Lord Sri Krsna says in the 7th Chapter of Bhagavad Gita that ‘He is the power of the prowess’. How many of us realize this and accept that whatever we are today is only by the mercy of the Lord.
A man winning a 100 meter race, a Cricket team winning a final match, a group of Scientists achieve to put a rocket in an outer orbit; all of them feel that their success is due to their own strengths and efforts, either individually or collectively, and hence they think that they deserve all the appreciation and accolades.
Everyone one of us feels that the sensual, mental and intellectual powers each of us possess is due to our own ability and practice and no one else can be responsible or can claim ownership for our abilities.
Lord Krsna says in the 18th Chapter of Bhagavad Gita (BG 18.13) about the five factors which bring about the accomplishment of all action. They are the place of action, the performer, the senses, the endeavor, and ultimately the Supersoul. Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport that the ultimate will is invested in the Supersoul, sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah. He is engaging everyone in certain activities. The instruments of action are the senses, and by senses the soul acts in various ways, and for each and every action there is a different endeavor. But all one's activities depend on the will of the Supersoul, who is seated within the heart as a friend. The Supreme Lord is the super cause.
Due to ignorance of the above fact we think that ‘we’ only carry out all the actions and hence we exercise our right to be the ‘enjoyers’ of the gains that we make from such actions. But the Lord very clearly explains that without will of the Supersoul no action is possible. Vedic scriptures also declare that not even a blade of grass moves without the sanction of the Lord.
We see similar references in Srimad Bhagavatam confirming this fact. In Canto 1, chapter 15, Arjuna informs Yudhistra maharaja that all his astounding power which astonished even the demigods is no longer with him after the Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari, who treated him exactly like an intimate friend, has left him alone. Srila Prabhupada writes the following in his wonderful purport to this verse.
In the Bhagavad-gītā (10.41) the Lord says, "Anyone specifically powerful and opulent in wealth, strength, beauty, knowledge and all that is materially desirable is to be considered but a product of an insignificant portion of the complete whole of My energy." No one, therefore, can be independently powerful in any measure without being endowed by the Lord. When the Lord descends on the earth along with His eternal ever-liberated associates, He not only displays the divine energy possessed by Himself, but also empowers His associate devotees with the required energy to execute His mission of incarnation. The power and energy which were bestowed upon Arjuna were required for fulfillment of the mission of the Lord, but when His mission was fulfilled, the emergency powers were withdrawn from Arjuna because the astounding powers of Arjuna, which were astonishing even to the denizens of heaven, were no longer required, and they were not meant for going back home, back to Godhead. If endowment of powers and withdrawal of powers by the Lord are possible even for a great devotee like Arjuna, or even the demigods in heaven, then what to speak of the ordinary living beings who are but figs compared to such great souls. The lesson is, therefore, that no one should be puffed up for his powers borrowed from the Lord. The sane man should rather feel obliged to the Lord for such benefactions and must utilize such power for the service of the Lord. Such power can be withdrawn at any time by the Lord, so the best use of such power and opulence is to engage them in the service of the Lord.
Srila Prabhupada has made strikingly clear that the power we all possess is simply borrowed from the Lord and the fact is that it can be withdrawn at any time. We breath, we blink, we walk, we clean, we bend, we pray, we chant – all these are possible not by our endeavor but are made possible only by the power we have borrowed from the Lord. So let us not forget this basic fact while we are carrying out our tasks. We should put the best use of all our ability in the service of the Lord since without Lord’s mercy we can never possess any of our abilities.
your humble servant
suvarna madhava das
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