Become God (Books)

Expressions researched:
"became god" |"become god" |"becomes god" |"becoming god"

Notes from the compiler: does not include "become God conscious"

SB Canto 1

The theory that a man becomes God by dint of penance and austerities is very much rampant nowadays, especially in India. Since Lord Rāma, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu were detected by the sages and saints to be the Personality of Godhead as indicated in revealed scriptures, many unscrupulous men have created their own incarnations.

SB 1.1.20, Translation and Purport:

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, along with Balarāma, played like a human being, and so masked He performed many superhuman acts.

The doctrines of anthropomorphism and zoomorphism are never applicable to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or the Personality of Godhead. The theory that a man becomes God by dint of penance and austerities is very much rampant nowadays, especially in India. Since Lord Rāma, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu were detected by the sages and saints to be the Personality of Godhead as indicated in revealed scriptures, many unscrupulous men have created their own incarnations. This process of concocting an incarnation of God has become an ordinary business, especially in Bengal. Any popular personality with a few traits of mystic powers will display some feat of jugglery and easily become an incarnation of Godhead by popular vote. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was not that type of incarnation. He was actually the Personality of Godhead from the very beginning of His appearance.

Puffed up by such a false sense of becoming God, the deluded living being increases his material strength by so many activities and thus becomes the burden of the earth, so much so that the earth becomes completely uninhabitable by the sane.

SB 1.11.34, Purport:

As stated above, the living beings are not factual enjoyers of things which are manifested as God's creation. The Lord is the genuine proprietor and enjoyer of everything manifested in His creation. Unfortunately, influenced by the deluding energy, the living being becomes a false enjoyer under the dictation of the modes of nature. Puffed up by such a false sense of becoming God, the deluded living being increases his material strength by so many activities and thus becomes the burden of the earth, so much so that the earth becomes completely uninhabitable by the sane. This state of affairs is called dharmasya glāṇi, or misuse of the energy of the human being. When such misuse of human energy is prominent, the saner living beings become perturbed by the awkward situation created by the vicious administrators, who are simply burdens of the earth, and the Lord appears by His internal potency just to save the saner section of humanity and to alleviate the burden due to the earthly administrators in different parts of the world.

SB Canto 2

The conditioned soul has many aspirations such as becoming a religious man, a rich man, or a first-class enjoyer or becoming God himself, or becoming powerful like the mystics and acting wonderfully by getting anything or doing anything, but all these aspirations should be rejected by the prospective devotee who actually wants to revive his dormant love of God.

SB 2.2.31, Purport:

Attainment of love of Godhead means complete freedom from all other attractions. The conditioned soul has many aspirations such as becoming a religious man, a rich man, or a first-class enjoyer or becoming God himself, or becoming powerful like the mystics and acting wonderfully by getting anything or doing anything, but all these aspirations should be rejected by the prospective devotee who actually wants to revive his dormant love of God. The impure devotee aspires after all of the abovementioned material things by perfection of devotion. But a pure devotee has none of the tinges of the above contaminations, which are the influence of material desires, impersonal speculations and attainment of mystic powers. One can attain the stage of love of God by pure devotional service, or by "a learned labor of love," for the sake of the devotee's lovable object, the Personality of Godhead.

The ahaṅgrahopāsitā, or the one who worships himself with the idea of becoming God Himself, is misleading, but the intelligent disciple can at once detect that the Supreme God does not need to worship anyone, including Himself, in order to become God.

SB 2.5.7, Purport:

Following in the footsteps of Śrī Nārada Muni, one should not blindly accept his spiritual master as God Himself. A spiritual master is duly respected on a par with God, but a spiritual master claiming to be God Himself should at once be rejected. Nārada Muni accepted Brahmā as the Supreme due to Lord Brahmā's wonderful acts in creation, but doubts arose in him when he saw that Lord Brahmā also worshiped some superior authority. The Supreme is supreme, and He has no worshipable superior. The ahaṅgrahopāsitā, or the one who worships himself with the idea of becoming God Himself, is misleading, but the intelligent disciple can at once detect that the Supreme God does not need to worship anyone, including Himself, in order to become God. Ahaṅgrahopāsanā may be one of the processes for transcendental realization, but the ahaṅgrahopāsitā can never be God Himself. No one becomes God by undergoing a process of transcendental realization. Nārada Muni thought of Brahmājī as the Supreme Person, but when he saw Brahmājī engaged in the process of transcendental realization, doubts arose in him. So he wanted to be clearly informed.

A living being can attain godly qualities to a large extent, but he cannot become God, whereas Kṛṣṇa, without undergoing any type of penance, is God always, either in the lap of His mother or growing up or at any stage of growth.

SB 2.7.27, Purport:

If Yaśodā had seen Kṛṣṇa in her lap extending six miles to cope with the she-demon Pūtanā, then the natural filial love of Yaśodā would have been hurt because in that way Yaśodā would have come to know that her so-called son, Kṛṣṇa, was God Himself. And with the knowledge of the Godhood of Kṛṣṇa, Yaśodāmayī would have lost the temper of her love for Kṛṣṇa as a natural mother. But as far as Lord Kṛṣṇa is concerned, He is God always, either as a child on the lap of His mother, or as the coverer of the universe, Vāmanadeva. He does not require to become God by undergoing severe penances, although some men think of becoming God in that way. By undergoing severe austerities and penances, one cannot become one or equal with God, but one can attain most of the godly qualities. A living being can attain godly qualities to a large extent, but he cannot become God, whereas Kṛṣṇa, without undergoing any type of penance, is God always, either in the lap of His mother or growing up or at any stage of growth.

Foolish men are puffed up with the idea of becoming God Himself, though unable to create a hair of their own bodies.

SB 2.9.10, Purport:

Even the leaves of a tree cannot be counted by a man, nor can the hairs on his head. However, foolish men are puffed up with the idea of becoming God Himself, though unable to create a hair of their own bodies. Man may discover so many wonderful vehicles of journey, but even if he reaches the moon by his much advertised spacecraft, he cannot remain there. The sane man, therefore, without being puffed up, as if he were the God of the universe, abides by the instructions of the Vedic literature, the easiest way to acquire knowledge in transcendence. So let us know through the authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam of the nature and constitution of the transcendental world beyond the material sky.

Unfortunately, persons with impious backgrounds do not believe in the Personality of Godhead, and everyone wants to become God himself without any qualification.

SB 2.9.18, Purport:

In the conditioned life the malicious life begins from the top, namely bearing malice against the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Personality of Godhead is an established fact in all the revealed scriptures, and in the Bhagavad-gītā the personal feature of the Supreme Lord is especially mentioned, so much so that the last portion of the great literature has emphatically stressed that one should surrender unto the Personality of Godhead to be saved from the miseries of life. Unfortunately, persons with impious backgrounds do not believe in the Personality of Godhead, and everyone wants to become God himself without any qualification. This malicious nature in the conditioned soul continues even up to the stage when a person wants to be one with the Lord, and thus even the greatest of the empiric philosophers speculating on becoming one with the Supreme Lord cannot become a paramahaṁsa because the malicious mind is there. Therefore the paramahaṁsa stage of life can be attained only by those who are fixed in the practice of bhakti-yoga.

People with a poor fund of knowledge should take lessons from Brahmā when they are puffed up with the false notion of becoming God.

SB 2.9.30, Purport:

It is astonishing to see how a person who is being kicked by the laws of the Lord's illusory energy at every step can falsely think of becoming one with the Lord. Such thinking is the last snare of the illusory energy offered to the conditioned soul. The first illusion is that he wants to become Lord of the material world by accumulating wealth and power, but when he is frustrated in that attempt he wants to be one with the Lord. So both becoming the most powerful man in the material world and desiring to become one with the Lord are different illusory snares. And because the pure devotees of the Lord are surrendered souls, they are above the illusory snares of māyā. Because Lord Brahmā is a pure devotee, even though the first dominating deity in the material world and therefore able to do many wonderful things, he would never, like the nondevotee with a poor fund of knowledge, have the audacity to think of becoming one with the Lord. People with a poor fund of knowledge should take lessons from Brahmā when they are puffed up with the false notion of becoming God.

SB Canto 3

This demoniac sex mentality of material enjoyment is sometimes encouraged by so-called yogīs who encourage the public to enjoy sex life in different varieties and at the same time advertise that if one meditates on a certain manufactured mantra one can become God within six months.

SB 3.20.35, Purport:

Sometimes the demoniac arrange for so-called sports, like tennis, with the opposite sex. The purpose of such sporting is to see the bodily construction of the beautiful girl and enjoy a subtle sex mentality. This demoniac sex mentality of material enjoyment is sometimes encouraged by so-called yogīs who encourage the public to enjoy sex life in different varieties and at the same time advertise that if one meditates on a certain manufactured mantra one can become God within six months. The public wants to be cheated, and Kṛṣṇa therefore creates such cheaters to misrepresent and delude. These so-called yogīs are actually enjoyers of the world garbed as yogīs. Bhagavad-gītā, however, recommends that if one wants to enjoy life, then it cannot be with these gross senses. A patient is advised by the experienced physician to refrain from ordinary enjoyment while in the diseased condition. A diseased person cannot enjoy anything; he has to restrain his enjoyment in order to get rid of the disease. Similarly, our material condition is a diseased condition. If one wants to enjoy real sense enjoyment, then one must get free of the entanglement of material existence.

The favor of the spiritual master is not received through any other part of the body but the ears. This does not mean, however, that the spiritual master gives a particular type of mantra through the ears in exchange for some dollars and if the man meditates on that he achieves perfection and becomes God within six months.

SB 3.22.7, Purport:

The word karṇa-randhraiḥ means "through the holes of the ears." The favor of the spiritual master is not received through any other part of the body but the ears. This does not mean, however, that the spiritual master gives a particular type of mantra through the ears in exchange for some dollars and if the man meditates on that he achieves perfection and becomes God within six months. Such reception through the ears is bogus. The real fact is that a bona fide spiritual master knows the nature of a particular man and what sort of duties he can perform in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he instructs him in that way. He instructs him through the ear, not privately, but publicly. "You are fit for such and such work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You can act in this way." One person is advised to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by working in the Deities' room, another is advised to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by performing editorial work, another is advised to do preaching work, and another is advised to carry out Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the cooking department. There are different departments of activity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and a spiritual master, knowing the particular ability of a particular man, trains him in such a way that by his tendency to act he becomes perfect.

One cannot become a perfect yogī simply by showing some sitting postures, nor by such sitting postures or so-called meditation can one become God, as is being advertised.

SB 3.23.43, Purport:

In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40) it is similarly stated, vibhūti-bhinnam: on each and every planet there are different opulences. It cannot be expected that one planet is exactly like another. By God's grace, by nature's law, each and every planet is made differently and has different wonderful features. All such wonders were personally experienced by Kardama Muni while he traveled with his wife, yet he could return again to his humble hermitage. He showed his princess-wife that although he was living in the hermitage, he had the power to go everywhere and do anything by mystic yoga. That is the perfection of yoga. One cannot become a perfect yogī simply by showing some sitting postures, nor by such sitting postures or so-called meditation can one become God, as is being advertised. Foolish persons are misled into believing that simply by some caricature of meditation and sitting postures one can become God within six months.

One cannot practice yoga in a city or in a public park and declare that he has become God simply by some exchange of dollars. This is all bogus propaganda.

SB 3.24.28, Purport:

Complete practice of yoga means bhakti-yoga; unless one comes to the point of bhakti-yoga, or surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one's yoga practice is not complete. This same point is corroborated in the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante: (BG 7.19) after many, many births, the jñānī who has matured in transcendental knowledge surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kardama Muni repeats the same statement. After many, many years and many, many births of complete practice of yoga, one can see the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord in a secluded place. It is not that after one practices some sitting postures he immediately becomes perfect. One has to perform yoga a long time—"many, many births"—to become mature, and a yogī has to practice in a secluded place. One cannot practice yoga in a city or in a public park and declare that he has become God simply by some exchange of dollars. This is all bogus propaganda. Those who are actually yogīs practice in a secluded place, and after many, many births they become successful, provided they surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the completion of yoga.

"My dear lotus-eyed Lord, there are persons who are puffed up with the thought that they have become liberated or one with God or have become God, but in spite of thinking in such a puffed-up way, their intelligence is not laudable. They are less intelligent."

SB 3.25.41, Purport:

One may ask if this means that those who are undergoing so much penance and austerity by strictly following the rules and regulations are endeavoring in vain. The answer is given by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32): ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. Lord Brahmā and other demigods prayed to the Lord when Kṛṣṇa was in the womb of Devakī: "My dear lotus-eyed Lord, there are persons who are puffed up with the thought that they have become liberated or one with God or have become God, but in spite of thinking in such a puffed-up way, their intelligence is not laudable. They are less intelligent." It is stated that their intelligence, whether high or low, is not even purified. In purified intelligence a living entity cannot think otherwise than to surrender. Bhagavad-gītā, therefore, confirms that purified intelligence arises in the person of a very wise man. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). After many, many births, one who is actually advanced in intelligence surrenders unto the Supreme Lord.

When one's mind is fixed upon Aniruddha, one gradually becomes God-realized; he approaches the pure status of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is the ultimate goal of yoga.

SB 3.26.28, Purport:

The system of yoga entails controlling the mind, and the Lord of the mind is Aniruddha. It is stated that Aniruddha is four-handed, with Sudarśana cakra, conchshell, club and lotus flower. There are twenty-four forms of Viṣṇu, each differently named. Among these twenty-four forms, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, Pradyumna and Vāsudeva are depicted very nicely in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, where it is stated that Aniruddha is worshiped by the yogīs. Meditation upon voidness is a modern invention of the fertile brain of some speculator. Actually the process of yoga meditation, as prescribed in this verse, should be fixed upon the form of Aniruddha. By meditating on Aniruddha one can become free from the agitation of acceptance and rejection. When one's mind is fixed upon Aniruddha, one gradually becomes God-realized; he approaches the pure status of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is the ultimate goal of yoga.

SB Canto 5

If being able to manufacture gold is a criterion for becoming God, then why not accept Kṛṣṇa, the proprietor of the entire universe, wherein there are countless tons of gold?

SB 5.14.13, Purport:

Cheaters are always there to manufacture their own way of spiritual realization. To get some material benefit, the conditioned soul approaches these pseudo sannyāsīs and yogīs for cheap blessings, but he does not receive any benefit from them, either spiritual or material. In this age there are many cheaters who show some jugglery and magic. They even create gold to amaze their followers, and their followers accept them as God. This type of cheating is very prominent in Kali-yuga. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura describes the real guru in this way.

saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-

trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam

prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya

vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

One should approach a guru who can extinguish the blazing fire of this material world, the struggle for existence, people want to be cheated, and therefore they go to yogīs and svāmīs who play tricks, but tricks do not mitigate the miseries of material life. If being able to manufacture gold is a criterion for becoming God, then why not accept Kṛṣṇa, the proprietor of the entire universe, wherein there are countless tons of gold?

SB Canto 6

Thinking oneself one with the Supreme is called ahaṅgrahopāsanā. Through ahaṅgrahopāsanā one does not become God, but he thinks of himself as qualitatively one with the Supreme.

SB 6.8.12, Purport:

Thinking oneself one with the Supreme is called ahaṅgrahopāsanā. Through ahaṅgrahopāsanā one does not become God, but he thinks of himself as qualitatively one with the Supreme. Understanding that as a spirit soul he is equal in quality to the supreme soul the way the water of a river is of the same nature as the water of the sea, one should meditate upon the Supreme Lord, as described in this verse, and seek His protection. The living entities are always subordinate to the Supreme. Consequently their duty is to always seek the mercy of the Lord in order to be protected by Him in all circumstances.

SB Canto 7

The demon Hiraṇyakaśipu had so many ways to try to become God himself, but although Prahlāda Mahārāja was chastised and threatened in many ways, he rigidly refused to accept his powerful demoniac father as God.

SB 7.10.42, Purport:

The demon Hiraṇyakaśipu had so many ways to try to become God himself, but although Prahlāda Mahārāja was chastised and threatened in many ways, he rigidly refused to accept his powerful demoniac father as God. Following in the footsteps of Prahlāda Mahārāja, we should reject all the rascals who pretend to be God. We must accept Kṛṣṇa and His incarnations, and no one else.

SB Canto 9

The purpose of varṇāśrama is to enable people to become God conscious.

SB 9.10.50, Purport:

People must be trained according to the different varṇāśrama occupational duties. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13), cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: the four varṇas must be established according to varying qualities and work. The first principle for good government is that it must institute this varṇāśrama system. The purpose of varṇāśrama is to enable people to become God conscious. Varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān viṣṇur ārādhyate (CC Madhya 8.58). The entire varṇāśrama scheme is intended to enable people to become Vaiṣṇavas. Viṣṇur asya devatā. When people worship Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme Lord, they become Vaiṣṇavas. Thus people should be trained to become Vaiṣṇavas through the system of varṇa and āśrama, as they were during the reign of Lord Rāmacandra, when everyone was fully trained to follow the varṇāśrama principles.

CC Adi-lila

The idea that someone can become God by meditation is ridiculous. By hard endeavor one may realize his godly nature, but he will never become God.

CC Adi 3.87, Purport:

Even according to historical references, Kṛṣṇa's activities are most uncommon. Kṛṣṇa has affirmed, "I am God," and He has acted accordingly. Māyāvādīs think that everyone can claim to be God, but that is their illusion, for no one else can perform such extraordinary activities as Kṛṣṇa. When He was a child on the lap of His mother, He killed the demon Pūtanā. Then He killed the demons Tṛṇāvarta, Vatsāsura and Baka. When He was a little more grown up, He killed the demons Aghāsura and Ṛṣabhāsura. Therefore God is God from the very beginning. The idea that someone can become God by meditation is ridiculous. By hard endeavor one may realize his godly nature, but he will never become God. The asuras, or demons, who think that anyone can become God, are condemned.

It is not that anyone and everyone can become God without proof from śāstras.

CC Adi 17.109, Purport:

By the power of astrological science one can even ascertain the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything is to be identified by its symptoms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is identified by the symptoms mentioned in the śāstras. It is not that anyone and everyone can become God without proof from śāstras.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Properly speaking, Kṛṣṇa never becomes God because He is the Godhead in all circumstances.

Krsna Book Preface:

Nowadays it is the fashion of the atheistic class of men to try to become God by following some mystic process. Generally the atheists claim to be God by dint of their imagination or their meditational prowess. Kṛṣṇa is not that kind of God. He does not become God by manufacturing some mystic process of meditation, nor does He become God by undergoing the severe austerities of the mystic yogic exercises. Properly speaking, He never becomes God because He is the Godhead in all circumstances.

No living being can become God by undergoing meditation or austerities. God is always God.

Krsna Book 6:

The materialistic theory that God-worship is anthropomorphic is not correct. No living being can become God by undergoing meditation or austerities. God is always God. Kṛṣṇa as a baby is as complete as He is as a full-fledged youth. The Māyāvāda theory holds that the living entity was formerly God but has now become overwhelmed by the influence of māyā. Therefore Māyāvādīs say that presently he is not God but when the influence of māyā is taken away he again becomes God. This theory cannot be applied to the minute living entities. The living entities are minute parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; they are minute particles or sparks of the original fire. So these sparks can be covered by the influence of māyā, but the original fire, Kṛṣṇa, cannot. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even from the beginning of His appearance in the house of Vasudeva and Devakī.

The concoction of the impersonalists, that one can become God by meditation or by some artificial material activities, is herewith declared false.

Krsna Book 7:

Kṛṣṇa's showing the universal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even when lying down on the lap of His mother, proves that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whether He is manifested as a child on the lap of His mother or as a charioteer on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. The concoction of the impersonalists, that one can become God by meditation or by some artificial material activities, is herewith declared false. God is always God in any condition or status, and the living entities are always the parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. They can never be equal to the inconceivable, supernatural power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

"My dear Lord, I have nothing to say about people who advertise that they have already realized God or that by their realization they have themselves become God."

Krsna Book 14:

"My dear Lord, I have nothing to say about people who advertise that they have already realized God or that by their realization they have themselves become God. But as far as I am concerned, I admit frankly that for me it is not possible to realize You by my body, mind or speech. What can I say about You, or how can I realize You by my senses? I cannot even think of You perfectly with my mind, which is the master of the senses. Your qualities, Your activities and Your body cannot be conceived of by any person within this material world. Only by Your mercy can one understand, to some extent, what You are."

Renunciation Through Wisdom

The jīva can never become God. It is sheer insanity to equate man with God, or vice versa.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.4:

Once the famous impersonalist and monist sannyāsī Ramana Maharshi of Madras was asked by a foreign disciple, "What is the difference between God and man?" His cryptic reply was "God plus desire equals man, and man minus desire equals God." We say that man can never be free of desire. In his eternal conditioned existence the jīva is full of the desire to enjoy matter, while in his eternal liberated state he is full of the desire to render devotional service to the Lord. Thus the jīva can never become God. It is sheer insanity to equate man with God, or vice versa. The Māyāvādī's unnatural desire to deny the inherent characteristics of his conscious self is the very same desire that keeps him from attaining liberation. Hence the Māyāvādīs' false and arrogant claim of liberation is merely a demonstration of their perverted intelligence.

The Māyāvādīs are always eager to merge with the nondual Supreme Brahman and become God. But their small brains cannot understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead can become the charioteer of His devotee and carry out his orders.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.2:

When Lord Caitanya saw the brāhmaṇa in tears, He asked him what part of the Gītā moved him to cry. With proper Vaiṣṇava humility, the brāhmaṇa answered,

I am merely pretending to read the Gītā; in truth I am illiterate. But my guru instructed me to regularly read the entire Bhagavad-gītā, though I am unlettered. Not wanting to disobey my guru, I try to execute my duty, and so I make a show of reading the Gītā.

The Lord then asked him why he was crying. The brāhmaṇa replied,

Whenever I sit down to read the Gītā, the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as Pārtha-sārathi (Arjuna's chariot driver) appears in my heart. And as soon as I see this form I immediately remember how the Lord is bhakta-vatsala (especially kind to His devotees). This thought makes me cry.

The Māyāvādīs are always eager to merge with the nondual Supreme Brahman and become God. But their small brains cannot understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead can become the charioteer of His devotee and carry out his orders. In truth the Supreme Lord and the jīvas are eternally related, and because of this relationship many wonderful things are possible. But the Māyāvādīs cannot understand this truth, and many who have tried to make them understand have failed miserably.

The goddess of learning, Sarasvatī, inspired Dr. Radhakrishnan to say "Man cannot become God." We would like to clarify this statement by saying "Even after becoming liberated, a man cannot become God."

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.4:

The goddess of learning, Sarasvatī, inspired Dr. Radhakrishnan to say "Man cannot become God." We would like to clarify this statement by saying "Even after becoming liberated, a man cannot become God." A liberated person can become a pure devotee of God, but he cannot become God or merge into God and lose his identity. There are innumerable instances in which a liberated soul, failing to become God, also refused to become God's devotee. The only option then open to him is aptly described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32):

ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas

tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ

āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ

patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ

"O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet."

Sri Isopanisad

These self-made "Gods" cannot answer all these questions very clearly; they are simply satisfied to have become "God" themselves.

Sri Isopanisad 9, Purport:

The māyayāpahṛta-jñāna class of men are self-made "Gods." Such men think that they themselves are God and that there is no need of worshiping any other God. They will agree to worship an ordinary man if he happens to be rich, but they will never worship the Personality of Godhead. Such men, unable to recognize their own foolishness, never consider how it is that God can be entrapped by māyā, His own illusory energy. If God were ever entrapped by māyā, māyā would be more powerful than God. Such men say that God is all-powerful, but they do not consider that if He is all-powerful there is no possibility of His being overpowered by māyā. These self-made "Gods" cannot answer all these questions very clearly; they are simply satisfied to have become "God" themselves.