Prabhupāda: So here we see that you can have God as your son. There are so many instances. Just like Devakī got Kṛṣṇa as his (her) son: Mother Yaśodā got God as his (her) son—Śacī-mātā, (s)he also got Caitanya Mahāprabhu as son. So this is better philosophy than to accept God as father. That is especially in the Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Others, the impersonalist, voidist, they have no conception of God.
Voidists—"Ultimately everything is zero," and the impersonalists, "God has no form." Both are the same thing, in a different language. The voidists, they say, "Ultimately there is nothing but zero," and the impersonalist statement that, "Maybe something, but it is not person, it is imperson."
Therefore in the Padma Purāṇa this Buddhist theory, voidism, and the Śaṅkara's theory, impersonalism, they are taken as one and the same. Pracchannaṁ bauddham ucyate. Pracchannaṁ bauddham. The Buddhists, they decline to accept the authority of Vedas, and the Māyāvādī, the impersonalist, they wanted to accept the authority of Vedas, but under the garb of Buddhism.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given His remark, veda nā māniyā bauddha haya ta' nāstika (CC Madhya 6.168). According to Vedic line of thought, anyone who does not accept the authority of Vedas, he is called atheist. Just like the Muhammadans, they also call kafir. One who does not accept the authority of Koran, they call kafir. And the Christians also, they call heathens. So there are different terms.
So according to our Vedic line of thought, anyone who does not accept the Vedic way of life, he is called atheist. Therefore Buddhist, according to Vedāntist, Buddhist are called atheist. Actually Buddha philosophy does not accept God, neither soul. They simply philosophize on the material elements, and they want to finish the material exis . . . dismantle the material elements. Nirvāṇa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has remarked that the Buddhists are honest. They frankly say that "We don't accept your Vedas." But the Śaṅkarites, they are cheaters, because they are accepting Vedas, but on the basis of Buddha philosophy. That is cheating.
So there are many conception of God. But here is a conception of God: to accept God as son. That is only in Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Because we are eternal servants of God. That is our philosophy. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). The living entity, his real constitutional position is to serve God. We have several times explained this fact, that the part and parcel of God must be engaged in the service of the Lord.
Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body. Its duty is to serve the body. It has no other duty. The finger cannot go elsewhere and serve something else; it must serve my body. Therefore, it is part and parcel. Similarly, if I am part and parcel of God, then my only duty is to serve God. This is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. So therefore, in Vaiṣṇava philosophy, everything in relationship with God is service.
You have seen the picture in our Nectar of Devotion. Kṛṣṇa's friends . . . Kṛṣṇa is resting; they are all engaged in service. Somebody is fanning, somebody is massaging. Although they are friends, there is equality. None of them think that Kṛṣṇa is greater than them. No. They think, "Kṛṣṇa is our friend, very nice friend, very beautiful friend, and very powerful friend." Every day they go to the forest, and they see one demon is killed by Kṛṣṇa. So they become very much devoted. Their love for Kṛṣṇa increased by seeing Kṛṣṇa's activities, beauty, opulence. Similarly, the gopīs.
So they did not think Kṛṣṇa is God. They did not know. Even Mother Yaśodā, Nanda Mahārāja, all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, they did not know, neither they did care to know whether Kṛṣṇa is God or not. They simply loved Kṛṣṇa, without any identification. We are worshiping God, Kṛṣṇa, because we are impressed with so many things, that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, He is the Absolute Truth.
And therefore we are little inclined, "All right, let us serve Kṛṣṇa if He is God." You see? There is some condition: "If Kṛṣṇa is God, so if I do not love, if I do not worship, there may be something wrong." So that is business. But amongst the gopīs and the cowherds boy and the Vṛndāvana inhabitants, there is no business. "We love Kṛṣṇa unconditionally. That's all. We do not know anything except Kṛṣṇa." This is Vṛndāvana atmosphere.
So Mother Yaśodā, Nanda and other elderly gopīs, they used to treat Kṛṣṇa as son, as beloved son. Because if we accept God as father or mother . . . there is conception of mother also. The śāktas . . . there are many devotees of Durgā, Kālī, they also accept the mother. The Christian accept as father. The conception of father and mother, that is good, but there is little service. Because children, they take service from the mother and father. They give . . . render very little service to the father and mother.
Every children, every man, every woman has taken so much services from the father and mother. Everyone knows that. Just like those who are mothers here, how much service they are giving to the little children, how much careful they are that their child may not be in some difficulty. Always anxious. Similarly, this philosophy, to accept God as son means opportunity for rendering more service than to accept God as father.
God is neither father nor . . . he is father. Actually He is father, because He is the origin of everything. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Kṛṣṇa also says, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4). Pitā means father. So actually, God's position is father. He is father of everything. Not . . . all living entities, all material energy. As . . . if you discover something, it is called "The father of this scientific discovery." So He has discovered everything, material and spiritual both.
Therefore He is original father of everyone. Not only of the living entities, but also stones, woods, earth, water, fire—everything He has created. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva . . . prakṛtir me aṣṭadhā, bhinnā prakṛtir me aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4), in the Bhagavad-gītā. So He has created everything. He is actually the father. But out of love, the devotees, they accept the father as son, to give more service. Father is obliged to give service to the son. He has given birth; therefore he has obligation to maintain the son, to give service.
So here, if you accept God as son, then you cannot avoid the obligation of service. In other way you can avoid. This is compulsory. Therefore sometimes devotees, they pray . . . here it is said, prayed for. "The sixth incarnation of the puruṣa was the son of the sage Atri. He was born in the womb of Anasūyā, who prayed for an incarnation." She requested that, "You all three, you become my son." So next.