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Beyond Logic To LoveBeyond Logic To LoveBeyond Logic To LoveBeyond Logic To Love

Question: Arent the two defining attributes of God omnipotence and omniscience

self contradictory? If God can do anything, then he can change the future. But if he

can change the future, then how can he be said to know the future? So doesnt this

mean that God can either be omnipotent or omniscient but not both?

Questions like these arise when we approach God only with our head and not our heart. We then

mistake God to be a static, unconscious object and his attributes to be like the length, breadth,

height, mass etc of that object. But God is not an object; he is a conscious, loving person. Over and

above his omnipotence and omniscience, God has an even more fundamental defining attribute:

omni-benevolence. Omni-benevolence means that God is the supreme well-wisher and benefactor

of all living beings, as is proclaimed in the Bhagavad-gita (5.29). God does not delight in displaying

his omnipotence or omniscience; he delights in reciprocating love with those who love him and

extending his love to those who dont love him. So according to how he can best benefit us, he

sometimes exhibits his omnipotence, sometimes his omniscience, sometimes both and sometimes

neither. Consider the Mahabharata incident when Lord Krishna went

as a peace messenger to the evil-minded Duryodhana to avoid the

fratricidal war. Seen superficially, Krishna failed in his mission; he

couldnt persuade Duryodhana. Was Krishna not omnipotent? He

was, but he did not exercise his omnipotence because he respected

the free will of Duryodhana. Was Krishna not omniscient to know in

advance that Duryodhana would not accept his peace proposal? He was, but he did not exercise

his omniscience. Why? Firstly, because he wanted to express his love for the Pandavas by

accepting the undistinguished role of a messenger for their sake. Secondly, because he wanted to

show his loving concern for all not only the innocent masses who would suffer the effects of the

war, but also the malevolent miscreants who had

incited the war by doing all he could to avoid the

war. On other occasions in the same Mahabharata,

Krishna exhibited his omniscience in protecting the

Pandavas from the empowered arrows of Bhishma,

his omnipotence in foiling Duryodhanas attempt to

arrest him by displaying his universal form, and

both his omnipotence and omniscience in helping Arjuna to avenge the

unjust murder of his son. Love is what motivates the Lord to form

these often-puzzling activities, and love is what enables us to figure out

the puzzles. So lets remember, if we want to understand the Lord, we

need to subordinate our logic to our love.