Faceless God?

At my lecture last Saturday night in Reno a member of the audience stated that God has no face. When I asked her how she can say that when Krishna clearly reveals Himself as a person with a face, she said that Krishna is just a vessel for the faceless God.

Her philosophy does not make any sense. How can God be devoid of anything when He is the source of everything? All that exists is within Him. Because He is absolute He does not become in any way depleted when He manifests the totality of existence from Himself. He remains the same without even being slightly diminished. This is the meaning of God. If even an ordinary person of this world has a face, why the Supreme who is the the source of all existence including all faces cannot have a face? Just as a gold mine cannot produce gold if it is devoid of gold, God, the origin of all energies, cannot produce faces if He is faceless. Such a philosophy is not confirmed in the revealed scriptures.

There are numerous descriptions in the Vedic literatures of the form of God. For example in the Brahma-samhita it is stated:

isvarah paramah krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva-karana-karanam

"Krishna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes."
--Brahma-samita 5.1

That God has a form is also confirmed in the Bible in which it is stated that God made man in His own image. We can easily understand if man has a face, God must also have a face.

Krishna directly states in the Bhagavad-gita that He is the original source of everything that exists. He never states that He is a vessel for the faceless God. In fact, He says just the opposite. He states, "I am the source of the faceless, impersonal Brahman." So it's time we put to rest once and for all this misconception that God is faceless, without form and personality. God's face is the most beautiful face of all existence. Those who deny His face will never see His face. Those who learn to love His face will one day see Him face-to-face, eye-to-eye.


Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Behold the Beautiful Smiling Faces of God (Krishna) and His Eternal Consort, Srimati Radharani

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: How to Control Desires?

How to control our desires? Generally, people have desires to travel to new places, to wear new clothes, to eat delicious foods, to earn more money, to live a sophisticated life, to enjoy at every moment, and the desires go on and on. It seems we are more bodily conscious. But for everything there is an end. To lead a content life, to be happy with what we have, we need the blessings of Krishna and Guru.

If we get such desires, how to control it? Many people around us, say things like, "You will be looking good, if you wear this. Why did you miss the chance of traveling new places? Why can't you eat all sweets? "

Desires are multiplying day by day. I want to know how to put a restriction on these desires. I seek your help to guide me better. I must realize that nothing is great other than being Krishna Conscious.

Always, my humble pranams to you.
Hare Krishna,
Sangeetha

Answer: Go Deeper into Krishna Consciousness

If you will simply go deeper into the nectarean ocean of Krishna consciousness, you will taste so much nectar that nothing of this world will be able to compete with it.

This is confirmed in the following verse from the Bhagavad-gita:

visaya vinivartante
niraharasya dehinah
rasa-varjam raso 'py asya
param drstva nivartate

"The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness."
--Bhagavad-gita 2.59

Sankarshan Das Adhikari