The Bhagavad-gita (7.19) describes a person who is enlightened and understands that Krishna is everything. What does “everything” refer to? Does it refer to the notion of tantrism where everything is considered to be God? That idea challenges the verse itself because the verse declares that such a person doesn’t surrender to everything but surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, who is referred to in the first person.
This understanding that the Lord is both universal and personal is one of the bedrock convictions and realizations in the journey of devotion toward its culmination. While we understand God’s presence and power in terms of his all-pervasiveness and his supremacy, we also understand that his omnipresence and omnipotence do not preclude or rule out the possibility of his manifesting as a person with a specific form and specific attributes.
If he couldn’t manifest thus, then that would mean that he’s not omnipotent and not omnipresent, that God can do everything except manifest as a person, or God can be present everywhere except as a personal manifestation. The Bhagavad-gita (10.8) says ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo; it explains that this personal manifestation is not just one more manifestation but is the highest manifestation from whom all of existence emanates. Thus, when we connect with Kṛṣṇa through devotional remembrance, we grow in increasing awareness and appreciation of his extraordinary combination of attributes that define him, and this helps us to understand that he is the embodiment and fulfillment of everything that we currently find attractive and everything that we will or may in the future find attractive. Indeed, everything attractive manifests a mere spark of his supreme attractiveness (10.41). Such an understanding enables us to become fixed in his unwavering remembrance and thereby manifest devotion at its zenith, at its highest level.
Summary:
- God’s identity is not diluted or amorphous; his omnipresence and omnipotence allow him to be both universally present and specifically manifest in his highest form as the source of everything.
- By appreciating God’s extraordinary features, we realize that everything we find attractive is ultimately found in him, which helps us direct our devotion single-mindedly.
- Understanding that God encompasses all that we find appealing strengthens our devotion and helps us maintain a focused, unwavering commitment to him.
Think It Over:
- How can God be both universal and personal?
- What does it mean that God’s manifestation is the highest form of divinity?
- How does the conception of God as everything affect our devotion?
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07.19 After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.
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