For some time, Richard (now Radhanath Swami) had been troubled by a fundamental philosophical dispute over whether God was ultimately impersonal or personal. On the one hand, he had heard some yogis and philosophers profess that ultimately God is impersonal and formless. All form and personality, according to the impersonalists, is a nonpermanent product of material illusion. In the final state of liberation, the soul sheds its temporary identity and becomes one with God, merging into the all-pervading spiritual existence. On the other hand, Richard had also heard other yogis and philosophers profess that God is the Supreme Person, that His spiritual form is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. At the time of liberation, the soul enters into the kingdom of God where it eternally serves the all-beautiful Personality of God in pure love.
Srila Prabhupada answered his doubt “We must first understand the inconceivable nature of God. The Supreme Lord is simultaneously personal and impersonal. It is an eternal truth that He is both formless and that he has an eternal, blissful form.” Radhanath Swami heard from Srila Prabhupada that the Lord’s impersonal, all-pervading energy is called Brahman. And Bhagavan is the personal form of God, who is the energetic source and never under the influence of illusion. He gave the example of the sun. The form of the sun as a planet and the formless sunlight can never be separated, as they exist simultaneously. They are different aspects of the sun. Similarly, there are two different schools of transcendentalists who focus on different aspects of the one truth. The impersonalists strive to attain liberation in the Lord’s impersonal, formless light, while the personalists strive for eternal loving service to the Lord’s all-attractive form. There is no contradiction. Srila Prabhupada revealed to Richard (now Radhanath Swami) that the two schools, personalists and impersonalists, both approach different aspects of the One God.
Radhanath Swami felt that with these simple and intelligent words, Srila Prabhupada had harmonized two apparently opposing views and completely removed all his confusions.
Radhanath Swami also gives simple examples to explain the profound truths of spiritual sciences. He explains that when we look at a mountain from a distance, we may see a hazy cloud, and if we come nearer, we may see something green. If we actually climb the mountain, we will find many houses, trees and animals. Our vision is of the same mountain, but due to our different positions we see haze, greenery or variety. In the final stage, there are varieties—trees, animals, men, and houses. Similarly the same absolute truth is perceived differently by different seekers. Radhanath Swami once narrated a story to drive home this point:
Once a railway line was laid for the first time in a village. When a train was about to come for the first time, hundreds of villagers gathered. When the train appeared in the distance, one man saw the smoke emanating from the engine at a kilometre’s distance and ran into the village and shouted, “I have seen the train; it is simply a big smoke”. A second man waited longer and observed a bright light coming towards the platform. He ran into the village and proclaimed, “I know what a train is all about. It is just a big bright light. That’s all.” A third man waited longer for the train to arrive at the station. When the train arrived and stopped, he met the driver, who came out from the locomotive. A fourth man, who waited till the end, understood that not only was there a driver, but there were hundreds and thousands of passengers sitting in the bogies connected to the locomotive. Now the fourth man could give a complete picture of what a train was all about. Similarly, a materialist thinks that there is nothing beyond this smoke-like material world. Their philosophy of life is to eat, drink and be merry. The impersonalists know certain truth about God; they think God is a big bright impersonal light. The yogi thinks God is the greatest personality behind the cosmic machinery of this universe. The bhakta or devotee knows another aspect – God and His energies, the material and spiritual, and the sweet loving relationships between the Lord and His part-and-parcel living entities.
Thus the scriptures, when understood under the guidance of sincere seekers of truth do not appear confusing. I am indeed fortunate to read and hear Radhanath Swami regularly.
