How do You say that God is greater than parents?

[A devotee called Pundarika asked God to stand outside the house till he finished the service to his parents. How do You say that God is greater than parents?]

[A devotee called Pundarika asked God to stand outside the house till he finished the service to his parents. How do You say that God is greater than parents?]

Swami replied: Pundarika was the worst person throughout his life and he became a devotee later on. Prahlada was a devotee from the birth and is certainly greater than Pundarika. Prahlada rejected his father for the sake of God. Pundarika cheated and harmed his parents and unless he serves his parents, his previous sin cannot be removed. Unless the sin is removed, God will not allow him to come near to Him. His rejection of God indicates the will of God, which is the rejection of Pundarika till he clears his previous mistake. The soul changes parents from birth to birth but God is constant in every birth. Therefore, nobody including parents can stand before God. Shankara left His mother for the sake of God. Shankara was a great scholar of scriptures and also was a great devotee. Pundarika was only a devotee. Shankara has to be taken as an authority in spiritual knowledge. The story of Pundarika is meant for the beginners who are eligible for Pravrutti (worldly behavior) only and not eligible for Nivrutti (behavior towards God). Some clever people exploit Pravrutti misusing Nivrutti. For example, a fellow loved a bad girl and wants to marry her against the wish of the parents. He wants to avoid the parents as the authority. He may quote Prahalada and Shankara and prove that parents are not the ultimate authority. Now, he will use this result to marry the bad girl. For such clever people, the concept is to be twisted. In his case, the story of Pundarika should be used and the parents are established as the ultimate authority to save him from the grip of the bad girl. Everything depends on the context. Shankara said that any human being is God, just to attract the atheists into the spiritual line. This twist is necessary in that context. Otherwise, for normal context, certainly God is the highest, who will be the constant caretaker of the soul in every birth as long as this creation exists.