God cannot be described by words are words

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada boldy speaks against the wide spread philosophy of limited oneness

 

 

So these things are stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Yesam anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam, te dvandva-moha-nirmukta [Bg. 7.28]. Duality. Actually, we are monists. We do not know anything except Krsna. The Mayavadis, they say they are monists, but they're dualists. They say, brahma satyam jagan mithya. Why? Wherefrom the jagat come? If Brahman is satya, if the Absolute Truth is truth, then janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1], this world has emanated from the Absolute Truth. Then how it can be untruth? Does it mean that truth produces untruth? This is the defect of Mayavada philosophy. They are not actually monists. They are dualists. They are distinguishing Brahman and maya. But we say that only Krsna. Ekale isvara krsna ara saba bhrtya [Cc. Adi 5.142]. Maya is the servant of Krsna. That is a, that is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, in Brahma-samhita. In all the Vedic literature this is confirmed. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram: [Bg. 9.10] "This prakrti, this maya, this material energy, is acting under My superintendence, under My guidance."

So we don't accept this material nature as final. We have Krsna on the background, that He is, only, the master. So therefore we are monists. Simply we know Krsna and everything emanating from Krsna. That is described everywhere. In the Brahma-samhita the same truth is... Srsti-sthiti, srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga [Bs. 5.44]. This material energy is called Durga, but she is so powerful... Srsti-sthiti.... She can create wonderful things. She can maintain wonderful things. She can dissolve wonderful things, so powerful, but she is acting under the direction... Chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga. Chayeva. Just like shadow moves by the movement of the reality, similarly, this material nature is working under the direction of the Supreme.

 

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.13 -- New Vrindaban, June 16, 1969

 

 

Guest (3): Is it possible for any entity to do something until the Lord hears him?

Prabhupada: Yes. God sanctions, but you desire. "Man proposes, God disposes." Whatever you desire, if you insist, God will sanction. And without His sanction you cannot do. Therefore your doing something is dependent on God's sanction. But you desire something out of your own will. You are not a stone. You are a living entity. So you can desire anything. Krsna conscious, they do not do anything without Krsna's sanction.

Guest (3): The Krsna consciousness say, you cannot do anything unless the Lord desires it.

Prabhupada: Yes. Not God desires. God sanctions. Don't say like that. Desire is yours, but sanction is God's. Just like you want to do some business. You must take sanction from the government. You take license. You cannot do out of your own will. Similarly, you can desire and propose, "God, I want to do this," and God will sanction. So those who are not Krsna conscious, they want. "I want this. I want this. I want this. I want this." Krsna says, "All right. Take this." But Krsna says that "You give up all this nonsense," that we do not take. Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam: [Bg. 18.66] "Simply take Me." But that we do not do. We ask Krsna, "Please let me do this." "All right, do it." Yathecchasi tatha kuru [Bg. 18.63]. Krsna inquires from Arjuna after teaching him Bhagavad-gita, "Now I have spoken to you everything. What you want to do, you can do." That is Krsna's proposal. Krsna says that best thing is that you simply take to Krsna. But Krsna gives you the opportunity, liberty, that whatever you do, whatever you like, you can do. Now it is your choice. Just like father, (and) grown-up son. He says, "My dear boy, you do like this. That is my opinion." But when the son says, "No. I shall do like this." "All right, you do whatever you like." But without father's sanction, as the son cannot do anything, similarly, without Krsna's sanction you cannot do anything. But the proposal is yours. Therefore this maxim: "Man proposes, God disposes." So God is not responsible for your work. If you act according to the order of God, then He's responsible. And if you act against the will of God, then you are responsible. Yes?

Guest (4): (indistinct)

Prabhupada: I cannot hear him.

Devotee: Is desire, desire is due to the material contamination, or is it...?

Prabhupada: Yes. Desire is according to association. You mix with the drunkards, you'll desire to drink. And you mix with us, you'll desire to worship Krsna. Therefore we are giving you facility. You associate with us and desire only Krsna. That's all. Yes.

Indian man: But why there is so..., there is duality in this world?

Prabhupada: There is no duality. There is one, Krsna. But you have created duality. That is maya. When you forget Krsna, that is duality. When you think that there is something else other than Krsna, that is duality. So people are not coming to Krsna consciousness, that is duality. They are thinking that "We can be happy without Krsna." That is duality. If they know it perfectly well that "Krsna is one, and therefore my interest is with Krsna. My interest should not be different from Krsna's interest," that is oneness. Just like in a family the head is the father. So if anyone acts according to the head of the family, there is no duality. If some of the members says, "No. I'll act like this," there is duality. So if every one acts according to the desire of Krsna, there is no duality. There is oneness. But we don't act; therefore there is

duality. Therefore duality is maya.

 

 Bhagavad-gita 7.1-3  -- London, August 4, 1971