Personalism vs Impersonalism - Conclusion

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Impersonalists think the highest conception of God is an all-

pervading impersonal spirit and that our spiritual perfection is to

merge into this one spirit after death. They compare this to bubbles

of ocean water merging into the ocean. They think that if God had a

form, it would limit Him, as our bodies limit us.

 

Personalists say that the highest conception of God is a supreme

person, with an eternal spiritual body and with whom we can have

loving exchanges in our eternal spiritual body in the spiritual

world.

 

 

Both claim their view is supported by scriptural evidence, but in

India's most famous scripture, Bhagavad-gita, Krishna says that the

impersonal manifestation of God is subordinate to His personal form

(Bg. 14.27). Krishna also says that He Himself is " the source of all

spiritual and material worlds, " and " everything emanates from Me "

(Bg. 10.8), not the impersonal spirit. He also declares, " There is

no truth superior to Me. " (Bg. 7.7)

 

 

In Chapter 12, Arjuna asks which is best, worship of Him or worship

of the impersonal, unmanifest form of the supreme. Krishna replies

that worship of His personal form is best. Worship of the unmanifest

is fruitful only after much difficulty, He says, and in the end it

brings one to worship of the Supreme Person. In addition Krishna

says that He considers less intelligent those who think He was

unmanifest before and assumed the personality of Krishna (Bg. 7.24).

 

So even though both impersonal and personal aspects of God exist and

are transcendental to this material world, Krishna, the authority,

recommends worship of His personal form, the source of the all-

pervading, impersonal spirit, which is merely the effulgence of His

body.

 

So it is always better to worship KRISHNA, who has the most

beautiful, the strongest, the most mystically perfect spiritual

form, than to worship any other demigod or divine form, although,

Krishna will strengthen your faith in the chosen demigod forms if

you worship demigods.

 

Also in Chapter 12, Sri Krishna says that " better than knowledge is

meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits

of action. " Bhakti (devotional service)therefore is on the platform

of Viragya, where the Bhakta has renounced the desire to get the

result, and simply surrendered to KRISHNA, unconditionally. Such a

surrender to LORD SRI KRISHNA is the highest form of worship.

 

So if we have made KRISHNA the supreme goal, even if we get to see

other spiritual forms we will not be interested as our mind will be

fixed always on KRISHNA. Thus having fixed the mind on KRISHNA one

is not moved by any mayavadi philosophy, and remains in the service

of KRISHNA.