View source for Had the Lord and the living beings been the same, then Srila Sukadeva Gosvami would not have taken the trouble to describe the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, for they would all be manifestations of illusory energy

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{{terms|"Had the Lord and the living beings been the same, then Srila Sukadeva Gosvami would not have taken the trouble to describe the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, for they would all be manifestations of illusory energy"}}
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{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
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[[Category:God and the Living Beings]]
[[Category:Have Been]]
[[Category:Same]]
[[Category:Sukadeva Gosvami]]
[[Category:Would Not Have]]
[[Category:Take]]
[[Category:Trouble]]
[[Category:Describing God]]
[[Category:God's Transcendental Pastimes]]
[[Category:Manifestation]]
[[Category:Illusory Energy]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 01 Chapter 07 Purports - The Son of Drona Punished]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 01 Purports]]
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<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
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<h3>SB Canto 1</h3>
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Had the Lord and the living beings been the same, then Srila Sukadeva Gosvami would not have taken the trouble to describe the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, for they would all be manifestations of illusory energy.
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[[Vanisource:SB 1.7.5|SB 1.7.5, Translation and Purport]]
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Due to this external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries.
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Personal superintendence of the illusory energy is confirmed in the Vedas (the Kena Upaniṣad) in relation to the demigods' controlling power. Herein also it is clearly stated that the living entity is controlled by the external energy in a personal capacity. The living being thus subject to the control of external energy is differently situated. It is clear, however, from the present statement of Bhāgavatam that the same external energy is situated in the inferior position before the Personality of Godhead, or the perfect being. The perfect being, or the Lord, cannot be approached even by the illusory energy, who can only work on the living entities. Therefore it is sheer imagination that the Supreme Lord is illusioned by the illusory energy and thus becomes a living being. If the living being and the Lord were in the same category, then it would have been quite possible for Vyāsadeva to see it, and there would have been no question of material distress on the part of the illusioned being, for the Supreme Being is fully cognizant. So there are so many unscrupulous imaginations on the part of the monists to endeavor to put both the Lord and the living being in the same category. Had the Lord and the living beings been the same, then Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī would not have taken the trouble to describe the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, for they would all be manifestations of illusory energy.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the summum bonum remedy for suffering humanity in the clutches of māyā. Śrīla Vyāsadeva therefore first of all diagnosed the actual disease of the conditioned souls, i.e., their being illusioned by the external energy. He also saw the perfect Supreme Being, from whom illusory energy is far removed, though He saw both the diseased conditioned souls and also the cause of the disease. And the remedial measures are suggested in the next verse. Both the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living beings are undoubtedly qualitatively one, but the Lord is the controller of the illusory energy, whereas the living entity is controlled by the illusory energy. Thus the Lord and the living beings are simultaneously one and different. Another point is distinct herein: that eternal relation between the Lord and the living being is transcendental, otherwise the Lord would not have taken the trouble to reclaim the conditioned souls from the clutches of māyā. In the same way, the living entity is also required to revive his natural love and affection for the Lord, and that is the highest perfection of the living entity. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam treats the conditioned soul with an aim to that goal of life.
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