana the devotees want to become the father or mother of God - to control God with love. This fact the Mayavadis, or Advaitavadis, cannot understand
- Out of the two possibilities of merging in transcendence - namely becoming one with the impersonal Brahman effulgence and becoming one with the Personality of Godhead - the latter is more abominable to the devotee
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- People engage in the activities of religion, economic development and sense gratification, and ultimately they work with an idea that they are going to become one with the Supreme Lord (mukti). But bhakti is transcendental to all these activities
- Pure devotee is never puffed up like the nondevotee class of men who falsely think that they are God. It is astonishing to see how a person who is being kicked by the laws of the Lord's energy at every step can falsely think of becoming one with the Lord
- Pure devotees like King Kulasekhara are particularly careful to avoid a process that will end in their becoming one with the existence of the Lord, a state known as advandva, nonduality. This is simply spiritual suicide
S
- Scientists cannot manufacture such a brain, and what to speak of foolish atheists who defy the authority of the Lord? Even Mayavadi impersonalists who flatter themselves that they can become one with the Lord are neither abhijnah or svarat
- Sometimes when he (the conditioned soul) is fatigued, when he is tired of material activities, he wants liberation and hankers to become one with the Supreme Lord, but at other times he thinks that by working hard to gratify his senses he will be happy
- Sri Prabodhananda Sarasvati, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya, said, kaivalyam narakayate: "The happiness of becoming one with the Supreme Lord, which is aspired for by the Mayavadis, is considered hellish." That oneness is not for pure devotees
- Sridhara Svami comments, bhagavattvaya bhagavat-saman aisvaryaya. Bhagavattva, becoming as good as the SP of Godhead, does not mean becoming one with Him or equal to Him, although in the spiritual world the servant is equally as opulent as the master
- Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati has sung, kaivalyam narakayate. The impersonalist’s conception of becoming one with the effulgence of the Lord is exactly like hell
- Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, describing this kind of mukti, which is called kaivalya, or becoming one with the Supreme, has said, kaivalyam narakayate: Becoming one with the Supreme is as good as going to hell
- Such men (in the mode of passion) accept the standard ways of mundane altruism, but their plans are made on the basis of false ego. This false ego extends to the limit of becoming one with the Lord
T
- The Bengalis got this appetite for eating flesh and fish and at the same time becoming one with God. This foolish theory and fanaticism has killed the Bengali culture. Not all, but a few percentage
- The BG confirms that the individual soul existed in the past, is existing in the present & will continue to exist as an individual in the future. Artificially trying to become one with the Absolute is suicidal. One cannot annihilate his natural condition
- The conclusion is that an advanced devotee dovetails himself in the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and in that sense he becomes qualitatively one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The crying child of the Lord is given over to the reflection, the material world, to lord it over as karmi and to give this up in frustration to become one with the Lord. Both these stages are dreaming illusions only
- The false attempt of the living entity to occupy the predominating post of the Lord is the cause of his material bondage, and the conditioned soul's attempt to become one with the Lord is the last snare of maya
- The first illusion is that he wants to become Lord of the material world by accumulating wealth and power, but when he is frustrated in that attempt he wants to be one with the Lord
- The gopis practically became one with the Lord by attainment of equal footing with the Lord
- The illusory energy is manifested in the duality of desire and hate. Due to desire and hate, the ignorant person wants to become one with the Supreme Lord and envies Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. BG 1972 purports
- The impersonalist who feels transcendental pleasure in striving to become one with the Lord is defeated when he sees the beautiful transcendental features of the Lord
- The jnanis want to see Him to become one with Him, and the yogis want to see Him partially represented within their heart as Paramatma, but the bhaktas, or the devotees, want to see Him in His complete perfection
- The jnanis, the salvationists, who have become frustrated in enjoying the material resources, want to become one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead or merge into the impersonal effulgence
- The last snare of the illusory, external energy is the conception of becoming one with the Lord, and due to this conception the illusioned soul remains in the bondage of material energy, falsely thinking himself a liberated soul and "as good as Narayana
- The living entity is the fragmental part and parcel of the Supreme Lord-eternally. It is not that he assumes individuality in his conditional life and in his liberated state becomes one with the Supreme Lord. He is eternally fragmented. BG 1972 purports
- The living entity's actual position is realized when he is liberated from all material ideas, including the conception of his becoming one in all respects with God. BG 1972 purports
- The Mayavadi monists undergo a severe process of austerity and penance to acquire knowledge of becoming one with the Lord, but ultimately they become dependent on some rich follower who supplies them with requisite paraphernalia
- The Mayavadi philosophers aspire to become one with the Supreme Lord, but a devotee surpasses that position
- The Mayavadi philosophers' concept of becoming one with the Supreme Lord is another symptom of being lost in false ego
- The Mayavadi philosophers, accepting the influence of maya on the living entity, want to become one with the Paramatma
- The Mayavadis, they cannot understand that the Supreme Absolute Truth can be controlled by the devotee. They want to become one
- The mental speculators desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, or to become one with the Lord, whereas the devotees of the Lord desire to keep separate identities and constantly engage in the service of the Lord
- The only condition is that one must give up the habit of dry speculation aimed at becoming one with the Lord
- The particular word used in this connection, anatmanam, signifies those who have no control over the mind & senses & who therefore speculate & want to become one with the Lord. Such persons cannot have the pleasure of seeing the eternal form of the Lord
- The ultimate goal of the yoga system is to become one with the Absolute. This means finishing one’s personal existence. But the spiritual part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead has an eternal individual existence
- The word 'mukti' refers to five kinds of liberation. But its direct meaning usually conveys the idea of becoming one with the Lord
- There are five kinds of liberation stated in the scriptures. One is to become one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or to forsake one's individuality and merge into the Supreme Spirit. This is called ekatmatam
- There are five kinds of liberation, namely to become one with the Lord, to live with the Supreme Lord on the same planet, to have the same features as the Lord, to enjoy the same opulences as the Lord, and to live as a companion of the Lord
- There are five stages of liberation, 1) to become one with the Lord, 2) to live on the same planet as the Lord, 3) to obtain the same bodily features as the Lord, 4) to have the same opulences as the Lord and 5) to have constant association with the Lord
- There are four principles in the human society, namely dharma, artha, kama and moksa. Means first of all become religious, and then you solve your economic problem, and then satisfy your senses, and then become one with God
- There are many kinds of mystics, such as the karma-yogi, jnana-yogi, dhyana-yogi and bhakti-yogi. The karmis particularly search after the favor of the demigods, the jnanis want to become one with the Supreme Absolute Truth
- There are persons who are puffed up with the thought that they have become liberated or one with God or have become God, but in spite of thinking in such a puffed-up way, their intelligence is not laudable. They are less intelligent
- There is no question of becoming one. Past, present, future, always we are distinct. So how they can be one, sanatana? We are part and parcel sanatana, eternally. But in quality we are one
- They (the Mayavadi philosophers) sometimes take to so-called devotional service, and as long as they are not liberated they continue their devotional service, but at the end, when they become liberated, they "become one with God." BG 1972 purports
- They are falsely thinking that, "I am now liberated. I have become one with God." Falsely thinking. It is just like on some purchasing matter that we have become one with God
- This (transcendental loving) service must be without adulteration, that is to say, we must love God without expecting material remuneration. Loving God to become one with Him is also a form of adulteration
- This concept (become one with God) is simply an extension of the material idea. In the material world, everyone is trying to be the topmost head-man amongst all his fellow men or neighbors
- This cosmic universe is created by the Lord for those living entities who are carried away by the illusory thought of becoming one with Him by imitation. The three modes of material nature are for the further bewilderment of the conditioned souls
- This false idea of becoming one with the Lord is the last snare of the illusory energy, which traps a living entity into the bondage of forgetfulness under the spell of false ego
- This greatness can be extended to the unlimited, so that one actually wants to become one with the greatest of all, the Supreme Lord. This is also a material concept, although maybe a little more advanced
- This is the last snare of maya or sense gratificatory illusion (wanting to become one with the Lord). BG 1972 purports
- This mentality (of being an enjoyer) is dragged to the last point of liberation when the living entity wants to become one with the Lord. BG 1972 purports
- Thoughts of becoming one with the Lord, or being merged in the brahma-jyotir, can also be exhibitions of kama spirit if they are desires for one's own satisfaction to be free from the material miseries
- Thoughts of becoming one with the Lord, or being merged in the brahmajyoti, can also be exhibitions of kama spirit if they are desires for one's own satisfaction to be free from the material miseries
- To become a religious person, to become economically very well-to-do, or to become a salvationist, desiring to merge into the existence, to become one with God, these things are not, I mean to say, very satisfactory to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- To become one with God means to attain one's original, spiritual quality. Unless one attains one's spiritual quality one cannot enter into the kingdom of God
- To become one with the Supreme Lord is beyond the dream of a pure devotee. Sometimes he may accept promotion to Vaikuntha planets to serve the Lord there, but he will never accept merging into the Brahman effulgence, which he considers worse than hellish
- Transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord is free from the infections of desires for sense gratification, fruitive work, and the culture of knowledge with the aim of merging into the Absolute to become one with the Supreme Lord
W
- We are not master; still, we are trying to become master. The Mayavada philosophy, they also undergo severe type of austerities, penances, but what is the idea? The idea is that "I shall become one with God." Same mistake
- We are not meant for giving you any bluff, that "You give me some fee," or "I shall give you some mantra, and whatever you like you can do, and if you meditate or do that, then you'll become one with God." These things are not our business
- We are part and parcel of Krsna or God sanatana, eternally, not that at the present moment I have become separated from the spirit soul, and when I shall be uncovered by this gross and subtle body, we shall become one
- What is that adulteration? "Now I love God for some material benefit." That is adulteration. "I love God to become one with Him." That is adulteration. This adulteration in devotional service will not help you
- What is that connection? We are all His eternal servants. We should not foolishly think that we can become one with God or equal to God. This is all the result of rascaldom
- What is the benefit of becoming one with God
- When he (the living entity) wants to get out of service under material bondage, he next desires to become one with the Lord. This is another illusion
- When Krsna was a child, He playfully took the shoes of His father, Nanda Maharaja, and put them on His head. People may try very hard to become one with God, but actually we can surpass that - we can become father of God
- When the living entity now covered by the modes of material nature is freed from ignorance, passion, and so-called goodness, he becomes one with the Absolute Truth. Such oneness is called mukti, or freedom from the miseries of material life
- When the pot breaks, the sky inside becomes one with the sky outside, and so the impersonalists say that the living being becomes one with God. This is their argument, but Madhvacarya says that such an argument is put forward by the lowest class of men
- When the purusa who worships, the living entity, thinks of becoming one with the Supreme person, he simply becomes bewildered and falls into the darkness of ignorance