Impartial Or Partial?

As kind as God is even to the demons, He is kinder still to the devotees. Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Maharaja, the spiritual master of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, states in his Brahma-samhita commentary: "It is a great wonder that Krsna, being impartial, is fully partial to His devotees." Krsna Himself hints at this seeming contradiction when He says in the Gita (9.29), "No one is envied by Me, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. Yet whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am a friend to Him." The presence of simultaneously contradictory qualities in Krsna is a further feature of His completeness, for how could God be God if He did not have all qualities and if He could not bewilder our limited brains with His inconceivable greatness. But God is so kind that He has provided a self-realized spiritual master who can impart knowledge of this great science of Krsna to our conditioned souls so that we may penetrate a little into the mystery of Krsna.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada directs us back to Chapter Four, Verse 11, of the Gita, to understand this seeming contradiction: "All men, as they surrender unto Me, I reward accordingly." In other words, as the demon is busy ignoring Krsna, Krsna similarly ignores the demon; and as the devotee is actively trying to care for the interests of Krsna in devotional service to the Lord, the Supreme Lord Himself takes special care of His devotee. This reciprocation is natural. In the material world a man may be very charitably disposed toward all living entities, yet it is expected that he will take a special interest in his own children. Similarly the Supreme Lord, while kindly disposed toward all His parts and parcels, reciprocates in love with His devotees, who are engaged cent percent in His transcendental loving service.