Category:God's Face
Theme Analysis
The philosophical essence of this category establishes the Supreme Personality of Godhead not as a faceless, impersonal energy, but as the supreme embodiment of all beauty and compassion, possessing a distinct and captivating transcendental face. The meditation process in aṣṭāṅga-yoga and bhakti-yoga strictly forbids impersonal contemplation; the yogī must focus on the personal form of the Lord, beginning at His lotus feet and gradually rising to His smiling, lotus-like face. The Lord's face is described as infinitely more beautiful than millions of moons, adorned with curly hair, dancing eyebrows, and a smile that satisfies and enlivens the entire world. However, to see this divine face, one must first penetrate the blinding, impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence. As prayed in the Śrī Īśopaniṣad, the devotee requests the Lord to remove this dazzling covering so that His real face may be revealed. When the devotee successfully perceives the smiling face of the Lord, they experience the pinnacle of transcendental bliss, feeling as if they are drinking pure nectar through their eyes, completely forgetting the temporary, so-called beauties of the material world.
- The Embodiment of Beauty: The Lord's face is the ultimate standard of beauty. What artists and poets call "beautiful nature" is simply a fractional reflection of His enchanting smile. His face, often compared to a blooming lotus, puts all mundane beauty to shame.
- The Process of Meditation: Genuine meditation is never impersonal. The authorized Vedic process directs the yogī to meditate step-by-step on the Arca-vigraha (Deity form), starting from the lotus feet, moving up the legs, thighs, waist, and chest, and finally concentrating on the Lord's smiling face.
- Removing the Dazzling Cover: The impersonal brahmajyoti is actually the glowing effulgence emanating from the Lord's body. Devotees pray for the Lord to remove this dazzling, hiraṇmaya-pātra covering so they can see His actual, personal face.
- The Supreme Benediction: The Lord's smiling face is full of deep compassion for His devotees. Beholding His smile is considered the greatest manifestation of His grace, providing complete satisfaction and relief from all material miseries.
- Drinking Nectar Through the Eyes: When pure devotees, such as the residents of Vṛndāvana or Mathurā, look upon the face of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they are overwhelmed with ecstatic love. Their vision is so intensely satisfying that they feel as though they are physically drinking nectar through their eyes.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: God's Face - Meditating on the Smiling Beauty of the Absolute Truth.
Subcategories
This category has the following 12 subcategories, out of 12 total.
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Pages in category "God's Face"
The following 74 pages are in this category, out of 74 total.
A
- A creator must possess an all-pervasive body, as pointed out in the Bhagavad-gita (3.14): Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything
- 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
- A yogi is advised to meditate on the form of Lord Visnu from point to point, from ankles to legs to knees to thighs to chest to neck, and in this way gradually up to the face and then to the ornaments. There is no question of impersonal meditation
- A yogi is advised to meditate on the form of Lord Visnu from point to point, from the ankles to the legs to the knees to the thighs to the chest to the neck, and in this way gradually up to the face and then to the ornaments
- According to the Bhagavata school, the Lord's rasa dancing is the smiling face of the Lord
- After hearing of His mother's uncontaminated desire for transcendental realization, the Lord thanked her within Himself for her questions, and thus, His face smiling, He explained the path of the transcendentalists, who are interested in self-realization
- All the Vedas worship the transcendental form of the Lord. In the Vedic mantras the devotees request the Lord to remove the glaring effulgence because it covers His real face. That is the version of the Isopanisad
- Although Ananta has many thousands of faces and has been glorifying the Lord for many, many years, He could not find the limit of the glories of the Lord. Thus it is not possible to estimate the complete potencies and glories of the Supreme Lord
- Although we do not see His head, face, hands, or legs, He has them, and when we are elevated to the transcendental situation then we can see the Lord's form. BG 1972 purports
- Another lady said, "Don't you see how the face of Lord Balarama has turned especially beautiful? There is a reddish hue on His white face because He is engaged in a strenuous wrestling match with Mustika"
- As confirmed by Lord Caitanya, by the bhakti-yoga process, beginning from hearing and chanting, one can cleanse the heart and mind, and thus one can clearly see the face of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- As described in the previous mantras, the real or ultimate aspect of the Absolute is His feature as the Personality of Godhead, and His impersonal brahmajyoti feature is a dazzling covering over His face
- As far as meditation on the arca-vigraha form of the Lord is concerned, we have to look at the Deity beginning with His lotus feet. It is not that we immediately look at His smiling face
- As soon as the inhabitants of Vrndavana saw that Krsna was in the river Yamuna enveloped by the serpent Kaliya & that all the boys & cows were lamenting, they simply began to think of Krsna's friendship, smiling face, sweet words & His dealings with them
E
- Every part of His (the Lord's) body is pleasing for everyone to see. Apart from His smiling face, every part of His body - His hands, His legs, His chest - is pleasing to the devotees, who cannot at any time stop seeing the beautiful form of the Lord
- Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes and faces, and He hears everything. In this way the Supersoul exists. BG 13.14 - 1972
H
- Hairs on God's body are the cause of vegetation, particularly of those trees which are required as ingredients for sacrifice. The hairs on His head and face are reservoirs for clouds, and His nails are the breeding ground of electricity, stones and iron
- His (Lord Nrsimhadeva's) mercy is distributed like moonshine, and His face is like that of a lion. Let me offer my (Sridhara Svami's) obeisances unto Him again and again
- His (Narayana's) complexion was blackish, His garment yellow like gold, and His helmet as dazzling as the sun. His hair was bluish, the color of black bees, and His face was decorated with earrings
- His eyes and face were very cheerful, and from His neck to His feet hung a long garland of flowers. His chest was decorated with the Kaustubha jewel and the mark of Srivatsa
- His face was more beautiful than millions upon millions of moons, and His teeth were like pomegranate seeds because of His chewing betel
I
- If someone sees the face of the Lord while aratrika is going on, he can be relieved of all sinful reactions coming from many, many thousands and millions of years past. He is even excused from the killing of a brahmana or similar prohibited activities
- If the yogi is able to place the beautiful face of the Lord in the core of his heart, he will be completely satisfied. In other words, when one is absorbed in seeing the beauty of the Lord within himself, the material attraction can no longer disturb him
- Impersonal Brahman, being formless, is described as adrsya because the impersonal effulgence of brahmajyoti covers the face of the Supreme Lord
- It is specifically mentioned here (in SB 3.22.2) that the brahmanas are created from the face of the cosmic personality, or virat-purusa
K
- Kapila Muni is explaining (in SB 3.25.35) how the devotees see the decorated body and face of the Deity and how they speak with Him in devotional service
- Kapiladeva has advised His mother, Devahuti, as follows, "My dear Mother, My pure devotees are charmed by seeing My different forms, the beauty of My face, the structure of My body so enchanting"
- Krsna and Balarama took Their baths in the river and washed Their faces. After drinking the transparent, crystal-clear water of the Yamuna, They took Their seats again on the chariot
L
- Lord Brahma could then see You possessing thousands and thousands of faces, feet, heads, hands, thighs, noses, ears and eyes. You were very nicely dressed, being decorated and bedecked with varieties of ornaments and weapons
- Lord Brahma, being completely pure, could see the original form of the Lord as Visnu, having many thousands of faces and forms. This process is called self-realization
- Lord Jagannatha was garlanded, dressed with nice garments and adorned with beautiful ornaments. His face was glittering from the rays of sunshine, and the entire atmosphere was fragrant
- Lord Visnu looked extraordinarily beautiful because the goddess of fortune and a garland were situated on His chest. His face was beautifully decorated with a smiling attitude which can captivate the entire world
O
- O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee
- O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Please remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee - ISO 15
- O My mother, My devotees always see the smiling face of My form, with eyes like the rising morning sun. They like to see My various transcendental forms, which are all benevolent, and they also talk favorably with Me
- One can practice meditating upon the Deity, concentrating his mind on the lotus feet of the Lord and gradually rising higher and higher, up to His smiling face
- One has to penetrate the impersonal effulgence to see the face of the Supreme Lord (ISO 15). If one desires to reach the source of the sunshine, he has to travel through the sunshine to reach the sun and then meet the predominating deity there
S
- She (Mother Laksmiji) cooks nice foods for Him, fans Him while He eats, smoothes sandalwood pulp on His face and sets His bed and sitting places in the right order
- Since it is recommended in this verse (2.2.13) that one should gradually progress from the lotus feet up to the smiling face, we shall not jump at once to understand the Lord's pastimes in the rasa dance
- Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his Krsna-sandarbha, has described Sesa Naga as follows: Sri Anantadeva has thousands of faces and is fully independent. Always ready to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He waits upon Him constantly
- Such a person (jnanavan) can see the Personality of Godhead, and therefore he surrenders unto the Lord. The Lord's being symptomized by a face, nose, ears and so on is eternal. Without such a form, no one can be blissful
T
- The brahmanas (intelligentsia) emanate from the face (of God), the ksatriyas (warriors and administrators) emanate from the arms, the vaisyas (farmers and merchants) emanate from the thighs, and the sudras (laborers) emanate from the feet
- The citizens of Mathura City who saw Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, became very much pleased and began to look on His face with insatiable glances, as if they were drinking the nectar of heaven
- The devotees are ever satisfied by the smiling face of the Lord, and they become enlivened. And by seeing the devotees so enlivened, the Lord Himself is further satisfied
- The energy emanated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests in two ways - as an emanation from the Supreme Lord and as a covering of the Lord's face
- The face of the Lord is the embodiment of beauty. What they call beautiful nature is but His smile, and what they call the sweet songs of the birds are but specimens of the whispering voice of the Lord
- The Isopanisad mantra is a simple prayer to the Lord to remove the brahmajyoti so that one can see His real face. This brahmajyoti effulgence is described in detail in several mantras of the Mundaka Upanisad
- The living entity should never be considered the all-powerful Supreme Truth. If he were the Supreme, he would not need to pray to the Lord to remove His dazzling cover so that the living entity could see His real face
- The Lord bestows innumerable favors upon His devotee, and the greatest manifestation of His grace is His smiling face, which is full of compassion for His pure devotees
- The Lord has four arms and an exquisitely beautiful face with eyes like lotus petals, a beautiful highly raised nose, a mind-attracting smile, a beautiful forehead and equally beautiful and fully decorated ears
- The Lord's magnanimous pastimes & the glowing glancing of His smiling face are all indications of His extensive benedictions. One must therefore concentrate on this transcendental form of the Lord, as long as the mind can be fixed on Him by meditation
- The luster of His beautiful face increased at every moment, and the eyes of hundreds and thousands of devotees drank its honey like bumblebees
- The Personality of Godhead, seen leaning favorably towards His loving servitors, His very sight intoxicating and attractive, appeared to be very much satisfied. He had a smiling face decorated with an enchanting reddish hue
- The potential expansions can never be calculated by anyone because even the Personality of God Himself, as the incarnation of Sesa, cannot estimate the potencies, although He has been describing them continuously with His one thousand faces
- The process of meditation should begin from the lotus feet of the Lord and progress to His smiling face. The meditation should be concentrated upon the lotus feet, then the calves, then the thighs, and in this way higher and higher
- The smiling face of Lord Visnu is pleasing to the whole world. Not only devotees but even nondevotees are attracted by such a smile
- The smiling face of the Deity in the temple is beheld by the devotees as transcendental and spiritual, and the decoration of the body of the Lord is very much appreciated by the devotees
- The virat-purusa's face is the brahmanas, His arms are the ksatriyas, His thighs are the vaisyas, and the sudras are under the protection of His feet
- The yogi then meditates upon the beautiful face of the Lord, which is adorned with curly hair and decorated by lotuslike eyes and dancing eyebrows. A lotus surrounded by swarming bees and a pair of swimming fish would be put to shame by its elegance
- There are two comparisons in this verse (SB 3.28.30): 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
- They enjoyed celestial happiness, with open hearts full of love and affection for the Lord, and when they saw the face of the Lord, it seemed to them that they were drinking nectar through their eyes
- This verse (SB 4.7.21) nicely describes how the sun, moon, eight-petalled lotus flower and humming black bees were represented by the fans of hair, the overhead canopy, the moving earrings on both sides of His (Lord Visnu) face, and His blackish hair
- Those who are artists, overtaken by the beautiful creation, should better see to the beautiful face of the Lord for complete satisfaction. The face of the Lord is the embodiment of beauty
- To think of the Lord as a whole may sometimes be impersonal; therefore, it is recommended here (in SB 3.28.20) that one first think of His lotus feet, then His ankles, then the thighs, then the waist, then the chest, then the neck, then the face and so on
W
- When You (Krsna) return home, the milk flowing out of the breasts of Your mother washes Your face of its dust covering, and it appears that You are purified by this milk
- Without a personal form there can be no question of a smiling face, which is clearly indicated here (in SB 8.5.45) by the words sasmitam te mukhambujam