es were created, and we will continue to exist when these bodies are annihilated. However, our business involves these little bodies, and Krsna's business involves the whole universe. That is the difference. So this conception of "I" is present in God as well as in the living entity. What is so new about all this?
Hayagriva dasa: Descartes considers God a substance that is infinite, immutable, independent, all-knowing, and all-powerful. He is the creator of all things. Descartes writes: "Perhaps all those perfections which I am attributing to God are in some fashion potentially in me, although they do not show themselves, or issue an action."
Srila Prabhupada: I have often explained that the qualities that are infinitely present in God are finitely present in the living entities. For instance, the creative force is also within us, and we can create an airplane that can fly. However, we cannot create another planet that can float in space. Although we may be able to create so many wonderful devices, we are still finite. The creative power is present both in God and in the living entities because the living entities are part and parcel of God. God's knowledge is total, and our knowledge lies only within our limited sphere. God knows everything, and we know some things. The difference was pointed out by Krsna in Bhagavad-gita:
bhavisyani ca bhutani
mam tu veda na kascana
"O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities, but Me no one knows." (Bg. 7.26)
Syamasundara dasa: Descartes worked with a four-part methodology which is now called Cartesian methodology. First of all, one is never to accept anything as true which is not known truly and distinctly to be true.
Srila Prabhupada: Of course it is commendable not to accept anything blindly, but if you do not have the intelligence to understand, you have to consult one who is intelligent.
Syamasundara dasa: He felt that the truth must be as clear and distinct as mathematical proof.
Srila Prabhupada: That is good provided one is a mathematician, but if one is a plowman, what can he understand about mathematics?
Syamasundara dasa: According to Descartes, it was up to those who could understand mathematics to chalk out the truth and pass it on to those less intelligent.
Srila Prabhupada: In other words, higher truth cannot be understood by everyone. We have to accept the truth from authorities. Therefore we take the Vedas as truth. Sruti-pramanam. When the Vedas give evidence, we accept it whether we understand it or not.
Syamasundara dasa: The second part of his methodology involved dividing the complex into simpler and simpler parts in order to arrive at a solution. In this way, the whole will be proved.
Srila Prabhupada: But one must be expert in analysis. If I give you a typewriter to fix, and you know nothing about the machine, you will open it up, see all the parts, and not know how to adjust it. It is easy to open the machine up, but it is very difficult to adjust it.
Syamasundara dasa: The third part involved arranging ideas from the simplest to the more complex according to the sequence of events.
Srila Prabhupada: First of all, we must understand that we are spirit soul. That is the first step in our process. We must first understand ourselves and how we are existing despite these changes of bodies. We have to study ourselves as masters of our bodies. Then we can conclude that for the universal body there is another source. That is the Supersoul, or God. Just as my body is existing due to my presence, the gigantic virat body exists due to the presence of the Supersoul. Everything in the universe is constantly looking fresh and new; therefore there must be a large soul maintaining it. This is confirmed by the Vedas: andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham (Brahma-samhita 5.35). God is all-pervasive as Brahman, and He is also within the smallest atom. By His plenary expansion, God pervades the entire universe. Accordi