Incarnations Hide Their Divinity

O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,

Q. If God exists in Human incarnation throughout Its life then what is the need to differentiate the God and Soul in incarnation?

Shri Bharat Krishna asked: Namahshivaya Swamiji, I have following questions and I request you to kindly give answers to them.

After reading many of Your discourses I have understood that God is totally unimaginable. Even in Human Incarnation there is an ordinary soul who is an extraordinary devotee of God along with God Himself. You also mentioned many times that you are such a devotee of unimaginable God in yourself. Since God is unimaginable, even you can't see him or imagine him but you do pray to God right? You also have to pray to some form only and that form is again yourself. All the four associated properties of God are exhibited by you which means you are God. You also mentioned that you just act as God wants you to. But how will God order you? God can order me through you but how God orders you? With all these thoughts I feel that you are god and you are just behaving as an ordinary soul and also mentions like that in your discourses. You also mentioned that complete truth is been revealed only now because we humans have developed that intellect which can analyze and understand that truth. This doesn't mean we have overcome our ego and jealousy towards God. I feel that because of this reason, even though you being God, you are not behaving like God. Otherwise you don't even have to mention that you are an ordinary soul right?

Swamiji, I am very sorry that I am not able to explain my question properly. You told that we recognize Human Incarnation of God by noticing four associated properties. Parashurama was also a Human Incarnation of God at least for sometime. During that time he must have exhibited all those four divine qualities too (I believe so). So devotees of him will recognize him as God. But later he couldn't control ego and hence God left his body. But his devotees will still think he is God only right? You very clearly mentioned in your discourses that once we recognize Human Incarnation of God and got totally convinced we must fix our mind and constantly do service to God. God might behave in a way that we don't like in order to test us but our faith shouldn't be disturbed. This statement gives a sense that God merges with a human though out his or her life. This is in contradiction with Parashurama's case. Did he also exhibited all four associated properties of God, especially Prajnanam. If God is always in Human soul throughout that humans life then what is the need to differentiate the God and Soul? Only reason is because we still have ego and jealously. Otherwise God can freely declare himself to be God. So, You are God only. Kindly clarify this confusion of mine Swamy. Padabhivandanam Swamiji.]

Swami replied:- The concept of human incarnation is very very complicated because you are dealing with a two component system appearing in single phase like the alloy of two metals. The alloy appears as a single metal unless you observe it through a powerful microscope to find both the components separately existing at the fundamental atomic level. You can understand this clearly. If you take human incarnation, only one component is imaginable and visible and other component is invisible and unimaginable, which can’t be seen by any instrument or even by theoretical imagination of brain. I can take a piece of gold-copper alloy and say that it is the alloy of gold and copper. I can show the gold and copper metals separately existing at atomic level through microscope. If I take the human incarnation and say that the human incarnation is a homogeneous mixture of God and soul, I can’t show both God and soul through microscope or you can’t even imagine. Even the invisible God is unimaginable and hence, the proof for God-component becomes very very difficult. Perception to the level of even imagination is totally absent (perception by intelligence is imagination and unimaginable means that even the imagination can’t perceive). Only inference, can give the proof of existence of God (here also, nature of God is not known). Since the nature of God is unimaginable, only the nature of soul remains to be understood in both human being as well as in human incarnation. Whatever you have understood about a human being that much only will be the knowledge of human incarnation. The extra unimaginable nature exhibited by human incarnation is unimaginable and hence, whatever understood about the human incarnation is only the imaginable nature of a human being. The understood knowledge about Krishna and ordinary human being is only the imaginable knowledge of the ordinary human being. Since the extra exhibited unimaginable nature by human incarnation is not understood at all, that extra is not the extra understood knowledge of human incarnation. Therefore, I can show two copper coins and say that one coin is made of pure copper metal whereas the second copper coin is an alloy of copper and gold, but, gold is invisible even in powerful microscope.

Similarly, I will show two human beings of which one is a pure human being whereas the other is human incarnation in which the unimaginable God is merged with the human being. The first human being does not compose the Gita whereas the second human being composes the Gita. Based on the composed Gita, we have to infer that the unimaginable God exists in the second human being. Poundraka Vaasudeva claimed himself as God without composing the excellent the Gita. He is a fraud human incarnation since we can’t infer God in him. Vaasudeva Krishna told that He is God while composing the Gita orally to Arjuna. This excellent knowledge, called the Gita, is actually composed by the unimaginable God (Parabrahman) present in Krishna, whom nobody can even imagine. Arjuna can think that only Krishna is composing the Gita, in which case such knowledge must have been called as Krishna Gita and not the Bhagavat Gita. Bhagavan or unimaginable God (or Datta to be more specific) merged with Krishna and is singing the Gita spontaneously through the face of Krishna. Since God is invisible (in fact, unimaginable) anybody will think that Krishna composed and sings the Gita, which is not correct and hence, the Gita is named as the Bhagavat Gita and not Krishna Gita. It means Bhagavan or God composed and sang the Gita through the face of Krishna. In this context, Krishna must say that He (Krishna) is God and not human being. The same thing was told by Krishna throughout the Gita that He is God in human form. If Krishna does not declare Himself as God, it results finally to say that Krishna himself composed and sang the Gita. Hence, if Krishna says that He is God, it means that Krishna is attributing the authorship of the Gita to God and not to himself. Hence, Krishna said that He is God, which means that the Gita is told by God and this indicates lack of ego in Krishna. Had Krishna told that He is not God, it results to say that Krishna composed and sang the Gita, but not God. This indicates ego in Krishna.

Poundraka Vaasudeva did not compose and sang the Gita, yet, he told that he is God, which indicates climax of ego. Any human incarnation while preaching excellent spiritual knowledge (Prajñānam) says that He is God, which means that he (as human being) is not preaching it since God is preaching it. If he preaches the excellent spiritual knowledge and says that he composed and preached it, that means he is attributing the authorship of that knowledge to himself due to ego avoiding God, the real author.

Generally, the human incarnation hides Himself as far as possible. Even if somebody recognizes it, it will deny that it is God. When sages praised Rama as God, Rama denied it saying that He is God. Even without such praise, Parashurama got ego feeling that He is God since God alone can kill so many kings. Hence, Parashurama was insulted by Rama. Parashurama lost God due to ego and remained as sage only. Rama conquered ego and denied that He is God even though others are praising Him as God. Parashurama could not maintain God in him due to ego whereas Rama maintained God in Him throughout His life due to lack of ego.

Opponent:- Like Parashurama, Krishna also claimed Himself as God and hence, Krishna also lost God.

Swami:- Krishna never told that He is God in the entire life except while preaching the excellent knowledge, called the Gita. In that context, He must say that He is God so that the speaker is God and not human being, Krishna. In such context, if Krishna does not say that He is God, it means that he himself is preaching the Gita and not God. To confirm this point, Krishna refused to preach the Gita once again to Arjuna at the end of war by saying that he can’t preach the Gita again because at that time, he is not in the state of Yogeswara, in which only God merged with him and spoke the Gita. In that context, the human incarnation must say that it is God thereby meaning that God is preaching and not he as the human being component. It is inevitable and forced situation for any human incarnation to say that it is the absolute unimaginable God (Parabrahman). This should not be misunderstood as ego of the human being component of human incarnation.

Opponent:- Rama also preached humanity the path of an ideal human being (practical knowledge) through His practical life, but, he never told that he is God even in that context.

Swami:- Rama is Ādarśa Mānuṣāvatāra, which means that he is an ideal human being preaching correct worldly life (Pravrutti) to humanity. Pravrutti need not be preached by God and can be preached by an ideal human being also. If it is made clear that God is preaching Pravrutti, humanity will understand that such perfect Pravrutti is also possible to God only and not to any human being. Hence, Rama was very very careful in not expressing His divine nature of God. Krishna is preaching Nivrutti also, which is based on Pravrutti and He is called as Līlāmānuṣāvatāra. Hence, while preaching Nivrutti along with the basic Pravrutti, He expressed His divine nature every time especially through cosmic vision that indicates that God is creator, controller and destroyer of cosmos. This is the inherent aspect of God as said by the Veda, which is to say that God is creator, ruler and destroyer of this cosmos and this is preached to deserving Arjuna alone, who alone saw the cosmic vision.

Out of all identifying marks of God, knowledge is very very important because that alone guides the devotee in correct path. Excellent spiritual knowledge indicates Jnaanayoga (Prajñānam Brahma). His love for devotees indicates Bhaktiyoga (Raso vai saḥ). His miraculous deeds indicate Karmayoga (Satyakāmaḥ…). The cosmic vision given proves the Vedic definition of God, which is that He alone creates, controls and destroys the cosmos (Yato vā imāni…). Out of all these marks, knowledge is the top most because that alone guides the devotees in correct path of Pravrutti as well as Nivrutti.

Every human incarnation hides its divinity with lot of efforts. If somebody recognizes the divinity, God in human form will mislead him/her by showing even negative qualities. But, those devotees, who are fully deserving to worship and serve God in human form, will certainly recognize Him and their aspiration (to see, to talk, to touch and to live with God) is certainly fulfilled by God. He came actually for such few deserving devotees only, who prayed Him with lot of devotion. For such devotees, He need not preach any spiritual knowledge since they reached the third step of service after crossing the second step of devotion and the first step of knowledge. Actually, while preaching knowledge, the divinity of the preacher must be totally hidden. Then only, devotees will ask all types of questions with full freedom.

The human being-component also can’t imagine the unimaginable God. This is the safest way of avoiding further complication. When the unimaginable God merges with the imaginable selected human-being component, there is no difference between the God and merged devotee. All the status of God comes to the merged devotee also. The human incarnation has self-awareness or self-knowledge as the unimaginable God has. Here, the point is not the inability of God to explain His unimaginable nature to the devotee. If He proves His nature as imaginable, He is no more called as unimaginable! The point is that the limits of brain-imagination can’t touch the unimaginable God. If this point is revealed, the devotee will pester the human incarnation for preaching about the unimaginable nature of unimaginable God.

Even if God preaches million times, the human being can’t understand it under any circumstances. This is not incapability of God to preach about the inherent nature of unimaginable God, but, this is the incapability of imagination of the soul. Unimaginable God is beyond space and unless you understand the absence of space, God can’t be described. First I must explain to you about the residence of God and then only I can speak about God residing in it. You are unable to understand even the residence of God (absence of space). God is unimaginable. Unimaginable to whom? Not to God, but, to the human being. First, you must reach His residence and then I will show God to you in such residence. You are unable to reach even the external compound wall of the divine residence. How can I show God in such residence? When space disappears, spatial dimensions also disappear. God has no volume since He is beyond space. An item having no volume is beyond space and can never be touched by your imagination.

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