Prabhupada defeating impersonalists

Srila Prabhupad gives a simple, vivid example to illustrate the absurdity of the Impersonalist desire to merge with the Supreme. This example could also be used while preaching to them as atleast a few of them may consider rethinking their goals after hearing this example….

“Now, I can give you another crude example that a, that a, from the mother... Suppose a few children, half a dozen children, has come. Now, what is the intention of the mother? The mother or the father... Mother or father, same thing—who has taken the responsibility of the children. They, they want to be happy. Otherwise, why people are taking so much trouble, whole day, for, I mean, maintaining their children? There is some happiness. Nobody wants to take so much trouble, but at home, because there is some happiness by seeing the children, by maintaining the children, by..., therefore he takes so much trouble. Now, at the same time, the children has also some troubles of life. Now, if one of the children requests the mother, "Mother, you have given birth to me, and... But I find my life very troublesome. Better you again put me in your belly." (laughs) Is it a good proposal? It is not at all a good proposal. This is a disappointment. "Oh," the mother says, "où, my dear son, you are in trouble. Therefore you want to come again into my belly? You want to merge into my existence again?" Well, the mother is unable. He cannot, she cannot do that. But if, if such kind of request is made to the Supreme Lord, He can accept that. For Him it is not possible, impossible. "All right, you want to merge into My existence? Come on. Come on. I, I, I take you." But the thing is whether the son who requests the mother or the father like that, he is sane person. The sane son, the intelligent son, will think, "Well, my father and my mother, they have brought up me. They have begotten me. They have given us our life. All right, let us serve our parents. Let them be happy. Our activities so that..." That is the natural way. That is the natural………

säyujya-mukti... That is not very difficult. But the thing is whether we should think like that, whether it is good for us. ……..

So that merging into the existence of God. There is a liberation like that. But that is not the ultimate.

On the contrary the devotee knows that, …."God has created me as an individual being, so He has got some purpose. And because He has created me for some purpose, I must fulfill that purpose. I must fulfill that purpose."

( Lec, BG 2.12, New York, March 9, 1966 )

Exposing and defeating the Impersonalists was one of Prabhupad’s pet preaching activities. Elsewhere he has commented on how this philosophy had already spread and done a lot of damage in India by spreading negativism. He said they have no proper information so they keep on negating and nullifying…