Can a Saint Be Equal to God? The Scriptures Explain
Doha explanation - bhakta saba karma divya goviṃda rādhe। kintu hari janma karma divya batā de॥
(All actions of saints are divine, but God's birth and actions are both divine.)
Is there a difference between a devotee and God? - Narad Ji says, no, there is none - tasmiṃstajjane bhedābhāvāt.
eṣa vai bhagavān sākṣāt, gurureva paraṃ brahma, gurureva hari: sākṣāt, yasya sākṣāt bhagavati - all these verses from Bhagavatam and mantras from the Vedas declare that there is no difference between God and His devotee.
However, Shri Maharaj ji explains that there are these subtle differences between a devotee and God -
- jagadvyāpāravarjam - Creation is done only by God. Manifesting the world, permeating it, governing it, and merging it back into Him during dissolution - God does these himself, not a Saint.
- God's birth as well as His actions are always divine (janma karma ca me divyaṃ).
But devotees (saints) are of two types:
i) Some saints incarnate from Golok at their own will for the welfare of living beings. They are not born under the bondage of karma. The birth of such saints is also divine. Some examples include the Gopis of Madhurya Bhaav and the saints of Sakhya Bhaav, who are eternal associates of God in Golok.
ii) But the one who attains God after taking birth in the world - such a saint's birth is not divine, because before becoming a saint, he was under the influence of Maya. He was compelled to enter the womb of a mother in the world due to the bondage of previous karma. After God-realization, his actions became divine. - The body of God is God Himself, but the body of the devotee is separate from the devotee. There is no difference between God and His body - God Himself becomes the body. In other words, there is no soul-body differentiation in God. But though the devotee's body is divine, his body is separate, and the devotee is seated within in the form of the soul.
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