Question: I was listening to Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on BG 2.7-12 where he mentions about why God became many. Srila Prabhupada states that God became many individual beings to enjoy His pleasure potency. But we also learn that our material existence is due to our propensity to own, control and enjoy independent of the Lord. How to connect these two understandings?
Answer by Romapada swami: The Vedic statement quoted by Srila Prabhupada that God becomes many is understood as follows: the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself into many categories of individual beings in order to enjoy loving exchanges with them. In doing so, however, He does not lose His original identity, His absloute independence, or His complete supremacy; the infinitesimal living entities expanded from Him are thus able to enjoy in their relationship with Him and in service to Him, however not independent of Him.
When one hears that the Lord becomes many, one might imagine it to be something like ripping a large sheet of paper into many small pieces there being nothing left of the original sheet anymore — implying now that God has become many, each of us being one such “fragment” of God, each of us are rightfully enjoying in our own ways. This is NOT the idea presented by the Vedic statement, however, nor can such a theory ever explain the suffering and perplexity faced by so many Gods!! The actual understanding is presented in the invocation mantra of Sri Isopanishad. Lord Krishna is perfect and complete in Himself, and although innumerable complete units emanate from Him, He still remains Complete; all the emanations from Him are also complete in relation to Him.
We mentioned earlier that when the Personality of Godhead expands He does so in many categories, into many integrated and separated forms. The integrated forms are Vishnu-tattva or different plenary expansions of Godhead, such as Lord Balarama, Narayana and incarnations such as Rama and Narasimha, all of them equally powerful as the Lord. There are also expansions of His internal energy, called sakti-tattva expansions, such as Srimati Radharani and Her expansions. The separated forms are the jiva-tattva or spirit souls, qualitatively one with the Lord but quantitatively infinitesimal.
As explained in the invocation mantra quoted above, the jivas or living entities, although complete units, are dependent on the Supreme Whole for their completeness. Just as the finger in the body or a part in a machine is a complete functioning unit as long as it is attached to the whole, but becomes dysfunctional when detached, similarly the living entities are in their natural sac-cid-ananda condition when they are functioning in their relation with the Lord. But when they become forgetful of this relation due to misuse of their tiny freewill, and think themselves to be independent controllers and enjoyers, that unconstitutional state is manifested as material existence. I hope this addresses your question.
Another important contrast is that the expansions of the Lord are eternal, not time-bound, like whatever we may try to create and enjoy.
Ultimately, in effect He is enjoying Himself by way of expansions of Himself, as opposed to the bondage we experience when we try to enjoy something or someone outside of ourselves. For us, such immitation enjoyment creates bondage and suffering. For Krishna, His enjoyng His expansions is part of His ever-expanding eternal bliss.
