Active & Inactive God

Whether God is active or Inactive? To get the answer for it, here below are views of the great saint of West Bengal, Sri Ramakrishna.

As per Sri Ramakrishna : "When I think of the Supreme Being as Inactive - neither creating nor preserving nor destroying - I call Him Brahman or Purusha . When I think of Him as Active - creating, preserving, and destroying - I call Him Sakti or Maya or Prakriti, the Personal God.

To Ramakrishna Maya itself was God - everything was God - [Maya] was one of the faces of [the Godhead].

As per Ramakrishna: Maya can not be distinguished from the supreme [Godhead].

So when there is no creation or no universe in existence then God is there in dormant, Inactive state. But when God does the creation, He takes the form of Active Maya - creating, preserving, and destroying this Universe. About the creation, Bhagwat Gita says:

"mama yonir mahad brahma
tasmin garbham dadhamy aham
sambhavah sarva-bhutanam
tato bhavati bharata" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 3)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, My womb is the great Nature (Prakriti or MAYA) which is the source of birth of all living entities, and it is in that I place the germ (embryo of life). Thus it makes possible the births of all living beings."

"sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 4)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, It should be understood that all species of life, are made possible by birth in this material nature (Prakriti or MAYA), and that I am the seed-giving father."

"prakrityaiva cha karmani
kriyamanani sarvasah
yah pasyati tathatmanam
akartaram sa pasyati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Thirteen verse 30)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, One who can see that all activities are performed by the nature (Maya) alone and sees that the Self (soul) does nothing & is Passive, actually sees." (The Self is the silent witness).

So Maya is the Active expression of God & is perceived as a mysterious and majestic expression of Divinity. It is Maya only which does creation, preservation, and destruction of this Universe, While Supersoul or God is the Passive entity which though is there within & beyond this creation of Maya but still is Inactive & is a witness to the game of Maya.

Jai Sri Krishna