God's Transcendental Legs
A common point of confusion in understanding the Absolute Truth is the Vedic description that God has no hands or legs. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that this statement is meant to deny that God has material hands or legs, which are limited and subject to the laws of nature. It does not mean He is formless. On the contrary, the Supreme Lord possesses transcendental legs that are fully spiritual and capable of unlimited activities.
Refuting the Impersonal Conception
Impersonal philosophers often cite Vedic mantras to argue that God is formless. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda points out the inherent contradiction in their argument: if God has no legs, how can He walk faster than anyone? The answer lies in the nature of His form. The Bible states that man is made in the image of God. If we are reflections of the Supreme, and we possess two hands and two legs, then the Original Person must also possess a form with hands and legs. To deny the Lord's limbs is considered an offense.
- In the sruti-mantras it is also said that although the Lord has no hands and legs like ours, He has a different type of hands and legs, by which He can accept all that we offer Him and run faster than anyone.
- Unless God has got form, two hands, two legs, like that, how man has got two hands, two legs? If we are imitation of God, then God must be person. This is natural conclusion.
- Because they are constantly blaspheming the Supreme Personality of Godhead by saying that He has no head, hands or legs, Mayavadi philosophers remain offenders for many, many births, even though they have partially realized Brahman.
Omnipotence of the Lord's Limbs
The legs of the Supreme Lord are not like ordinary limbs that perform only one function. The Brahma-saṁhitā explains that each of His limbs possesses the full potency of all the other senses (aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti). This means the Lord can see with His hands, eat with His eyes, or even see with His legs. His spiritual body is absolute, and there is no difference between one part and another.
- In the Brahma-samhita it is said that the Lord has a transcendental form and that He can utilize any one of His senses for any purpose. For example, He can eat with His eyes, and He can see with His leg.
- He (God) can see with His hands and legs. He does not need a particular bodily part to perform a particular action. Angani yasya sakalendriya-vrttimanti (SU): He can do anything He desires with any part of His body, and therefore He is called almighty.
- You pour water on the leg of the tree, it becomes very luxuriant, healthy. So different. And so far God is concerned, He can eat with legs; He can see with hands; He can eat with eyes. That is God.
The Universal Form and Social Order
In the virāṭ-rūpa, or universal form of the Lord, different parts of the cosmos and human society are represented by His limbs. The śūdras, or laborer class, are said to be born from His legs. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that this does not make them inferior; just as the legs are essential for the body's movement and support, the śūdras are essential for the social body. Service itself is said to be generated from the legs of the Lord.
- The brahmanas represent the Lord's mouth, the ksatriyas His arms, the vaisyas His abdomen (belly, waist, thighs), and the sudras are born of His legs.
- Service was manifested from the legs of the Personality of Godhead for the sake of perfecting the religious function. Situated on the legs are the sudras, who satisfy the Lord by service.
- There is no need to serve the demigods, who are just like the hands and legs of the Supreme Lord. When the Supreme Lord is served, the hands and legs of the Supreme Lord are automatically served. There is no need of separate service.
Meditation and Service
Devotees are advised to meditate on the form of the Lord, beginning from His lotus feet and gradually moving up to His smiling face. The legs of the Lord are objects of constant service in the spiritual world; the Goddess of Fortune, Lakṣmī, is always engaged in massaging His legs and ankles. This service attitude is the perfection of spiritual life.
- A yogi is advised to meditate on the form of Lord Visnu from point to point, from ankles to legs to knees to thighs to chest to neck, and in this way gradually up to the face and then to the ornaments. There is no question of impersonal meditation.
- Goddess of fortune, Laksmi, who engages in massaging the legs, ankles and thighs of the Lord, is called the mother of Brahma, but actually Brahma is born from the abdomen of the Lord, not from the abdomen of his mother.
- One should take the remnants of the Lord’s food. (59) One should sit before the Lord and think that he is massaging the Lord’s legs. (60) One should decorate the Lord’s bed with flowers before the Lord takes His rest.
Conclusion
God is not a floating abstraction; He is the Supreme Person with a transcendental form. His legs can traverse the entire universe in a single step, as seen in the Vāmana incarnation, and yet He can sit within the heart of every living being. Śrīla Prabhupāda says that by understanding the spiritual nature of God's legs, we can overcome the impersonal misconception and engage in direct, personal service to the Lord.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category God's Legs. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.