Question:IfGodisindeedapersonwithformandpersonality,thenwhydothe Vedictextsdescribehimwithwordslikearupam(formless)? Answer: These words generally occur in a context that also contains some words that describe God as having a form. Consider the following verse from theShvetashvataraUpanishad(3.19) apanipadojavanograhita pashyatyacakshuhsashrinotyakarnah savettivedyamnacatasyastivetta tamahuragryampurushammahantam Thisversecontainsapparentcontradictions:pashyatyacaksuh"Godhasnoeyes, but He sees." How is this contradiction to be reconciled? If we neglect the part aboutGod'spersonalaspect,wearenotbeingfaithfultothescriptures. TheVedictraditioncontainsaspecialpramana(methodofacquiringknowledge)calledarthapatti (postulation)thatisusedforthispurpose.Considertwoapparentlycontradictorystatements: 1. Ravidoesnoteatfoodduringtheday The arthapatti to reconcile these two statementswouldbe:Ravieatsinthenight. 2. Raviisgrowingfat Similarly,thearthapattitoreconcilethestatementsaboutGod'shavingand nothavingaformis:Godhasaformthisisspiritual,notmaterial.Usingsuch an arthapatti implicitly, Srila Prabhupada, the founderacharya of ISKCON, translatestheaboveverseas:"TheSupremeLordhasnomaterialhandsand feet, but accepts whatever is offered to Him and moves very quickly. The Supreme Person has no material ears and eyes but sees and hears everything.Heistheknowerofeverything,andHeisallthatistobeknown. ItissaidthatHeisthebestandthegreatestofallpersons." Question:Butwhydoscriptureshavecontradictionsliketheseatall? Answer: The word "body" has several connotations that do not apply to the Lord.Abodyisthatwhich: 1. Isseparatefromtherealperson,thesoul 2. Isaproductofthepastkarmaofthesoul 3. Tendstodegradethesoul 4. Hastobegivenupinduecourseoftime NoneoftheseapplytheLord,whosebodyisthesameasHimself,whohasnokarmicpast,whois neverdegraded,andwhoseformiseternal. BecausewetendtodragourmaterialconceptionsonGod,thescripturessometimesusenegative words like arupa to emphasize that God's form is not like ours. Only when we recognize the eternalityofGod'sallattractiveformandfallinlovewiththatformcanwebecomefreefromthe infatuationwiththetemporarilygoodlookingformsofthisword. Z Published by VOICE (Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture and Education) ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Pune, India