Category:God's Position
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that the Absolute Truth is the supreme, independent controller of all existence, and correctly understanding His position is the key to spiritual liberation. God's position is completely unique and eternally distinct from that of the conditioned living entities, who are His subordinate parts and parcels. While envious materialists and Māyāvādī philosophers foolishly attempt to usurp God's position or reduce Him to a mundane level, the pure devotees, through the process of unalloyed bhakti and submissive hearing, realize His supreme, infallible, and blissful nature. The perfection of human life is to recognize our own constitutional position as eternal servants, understand the exalted, transcendental position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and fully surrender unto Him.
- The Constitutional Position of the Divine: The Supreme Lord occupies an independent, unborn, and completely infallible position of perfect bliss, eternity, and knowledge.
- Realization Through Devotional Service: The true position of the Lord cannot be reached by mental speculation or empirical analysis; it is revealed exclusively through pure devotional service.
- Distinguishing God from the Living Entity: God's body and self are completely identical, ensuring that His transcendental position remains pristine and unaffected even when He descends to the material world.
- The Grace of the Spiritual Master: It is impossible to comprehend the actual position of the Lord independently; one must humbly submit to an authorized spiritual master to receive this absolute knowledge.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Understanding the Supreme Reality of God's Position.
Subcategories
This category has the following 5 subcategories, out of 5 total.
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P
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Pages in category "God's Position"
The following 112 pages are in this category, out of 112 total.
A
- A pure devotee is actually learned because he knows his constitutional position, he knows the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he knows the relationship between the living entity and the Supreme Lord
- According to Vedic instructions, one should understand the constitutional position of the living entity, the position of the Lord, and the position of material energy in their interrelation
- After coming to the platform of jnana, or the brahma-bhuta state, one ultimately comes to devotional service, in which he completely understands his own position and the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- After leaving all his associates, the King surrendered himself as a disciple to the son of Vyasa (Sukadeva Gosvami), and thus he was able to understand the actual position of the Personality of Godhead
- Although all these Mayavadi sannyasis who called themselves Narayana were actually unaware of the position of Narayana, due to their austerities Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu enabled them to understand Him to be Narayana Himself
- Although You engage Your energy in matter, You are always situated in Your original form and never fall from that position, for Your knowledge is infallible and always suitable to any situation. You are never bewildered by illusion
- Amsuman said: My Lord, even Lord Brahma is to this very day unable to understand Your position, which is far beyond himself, either by meditation or by mental speculation
- 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
- As Krsna never falls, when we revive our spiritual consciousness, Krsna consciousness, we never fall again to material existence. One should understand the position of the supreme Acyuta, Krsna
- As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 3.25.25), satam prasangan mama virya-samvido bhavanti hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah: only by association with devotees can one authoritatively understand the position of the Lord and His devotees
- Atri Rsi was doubtful about the constitutional position of the Supreme Lord, Visnu, but he was quite certain that the Lord of the universe cannot be one of the creatures created by maya
- Authoritatively understand the position of the Lord
B
- Because the Lord's body and self are identical, His position is always different from that of the ordinary living entity, even when He descends to the material platform
- Because the Lord's body and self are identical, His position is always different from the ordinary living entity, even when He descends to the material platform. The demons cannot adjust themselves to this transcendental nature of God. BG 1972 purports
- Bhagavan, the Supreme Lord, is not in this (conditioned) position. It is therefore said: bhagavan atma-mayaya
- Bhakti is so sublime that only through bhakti can one understand the constitutional position of the Lord. That is clearly stated in the BG (18.55): bhaktya mam abhijanati. One can understand the SG through devotional service, and by no other process
- Bhrgu Muni could understand his position and that of the Lord, and he was struck with wonder at the behavior of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because of his gratitude, his voice choked up
- Brahma said, "As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, simply by understanding Your (Krsna's) constitutional position, appearance and disappearance, one can be immediately elevated to the spiritual kingdom after quitting this present body"
- By culturing the mode of goodness, one can understand the position of the transcendental Lord and how the Lord is always prepared to remove all obstacles on the path of understanding Him
- By knowing this (the position of the Lord and how to approach His dhama) he (Maharaja Pariksit) could leave aside everything material, even his own body, without any difficulty of attachment
- By severe austerity and penance one may elevate himself to the position of Brahman, but this is not the position of Para-brahman. Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah - SB 10.2.32
- By the grace of a spiritual master like Sukadeva, unto whom the King (Pariksit) gave himself up as a most humble disciple one is able to understand the actual position of the Lord His eternal abode & His transcendental paraphernalia in that dhama or abode
- By the grace of Lord Krsna, Maharaja Pariksit was able to receive the mercy of such a personality as Sukadeva Gosvami, and thus he was able to know the actual position of the unconquerable Lord
- By the power of astrological science one can even ascertain the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything is to be identified by its symptoms
C
- Citraketu appreciated the exalted position of Lord Siva, and he remarked at how wonderful it was that Lord Siva was acting like an ordinary human being
- Considering these points (because of His (Balarama's) position as an incarnation, the reestablishment of religious principles was His prime duty), He killed Romaharsana Suta simply by striking him with a kusa straw, which was nothing but a blade of grass
D
- Dear lord, you are situated in your pure existential position of goodness; therefore you are the perfect representative of the Supreme Lord
- Devotees in a transcendental parental relationship with the Lord think of Him as their dependent child. They forget His exalted position and think that unless they properly feed Him He will fall victim to undernourishment and His health will deteriorate
E
- Even exalted demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are inferior to Lord Narayana, but we are so foolish that we are thinking of assuming Narayana's position, or making Narayana into daridra-narayana, the poor man in the street
- Even the demigods, the devotees, who are transcendentally situated or situated on the platform of goodness, are not fully aware of the qualities and position of the Lord
F
- Factually speaking, even those who are situated in the material mode of goodness cannot understand the position of the SP of Godhead. What then is to be said of those who are situated in rajo-guna and tamo-guna, the base qualities of material nature
- First they (envious persons) try to occupy high positions in this material world, & when they are frustrated in this attempt, they think, "Now I shall occupy the position of God." Of course this desire is also frustrated because no 1 can become God
- For the Lord, because of His blissful position, is never affected by enmity or friendship
- From Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 11.3.34): O best of the brahmanas, please tell us of the position of Narayana, who is also known as Brahman and Paramatma
- From the ground we may see only clouds in the sky, but if we fly above the clouds we can see the sun shining. From the sky, skyscrapers and cities seem very tiny; similarly, from God’s position this entire material creation is insignificant - CC Intro
G
- God is eternal, God is full of joy and bliss. The position of the Absolute Person, the Godhead, is that He is full of bliss, eternal, and full of knowledge
- God personally comes to show you what is the position of God, and He has shown what is the meaning of God
- God's position is not like this - as once we think that we are supreme, we'll immediately find someone superior. This is our position
- God's qualities are always inconceivable, and all processes of self-realization inquire into the potencies, energies and qualities of the SP of Godhead. However, the devotees of the Lord immediately accept the inconceivable position of the Lord
- God’s position is completely different from their (Mayavadi philosophers) concoction. Such Mayavadi philosophers consider themselves above the influence of karma-kanda - fruitive activities and their reactions
H
- Haridasa Thakura asked Advaita Prabhu why He was doing something which might jeopardize His position in brahmana society. Advaita Prabhu replied that He was feeding millions of first-class brahmanas by offering the food to Haridasa Thakura
- He (son of the elderly brahmana) did not believe in the spiritual position of the Deity, nor did he have any faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, as a typical idol worshiper, he considered the form of God to be made of stone or wood
- He alone who is never afraid but who, on the contrary, gives complete shelter to all fearful persons can actually become a husband and protector. Therefore, my (Laksmi's) Lord, you (Kamadeva) are the only husband, and no one else can claim this position
- He was equal to all the wives & treated them as a perfect husband would, just to please them. For Him, there was no need of even a single wife. Since they were women, the wives could not understand the exalted position of Krsna, nor the truths about Him
- Here is a nice formula presented by Krsna Himself: one should understand the position of Krsna. He is unborn and without any cause
- His (The Supreme Lord's) position of eka-rasa does not change in the slightest when He becomes a witness and advisor to the individual soul in each individual body
- His treasury will always remain unknown to everyone. He will be the reservoir of unlimited glories and good qualities, and his position will be maintained and covered just as Varuna, the deity of the seas, is covered all around by water
I
- If one thoroughly studies the different descriptions of the opulences and expansions of Krsna's energy, then one can understand without any doubt the position of Lord Krsna and can fix his mind in the worship of Krsna without deviation. BG 1972 purports
- If one wants to go there (Goloka), he must simply become Krsna conscious and try to understand how Krsna appears and disappears, what His constitutional position is, what our constitutional position is, what our relationship with Him is, and how to live
- If these (popular) leaders, including preachers and heads of state, do not perform act of Vaisnavism - and instead place themselves artificially in the exalted position of Visnu, the supreme enjoyer - then they may indeed enjoy temporary gain
- In Bhagavad-gita the Lord has explained His (Krsna's) position clearly, but the demoniac atheistic student squeezes out an interpretation to suit his own purpose and misleads unfortunate followers into the same mentality
- In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam the Lord is described as svarat, which means "completely independent." That is the position of the Supreme Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is not only sentient, but is also completely independent
- In the Bhagavad-gita the separate positions of the jiva-atma and the Paramatma are specifically mentioned
- In the modern age a certain class of fools think that they can vote anyone into the position of God, as they can vote a man into the position of a political executive head. But the transcendental SPG is perfectly described in the authentic scriptures
- In the sastras, we have the Yamaraja, or there is justice department. Everything is there. So he is neutral. It is not that God is kind to somebody and unkind to some other, no. His position is always neutral
- In this verse (SB 4.22.27) Svayambhuva Manu seeks to eradicate the last tinge of false ambition in Dhruva by explaining the position of the supreme controller
- It is better to refrain from comparing the Lord's position to ours, and it becomes a simple truth as soon as we understand at least a partial calculation of the Lord's transcendental position
- It is very difficult to find a man who perfectly understands the position of the soul, the Supersoul, the atomic soul, their respective functions, relationships and all other major and minor details. BG 1972 purports
K
- Krsna continued, "You (Rukmini) mistakenly heard about My having very exalted character, although factually I was nothing more than a beggar. Without seeing Me and My actual position, simply by hearing about Me, you selected Me as your husband"
- Krsna knows the cause of the distressed condition of the conditioned soul. He therefore descends from His original position to instruct the conditioned soul and inform him about his forgetfulness of his relationship with Krsna
O
- One can understand what the Lord's position is, what our position is and what our relationship is. All this can be understood very easily by the simple method of bhakti-yoga
- One may be elevated to the heavenly planets or may realize himself as Brahman, but that is not the end of realization. One must realize the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by bhakti-yoga; then real perfection of life is attained
- One must understand his constitutional position and the constitutional position of the Supreme Lord as well. Both have the same spiritual identity
- One must understand the position of the Lord through the authorities, or mahajanas. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 1.3.28), ete camsa-kalah pumsah krsnas tu bhagavan svayam
- One who is not a great scholar can understand the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead if he somehow or other becomes a pure devotee of the Lord by engaging in devotional service
- One who is not in direct touch with the Supreme Lord and cannot conceive of the exalted position of the Lord is sometimes advised to worship the demigods as various parts of the Lord
- One who thinks that the Supreme Lord assumes a material body is not intelligent. He has to learn more about the Lord's position
- One who understands his real constitutional position as the eternal servitor of the Lord, and thus knows the position of the Personality of Godhead, engages himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. BG 1972 purports
- One who wrongly thinks that the living entity's position and the Lord's position are on the same level is to be understood to be in darkness and therefore unable to engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord. BG 1972 purports
- Our imperfect senses cannot think of the greatness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nor can we bring Him within the limitations of time or our thinking power. His position is accordingly described by the word ullanghita
P
- People are too much engrossed with material activities. They do not try to understand actually what is the position of Absolute Truth, what is the position of the soul
- Prabhu means "the Lord" and pada means "the position." "One who has taken the position of the Lord." The same thing: saksad-dharitvena, prabhupada. These are the terms. One who is serious to study this science of God, they'll learn all these things
S
- Some great devotees of the Lord cannot surpass the boundary of awe and veneration. But other devotees are in such an intense compact of love with the Lord that they forget His exalted position and regard themselves as His equals or even His superiors
- Sometimes the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself wonders how much transcendental pleasure is within Himself, and in order to taste His own potency, He sometimes takes the position of tasting Himself
- Such authorities (like the four Kumaras and Narada) can by nature understand the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but a conditioned soul not freed from the influence of material nature is unable to realize the Supreme
T
- The energies, the expansions, eko bahu syama: He has expanded Himself, the Lord, in many multiforms. Some of them are called visnu-tattva. Visnu-tattva is equal to the position of the Lord
- 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 Lord Brahma mentioned in this connection is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When there is no fit human being to empower as Lord Brahma, the Lord Himself takes the position of Lord Brahma. That Brahma mentioned here (SB 5.17.14) is Hari Himself
- The Lord does not belong to the material mode of goodness, for He is above the position of material goodness. He belongs to the transcendental, eternal status of bliss and knowledge
- The Lord is always in an exalted position, even though He agrees to live everywhere
- The Lord killed many inimical nondevotees, but they all received sarupya; in other words, they returned to their original spiritual bodies. One who does not know the Lord's position says that God is unkind to him but merciful to others
- The material world is the temporary, external energy of the Lord, and the living entity is placed in this material world because he wanted to imitate the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The message (by Paundraka to Krsna) contained the following statements, "You (Krsna) have falsely taken the position of Vasudeva without authority, but You should not propagate this false idea. You must give up Your position"
- The political leaders or the so-called religious leaders or other many leaders there are, they are taking the position of God, that "I shall become your friend. I shall lead you so that you will become happy." That is wrong
- The sastras warn that if one thinks that the demigods are equal to Narayana, one is a pasandi, an atheist. We should not think that because we have become liberated, we have attained the position of Narayana
- The science of God analyzes the constitutional position of God and His diverse energies. Material nature is called prakrti, or the energy of the Lord in His different purusa incarnations (expansions). BG 1972 purports
- The spiritual master is addressed as "Prabhupada" because he is a completely self-realized soul. The word pada means "position," and Prabhupada indicates that he is given the position of prabhu, or the Supreme Personality, for he acts on behalf of God
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full in six opulences. His position is unique, for He possesses all riches, strength, influence, beauty, knowledge and renunciation
- The Vaisnava philosopher's conception of kaivalya is different (than that of Mayavadis). He understands both his position and the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- There are two classes of men - the demons and the demigods. The demigods are fully aware of the Supreme Lord's position, and therefore they are obedient to Him, but even if demons know about the supremacy of the Lord they purposely defy His authority
- There is no difference between Lord Visnu and Lord Siva in their original positions, but still Lord Siva is different from Lord Visnu. The example is given that the milk in yogurt is not different from the original milk from which it was made
- There is no difference between the person God and His holy name. This is the absolute position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one who distinguishes between the Lord and His name is called a pasandi, or nonbeliever, an atheistic demon
- There is no difference between the spiritual positions of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu, or Krsna and Balarama. All of Them are but different manifestations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- They (envious, mischievous, the lowest of mankind) are put into hellish conditions because they are envious of God's position
- They (Mayavadi sannyasis) never consider why Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, would accept an inferior position as a human being and then again become Narayana when He is perfect
- They (the leaders who place themselves artificially in the exalted position of Visnu) may indeed enjoy temporary gain, adoration, and mundane fame, and may delude their unfortunate followers from the right path by a false display of renunciation
- They cannot understand Your real position & therefore they conclude that the cosmic manifestation is independent of Your opulence. My Lord, You are the supreme pure, & You are full in all six opulences. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You
- They practice penance (tapasya) & tolerance (titiksa), & they realize the position of the living entity & the Lord (anubhava). These are the eight qualifications of the brahmanas. Therefore among all living entities, no one is superior to the brahmanas
- This is generally the calculation of less intelligent philosophers who consider the position of the Lord and that of the living entities to be on the same level
- This understanding (of one's position and God's position through devotional service) is explained here (SB 4.21.32) as vijnana-visesa
- Those who cannot understand the position of the Lord are unfortunate. They may think that they can kill the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee, but all their attempts will be futile. The Lord knows how to deal with them
- Try to study the energy of the Lord in every sphere of life. Do not decry Him and try to become like Him or take His position simply by fragmental accumulation of knowledge
W
- We accept Krsna as God. Even by His activities He is not ordinary. He had to meet so many dangers before He was accepted God. From childhood, when He was baby, just three months old, He had to struggle. He had to struggle with His position as God
- We are engaged in philanthropic work, to give food to the poor, as if God is unable to give food to the poor, because we have taken the position of God. So this is not our business. God has food for everyone
- We are isvara, we may be isvara. I may be isvara for few persons, another may be for a big nation, another may be for the... You can go on increasing. But you cannot reach the, position of God
- We can only imagine how highly exalted the actual position of a devotee is, and certainly we cannot even conceive how exalted is the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- When Maharaja Bali actually gave the land, Vamanadeva exhibited His all-powerful position by covering the three worlds with three steps
- Without such meditation on God, either personal or impersonal, all good qualities of the human being become covered with misconceptions regarding his constitutional position & without advanced knowledge, the whole world becomes a hell for the human being
Y
- You have to understand the position of God. In every literature, in every scripture: "God said: 'Let there be creation.' So there was creation." So creation is the universe. So God created this universe. So if you love God, then you love the universe
- You may think that you have become liberated, you have got the position of Narayana... That is all false thinking, avisuddha-buddhayah