What does God do?
God only graces the souls and except for this He has no other work. If anyone ever asks you, “What does God do?” Your answer should be, “Graces.” All His other actions are a result of His desire to grace. His gracious nature forces Him to perform all other kinds of action. The Gita, verse 4.13 says that God has the title of “doing nothing while simultaneously doing everything.” He is the abode of opposite and simultaneously existing characteristics. The Bhagavatam states that even the intellects of great scholars fail when they hear or read about these contradictory qualities of God.
The scriptures say that God has no desire. Only one who has something to attain forms desires. But God has nothing to attain and so He does not have any desire. He also ever exists, is all-knowing and eternally happy. Why should He have any desires? On the other hand, we are the repositories of unending desires! So, when God does not have anything to achieve, the question of God having desires does not arise. And yet He still performs action. Consider, for example, that God created this universe. What was the reason? This is an important question. The Taittiriya Upanishad states, “God is defined as the one who creates everything. All living and non-living, sentient and insentient beings are maintained by Him, and at the time of final dissolution of the universe, everything merges into Him.”
God is also referred to as atmaram, “completely desireless”. Then why did He create this impure, temporary, material, and lifeless world? All of God’s qualities are the opposite of what is found in this creation! God is the supreme enlivener, yet He created a lifeless world. God is the ocean of divine bliss, but there is not a single drop of everlasting happiness in this world. When we entered this world, we started our life by shedding tears, and we keep on crying until our time of death. If God Himself is not like this, why did He create such a world? He should have at least created a pleasant world. After all, He is better than the best. What is the reason behind the creation of this material world?
To be continued . . .
An English translation of a discourse originally given in Hindi by:
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj
22 September 2009
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