Transcendental form (CC)

Expressions researched:
"transcendental eternal form" |"transcendental form" |"transcendental forms" |"transcendental name, form" |"transcendental personal form" |"transcendental sound form" |"transcendental, eternal form"

CC Preface and Introduction

CC Preface:

Lord Caitanya's teachings are identical to those given by Lord Kapila, the original propounder of sāṅkhya-yoga, the sāṅkhya system of philosophy. This authorized system of yoga teaches meditation on the transcendental form of the Lord. There is no question of meditating on something void or impersonal. When one can meditate on the transcendental form of Lord Viṣṇu even without practicing involved sitting postures, such meditation is called perfect samādhi. That this kind of meditation is perfect samādhi is confirmed at the end of the Sixth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, where Lord Kṛṣṇa says that of all yogīs, the greatest is the one who constantly thinks of the Lord within the core of his heart with love and devotion.

CC Preface:

On the basis of the sāṅkhya philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, which maintains that the Supreme Lord is simultaneously one with and different from His creation, Lord Caitanya taught that the most practical way for the mass of people to practice sānkhya-yoga meditation is simply to chant the holy name of the Lord. He taught that the holy name of the Lord is the sound incarnation of the Lord and that since the Lord is the absolute whole, there is no difference between His holy name and His transcendental form. Thus by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can directly associate with the Supreme Lord by sound vibration. As one practices chanting this sound vibration, one passes through three stages of development: the offensive stage, the clearing stage and the transcendental stage. In the offensive stage of chanting one may desire all kinds of material happiness, but in the second stage one becomes clear of all material contamination. When one is situated on the transcendental stage, one attains the most coveted position—the stage of loving God. Lord Caitanya taught that this is the highest stage of perfection for human beings.

CC Preface:

Yoga practice is essentially meant for controlling the senses. The central controlling factor of all the senses is the mind; therefore one first has to practice controlling the mind by engaging it in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The gross activities of the mind are expressed through the external senses, either for the acquisition of knowledge or for the functioning of the senses in accordance with the will. The subtle activities of the mind are thinking, feeling and willing, which are carried out according to one's consciousness, either polluted or clear. If one's mind is fixed on Kṛṣṇa (His name, qualities, form, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia), all one's activities—both subtle and gross—become favorable. The Bhagavad-gītā’s process of purifying consciousness is the process of fixing one's mind on Kṛṣṇa by talking of His transcendental activities, cleansing His temple, going to His temple, seeing the beautiful transcendental form of the Lord nicely decorated, hearing His transcendental glories, tasting food offered to Him, associating with His devotees, smelling the flowers and tulasī leaves offered to Him, engaging in activities for the Lord's interest, becoming angry at those who are malicious toward devotees, etc. No one can bring the activities of the mind and senses to a stop, but one can purify these activities through a change in consciousness.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 1.53, Purport:

Aham means "I"; therefore the speaker who is saying aham, "I," must have His own personality. The Māyāvādī philosophers interpret this word aham as referring to the impersonal Brahman. The Māyāvādīs are very proud of their grammatical knowledge, but any person who has actual knowledge of grammar can understand that aham means "I" and that "I" refers to a personality. Therefore the Personality of Godhead, speaking to Brahmā, uses aham while describing His own transcendental form. Aham has a specific meaning; it is not a vague term that can be whimsically interpreted. Aham, when spoken by Kṛṣṇa, refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and nothing else.

CC Adi 2.14, Translation:

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes.

CC Adi 2.21, Purport:

Just as the one sun is the object of vision of many different persons, so the one partial representation of Lord Kṛṣṇa who lives in the heart of every living entity as the Paramātmā is a variously perceived object. One who comes intimately in touch with Lord Kṛṣṇa by engaging in His eternal service sees the Supersoul as the localized partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhīṣma knew the Supersoul to be a partial expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, whom he understood to be the supreme, unborn transcendental form.

CC Adi 2.25, Purport:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has His eternal form, which cannot be seen by material eyes or mental speculation. Only by transcendental devotional service can one understand the transcendental form of the Lord. The comparison is made here to the qualifications for viewing the personal features of the sun-god. The sun-god is a person who, although not visible to our eyes, is seen from the higher planets by the demigods, whose eyes are suitable for seeing through the glaring sunshine that surrounds him. Every planet has its own atmosphere according to the influence of the arrangement of material nature. It is therefore necessary to have a particular type of bodily construction to reach a particular planet. The inhabitants of earth may be able to reach the moon, but the inhabitants of heaven can reach even the fiery sphere called the sun. What is impossible for man on earth is easy for the demigods in heaven because of their different bodies. Similarly, to see the Supreme Lord one must have the spiritual eyes of devotional service. The Personality of Godhead is unapproachable by those who are habituated to speculation about the Absolute Truth in terms of experimental scientific thought, without reference to the transcendental vibration. The ascending approach to the Absolute Truth ends in the realization of impersonal Brahman and the localized Paramātmā but not the Supreme Transcendental Personality.

CC Adi 3.111, Purport:

This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.9.11) is a prayer by Lord Brahmā to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa for His blessings in the work of creation. Knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood from the descriptions of the Vedic scriptures. For example, the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29) describes that in the abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is made of cintāmaṇi (touchstone), the Lord, acting as a cowherd boy, is served by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. Māyāvādīs think that the devotees have imagined the form of Kṛṣṇa, but the authentic Vedic scriptures have actually described Kṛṣṇa and His various transcendental forms.

CC Adi 4.31, Purport:

The spontaneous attraction of Śrī Kṛṣṇa for His dearest parts and parcels generates an enthusiasm that obliges Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs to meet together. To celebrate this transcendental enthusiasm, there is need of a sentiment of separation between the lover and beloved. In the condition of material tribulation, no one wants the pangs of separation. But in the transcendental form, the very same separation, being absolute in its nature, strengthens the ties of love and enhances the desire of the lover and beloved to meet. The period of separation, evaluated transcendentally, is more relishable than the actual meeting, which lacks the feelings of increasing anticipation because the lover and beloved are both present.

CC Adi 4.34, Purport:

This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.36). The Supreme Personality of Godhead has innumerable expansions of His transcendental form who eternally exist in the spiritual world. This material world is only a perverted reflection of the spiritual world, where everything is manifested without inebriety. There everything is in its original existence, free from the domination of time. Time cannot deteriorate or interfere with the conditions in the spiritual world, where different manifestations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are the recipients of the worship of different living entities in their constitutional spiritual positions. In the spiritual world all existence is unadulterated goodness. The goodness found in the material world is contaminated by the modes of passion and ignorance.

CC Adi 4.56, Purport:

The absolute Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the omnipotent form of transcendental existence, knowledge and bliss in full. His internal potency is exhibited first as sat, or existence—or, in other words, as the portion that expands the existence function of the Lord. When the same potency displays full knowledge it is called cit, or samvit, which expands the transcendental forms of the Lord. Finally, when the same potency plays as a pleasure-giving medium it is known as hlādinī, or the transcendental blissful potency. Thus the Lord manifests His internal potency in three transcendental divisions.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

Śaṅkarācārya says (sūtra 42) that devotees think the Supreme Personality of Godhead Vāsudeva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, to be one, to be free from material qualities and to have a transcendental body full of bliss and eternal existence. He is the ultimate goal of the devotees, who believe that the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself into four other eternal transcendental forms—Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. From Vāsudeva, who is the primary expansion, come Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha in that order. Another name of Vāsudeva is Paramātmā, another name of Saṅkarṣaṇa is jīva (the living entity), another name of Pradyumna is mind, and another name of Aniruddha is ahaṅkāra (false ego). Among these expansions, Vāsudeva is considered the origin of the material nature. Therefore Śaṅkarācārya says that Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha must be creations of that original cause.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

This is confirmed in the scripture known as Brahma-tarka, which states that the Supreme Lord Hari is qualified by Himself, and therefore Viṣṇu and His pure devotees and their transcendental qualities cannot be different from their persons. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped in the following words: "Let the Supreme Personality of Godhead be merciful toward us. His existence is never infected by material qualities." In the same Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is also said that all the qualities attributed to the Supreme Lord, such as knowledge, opulence, beauty, strength and influence, are known to be nondifferent from Him. This is also confirmed in the Padma Purāṇa, which explains that whenever the Supreme Lord is described as having no qualities, this should be understood to indicate that He is devoid of material qualities. In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.16.29) it is said, "O Dharma, protector of religious principles, all noble and sublime qualities are eternally manifested in the person of Kṛṣṇa, and devotees and transcendentalists who aspire to become faithful also desire to possess such transcendental qualities."” It is therefore to be understood that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the transcendental form of absolute bliss, is the fountainhead of all pleasurable transcendental qualities and inconceivable potencies.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

Worshiping the expansions for pastimes, such as Nṛsiṁha, Rāma, Śeṣa and Kūrma, promotes one to the worship of the Saṅkarṣaṇa quadruple. From that position one is raised to the platform of worshiping Vāsudeva, the Supreme Brahman. In the Pauṣkara-saṁhitā it is said, "If one fully worships according to the regulative principles, one can attain the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva." It is to be accepted that Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are as good as Lord Vāsudeva, for They all have inconceivable power and can accept transcendental forms like Vāsudeva. Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are never born, but They can manifest Themselves in various incarnations before the eyes of pure devotees. This is the conclusion of all Vedic literature. That the Lord can manifest Himself before His devotees by His inconceivable power is not against the teaching of the Pañcarātras. Since Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are, respectively, the predominating Deities of all living entities, the total mind and the total ego, the designation of Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha as "jīva," "mind" and "ego" is never contradictory to the statements of the scriptures. These terms identify these Deities, just as the terms "sky" and "light" sometimes identify the Absolute Brahman.

CC Adi 5.76, Purport:

The symptoms of the puruṣa are described in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta. While describing the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the author has quoted from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (6.8.59), where it is said, "Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Puruṣottama, Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is always free from the contamination of the six material dualities; whose plenary expansion, Mahā-Viṣṇu, glances over matter to create the cosmic manifestation; who expands Himself in various transcendental forms, all of which are one and the same; who is the master of all living entities; who is always free and liberated from the contamination of material energy; and who, when He appears in this material world, seems one of us, although He has an eternally spiritual, blissful, transcendental form." In summarizing this statement, Rūpa Gosvāmī has concluded that the plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who acts in cooperation with the material energy is called the puruṣa.

CC Adi 5.112, Purport:

"My dear Uddhava, you may know that My transcendental form of Viṣṇu in Śvetadvīpa is identical with Me in divinity. Anyone who places this Lord of Śvetadvīpa within his heart can surpass the pangs of the six material tribulations: hunger, thirst, birth, death, lamentation and illusion. Thus one can attain his original, transcendental form."

CC Adi 5.226, Purport:

The Padma Purāṇa specifically mentions that anyone who thinks the form of the Lord in the temple to be made of wood, stone or metal is certainly in a hellish condition. Impersonalists are against the worship of the Lord's form in the temple, and there is even a group of people who pass as Hindus but condemn such worship. Their so-called acceptance of the Vedas has no meaning, for all the ācāryas, even the impersonalist Śaṅkarācārya, have recommended the worship of the transcendental form of the Lord. Impersonalists like Śaṅkarācārya recommend the worship of five forms, known as pañcopāsanā, which include Lord Viṣṇu. Vaiṣṇavas, however, worship the forms of Lord Viṣṇu in His varied manifestations, such as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, Sītā-Rāma and Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa. Māyāvādīs admit that worship of the Lord's form is required in the beginning, but they think that in the end everything is impersonal. Therefore, since they are ultimately against worship of the Lord's form, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has described them as offenders.

CC Adi 7.41, Purport:

Actually, such men do not understand what is meant by Vedānta. In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham: "By all the Vedas I am to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas." Lord Kṛṣṇa is the actual compiler of Vedānta, and whatever He speaks is Vedānta philosophy. Although they are lacking the knowledge of Vedānta presented by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the transcendental form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Māyāvādīs are very proud of their study. Foreseeing the bad effects of their presenting Vedānta philosophy in a perverted way, Śrīla Vyāsadeva compiled Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as a commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is bhāṣyo ’yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇām; in other words, all the Vedānta philosophy in the aphorisms of the Brahma-sūtra is thoroughly described in the pages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Thus the factual propounder of Vedānta philosophy is a Kṛṣṇa conscious person who always engages in reading and understanding the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and teaching the purport of these books to the entire world. The Māyāvādīs are very proud of having monopolized the Vedānta philosophy, but devotees have their own commentaries on Vedānta such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and others written by the ācāryas. The commentary of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas is the Govinda-bhāṣya.

CC Adi 7.119, Purport:

"Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, by My spiritual potency I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form." Ātma-māyā refers to the spiritual potency. When Kṛṣṇa comes to this or any other universe, He does so with His spiritual potency. We take birth by the force of the material potency, but as stated here with reference to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, the kṣetra-jña, or living entity, belongs to the spiritual potency; thus when we free ourselves from the clutches of the material potency we can also enter the spiritual world.

CC Adi 7.140, Purport:

This verse, which is mentioned in the Īśopaniṣad, Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad and many other Upaniṣads, indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is full in six opulences. His position is unique, for He possesses all riches, strength, influence, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. Brahman means the greatest, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is greater than the greatest, just as the sun globe is greater than the sunshine, which is all-pervading in the universe. Although the sunshine that spreads all over the universes appears very great to the less knowledgeable, greater than the sunshine is the sun itself, and greater than the sun is the sun-god. Similarly, impersonal Brahman is not the greatest, although it appears to be so. Impersonal Brahman is only the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the transcendental form of the Lord is greater than both the impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā. Therefore whenever the word "Brahman" is used in the Vedic literature, it is understood to refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

CC Adi 8.24, Purport:

In this material world, the holy name of Viṣṇu is all-auspicious. Viṣṇu's name, form, qualities and pastimes are all transcendental, absolute knowledge. Therefore, if one tries to separate the Absolute Personality of Godhead from His holy name or His transcendental form, qualities and pastimes, thinking them to be material, that is offensive. Similarly, to think that the names of demigods such as Lord Śiva are as good as the name of Lord Viṣṇu—or, in other words, to think that Lord Śiva and the other demigods are other forms of God and are therefore equal to Viṣṇu—is also blasphemous. This is the second offense at the lotus feet of the holy name of theLord.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 1.35, Purport:

In the fourth vilāsa are descriptions of saṁskāra, the reformatory method; tilaka, the application of twelve tilakas on twelve places of the body; mudrā, marks on the body; mālā, chanting with beads; and guru-pūjā, worship of the spiritual master. In the fifth vilāsa, one is instructed on how to make a place to sit for meditation, and there are descriptions of breathing exercises, meditation and worship of the śālagrāma-śilā representation of Lord Viṣṇu. In the sixth vilāsa, the required practices for inviting the transcendental form of the Lord and bathing Him are given. In the seventh vilāsa, one is instructed on how to collect flowers used for the worship of Lord Viṣṇu. In the eighth vilāsa, there is a description of the Deity and instructions on how to set up incense, light lamps, make offerings, dance, play music, beat drums, garland the Deity, offer prayers and obeisances and counteract offenses. In the ninth vilāsa, there are descriptions about collecting tulasī leaves, offering oblations to forefathers according to Vaiṣṇava rituals, and offering food.

CC Madhya 2.28, Translation:

"My dear friends, unless I serve the transcendental form, qualities and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, all My days and all My senses will become entirely useless. Now I am uselessly bearing the burden of My senses, which are like stone blocks and dried wood. I do not know how long I will be able to continue without shame."

CC Madhya 2.36, Translation:

"If by chance the transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa comes before My path of vision, My heart, injured from being beaten, will be stolen away by Cupid, happiness personified. Because I could not see the beautiful form of Kṛṣṇa to My heart"s content, when I again see His form I shall decorate the phases of time with many jewels.’

CC Madhya 5.159, Purport:

There are four points of instruction one should consider in the story of Sākṣi-gopāla. First, the Deity (arcā-vigraha) of Śrī Gopāla is eternally sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), the transcendental form of the Lord. Second, the Deity surpasses material regulative principles and extends the reality of transcendental principles. Third, one can be situated in a transcendental position after becoming a brāhmaṇa, but as a brāhmaṇa, one has to follow the regulative principles very strictly. Lastly, brahmaṇya-deva indicates Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, who is worshiped thus: namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca/ jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya govindāya namo namaḥ. This indicates that a devotee who is under the protection of Kṛṣṇa is automatically situated as a brāhmaṇa, and such a brāhmaṇa is not illusioned. This is factual.

CC Madhya 6.152, Translation:

Are you describing as formless that Supreme Personality of Godhead whose transcendental form is complete with six transcendental opulences?

CC Madhya 6.166, Translation:

The transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is complete in eternity, cognizance and bliss. However, you describe this transcendental form as a product of material goodness.

CC Madhya 6.167, Translation:

One who does not accept the transcendental form of the Lord is certainly an agnostic. Such a person should be neither seen nor touched. Indeed, he is subject to be punished by Yamarāja.

CC Madhya 6.167, Purport:

According to the Vedic instructions, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has His eternal, transcendental form, which is always blissful and full of knowledge. Impersonalists think that "material" refers to the forms within our experience and that "spiritual" refers to an absence of form. However, one should know that beyond this material nature is another nature, which is spiritual. Just as there are material forms in this material world, there are spiritual forms in the spiritual world. This is confirmed by all Vedic literature. The spiritual forms in the transcendental world have nothing to do with the negative conception of formlessness. The conclusion is that a person is an agnostic when he does not agree to worship the transcendental form of the Lord.

Actually, at the present moment all systems of religion deny the worship of the form of the Lord due to ignorance of His transcendental form. The first-class materialists (the Māyāvādīs) imagine five specific forms of the Lord, but when they try to equate the worship of such imaginary forms with bhakti, they are immediately condemned. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.15), where He says, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. Bereft of real knowledge due to agnosticism, the Māyāvādī philosophers should not even be seen by the devotees of the Lord, nor touched, because those philosophers are liable to be punished by Yamarāja, the superintendent demigod who judges the activities of sinful men. The Māyāvādī agnostics wander within this universe in different species of life due to their nondevotional activities. Such living entities are subjected to the punishments of Yamarāja. Only the devotees, who are always engaged in the service of the Lord, are exempt from the jurisdiction of Yamarāja.

CC Madhya 6.168, Purport:

Although the Buddhists are directly opposed to Vaiṣṇava philosophy, it can easily be understood that the Śaṅkarites are more dangerous because they accept the authority of the Vedas yet act contrary to Vedic instruction. Vedāśraya nāstikya-vāda means "agnosticism under the shelter of Vedic culture" and refers to the monistic philosophy of the Māyāvādīs. Lord Buddha abandoned the authority of the Vedic literature and therefore rejected the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices recommended in the Vedas. His nirvāṇa philosophy means stopping all material activities. Lord Buddha did not recognize the presence of transcendental forms and spiritual activities beyond the material world. He simply described voidism beyond this material existence. The Māyāvādī philosophers offer lip service to Vedic authority but try to escape the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. They concoct some idea of a transcendental position and call themselves Nārāyaṇa, or God. However, God's position is completely different from their concoction.

CC Madhya 6.168, Purport:

The Māyāvādīs' conception of spiritual existence is almost identical to the negation of material existence. The Māyāvādīs believe that there is nothing positive in spiritual life. As a result, they cannot understand devotional service or the worship of the Supreme Person, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). The Māyāvādī philosophers consider Deity worship in devotional service to be pratibimba-vāda, or the worship of a form that is the reflection of a false material form. Thus the Lord's transcendental form, which is eternally blissful and full of knowledge, is unknown to Māyāvādī philosophers. Although the term "Bhagavān" is explicitly described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they cannot understand it. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate: "The Absolute Truth is called Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān." (SB 1.2.11) The Māyāvādīs try to understand Brahman only, or, at the most, Paramātmā. However, they are unable to understand Bhagavān. Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, says, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15). Because of the temperament of the Māyāvādī philosophers, real knowledge is taken from them. Because they cannot receive the mercy of the Lord, they will always be bewildered by His transcendental form. Impersonal philosophy destroys the three phases of knowledge—jñāna, jñeya and jñātā. As soon as one speaks of knowledge, there must be a person who is the knower, the knowledge itself and the object of knowledge. Māyāvāda philosophy combines these three categories; therefore the Māyāvādīs cannot understand how the spiritual potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead act.

CC Madhya 6.169, Purport:

Factually, the devotional service of the Lord is described in the Vedānta-sūtra, but the Māyāvādī philosophers, the Śaṅkarites, prepared a commentary known as Śārīraka-bhāṣya, in which the transcendental form of the Lord is denied. The Māyāvādī philosophers think that the living entity is identical with the Supreme Soul, Brahman. Their commentaries on the Vedānta-sūtra are completely opposed to the principle of devotional service. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore warns us to avoid these commentaries. If one indulges in hearing the Śaṅkarite Śārīraka-bhāṣya, he will certainly be bereft of all real knowledge.

CC Madhya 6.171, Translation:

“The touchstone, after touching iron, produces volumes of gold without being changed. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself as the cosmic manifestation by His inconceivable potency, yet He remains unchanged in His eternal, transcendental form.

CC Madhya 6.264-265, Translation:

The Bhaṭṭācārya continued, “The impersonalists, who do not accept the transcendental form of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the demons, who are always engaged in blaspheming and fighting with Him, are punished by being merged into the Brahman effulgence. But that does not happen to the person engaged in the devotional service of the Lord.

CC Madhya 8.109, Translation:

Although Kṛṣṇa was in the midst of hundreds of thousands of gopīs during the rāsa dance, He still kept Himself in one of His transcendental forms by the side of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

CC Madhya 8.119, Translation:

“Kindly explain the transcendental features of Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Also explain the truth of transcendental mellows and the transcendental form of love of Godhead.

CC Madhya 8.142, Purport:

Everyone has a particular transcendental mellow by which he loves and serves Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the most attractive feature for every kind of devotee. He is therefore called akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrti, the transcendental form of attraction for all kinds of devotees, whether the devotee be in the śānta-rasa, dāsya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vātsalya-rasa or mādhurya-rasa.

CC Madhya 8.154, Translation:

“Originally Lord Kṛṣṇa is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), the transcendental form of eternity, bliss and knowledge; therefore His personal potency, the internal potency, has three different forms.

CC Madhya 9.126, Purport:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes cannot be understood by blunt material senses. One has to purify the senses by rendering transcendental loving service unto the Lord. When the Lord is pleased and reveals Himself, one can understand the transcendental form, name, qualities and pastimes of the Lord. This is confirmed in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (2.23) and Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.2.3): yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām. “Anyone who is favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead can understand His transcendental name, qualities, form and pastimes.

CC Madhya 9.155, Translation:

There is no difference between the transcendental forms of the Lord. Different forms are manifested due to different attachments of different devotees. Actually the Lord is one, but He appears in different forms just to satisfy His devotees.

CC Madhya 9.277, Purport:

Their ultimate goal (mukti) is simply a form of material desire. A pure devotee should be free from all kinds of material desire. He simply engages in the service of the Lord. Nonetheless, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was pleased that the Madhvācārya-sampradāya, or the Tattvavāda sampradāya, accepted the transcendental form of the Lord. This is the great qualification of the Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas.

It is the Māyāvāda sampradāya that does not accept the transcendental form of the Lord. If a Vaiṣṇava sampradāya is also carried away by that impersonal attitude, that sampradāya has no position at all. It is a fact that there are many so-called Vaiṣṇavas whose ultimate aim is to merge into the existence of the Lord. For example, the sahajiyās' Vaiṣṇava philosophy is to become one with the Supreme. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu points out that Śrī Mādhavendra Purī accepted Madhvācārya only because his sampradāya accepted the transcendental form of the Lord.

CC Madhya 9.360, Purport:

"A Vaiṣṇava never sees the material form of anything, moving or nonmoving. Rather, everywhere he looks he sees the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and immediately he remembers the transcendental form of the Lord."

CC Madhya 12.61, Purport:

In his Anubhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that a materialist mistakenly accepts the body and mind as the source of material enjoyment. In other words, a materialist accepts the bodily conception of life. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not regard the son of Mahārāja Pratāparudra with the idea that he was a materialist, being the son of a materialist. Nor did He consider Himself the enjoyer. Māyāvādī philosophers make a great mistake by assuming that the sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), the transcendental form of the Lord, is like a material body. However, there is no material contamination in transcendence, nor is there any possibility of imagining a spirituality in matter. One cannot accept matter as spirit. As indicated by the technical words bhauma ijya-dhīḥ (SB 10.84.13), materialistic Māyāvādīs imagine the form of God in matter, although according to their imagination, God is ultimately formless. This is simply mental speculation. Even though Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He placed Himself in the position of a gopī. He also accepted the King's son directly as the son of Mahārāja Nanda, Vrajendra-nandana Hari.

CC Madhya 13.67, Purport:

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself into many forms while engaged in the rāsa-līlā dance, and He also expanded Himself when He married 16,000 wives in Dvārakā. The same process was adopted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu when He expanded Himself into seven forms to dance in each and every group of the saṅkīrtana party. These expansions were appreciated by pure devotees, including King Pratāparudra. Although for reasons of external formality Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu refused to see King Pratāparudra because he was a king, King Pratāparudra became one of the Lord's most confidential devotees by the Lord's special mercy upon him. The King could see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu simultaneously present in all seven groups. As confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one cannot see the expansions of the transcendental forms of the Lord unless one is a pure devotee of the Lord.

CC Madhya 17.137, Purport:

When one understands that he belongs not to the material world but to the spiritual world, one is called liberated. Being situated in the spiritual world is certainly pleasurable, but those who realize the transcendental name, form, qualities and pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoy transcendental bliss many times more than one who has simply realized the self. When one is situated on the platform of self-realization, he can certainly be easily attracted by Kṛṣṇa and become a servant of the Lord. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.54):

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati

samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām

"One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me."

CC Madhya 17.137, Purport:

"One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God."

It is only on the bhakti platform that one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes and entourage. Being thus qualified spiritually, one is allowed to enter the spiritual kingdom of God and return home, back to Godhead (viśate tad-anantaram).

CC Madhya 19.120, Translation:

“From the very beginning, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was deeply attracted by the transcendental qualities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Thus he was permanently relieved from family life. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and his younger brother, Vallabha, were blessed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Although the Lord was transcendentally situated in His transcendental eternal form, at Prayāga He told Rūpa Gosvāmī about transcendental ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. The Lord then embraced him very fondly and bestowed all His mercy upon him.

CC Madhya 20.149, Translation:

The transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa is unlimited and also has unlimited opulence. He possesses the internal potency, external potency and marginal potency.

CC Madhya 20.160, Translation:

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes."

CC Madhya 20.164, Translation:

“Only by devotional activity can one understand the transcendental form of the Lord, which is perfect in all respects. Although His form is one, He can expand His form into unlimited numbers by His supreme will.

CC Madhya 20.384, Purport:

This nava-yauvana, or pre-youth, is the eternal transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa never grows older than nava-yauvana.

CC Madhya 20.403, Translation:

“Thus I have briefly described Kṛṣṇa's manifestation of transcendental forms. This subject matter is so large that even Lord Ananta cannot describe it fully.

CC Madhya 20.404, Translation:

“In this way Kṛṣṇa's transcendental forms are expanded unlimitedly. No one can count them. Whatever I have explained is simply a little glimpse. It is like showing the moon through the branches of a tree.”

CC Madhya 21.3, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “All the transcendental forms of the Lord are situated in the spiritual sky. They preside over spiritual planets in that abode, but there is no counting those Vaikuṇṭha planets.

CC Madhya 21.101, Translation:

“Lord Kṛṣṇa has many pastimes, of which His pastimes as a human being are the best. His form as a human being is the supreme transcendental form. In this form He is a cowherd boy. He carries a flute in His hand, and His youth is new. He is also an expert dancer. All this is just suitable for His pastimes as a human being.

CC Madhya 21.102, Translation:

My dear Sanātana, the sweet, attractive transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa is so nice. Just try to understand it. Even a fractional understanding of Kṛṣṇa's beauty can merge all three worlds in the ocean of love. He attracts all living entities within the three worlds.

CC Madhya 21.103, Translation:

The transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa is shown to the world by Lord Kṛṣṇa's internal, spiritual energy, which is a transformation of pure goodness. This jewellike form is the most confidential treasure of the devotees. This form is manifested from Kṛṣṇa's eternal pastimes.

CC Madhya 21.135, Translation:

The transcendental form of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is compared to an ocean of sweetness. A particularly extraordinary vision is the moon above that ocean—Śrī Kṛṣṇa's face—and an even more extraordinary vision is His smile, which is sweeter than sweet and is like shining beams of moonlight.” While speaking of these things with Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to remember one thing after another. Moving His hands in ecstasy, He recited a verse.

CC Madhya 25.36, Translation:

"O supreme one, the transcendental form I am now seeing is full of transcendental bliss. It is not contaminated by the external energy. It is full of effulgence. My Lord, there is no better understanding of You than this. You are the Supreme Soul and the creator of this material world, but You are not connected with this material world. You are completely different from created form and variety. I sincerely take shelter of that form of Yours which I am now seeing. This form is the original source of all living beings and their senses."

CC Madhya 25.38, Translation:

"O most auspicious one! For our benefit, You enable our worship of You by manifesting Your transcendental form, which You show to us in our meditation. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Person, and we worship You, whom impersonalists do not accept due to their poor fund of knowledge. Thus they are liable to descend into a hellish condition."

CC Madhya 25.118, Purport:

One who very scrutinizingly deliberates on genuine spiritual knowledge can realize the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always transcendental to this material creation. Nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt: "Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always transcendental." He is not a creation of this material world. Without realizing spiritual knowledge, one cannot understand that the transcendental form of the Lord is always beyond the creative energy. The example of the sun and the sunshine is given. The sunshine is not the sun, but still the sunshine is not separate from the sun. The philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva (simultaneously one and different) cannot be understood by one who is fully under the influence of the external energy. Consequently a person under the influence of the material energy cannot understand the nature and form of the Personality of the Absolute Truth.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 5.124-125, Translation:

‘O my Lord, I do not see a form superior to Your present form of eternal bliss and knowledge. In Your impersonal Brahman effulgence in the spiritual sky, there is no occasional change and no deterioration of internal potency. I surrender unto You because, whereas I am proud of my material body and senses, Your Lordship is the cause of the cosmic manifestation. Yet You are untouched by matter.

“"This present form, or any transcendental form expanded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is equally auspicious for all the universes. Since You have manifested this eternal personal form, upon whom Your devotees meditate, I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Those who are destined to be dispatched to the path of hell neglect Your personal form because of speculating on material topics."

CC Antya 6.294, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed Raghunātha dāsa, “This stone is the transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Worship the stone with great eagerness.

CC Antya 11.5, Translation:

All glories to the transcendental form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead! My dear Lord, kindly give me shelter at Your lotus feet by Your causeless mercy.