“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.61)

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ईश्वरः सर्व-भूतानां
हृद्-देशे ऽर्जुन तिष्ठति
भ्रामयन् सर्व-भूतानि
यन्त्रारूढानि मायया

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe ‘rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā

“Can you answer me something? What is with this ‘my God’ nonsense? I only came across this recently. I was listening to some of the songs they sing in their houses of worship. The words make repeated reference to such possessiveness. Apparently, the Supreme Lord of all is ‘their’ God. He is the chosen savior for them.

“Oh, and they have a reason for loving their God. You see, that specific God is always with them. He is giving them strength. He is protecting them. He is providing courage in the face of danger. He is their perseverance through adversity. He is the one lifting them back up when they fall down.

“Do they not see the obvious flaw to their premise? If only their God is doing that for them, what about everyone else? They are out of luck? That makes no sense to me. My sun provides heat and light throughout the day. After a difficult night, full of bad dreams, fear, and worry, my sun rises in the morning. My sun gives me hope. My sun is the best sun there is.

“How silly would that sound? Do you get my point, now? How can the highest being of all take a partial stance? How can He only belong to some people and not to others? Who even thinks this way? It is a kind of derangement, if you ask me.”

The truth is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is fixed in His position, whether others acknowledge Him or not. The Upanishads offer the comparison of two birds on the branch of a tree. One bird makes decisions. It enjoys, bhoga, or renounces, tyaga. There are accompanying consequences to these choices.

The other bird simply observes. It is neutral. This other bird is God and the first bird the living being. The vision of this pair applies to every birth in the material world. Even outside of the human species, God is always with the individual. The distinction, of course, is that the enjoying bird forgets about the presence of the witnessing bird.

“The Vedas, like the Mundaka Upanishad, as well as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, compare the soul and the Supersoul to two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic soul) is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird (Krishna) is simply watching His friend. Of these two birds—although they are the same in quality—one is captivated by the fruits of the material tree, while the other is simply witnessing the activities of His friend.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 2.22 Purport)

Whether He is my God, our God, or a God from a competing religion, the scientific principles still apply. It is like taking an original, all-powerful fire. That fire then distributes its influence across the largest space imaginable. This is one way to get an impersonal understanding of the Supreme Lord.

एक-देश-स्थितस्याग्नेर्
ज्योत्स्ना विस्तारिणी यथा
परस्य ब्रह्मणः शक्तिस्
तथेदम् अखिलं जगत्

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner
jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis
tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

“Everything that is manifested within this cosmic world is but the energy of the Supreme Lord. As fire emanating from one place diffuses its illumination and heat all around, so the Lord, although situated in one place in the spiritual world, manifests His different energies everywhere. Indeed, the whole cosmic creation is composed of different manifestations of His energy.” (Vishnu Purana, 1.22.52)

Bhagavad-gita provides further details. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is within the heart. He is the one directing the movements of the living beings. We are like the enjoying bird, but nothing can take place through our influence alone. The material energy must cooperate. God is like the master coordinator, sanctioning the rules, regulations, and scientific properties of the material energy.

We are like people seated on a machine. We can turn the steering wheel of the car, but it is actually the prebuilt construction which facilitates the movement. There must be gasoline in the engine. The various parts must be functioning properly. Otherwise, simply by sitting in the car and pressing certain buttons we cannot guarantee an operational vehicle.

If we are after possessiveness, if we want to feel a close link to the Almighty, we can certainly think of Him as our God. Our God is certainly great. He is certainly kind. He is so wonderful that there is no end to His glories. Our God is also yours. He belongs to everyone, and in always chanting His glories, the saintly people of this world hope to reawaken others to the presence of the great, well-wishing friend, who indeed never leaves them.

सततं कीर्तयन्तो मां
यतन्तश् च दृढ-व्रताः
नमस्यन्तश् च मां भक्त्या
नित्य-युक्ता उपासते

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate

“Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.14)

In Closing:

Whether in victory or sadness defeated,
Always next to me seated.

Like two birds on the tree,
A neutral observer is He.

Until finally the turn making,
And His direction taking.

Like to Arjuna the wisdom brought,
Krishna as original guru taught.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion