Dive into this Ocean of Bliss
Have you heard the news? We are celebrating like anything right now because the greatest victory in the history of the universe has now been won. Our greatest enemy, death, is now conquered. Come and dive with us into the ocean of immortal bliss and become deathless. You've got nothing to stop you except for your lack of faith. So throw off the shackles of faithlessness and dive into the ocean of bliss today. It's not difficult. All you have to do is unabashedly chant and dance the holy names of God along with us. You will taste the jubilation. Your eternal spiritual identity will be rejuvenated. Do not miss this greatest of all opportunities. Dive into this ocean of unlimited bliss right now.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
1.Can God create a rock that He can't lift? If God can't do this, then He isn't omnipotent, and if He can, then He still isn't omnipotent, because then there is something, that He can't do - i.e. lift the rock.
2.God is supposed to be omniscient (all-knowing), and humans supposedly have a free will. But how can humans have a free will, if God in advance knows what is going to happen? There can be no choice in any meaningful sense of the word, if there is only one possible outcome to each and every situation (that is the outcome that God has foreseen). When in the Srimad Bhagavatam He says that in the age of kali (Kali yuga) lots of bad thing are bound to happen how do we possess free will?
A.M.
Wikipedia has defined it as follows:
"The omnipotence paradox is a family of related paradoxes addressing the question of whether the existence of an omnipotent entity is logically possible. The paradox states that if a being can perform any action, then it should be able to create a task it is unable to perform, and hence, it cannot perform all actions. Yet, on the other hand, if it cannot create a task it is unable to perform, then there exists something it cannot do."
As long as one remains a mental speculator one will continue to be vexed by this paradox. But when one awakens to the transcendental self-realization plane the paradox evaporates. The answer is that there is an omnipotent entity who can do absolutely anything, even if it is logically impossible. What is the proof? Lord Sri Krishna has demonstrated such omnipotency in His transcendental pastimes. For example, being all-powerful there is no one that can bring Him under their control. But yet we see that Mother Yasoda was able to bring Him completely under her control when she bound Him with ropes.
Your second question is also puzzling to the mental speculators. How can one truly have free will if God knows what he is going to do? In this connection one need only become aware that from the absolute perspective there is no such thing as past, present, or future. In other words, there is nothing you can do that you have not already done. Your free will is to decide whether you want to remain in the realm of relativity as a slave of birth, death, old age, and disease, or whether you want to be a liberated soul relishing an eternal life, full of bliss, and knowledge in the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually even though you are not aware of it, you are already in that transcendental existence. Now you simply must awaken from the dream of relativity and fully realize who you are and where you are by fully surrendering yourself to the Lord.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Departure Kirtan--Riga, Latvia--May 3, 2011
Answers According to the Vedic Version:
Question: Can God Create a Rock He Cannot Lift?
I have been asked two questions:1.Can God create a rock that He can't lift? If God can't do this, then He isn't omnipotent, and if He can, then He still isn't omnipotent, because then there is something, that He can't do - i.e. lift the rock.
2.God is supposed to be omniscient (all-knowing), and humans supposedly have a free will. But how can humans have a free will, if God in advance knows what is going to happen? There can be no choice in any meaningful sense of the word, if there is only one possible outcome to each and every situation (that is the outcome that God has foreseen). When in the Srimad Bhagavatam He says that in the age of kali (Kali yuga) lots of bad thing are bound to happen how do we possess free will?
A.M.
Answer: Yes, and Then He Can Lift It
The first question you have raised is one of the questions that is often used to express a classical issue known in philosophy as the omnipotence paradox. This paradox has vexed philosophers for many centuries.Wikipedia has defined it as follows:
"The omnipotence paradox is a family of related paradoxes addressing the question of whether the existence of an omnipotent entity is logically possible. The paradox states that if a being can perform any action, then it should be able to create a task it is unable to perform, and hence, it cannot perform all actions. Yet, on the other hand, if it cannot create a task it is unable to perform, then there exists something it cannot do."
As long as one remains a mental speculator one will continue to be vexed by this paradox. But when one awakens to the transcendental self-realization plane the paradox evaporates. The answer is that there is an omnipotent entity who can do absolutely anything, even if it is logically impossible. What is the proof? Lord Sri Krishna has demonstrated such omnipotency in His transcendental pastimes. For example, being all-powerful there is no one that can bring Him under their control. But yet we see that Mother Yasoda was able to bring Him completely under her control when she bound Him with ropes.
Your second question is also puzzling to the mental speculators. How can one truly have free will if God knows what he is going to do? In this connection one need only become aware that from the absolute perspective there is no such thing as past, present, or future. In other words, there is nothing you can do that you have not already done. Your free will is to decide whether you want to remain in the realm of relativity as a slave of birth, death, old age, and disease, or whether you want to be a liberated soul relishing an eternal life, full of bliss, and knowledge in the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually even though you are not aware of it, you are already in that transcendental existence. Now you simply must awaken from the dream of relativity and fully realize who you are and where you are by fully surrendering yourself to the Lord.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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