Does God Have Form?

Some philosophers, who are known as impersonalists, say that God has no form and no personality. While giving a lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.18–19 on June 22, 1969 in New Vrindavan, West Virginia, USA Srila Prabhupada wonderfully explained the fallacy of impersonal philosophy. Here is an excerpt from that lecture:

The impersonalists' view is that if everything is Kṛṣṇa... That is the... That is their material way of thinking. Just like if you take a big paper and, I mean to say, cut into pieces, and the pieces are distributed, strewn over, then the original paper is lost. So their theory is, "If Kṛṣṇa is everything—Kṛṣṇa has expanded in this world, in cosmic manifestation—then Kṛṣṇa has no form, separate form." That is their theory.

But the Vedic injunction is: "No. It is not like that." Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate [Īśo Invocation]
[The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.]

Kṛṣṇa is so full that even Kṛṣṇa expands million times, still, He's the same thing, Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is person. And even He expands, Kṛṣṇa, in many ways... Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate [Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8]. This is the fine philosophy. One has to understand how Kṛṣṇa, in spite of His being a person—He's person, without any doubt—He has expanded in so many universes, so many manifestations. Yes.

So I was... While this morning I was walking, I was talking with Devānanda that how Kṛṣṇa expands. It is commonsense affair. Just like a small seed in a fruit—that seed you sow, it becomes a big tree. And from that big tree, again millions of fruits come out. And again from that, each fruit, there are millions of trees. We can see the potencies. Even in our material existence we see so much potencies in everything.

Why not Kṛṣṇa's potencies? We see the sunshine, the potency of the sun. The sunshine is spread all over, and everything is existing on the sunshine. Even the sunshine has got the so much potency. That we can experience. And how much potential is Kṛṣṇa, who is the creator of the sun also. Yac cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥ [Bs. 5.52]. [The sun who is the king of all the planets, full of infinite effulgence, the image of the good soul, is as the eye of this world. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda in pursuance of whose order the sun performs his journey mounting the wheel of time.]

So we have to study like that everything. Everything is Kṛṣṇa's expansion. Just like the fire: fire is situated in one place, but here... Just like here there is a fireplace. But if there is fire, the heat will be experienced up, up, upstair, and here and that other side. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa, although He's person, He's situated... Goloka eva nivasati. He's enjoying there in Goloka Vṛndāvana. By His energy, He is expanded. This is simple truth. Anyone, any man with common sense, he can experience.

__end of quote__

The conclusion is that even though Krishna has expanded Himself as everything He has not lost His original form. His expanding Himself unlimitedly has not in any way put a limit on Him because He is omnipotent. In other words, He has unlimited potencies.

God Is a Person Named Krishna With a Beautiful Form

God Is a Person Named Krishna With a Beautiful Form

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Answers According to Vedic Wisdom

Question: Is God Formless?

Our obeisances to you.

Is my understanding correct if I say that God has no form?

Chandar

Answer: God is Unlimited

From: ISKCON Austin, Texas USA

My Dear Chandar,

Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

No. God does have a form. To say that He does not have a form is putting a limit on Him. Since God is unlimited it is wrong to try to put a limit on Him.

I hope this meets you in the best of health and in an ecstatic mood.
Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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