A Definition of God

Modern man's concepts of God are many and varied.
Children tend to imagine an old man with a white beard.
Many adults regard God as an invisible force or a
mentul concept or as all humanity, the universe,
or even oneself. In this lecture, Srila Prabhupada
describes in detail the Krishna consciousness concept -
- a surprisingly intimate view of God. Parasara Muni,
a great sage and the father of Vyasadeva, who
compiled all the Vedic literatures, gave the following
definition of God: aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya
yasasah sriyah jnana-vairagyayos caiva sannam bhaga
itingana (Visnu Purana 6.5.47) Bhagavan, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, is thus defined by Parasara
Muni as one who is full in six opulences -- who has full
strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty, and
renunciation. Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, is the proprietor of all riches. There are many
rich men in the world, but no one can claim that he
possesses all the wealth. Nor can anyone claim that no
one is richer than he. We understand from the
Srimad-Bhagavatam, however, that when Krishna was
present on this earth He had 16,108 wives, and each wife
lived in a palace made of marble and bedecked with
jewels. The rooms were filled with furniture made of
ivory and gold, and there was great opulence everywhere.
These descriptions are all given vividly in the
Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the history of human society
we cannot find anyone who had sixteen thousand wives
or sixteen thousand palaces. Nor did Krishna go to one
wife one day and another wife another day. No, He was
personally present in every palace at the same time. This
means that He expanded Himself in 16,108 forms. This is
impossible for an ordinary man, but it is not very difficult
for God. If God is unlimited, He can expand Himself in
unlimited forms, otherwise there is no meaning to the word
unlimited. God is omnipotent; He can maintain not only
sixteen thousand wives but sixteen million and still encounter
no difficulty, otherwise there is no meaning to the word
omnipotent. These are all attractive features. We experience
in this material world that if a man is very rich, he is
attractive. In America, for instance, Rockefeller and
Ford are very attractive because of their riches. They are
attractive even though they do not possess all the wealth
of the world. How much more attractive, then, is God,
who is the possessor of all riches. Similarly, Krishna has
unlimited strength. His strength was present from the
moment of His birth. When Krishna was only three
months old, the Putana demon attempted to kill Him,
but instead she was killed by Krishna. That is God.
God is God from the beginning. He does not become
God by some meditation or mystic power. Krishna is
not that type of God. Krishna was God from the very
beginning of His appearance. Krishna also has unlimited
fame. Of course, we are devotees of Krishna and know
of Him and glorify Him, but apart from us, many millions
in the world are aware of the fame of the Bhagavad-gita.
In all countries all over the world the Bhagavad-gita is
read by philosophers, psychologists, and religionists.
We are also finding very good sales with our Bhagavad-gita
As It Is. This is because the commodity is pure gold.
There are many editions of the Bhagavad-gita, but
they are not pure. Ours is selling more because we
are presenting the Bhagavad-gita as it is. The fame
of the Bhagavad-gita is Krishna's fame. Beauty, another
opulence, is possessed unlimitedly by Krishna. Krishna
Himself is very beautiful, as are all His associates.
Those who were pious in a previous life receive an
opportunity in this material world to take birth in
good families and good nations. The American people
are very rich and beautiful, and these opulences are
a result of pious activities. All over the world people
are attracted to the Americans because they are
advanced in scientific knowledge, riches, beauty, and
so on. This planet is an insignificant planet within the
universe, yet within this planet, one country -- America -
- has so many attractive features. We can just imagine,
then, how many attractive features must be possessed
by God, who is the creator of the entire cosmic
manifestation. How beautiful He must be -- He who has
created all beauty. A person is attractive not only because
of his beauty, but also because of his knowledge. A scientist
or philosopher may be attractive because of his knowledge,
but what knowledge is more sublime than that given by
Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita? There is no comparison in
the world to such knowledge. At the same time, Krishna
possesses full renunciation (vairagya). So many things are
working under Krishna's direction in this material world,
but actually Krishna is not present here. A big factory may
continue to work, although the owner may not be present.
Similarly, Krishna's potencies are working under the direction
of His assistants, the demigods. Thus Krishna Himself is
aloof from the material world. This is all described in the
revealed scriptures. God, therefore, has many names
according to His activities, but because He possesses so
many opulences, and because with these opulences He
attracts everyone, He is called Krishna. The Vedic
literature asserts that God has many names, but
"Krishna" is the principal name. The purpose of this
Krishna consciousness movement is to propagate
God's name, God's glories, God's activities, God's
beauty, and God's love. There are many things
within this material world, and all of them are
within Krishna. The most prominent feature of
this material world is sex, and that also is present
in Krishna. We are worshiping Radha and Krishna,
and attraction exists between them, but material
attraction and spiritual attraction are not the same.
In Krishna, sex is real, but here in the material
world it is unreal. Everything we deal with here is
present in the spiritual world, but here it has no
real value. It is only a reflection. In store windows
we see many mannequins, but no one cares about
them, because everyone knows they are false.
A mannequin may be very beautiful, but still it is false.
When people see a beautiful woman, however,
they are attracted because they think she is real.
In actuality, the so-called living are also dead,
because this body is simply a lump of matter;
as soon as the soul leaves the body, no one
would care to see the so-called beautiful body
of the woman. The real factor, the real attracting
force, is the spiritual soul. In the material world
everything is made of dead matter; therefore it
is simply an imitation. The reality of things exists
in the spiritual world. Those who have read the
Bhagavad-gita can understand what the spiritual
world is like, for there it is described: paras
tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatunah
yah sa sarvesu bhutesu nasyatsu na vinasyati
"Yet there is another nature, which is eternal
and is transcendental to this manifested and
unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is
never annihilated. When all in this world is
annihilated, that part remains as it is."
(Bhagavad-gita 8.20) Scientists are attempting
to calculate the length and breadth of this
material world, but they cannot begin. It will
take them thousands of years simply to travel
to the nearest star. And what to speak of the
spiritual world? Since we cannot know the material
world, how can we know what is beyond it? The
point is that we must know from authoritative
sources. The most authoritative source is Krishna,
for He is the reservoir of all knowledge. No one
is wiser or more knowledgeable than Krishna.
Krishna informs us that beyond this material
world is a spiritual sky, which is filled with
innumerable planets. That sky is far, far greater
than material space, which constitutes only one
fourth of the entire creation. Similarly, the living
entities within the material world are but a small
portion of the living entities throughout the creation.
This material world is compared to a prison, and just
as prisoners represent only a small percentage of
the total population, so the living entities within the
material world constitute but a fragmental portion
of all living entities. Those who have revolted
against God -- who are criminal -- are placed in
this material world. Sometimes criminals say that
they don't care for the government, but nonetheless
they are arrested and punished. Similarly, living
entities who declare their defiance of God are
placed in the material world. Originally the living
entities are all part and parcel of God and are
related to Him just as sons are related to their
father. Christians also consider God the supreme
father. Christians go to church and pray,
"Our Father, who art in heaven.', The conception
of God as father is also in the Bhagavad-gita (14.4):
sarva-yonisu kaunteya murtayah sambha vanti
yah tasam brahma mahad yonir aham bija-pradah pita
"It should be understood that all the species of life,
O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this
material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.
" There are 8,400,000 species of life -- including
aquatics, plants, birds, beasts, insects, and human
beings. Of the human species, most are uncivilized,
and out of the few civilized species only a small
number of human beings take to religious life. Out
of many so-called religionists, most identify themselves
by designations, claiming, "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim,"
"I am Christian," and so on. Some engage in
philanthropic work, some give to the poor,
and open schools and hospitals. This altruistic
process is called karma-kanda. Out of millions
of these karma-kandis, there may be one jnani
("one who knows"). Out of millions of jnanis,
one may be liberated, and out of billions of
liberated souls, one may be able to understand
Krishna. This, then, is the position of Krishna.
As Krishna Himself says in the Bhagavad-gita
(7.3): manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye
yatutam api siddhanam kascin mam vetti tattvatah
"Out of many thousands among men, one may
endeavor for perfection, and of those who have
achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in
truth." Understanding Krishna, then, is very
difficult. But although the understanding of
God is a difficult subject, God explains Himself
in the Bhagavad-gita. He says, "I am like this, and
I am like this. The material nature is like this,
and the spiritual nature is like that. The living
entities are like this, and the Supreme Soul is
like that." Thus everything is completely described
in the Bhagavad-gita. Although understanding God
is very difficult, it is not difficult when God Himself
gives us His own knowledge. Actually that is the
only process by which we can understand God.
To understand God by our own speculation is
not possible, for God is unlimited and we are
limited. Our knowledge and perception are both
very limited, so how can we understand the
unlimited? If we simply accept the version of the
unlimited, we can come to understand Him. That
understanding is our perfection. Speculative knowledge
of God will lead us nowhere. If a boy wants to know
who his father is, the simple process is to ask his mother.
The mother will then say, "This is your father."
This is the way of perfect knowledge. Of course,
one may speculate about one's father, wondering
if this is the man or if that is the man, and one may
wander over the whole city, asking, "Are you my
father? Are you my father?" The knowledge
derived from such a process, however, will always
remain imperfect. One will never find his father in
this way. The simple process is to take the knowledge
from an authority -- in this case, the mother. She
simply says, "My dear boy, here is your father."
In this way our knowledge is perfect. Transcendental
knowledge is similar. I was just previously speaking
of a spiritual world. This spiritual world is not subject
to our speculation. God says, "There is a spiritual
world, and that is My headquarters." In this way we
receive knowledge from Krishna, the best authority.
We may not be perfect, but our knowledge is
perfect because it is received from the perfect
source. The Krishna consciousness movement is
meant to give perfect knowledge to human
society. By such knowledge one can understand
who he is, who God is, what the material world is,
why we have come here, why we must undergo
so much tribulation and misery, and why we have
to die. Of course, no one wants to die, but death
will come. No one wants to become an old man,
but still old age comes. No one wants to suffer
from disease, but surely enough, disease comes.
These are the real problems of human life, and
they are yet to be solved. Civilization attempts
to improve eating, sleeping, mating, and defense,
but these are not the real problems. A man sleeps,
and a dog sleeps. A man is not more advanced simply
because he has a nice apartment. In both cases,
the business is the same -- sleeping. Man has
discovered atomic weapons for defense, but the dog
also has teeth and claws and can also defend himself.
In both cases, defense is there. Man cannot say that
because he has the atomic bomb he can conquer the
entire world or the entire universe. That is not possible.
Man may possess an elaborate method for defense,
or a gorgeous method for eating, sleeping, or mating,
but that does not make him advanced. We may call
his advancement polished animalism, and that is all.
Real advancement means knowing God. If we are
lacking knowledge of God, we are not actually
advanced. Many rascals deny the existence of
God because if there is no God they can continue
their sinful activities. It may be very nice for
them to think that there is no God, but God
will not die simply because we deny Him. God
is there, and His administration is there. By
His orders the sun is rising, the moon is rising,
the water flows, and the ocean abides by the
tide. Thus everything functions under His order.
Since everything is going on very nicely, how can
one realistically think that God is dead? If there
is mismanagement, we may say that there is no
government, but if there is good management,
how can we say that there is no government?
Just because people do not know God, they
say that God is dead, that there is no God,
or that God has no form. But we are firmly
convinced that there is God and that Krishna is God.
Therefore we are worshiping Him.
That is the process of Krishna consciousness.
Try to understand it.