1027 Beyond Logic
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Transcript of 1027 Beyond Logic
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Published by VOICE (Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture and Education) Page 1 of 1 ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Pune, India
The Spiritual ScientistThe Spiritual ScientistThe Spiritual ScientistThe Spiritual Scientist An ezine for those who think!
Beyond Logic To LoveBeyond Logic To LoveBeyond Logic To LoveBeyond Logic To Love
Question: Arent the two defining attributes of God omnipotence and omniscience
self contradictory? If God can do anything, then he can change the future. But if he
can change the future, then how can he be said to know the future? So doesnt this
mean that God can either be omnipotent or omniscient but not both?
Questions like these arise when we approach God only with our head and not our heart. We then
mistake God to be a static, unconscious object and his attributes to be like the length, breadth,
height, mass etc of that object. But God is not an object; he is a conscious, loving person. Over and
above his omnipotence and omniscience, God has an even more fundamental defining attribute:
omni-benevolence. Omni-benevolence means that God is the supreme well-wisher and benefactor
of all living beings, as is proclaimed in the Bhagavad-gita (5.29). God does not delight in displaying
his omnipotence or omniscience; he delights in reciprocating love with those who love him and
extending his love to those who dont love him. So according to how he can best benefit us, he
sometimes exhibits his omnipotence, sometimes his omniscience, sometimes both and sometimes
neither. Consider the Mahabharata incident when Lord Krishna went
as a peace messenger to the evil-minded Duryodhana to avoid the
fratricidal war. Seen superficially, Krishna failed in his mission; he
couldnt persuade Duryodhana. Was Krishna not omnipotent? He
was, but he did not exercise his omnipotence because he respected
the free will of Duryodhana. Was Krishna not omniscient to know in
advance that Duryodhana would not accept his peace proposal? He was, but he did not exercise
his omniscience. Why? Firstly, because he wanted to express his love for the Pandavas by
accepting the undistinguished role of a messenger for their sake. Secondly, because he wanted to
show his loving concern for all not only the innocent masses who would suffer the effects of the
war, but also the malevolent miscreants who had
incited the war by doing all he could to avoid the
war. On other occasions in the same Mahabharata,
Krishna exhibited his omniscience in protecting the
Pandavas from the empowered arrows of Bhishma,
his omnipotence in foiling Duryodhanas attempt to
arrest him by displaying his universal form, and
both his omnipotence and omniscience in helping Arjuna to avenge the
unjust murder of his son. Love is what motivates the Lord to form
these often-puzzling activities, and love is what enables us to figure out
the puzzles. So lets remember, if we want to understand the Lord, we
need to subordinate our logic to our love.