God cannot be partial. Everyone is God's son, so how can God favor one son above another?

My God

Sri Guru and Gauranga

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He's yours, everyone's God

HIMAVATI: If Prahlada Maharaja is such a great devotee, and a devotee will always say "Nothing is mine," then why does he say "O my God"? Why does God become his? Why he questions like that?

PRABHUPADA: Do you mean to say nothing, God is nothing?

HIMAVATI: No. I mean why does he say "my God." Why "my God"?

PRABHUPADA: Then what shall he say?

HIMAVATI: I don't understand then how can he say it? If you understand nothing belongs to you, then how can you say "mine," anything "mine"?

PRABHUPADA: Anything mine?

HIMAVATI: How can you say that "God is mine"?

PRABHUPADA: So? What is your idea? He should be addressed? He should not say "my Lord"?

HIMAVATI: I don't know.

PRABHUPADA: No. You know it. He's Lord of everyone. Therefore everyone can say "my Lord." That does not mean if somebody says "my Lord," He becomes monopolized. [chuckles] It does not mean. You are speaking on the platform of monopolizing, "mine." But God is never monopolized. He's everyone's, so everyone has the right to say "my God," "my Lord." It does not mean... Generally, in the material sense, when I say, "This is my spectacle," it does not belong to you. Is it not? So this "my" is not that "my." When I say "my God," that does not mean He's not your God. That is the difference. In the material sense, when I say "It is my wife," then it is not any other's wife. But God is not like that. If I say "my God," so you can say "my God," he can say "my God," everyone can say "my God." This is spiritual "my," absolute "my." Try to understand this way, that in the material sense, when I saying something "my," that is different from when I say "my God." That is different. That is not exactly... As we think in the material way, "my thing," "my God," "my home," "my wife," "my wealth," "my bank," it is not like that. But the relationship... Just like I say "my hand." So how can I express? Just like Krishna says mamaivamsho [Bhagavad-gita 15.7]. Mama means "Mine." "These, all these living creatures, they are My part and parcels." So why the living creatures shall not say "my God"? Do you follow? Krishna says "You are Mine." Why shall you not say, "Krishna, You are mine." Your husband says, "You are mine." Why shall you not say, "You are mine"? But don't take it in the material sense. In material sense, as soon as I say it is mine, it is nobody else's. It is my property. Law of identity or something like that. So Krishna is not like that. So you can say Krishna, "my," there is no harm. Rather, if anyone wants to possess something as his, then that should be, that possession should be Krishna. That is the ultimate conception of "mine." That is the perfection of the word "mine." So it is quite nice, quite fit to... Teshu te mayi, in the Bhagavad-gita. "He is Mine and I am his," Krishna says. So this is not wrong. And what is your idea, that because everything belongs to Krishna, therefore I shall not say "my"? That's your idea?

HIMAVATI: No, I didn't understand it like this, that Krishna is the Lord. So my Lord is everyone else's Lord, and He's the controller, and that's why He's mine.

PRABHUPADA: He's mine, He's yours, everyone's. That's all.

HIMAVATI: I can understand it now.

PRABHUPADA: That's all. Yes?

Gold does not become Hindu gold, Muslim gold, Christian gold

PRABHUPADA: Who will deny God? It is a science. So we are teaching the science, not the bigotry, "my God, your God." God is one. Gold is gold. Gold does not become Hindu gold, Muslim gold, or Christian gold. Anywhere gold is available, it is gold. That is our definition. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmah. That is highest, topmost type of religion, yato bhaktir adhokshaje, where one can learn how to love God, that's all.[1] That is wanted. We are teaching that. There is no question of "this God, that God." God is one. You just practice how to love Him. Then your religion is first-class.

GUEST (5): But why give names to Him? Why give names to that God?

PRABHUPADA: No name. When I say, yato bhaktir adhokshaje, this is not name. Adhokshaja means "who is beyond your sense perception."

GUEST (5): It can be Allah, Christ, even Krishna.

PRABHUPADA: Yes. But you must know what is meaning of God. That's all. His name... Just like water. You say, "water," he says, pani, he says, autuk (?). So water is water. Similarly, you must know what is God. Name does not matter. But Krishna is the perfect name, Krishna, according to Sanskrit, "all-attractive". The God must be all-attractive; otherwise how He is God? That is the perfect name. Now, if you want to give another name we have no objection. There are hundreds and thousands of names, whatever you like. But it must be God's name. You must understand what is God. Then it is perfect. It is scientific. It is not a religious sentiment. Why they should manufacture God? God is God. Gold is gold. And God definition is there in the Vedic literature.

aishvaryasya samagrasya
viryasya yashasah shriyah
jñana-vairagyayosh chaiva
sannam iti bhaga... (Vishnu Purana 6.5.47)

Bhagavan. These are the bhagas, opulences. One who possesses all these opulences, He is God, Bhagavan. So all opulences. God is not shortage of opulence. All opulences. All the riches. Bhoktaram yajña-tapasam sarva-loka-maheshvaram [Bg. 5.29: "the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities"]. This is God. He is the proprietor of everything. So unless you accept this formula, how you get conception of God? God is not a proprietor of three bighas of land. Here is God, sarva-loka-maheshvaram [proprietor of all planetary systems]. That is God. God is not limited. He is unlimited. I can say I have got lakh of rupees, you can say you have got crore of rupees, but God says, "I am the proprietor of all the riches." That we cannot say. That is God's wealth. And because He is the proprietor, He is the enjoyer, supreme enjoyer, bhokta. But we are manufacturing different bhoktas; therefore there is controversy. If we accept "God is bhokta; we are simply dependent on Him," then the whole question is solved.

No one is the enemy or friend of the Lord

My Lord, I consider Your Lordship to be eternal time, the supreme controller, without beginning and end, the all-pervasive one. In distributing Your mercy, You are equal to everyone. The dissensions between living beings are due to social intercourse.—Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.28

PURPORT
Kuntidevi knew that Krishna was neither her nephew nor an ordinary family member of her paternal house. She knew perfectly well that Krishna is the primeval Lord who lives in everyone's heart as the Supersoul, Paramatma. Another name of the Paramatma feature of the Lord is kala, or eternal time. Eternal time is the witness of all our actions, good and bad, and thus resultant reactions are destined by Him. It is no use saying that we do not know why we are suffering. We may forget the misdeed for which we may suffer at this present moment, but we must remember that Paramatma is our constant companion and therefore He knows everything—past, present, and future. And because the Paramatma feature of Lord Krishna destines all actions and reactions, He is the supreme controller also. Without His sanction not a blade of grass can move. The living beings are given as much freedom as they deserve, and misuse of that freedom is the cause of suffering. The devotees of the Lord do not misuse their freedom, and therefore they are the good sons of the Lord. Others, who misuse freedom, are put into miseries destined by the eternal kala. The kala offers the conditioned souls both happiness and miseries. It is all predestined by eternal time. As we have miseries uncalled for, so we may have happiness also without being asked, for they are all predestined by kala. No one is therefore either an enemy or friend of the Lord. Everyone is suffering and enjoying the result of his own destiny. This destiny is made by the living beings in course of social intercourse. Everyone here wants to lord it over the material nature, and thus everyone creates his own destiny under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. He is all-pervading and therefore He can see everyone's activities. And because the Lord has no beginning or end, He is known also as the eternal time, kala.

What is explained herein by the devoted Kunti is exactly confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita (9.29). There the Lord says:

samo 'ham sarva-bhuteshu
na me dveshyo 'sti na priyah
ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya
mayi te teshu chapy aham

"I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But one who renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him."

God cannot be partial. Everyone is God's son, so how can God favor one son above another? That is not possible. But human beings discriminate. We write, "In God we trust," but one who trusts in God must be equally kind and merciful toward all living entities. That is God consciousness.

Krishna says, "I have no enemies, nor have I friends." Na me dveshyo 'sti na priyah. The word dveshya means "enemy." We are envious of our enemies and friendly toward our friends, but because Krishna is absolute, even when He appears to be inimical toward some demon He is actually a friend. When Krishna kills a demon, the demon's demoniac activities are killed, and he immediately becomes a saint and merges into the supreme impersonal effulgence, the brahmajyoti.

The brahmajyoti is one of three features of the Absolute Truth.

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jñanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti shabdyate (SB 1.2.11)

The Absolute Truth is one, but is perceived in three features, known as Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. The original, complete feature of the Absolute Truth is Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His plenary representation is Paramatma, Kshirodakashayi Vishnu, who is situated in everyone's heart (ishvarah sarva-bhutanam hrid deshe 'rjuna tishthati [Bg. 18.61]). The third feature of the Absolute Truth is Brahman, the all-pervading impersonal effulgence of the Absolute.

The Absolute Truth is equal to everyone, but one will realize the Absolute according to the way one approaches Him (ye yatha mam prapadyante [Bg. 4.11]). According to one's capacity for understanding, the Absolute Truth is revealed either as the impersonal Brahman, as the localized Paramatma, or ultimately as Bhagavan.

To explain this by an example, we may sometimes see hills from our room, although we may not see them distinctly. In Los Angeles there are many hills, but when we see the hills from a distant place they look like something cloudy. However, if we go further toward a hill, we shall find that there is something distinct—a hill. And if we go all the way to the hill itself, we shall find many people working there, many houses, streets, cars, and so many varied things. Similarly, when one wants to know the Absolute Truth by one's tiny brain and thinks, "I shall conduct research to find the Absolute Truth," one will have a vague, impersonal idea. Then if one goes further and becomes a meditator, one will find that God is situated within one's heart. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pashyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. Yogis—real yogis—see the form of Vishnu within the heart by meditation. The devotees, however, meet the Supreme Person face to face, just as we meet face to face and speak face to face. The Supreme Personality of Godhead orders, "Supply Me this," and the devotee directly serves the Lord by supplying what He wants. Thus there are different realizations of the Absolute Truth, and although He is equal to everyone it is up to us to understand Him according to our advancement. Therefore Kunti says, samam charantam sarvatra: [SB 1.8.28] "In distributing Your mercy, You are equal to everyone."

The word charantam means "moving." The Lord moves everywhere—within and without—and we simply have to make our vision clear so that we may see Him. By devotional service, we can purify our senses so that we may perceive the presence of God. Those who are less intelligent simply try to find God within, but those who are advanced in intelligence can see the Lord both within and without.

The yogic system of meditation is actually meant for those who are less intelligent. One who practices meditation in yoga must control the senses (yoga indriya-samyamah). Our senses are very restless, and by practicing the different asanas, or sitting postures, one must control the mind and senses so that one can concentrate upon the form of Vishnu within the heart. This is the yoga system recommended for those who are too much absorbed in the bodily concept of life. However, because bhaktas, devotees, are more advanced, they do not need to undergo a separate process to control their senses; rather, by engaging in devotional service they are already controlling their senses.

For example, if one is engaged in worshiping the Deity, cleansing the temple, decorating the Deity, cooking for the Deity, and so on, one's senses are already engaged in the service of the Absolute Truth, so where is the chance of their being diverted? Hrishikena hrishikesha-sevanam bhaktir uchyate: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] bhakti, devotional service, simply means engaging our senses (hrishika) in the service of the master of the senses (hrishikesha). Now our senses are engaged in sense gratification. I am thinking that because I am this body, I must satisfy my senses. In fact, however, this is a contaminated stage of life. When one comes to the understanding that he is not this body but a spiritual soul, part and parcel of God, he knows that his spiritual senses should be engaged in the service of the supreme spiritual being. Thus one attains liberation (mukti).

One attains liberation when one gives up the false idea that the body is the self and when one resumes his actual position of service to the Lord (muktir hitvanyatha rupam svarupena vyavasthitih, SB 2.10.6). When we are conditioned, we give up our original constitutional position, which is described by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as being that of eternal service to Krishna (jivera svarupa haya-krishnera 'nitya-dasa' [Chaitanya-charitamrita Madhya 20.108]). But as soon as we employ ourselves in the service of the Lord, we are liberated immediately. There is no need to pass through some preliminary process. This very act of engaging one's senses in the service of the Lord is evidence that one is liberated.

This liberation is open for everyone (samam charantam [SB 1.8.28]). In Bhagavad-gita Krishna does not say to Arjuna, "Only you may come to Me and become liberated." No, the Lord is available for everyone. When He says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja [Bg. 18.66]—"Give up all other duties and surrender unto Me"—He is speaking not only to Arjuna but to everyone. Arjuna was the original target, but in fact Bhagavad-gita was spoken for everyone, for all human beings, and therefore one must take advantage of it.

Krishna's impartiality is compared to that of the sun. The sun does not consider, "Here is a poor man, here is a low-class man, and here is a hog. I shall not distribute my sunshine to them." No, the sun is equal toward all, and one simply has to take advantage of it. The sunshine is available, but if we close our doors and want to keep ourselves in darkness, that is our decision. Similarly, Krishna is everywhere, Krishna is for everyone, and Krishna is ready to accept us as soon as we surrender. Samam charantam. There is no restriction. People may make a distinction between lower class and higher class, but Krishna says, mam hi partha vyapashritya ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah (Bg. 9.32): "Even though one may supposedly be of a lower class, that doesn't matter. If he surrenders to Me he is also eligible to come back home, back to Godhead."

That same Krishna is described by Kuntidevi as eternal time. Everything takes place within time, but our time calculations of past, present, and future are relative. A small insect's measurement of past, present, and future is different from our past, present, and future, and similarly the past, present, and future of Brahma, the chief creative living being within this universe, are different from ours. But Krishna has no past, present, or future. Therefore He is eternal. We have a past, present, and future because we change from one body to another. The body we have now is dated. At a certain date I was born of my father and mother, and now this body will stay for some time. It will grow, it will produce some byproducts, then it will become old and dwindle and then vanish, and then I shall have to accept another body. When the past, present, and future of my present body are finished, I shall accept another body, and again my past, present, and future will begin. But Krishna has no past, present, or future, because He does not change His body. That is the difference between ourselves and Krishna.

The eternal position of Krishna is revealed in Bhagavad-gita. There Krishna said to Arjuna, "In the past, millions of years ago, I spoke this philosophy of Bhagavad-gita to the sun-god." Arjuna appeared not to believe this. Of course, Arjuna knew everything, but for our education he said to Krishna, "Krishna, we are contemporaries, and since we were born at practically the same time, how can I believe that You spoke this philosophy so long ago to the sun-god?" Then Krishna replied, "My dear Arjuna, you were also present then, but you have forgotten, whereas I have not. That is the difference." Past, present, and future pertain to persons who forget, but for one who does not forget, who lives eternally, there is no past, present, or future.

Kunti therefore addresses Krishna as eternal (manye tvam kalam). And because He is eternal, He is the full controller (ishanam). By Krishna's extraordinary behavior, Kunti could understand that Krishna is eternal and that Krishna is the supreme controller. He has no beginning and no end (anadi-nidhanam), and therefore He is vibhu, the Supreme, the greatest.

We are anu, the smallest, and Krishna is vibhu, the greatest. We are part and parcel of Krishna, and therefore Krishna is both the smallest and the greatest, whereas we are only the smallest. Vibhu, the greatest, must be all-inclusive. If one has a large bag one can hold many things, whereas in a small bag one cannot. Because Krishna is vibhu, the greatest, He includes everything, even past, present, and future time, and He is all-pervading, present everywhere.

Without Krishna, matter cannot develop. Atheistic scientists say that life comes from matter, but that is nonsense. Matter is one energy of Krishna, and spirit is another. The spirit is superior energy, and matter is inferior energy. The matter develops when the superior energy is present. For example, two or three hundred years ago the land of America was not developed, but because some superior living entities from Europe came here, America is now very much developed. Therefore the cause of development is the superior energy. In Africa, Australia, and many other places there is still vacant land that is undeveloped. Why is it undeveloped? Because the superior energy of advanced living entities has not touched it. As soon as the superior energy touches it, the same land will develop so many factories, houses, cities, roads, cars, and so on. The point of this example is that matter cannot develop by itself. That is not possible. Superior energy must touch it, and then it will be active. To give another example, a machine is matter—it is inferior energy—and therefore unless an operator comes to touch the machine, it will not act. One may have a very costly car, but unless a driver comes, in millions of years it will never go anywhere.

Thus it is common sense to understand that matter cannot work independently; it cannot work unless the superior energy, the living entity, touches it. So how can we conclude that life develops from matter? Rascal scientists may say this, but they do not have sufficient knowledge.

All the universes have developed because of Krishna's presence, as mentioned in the Brahma-samhita (andantara-stha-paramanu-chayantara-stham [Bs. 5.35]). The scientists are now studying atoms, and they are finding that electrons, protons, and other particles act in so many ways. Why are these particles active? Because Krishna is present there. This is real scientific understanding.

One should scientifically understand Krishna. Krishna has no past, present, and future. He is eternal time, with no beginning and no end, and He is equal to everyone. We simply have to prepare ourselves to see Krishna and understand Krishna. That is the purpose of Krishna consciousness.