Q: How does the Lord interact with individual souls?

A: It is said that the relationship between the Lord and the individual souls is like the one between an object and its image in the mirror. The image in the mirror is completely dependent on the object for its existence; likewise individual souls are powered by the Lord who gives them the physical bodies to express themselves to enable them to move towards redemption. It is said that the Lord resides in every living being in five forms (identical powers but apparently distinct) controlling and directing every aspect of a living being namely – the physical body, the energy centers, the mind, the intellectual faculties and the innate self with the ability to experience pure bliss. The five forms of the Lord are named as – Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Samkarshana, Vasudeva and Narayana. The Lord, who sports seemingly contradictory characteristics such as simultaneously having an atomic form and an infinite sized form resides in living beings in these five forms each one of them being complete and full of infinite, auspicious attributes. An even more powerful illustration to explain the relationship between the Lord and the individual souls is through the example of a rainbow. Raindrops receive the Sun’s light and due to refraction result in a splendid, colorful, vibrant rainbow. Likewise, the individual souls which have innate capabilities find expression by the grace of the Lord. Unlike the mirror, which is a passive object, a raindrop is an active agent which receives the Sun’s light and emits a glorious rainbow. Hence this is a better simile to illustrate the dependence of individual souls to the Lord.

 

Q: What are the roles of the individual souls, the Lord and the inert nature in any activity that we see in the universe?

A: Every activity that we perceive in the universe can be attributed ordinarily to an individual being or inert object and most importantly to the Lord. For example, when we see a running stream of water, the motion is due to the will of the Lord, while the action is itself is performed by the river (an inert object). When someone writes an article using a paper and a pen, the act of writing is performed by the pen on the paper, the movement of the pen is performed by the person who has the intention of writing the article and the power for that motion is granted by the Lord. In summary, the inert objects involved in any act are mere mechanical devices; the individual soul involved in an act expresses the intention of performing the act, but is not independently able to implement the action. The supreme Lord is the ultimate, independent authority who powers all activities in the universe. 

 

Q: God as the regulating authority controls all actions of individual souls, how can one ascribe fruits of good or evil deeds to the individual souls as they seem to have no say in their actions?

A: The Lord enables individual souls to pursue a course of action chosen by the souls themselves. The souls have the freedom to pursue a course of action which is influenced by the innate nature of the soul and accumulated past karmas. Hence the individual soul which exercises its right to pursue a course of action is responsible for that action, although the action itself is executed by the Lord on behalf of that soul. It should be noted that the Lord being blemish less harbors no ill-will towards nor shows any special favours to anyone. He merely executes the actions on behalf of the souls based on their free will. The individual souls based on their innate nature have varying levels of good and evil. This explains the constant struggle we find between good and evil in our actions and the dilemma we face daily. By constantly focusing on the Lord and performing one’s naturally chosen duties faithfully without expecting any fruits, one can hope to overcome evil forces and maximize the content of goodness and achieve redemption.

 

Reality of the Universe

 

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