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.
Form of Krsna (CC)
Expressions researched:
"He is in the same form"
|"His Form"
|"His different forms"
|"His gigantic form"
|"His name and form"
|"His name, qualities, form"
|"His original form"
|"His own form"
|"His personal form"
|"His transcendental form"
|"Krsna Himself in the form"
|"Krsna appeared in the form"
|"Krsna assumed a gigantic form"
|"Krsna assumed the form"
|"Krsna attained His permanent form"
|"Krsna form"
|"Krsna has a body"
|"Krsna in His original form"
|"Krsna in His prabhava-vilasa forms"
|"Krsna in the form"
|"Krsna is the original form"
|"Krsna manifested His universal form"
|"Krsna's activities, names, forms"
|"Krsna's form"
|"Krsna's holy name, form"
|"Krsna's name, form"
|"Krsna's own form"
|"Krsna's personal form"
|"Krsna's transcendental forms"
|"Krsna, in the form"
|"Krsna, the original form"
|"My original transcendental form"
|"Sri Krsna, whose form is"
|"The original quadruple forms"
|"The prabhava forms are fully potent like Sri Krsna"
|"expands Himself in innumerable svamsa forms"
|"form and pastimes of Sri Krsna"
|"form and qualities of Krsna"
|"form as Krsna"
|"form as Lord Krsna"
|"form as Sri Krsna"
|"form of Krsna"
|"form of Lord Govinda"
|"form of Lord Krsna"
|"form of Lord Sri Krsna"
|"form of Radha-Krsna"
|"form of Sri Krsna"
|"form of Syamasundara"
|"forms like Radha-Krsna"
|"forms of Krsna"
|"forms of Lord Krsna"
|"forms of the Lord"
|"taste Himself by accepting the form"
|"the bodily forms of Sri Krsna"
|"the forms of Narayana and Krsna"
|"the functioning form of the Personality of Godhead"
|"the prakasa or vilasa forms of Sri Krsna"
|"worship Krsna in any form"
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Preface and Introduction
In the next verse the author further explains why Kṛṣṇa assumed the form of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kṛṣṇa desired to know the glory of Rādhā’s love. "Why is She so much in love with Me?" Kṛṣṇa asked. "What is My special qualification that attracts Her so? And what is the actual way in which She loves Me?" It seems strange that Kṛṣṇa, as the Supreme, should be attracted by anyone's love. A man searches after the love of a woman because he is imperfect—he lacks something. The love of a woman, that potency and pleasure, is absent in man, and therefore a man wants a woman. But this is not the case with Kṛṣṇa, who is full in Himself. Thus Kṛṣṇa expressed surprise: "Why am I attracted by Rādhārāṇī? And when Rādhārāṇī feels My love, what is She actually feeling?" To taste the essence of that loving exchange, Kṛṣṇa made His appearance in the same way that the moon appears on the horizon of the sea. Just as the moon was produced by the churning of the sea, by the churning of spiritual loving affairs the moon of Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared. Indeed, Lord Caitanya's complexion was golden, just like the luster of the moon. Although this is figurative language, it conveys the meaning behind the appearance of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The full significance of His appearance will be explained in later chapters.
In the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, Kṛṣṇa is manifested in five different features, known as the pañca-tattva, to whom Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja offers his obeisances in the fourteenth verse of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Kṛṣṇa and His associates appear as devotees of the Supreme Lord in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Advaitācārya, Śrī Gadādhara Prabhu and Śrīvāsa Prabhu. In all cases, Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the source of energy for all His devotees. Since this is the case, if we take shelter of Caitanya Mahāprabhu for the successful execution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we are sure to make progress. In a devotional song, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings, "My dear Lord Caitanya, please have mercy upon me. There is no one who is as merciful as You. My plea is most urgent because Your mission is to deliver all fallen souls, and no one is more fallen than I. Therefore I beg priority."
CC Adi-lila
According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.
The relationship of a disciple with his spiritual master is as good as his relationship with the Supreme Lord. A spiritual master always represents himself as the humblest servitor of the Personality of Godhead, but the disciple must look upon him as the manifested representation of Godhead.
When by learning from the self-realized spiritual master one actually engages himself in the service of Lord Viṣṇu, functional devotional service begins. The procedures of this devotional service are known as abhidheya, or actions one is dutybound to perform. Our only shelter is the Supreme Lord, and one who teaches how to approach Kṛṣṇa is the functioning form of the Personality of Godhead. There is no difference between the shelter-giving Supreme Lord and the initiating and instructing spiritual masters. If one foolishly discriminates between them, he commits an offense in the discharge of devotional service.
“Please hear attentively what I shall speak to you, for transcendental knowledge about Me is not only scientific but also full of mysteries.
Transcendental knowledge of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is deeper than the impersonal knowledge of Brahman, for it includes knowledge of not only His form and personality but also everything else related to Him. There is nothing in existence not related to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In a sense, there is nothing but Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and yet nothing is Śrī Kṛṣṇa save and except His primeval personality. This knowledge constitutes a complete transcendental science, and Viṣṇu wanted to give Brahmājī full knowledge about that science. The mystery of this knowledge culminates in personal attachment to the Lord, with a resulting effect of detachment from anything "non-Kṛṣṇa." There are nine alternative transcendental means of attaining this stage: hearing, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, worshiping, praying, assisting, fraternizing with the Lord, and sacrificing everything for Him. These are different parts of the same devotional service, which is full of transcendental mystery. The Lord said to Brahmā that since He was pleased with him, by His grace the mystery was being revealed.
The Personality of Godhead exhibits Himself in two kinds of forms: prakāśa and vilāsa.
The Supreme Lord expands His personal forms in two primary categories. The prakāśa forms are manifested by Lord Kṛṣṇa for His pastimes, and their features are exactly like His. When Lord Kṛṣṇa married sixteen thousand queens in Dvārakā, He did so in sixteen thousand prakāśa expansions. Similarly, during the rāsa dance He expanded Himself in identical prakāśa forms to dance beside each and every gopī simultaneously. When the Lord manifests His vilāsa expansions, however, they are all somewhat different in their bodily features. Lord Balarāma is the first vilāsa expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and the four-handed Nārāyaṇa forms in Vaikuṇṭha expand from Balarāma. There is no difference between the bodily forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma except that Their bodily colors are different. Similarly, Śrī Nārāyaṇa in Vaikuṇṭha has four hands, whereas Kṛṣṇa has only two. The expansions of the Lord who manifest such bodily differences are known as vilāsa-vigrahas.
The spiritual sky contains innumerable spiritual planets, the Vaikuṇṭhas, which are manifestations of the Supreme Lord's internal energy. Innumerable material universes are similarly exhibited by His external energy, and the living entities are manifested by His marginal energy. Because Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is not different from Lord Kṛṣṇa, He is the cause of all causes; there is no cause beyond Him. He is eternal, and His form is spiritual. Lord Caitanya is directly the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, as the evidence of authoritative scriptures proves. This chapter stresses that a devotee who wishes to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must have knowledge of Kṛṣṇa's personal form, His three principal energies, His pastimes and the relationship of the living entities with Him.
Kṛṣṇa, the original form of the Personality of Godhead, is the summum bonum of the all-pervading Viṣṇu. He is all-perfect knowledge and all-perfect bliss. He is the Supreme Transcendence.
Devotees of the Personality of Godhead know that Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of the King of Vraja, is the Absolute Truth. They do not discriminate between Śrī Kṛṣṇa's name, form, qualities and pastimes. One who wants to separate the Lord's absolute name, form and qualities from the Lord Himself must be understood to be lacking in absolute knowledge. A pure devotee knows that when he chants the transcendental name "Kṛṣṇa," Śrī Kṛṣṇa is present as transcendental sound. He therefore chants with full respect and veneration. When he sees the forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he does not see anything different from the Lord. If one sees otherwise, he must be considered untrained in absolute knowledge. This lack of absolute knowledge is called māyā. One who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious is ruled by the spell of māyā under the control of a duality in knowledge. In the Absolute, all manifestations of the Supreme Lord are nondual, just as the multifarious forms of Viṣṇu, the controller of māyā, are nondual. Empiric philosophers who pursue the impersonal Brahman accept only the knowledge that the personality of the living entity is not different from the personality of the Supreme Lord, and mystic yogīs who try to locate the Paramātmā accept only the knowledge that the pure soul is not different from the Supersoul. The absolute conception of a pure devotee, however, includes all others. A devotee does not see anything except in its relationship with Kṛṣṇa, and therefore his realization is the most perfect of all.
The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta most emphatically stresses that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is not an expansion of the prakāśa or vilāsa forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; He is the svayaṁ-rūpa, Govinda. Apart from the relevant scriptural evidence forwarded by Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, there are innumerable other scriptural statements regarding Lord Caitanya's being the Supreme Lord Himself.
“The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa enjoys Himself in six primary expansions. His two manifestations are prābhava and vaibhava.
Now the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta turns to a description of the Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa in His innumerable expansions. The Lord primarily expands Himself in two categories, namely prābhava and vaibhava. The prābhava forms are fully potent like Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the vaibhava forms are partially potent. The prābhava forms are manifested in relation with potencies, but the vaibhava forms are manifested in relation with excellences. The potent prābhava manifestations are also of two varieties: temporary and eternal. The Mohinī, Haṁsa and Śukla forms are manifested only temporarily, in terms of a particular age. Among the other prābhavas, who are not very famous according to the material estimation, are Dhanvantari, Ṛṣabha, Vyāsa, Dattātreya and Kapila. Among the vaibhava-prakāśa forms are Kūrma, Matsya, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, Varāha, Hayagrīva, Pṛśnigarbha, Baladeva, Yajña, Vibhu, Satyasena, Hari, Vaikuṇṭha, Ajita, Vāmana, Sārvabhauma, Ṛṣabha, Viṣvaksena, Dharmasetu, Sudhāmā, Yogeśvara and Bṛhadbhānu.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that kṛṣṇa-varṇam means Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Kṛṣṇa-varṇa and Kṛṣṇa Caitanya are equivalent. The name Kṛṣṇa appears with both Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya Kṛṣṇa. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He always engages in describing Kṛṣṇa and thus enjoys transcendental bliss by chanting and remembering His name and form. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appears as Lord Caitanya to preach the highest gospel.
"O my Lord, those influenced by demoniac principles cannot realize You, although You are clearly the Supreme by dint of Your exalted activities, forms, character and uncommon power, which are confirmed by all the revealed scriptures in the quality of goodness and the celebrated transcendentalists in the divine nature."
This is a verse from the Stotra-ratna (12) of Yāmunācārya, the spiritual master of Rāmānujācārya. The authentic scriptures describe the transcendental activities, features, form and qualities of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa explains Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā, the most authentic scripture in the world. He is further explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is considered the explanation of the Vedānta-sūtra. Lord Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by these authentic scriptures, not simply by vox populi. In the modern age a certain class of fools think that they can vote anyone into the position of God, as they can vote a man into the position of a political executive head. But the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead is perfectly described in the authentic scriptures. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that only fools deride Him, thinking that anyone can speak like Kṛṣṇa.
"O my Lord, You always dwell in the vision and hearing of Your pure devotees. You also live in their lotuslike hearts, which are purified by devotional service. O my Lord, who are glorified by exalted prayers, You show special favor to Your devotees by manifesting Yourself in the eternal forms in which they welcome You."
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.
The word śruta in śrutekṣita-pathaḥ refers to the Vedas, and īkṣita indicates that the way to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead is by proper study of the Vedic scriptures. One cannot imagine something about God or His form. Such imagination is not accepted by those who are serious about enlightenment. Here Brahmā says that one can know Kṛṣṇa through the path of properly understanding the Vedic texts. If by studying the form, name, qualities, pastimes and paraphernalia of the Supreme Godhead one is attracted to the Lord, he can execute devotional service, and the form of the Lord will be impressed in his heart and remain transcendentally situated there. Unless a devotee actually develops transcendental love for the Lord, it is not possible for him to think always of the Lord within his heart. Such constant thought of the Lord is the sublime perfection of the yogic process, as the Bhagavad-gītā confirms in the Sixth Chapter (47), stating that anyone absorbed in such thought is the best of all yogīs. Such transcendental absorption is known as samādhi. A pure devotee who is always thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the person qualified to see the Lord.
One cannot speak of Urugāya (the Lord, who is glorified by sublime prayers) unless one is transcendentally elevated. The Lord has innumerable forms, as the Brahma-saṁhitā confirms (advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33)). The Lord expands Himself in innumerable svāṁśa forms. When a devotee, hearing about these innumerable forms, becomes attached to one and always thinks of Him, the Lord appears to him in that form. Lord Kṛṣṇa is especially pleasing to such devotees, in whose hearts He is always present because of their highly elevated transcendental love.
“Taking these pure devotees with Me, I shall descend and sport in various wonderful ways, unknown even in Vaikuṇṭha. I shall broadcast such pastimes by which even I am amazed.
Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of Lord Caitanya educates His devotees to develop progressively to the stage of pure devotional service. Thus He appears periodically as a devotee to take part in various wonderful activities depicted in His sublime philosophy and teachings.
There are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets in the spiritual sky, and in all of them the Lord accepts the service rendered by His eternal devotees in a reverential mood. Therefore Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa presents His most confidential pastimes as He enjoys them in His transcendental realm. Such pastimes are so attractive that they attract even the Lord, and thus He relishes them in the form of Lord Caitanya.
.In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa has taught the philosophy of surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who has surrendered to the Supreme can make further progress by learning to love Him. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement propagated by Lord Caitanya is especially meant for those who are cognizant of the presence of the Supreme Godhead, the ultimate controller of everything. His mission is to teach people how to dovetail themselves into engagements of transcendental loving service. He is Kṛṣṇa teaching His own service from the position of a devotee. The Lord's acceptance of the role of a devotee in the eternal form of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is another of the Lord's wonderful features. A conditioned soul cannot reach the absolute Personality of Godhead by his imperfect endeavor, and therefore it is wonderful that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in the form of Lord Gaurāṅga, has made it easy for everyone to approach Him.
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.
The manifestation of the internal energy of the Lord is the inconceivably variegated spiritual world, the manifestation of the marginal energy comprises the living entities, and the manifestation of the external energy is the material cosmos. Therefore the Absolute Truth includes these four principles—the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, His internal energy, His marginal energy and His external energy. The form of the Lord and the expansions of His form as svayaṁ-rūpa and vaibhava-prakāśa are directly the enjoyers of the internal energy, which is the eternal exhibitor of the spiritual world, the most confidential of the manifestations of energy. The external manifestation, the material energy, provides the covering bodies of the conditioned living entities, from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant. This covering energy is manifested under the three modes of material nature and appreciated in various ways by living entities in both the higher and lower forms of life.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa cannot enjoy anything that is internally different from Him. Therefore Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa are identical. The sandhinī portion of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's internal potency has manifested the all-attractive form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the same internal potency, in the hlādinī feature, has presented Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the attraction for the all-attractive. No one can match Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in the transcendental pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Among them are various groups of consorts in Vraja who have varieties of sentiments and mellows. They help Lord Kṛṣṇa taste all the sweetness of the rāsa dance and other pastimes.
As already explained, Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā are one in two. They are identical. Kṛṣṇa expands Himself in multi-incarnations and plenary portions like the puruṣas. Similarly, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī expands Herself in multiforms as the goddesses of fortune, the queens and the damsels of Vraja. Such expansions from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī are all Her plenary portions. All these womanly forms of Kṛṣṇa are expansions corresponding to His plenary expansions of Viṣṇu forms. These expansions have been compared to reflected forms of the original form. There is no difference between the original form and the reflected forms. The female reflections of Kṛṣṇa's pleasure potency are as good as Kṛṣṇa Himself.
(The gopīs said:) "O friends, those eyes that see the beautiful faces of the sons of Mahārāja Nanda are certainly fortunate. As these two sons enter the forest, surrounded by Their friends, driving the cows before Them, They hold Their flutes to Their mouths and glance lovingly upon the residents of Vṛndāvana. For those who have eyes, we think there is no greater object of vision."
Like the gopīs, one can see Kṛṣṇa continuously if one is fortunate enough. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that sages whose eyes have been smeared with the ointment of pure love can see the form of Śyāmasundara (Kṛṣṇa) continuously in the centers of their hearts. This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.21.7) was sung by the gopīs on the advent of the śarat season.
(The women of Mathurā said:) "What austerities must the gopīs have performed? With their eyes they always drink the nectar of the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is the essence of loveliness and is not to be equaled or surpassed. That loveliness is the only abode of beauty, fame and opulence. It is self-perfect, ever fresh and extremely rare."
This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.44.14) was spoken by the women of Mathurā when they saw Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in the arena with King Kaṁsa's great wrestlers Muṣṭika and Cāṇūra.
"My devotees do not accept sālokya, sārṣṭi, sārūpya, sāmīpya or oneness with Me—even if I offer these liberations—in preference to serving Me."
These three verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.29.11–13) were spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of Kapiladeva.
Beyond the material nature lies the realm known as paravyoma, the spiritual sky. Like Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, it possesses all transcendental attributes, such as the six opulences.
According to Sāṅkhya philosophy, the material cosmos is composed of twenty-four elements: the five gross material elements, the three subtle material elements, the five knowledge-acquiring senses, the five active senses, the five objects of sense pleasure, and the mahat-tattva (the total material energy). Empiric philosophers, unable to go beyond these elements, speculate that anything beyond them must be avyakta, or inexplicable. But the world beyond the twenty-four elements is not inexplicable, for it is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā as the eternal (sanātana) nature. Beyond the manifested and unmanifested existence of material nature (vyaktāvyakta) is the sanātana nature, which is called the paravyoma, or the spiritual sky. Since that nature is spiritual in quality, there are no qualitative differences there: everything there is spiritual, everything is good, and everything possesses the spiritual form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. That spiritual sky is the manifested internal potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; it is distinct from the material sky, manifested by His external potency.
Lord Kṛṣṇa manifests His own form in Mathurā and Dvārakā. He enjoys pastimes in various ways by expanding into the quadruple forms.
Kṛṣṇa's own form has only two hands, but in the form of Lord Nārāyaṇa He has four hands. Lord Nārāyaṇa holds a conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower, and He is full of great opulence. The śrī, bhū and nīlā energies serve at His lotus feet.
In the Rāmānuja and Madhva sects of Vaiṣṇavism there are extensive descriptions of the śrī, bhū and nīlā energies. In Bengal the nīlā energy is sometimes called the līlā energy. These three energies are employed in the service of four-handed Nārāyaṇa in Vaikuṇṭha.
"Where it has been stated that the Lord's enemies and devotees attain the same destination, this refers to the ultimate oneness of Brahman and Lord Kṛṣṇa. This may be understood by the example of the sun and the sunshine, in which Brahman is like the sunshine and Kṛṣṇa Himself is like the sun."
This verse is from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.278) of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, who further discusses this same topic in his Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 5.41). There he refers to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (4.15.1), where Maitreya Muni asked Parāśara, in regard to Jaya and Vijaya, how it was that Hiraṇyakaśipu next became Rāvaṇa and enjoyed more material happiness than the demigods but did not attain salvation, although when he became Śiśupāla, quarreled with Kṛṣṇa and was killed, he attained salvation and merged into the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Parāśara replied that Hiraṇyakaśipu failed to recognize Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva as Lord Viṣṇu. He thought that Nṛsiṁha-deva was some living entity who had acquired such opulence by various pious activities. Being overcome by the mode of passion, he considered Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva an ordinary living entity, not understanding His form. Nevertheless, because Hiraṇyakaśipu was killed by the hands of Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva, in his next life he became Rāvaṇa and had proprietorship of unlimited opulence. As Rāvaṇa, with unlimited material enjoyment, he could not accept Lord Rāma as the Personality of Godhead. Therefore even though he was killed by Rāma, he did not attain sāyujya, or oneness with the body of the Lord. In his Rāvaṇa body he was too much attracted to Rāma's wife, Jānakī, and because of that attraction he was able to see Lord Rāma. But instead of accepting Lord Rāma as an incarnation of Viṣṇu, Rāvaṇa thought Him an ordinary living being. When killed by the hands of Rāma, therefore, he got the privilege of taking birth as Śiśupāla, who had such immense opulence that he could think himself a competitor to Kṛṣṇa. Although Śiśupāla was always envious of Kṛṣṇa, he frequently uttered the name of Kṛṣṇa and always thought of the beautiful features of Kṛṣṇa. Thus by constantly thinking and chanting of Kṛṣṇa, even unfavorably, he was cleansed of the contamination of his sinful activities. When Śiśupāla was killed by the Sudarśana cakra of Kṛṣṇa as an enemy, his constant remembrance of Kṛṣṇa dissolved the reactions of his vices, and he attained salvation by becoming one with the body of the Lord.
(4) To answer Śaṅkarācārya's commentary on Vedānta-sūtra 2.2.45, the substance of the transcendental qualities and their spiritual nature is described in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 5.208–214) as follows: "Some say that transcendence must be void of all qualities because qualities are manifested only in matter. According to them, all qualities are like temporary, flickering mirages. But this is not acceptable. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is absolute, His qualities are nondifferent from Him. His form, name, qualities and everything else pertaining to Him are as spiritual as He is. Every qualitative expansion of the absolute Personality of Godhead is identical with Him. Since the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is the reservoir of all pleasure, all the transcendental qualities that expand from Him are also reservoirs of pleasure. 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. In this connection we may recommend references to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Third Canto, Chapter Twenty-six, verses 21, 25, 27 and 28.
The original quadruple forms—Kṛṣṇa, Baladeva, Pradyumna and Aniruddha—expand into another quadruple, which is present in the Vaikuṇṭha planets of the spiritual sky. Therefore the quadruple forms in the spiritual sky are the second manifestation of the original quadruple in Dvārakā. As explained above, Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are all changeless, transcendental plenary expansions of the Supreme Lord who have no relation to the material modes. The Saṅkarṣaṇa form in the second quadruple is not only a representation of Balarāma but also the original cause of the Causal Ocean, where Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu lies asleep, breathing out the seeds of innumerable universes.
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who by His various plenary portions appears in the world in different forms and incarnations such as Lord Rāma, but who personally appears in His supreme original form as Lord Kṛṣṇa."
This is a quotation from Brahma-saṁhitā (5.39).
Lord Brahmā, sitting on his lotus seat in his own abode, always meditates on Him and worships Him with the mantra consisting of eighteen syllables.
In his own planet, Lord Brahmā, with the inhabitants of that planet, worships the form of Lord Govinda, Kṛṣṇa, by the mantra of eighteen syllables, klīṁ kṛṣṇāya govindāya gopī-jana-vallabhāya svāhā. Those who are initiated by a bona fide spiritual master and who chant the Gāyatrī mantra three times a day know this aṣṭādaśākṣara (eighteen-syllable) mantra. The inhabitants of Brahmaloka and the planets below Brahmaloka worship Lord Govinda by meditating with this mantra. There is no difference between meditating and chanting, but in the present age meditation is not possible on this planet. Therefore loud chanting of a mantra like the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa, with soft chanting of the aṣṭādaśākṣara, the mantra of eighteen syllables, is recommended.
The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas never differentiate between Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya. They say that since Lord Caitanya is the combined form of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, He is not different from Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. But some misled people try to prove that they are greatly elevated by saying that they like to chant the holy name of Lord Gaura instead of the names of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Thus they purposely differentiate between Lord Caitanya and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. According to them, the system of nadīyā-nāgarī, which they have recently invented in their fertile brains, is the worship of Gaura, Lord Caitanya, but they do not like to worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. They put forward the argument that since Lord Caitanya Himself appeared as Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa combined, there is no necessity of worshiping Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Such differentiation by so-called devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is considered disruptive by pure devotees. Anyone who differentiates between Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Gaurāṅga is to be considered a plaything in the hands of māyā.
In the Purāṇas it is found that Śiva appears sometimes from the heads of Brahmā and sometimes from the head of Viṣṇu. The annihilator, Rudra, is born from Saṅkarṣaṇa and the ultimate fire to burn the whole creation. In the Vāyu Purāṇa there is a description of Sadāśiva in one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. That Sadāśiva is a direct expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa's form for pastimes. It is said that Sadāśiva (Lord Śambhu) is an expansion from the Sadāśiva in the Vaikuṇṭha planets (Lord Viṣṇu) and that his consort, Mahāmāyā, is an expansion of Ramā-devī, or Lakṣmī. Mahāmāyā is the origin or birthplace of material nature.
The transcendental mellow of conjugal love of Kṛṣṇa is so wonderful that Kṛṣṇa Himself accepts the form of a devotee to relish and taste it fully.
Although Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure, He has a special intention to taste Himself by accepting the form of a devotee. It is to be concluded that although Lord Caitanya is present in the form of a devotee, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore Vaiṣṇavas sing, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya: "Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa combined together are Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu." And as Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī has said, caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptam: Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa assumed oneness in the form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
If the Personality of Godhead did not possess both limited and unlimited energies, He could not be called omnipotent. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān: "The Lord is smaller than the smallest and greater than the greatest." He is smaller than the smallest in the form of the living entities and greater than the greatest in His form of Kṛṣṇa. If there were no one to control, there would be no meaning to the conception of the supreme controller (īśvara), just as there is no meaning to a king without his subjects. If all the subjects became king, there would be no distinction between the king and an ordinary citizen. Thus for the Lord to be the supreme controller there must be a creation to control. The basic principle for the existence of the living entities is called cid-vilāsa, or spiritual pleasure. The omnipotent Lord displays His pleasure potency as the living entities. The Lord is described in the Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.12) as ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt. He is by nature the reservoir of all pleasures, and because He wants to enjoy pleasure, there must be energies to give Him pleasure or supply Him the impetus for pleasure. This is the perfect philosophical understanding of the Absolute Truth.
The spiritual potency is manifested in the spiritual world. Kṛṣṇa's form, qualities, activities and entourage are all spiritual. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.6):
- ajo ’pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro ’pi san
- prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā
- (BG 4.6)
"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.
How the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains as He is, never changing, is explained in the Īśopaniṣad: pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). God is complete. Even if a complete manifestation is taken away from Him, He continues to be complete. The material creation is manifested by the energy of the Lord, but He is still the same person. His form, entourage, qualities and so on never deteriorate. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in his Paramātma-sandarbha, comments regarding the vivarta-vāda as follows: "Under the spell of vivarta-vāda one imagines the separate entities, namely the cosmic manifestation and the living entities, to be one with Brahman. This is due to complete ignorance regarding the actual fact. The Absolute Truth, or Para-brahman, is always one and always the same. He is completely free from all other conceptions of existence. He is completely free from false ego, for He is the full spiritual identity. It is absolutely impossible for Him to be subjected to ignorance and fall under the spell of a misconception (vivarta-vāda). The Absolute Truth is beyond our conception. One must admit that He has unblemished qualities that He does not share with every living entity. He is never tainted in the slightest degree by the flaws of ordinary living beings. Everyone must therefore understand the Absolute Truth to possess inconceivable potencies."
When the whole world was thus chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa in the form of Gaurahari advented Himself on the earth.
In this chapter we shall find descriptions of the mango distribution festival and Lord Caitanya's discourses with Chand Kazi. Finally, the chapter shows that the same son of mother Yaśodā, Lord Kṛṣṇa, tasted four transcendental mellows of devotional service in His form of Śacīnandana, the son of mother Śacī. To understand Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s ecstatic love for Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa assumed the form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The attitude of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is considered the superexcellent devotional mentality. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Kṛṣṇa Himself assumed the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī to taste Her ecstatic situation. No one else could do this.
When Śrī Kṛṣṇa assumed the form of the four-armed Nārāyaṇa, the gopīs showed their respect, but they were not very interested in Him. In the ecstatic love of the gopīs, all worshipable forms but Kṛṣṇa are rejected. Among all the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has the highest ecstatic love. When Kṛṣṇa in His form of Nārāyaṇa saw Rādhārāṇī, He could not keep His position as Nārāyaṇa, and again He assumed the form of Kṛṣṇa.
The form of Ṣaḍ-bhuja, the six-armed Lord Gaurasundara, is a representation of three incarnations. The form of Śrī Rāmacandra is symbolized by a bow in one hand and an arrow in another, the form of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is symbolized by a stick and a flute like those generally held by a cowherd boy, and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is symbolized by a sannyāsa-daṇḍa and a kamaṇḍalu, or waterpot.
Finally the Lord showed Nityānanda Prabhu His two-armed form of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda, simply playing on His flute, His bluish body dressed in yellow garments.
Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala vividly elaborates upon this description.
There was a Muslim tailor near the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura who used to sew the garments of the family. One day he was very pleased with the dancing of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; indeed, he was enchanted. The Lord, understanding his attitude, showed him His original form as Kṛṣṇa. The tailor then began to dance, saying, "I have seen! I have seen!" He became absorbed in ecstatic love and began to dance with Lord Caitanya. Thus he became one of the foremost Vaiṣṇava adherents of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
"Once Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa playfully manifested Himself as Nārāyaṇa, with four victorious hands and a very beautiful form. When the gopīs saw this exalted form, however, their ecstatic feelings were crippled. Even a learned scholar, therefore, cannot understand the gopīs' ecstatic feelings, which are firmly fixed upon the original form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the son of Nanda Mahārāja. The wonderful feelings of the gopīs in ecstatic parama-rasa with Kṛṣṇa constitute the greatest mystery in spiritual life."
This is a quotation from the Lalita-mādhava (6.54), by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
CC Madhya-lila
To avoid turmoil, three great personalities—Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī—did not enter the temple of Jagannātha.
It is still the practice at the Jagannātha temple not to allow those to enter who do not strictly follow the Vedic culture known as Hinduism. Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī had had previous intimate connections with Muslims. Haridāsa Ṭhākura had been born in a Muslim family, and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, having given up their social status in Hindu society, had been appointed ministers in the Muslim government. They had even changed their names to Dabira Khāsa and Sākara Mallika. Thus they had supposedly been expelled from brāhmaṇa society. Consequently, out of humility they did not enter the temple of Jagannātha, although the Personality of Godhead, Jagannātha, in His form of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, personally came to see them every day. Similarly, the members of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness society are sometimes refused entrance into some of the temples in India. We should not feel sorry about this as long as we engage in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Kṛṣṇa Himself associates with devotees who are chanting His holy name, and there is no need to be unhappy over not being able to enter a certain temple. Such dogmatic prohibitions were not approved by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Those who were thought unfit to enter the Jagannātha temple were daily visited by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and this indicates that Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not approve of the prohibitions. To avoid unnecessary turmoil, however, these great personalities would not enter the Jagannātha temple.
Absorbed in the ecstasy of the gopīs, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wished to see Lord Jagannātha in His original form as Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, standing in Vṛndāvana and appearing very beautiful, His body curved in three places. His desire to see that form was always increasing.
“"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.’
This verse is spoken by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in the Jagannātha-vallabha-nāṭaka (3.11) of Rāmānanda Rāya.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to lament by saying, "Where is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose form is curved in three places? Where is the sweet song of His flute, and where is the bank of the Yamunā? Where is the rāsa dance? Where is that dancing, singing, and laughing? Where is My Lord, Madana-mohana, the enchanter of Cupid?"
Although Śrī Gopāla ate everything offered, still, by the touch of His transcendental hand, everything remained as before.
The atheists cannot understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appearing in the form of the Deity, can eat all the food offered by His devotees. In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26) Kṛṣṇa says:
- patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
- tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it." The Lord is pūrṇa, complete, and therefore He eats everything offered by His devotees. However, by the touch of His transcendental hand, all the food remains exactly as before. It is the quality that is changed. Before the food was offered, it was something else, but after it is offered the food acquires a transcendental quality. Because the Lord is pūrṇa, He remains the same even after eating. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). The food offered to Kṛṣṇa is qualitatively as good as Kṛṣṇa; just as Kṛṣṇa is avyaya, indestructible, the food eaten by Kṛṣṇa, being identical with Him, remains as before.
Apart from this, Kṛṣṇa can eat the food with any one of His transcendental senses. He can eat by seeing the food or by touching it. Nor should one think that it is necessary for Kṛṣṇa to eat. He does not become hungry like an ordinary human being; nonetheless, He presents Himself as being hungry, and as such, He can eat everything and anything, regardless of quantity. The philosophy underlying Kṛṣṇa's eating is understandable by our transcendental senses. When our senses are purified by constantly being engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, we can understand Kṛṣṇa's activities, names, forms, qualities, pastimes and entourage.
Śrī Gopālajī then smiled and said, "My dear brāhmaṇa, just listen to Me. I shall walk behind you, and in this way I shall go with you."
The conversation between Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the brāhmaṇa is proof that the Lord in His arcā-mūrti, or form made of material elements, is not material, for those elements, although separated from the Lord, are also a part of the Lord's energy, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Because the elements are the Lord's own energy and because there is no difference between the energy and the energetic, the Lord can appear through any element. Just as the sun can act through the sunshine and thus distribute its heat and light, so Kṛṣṇa, by His inconceivable power, can appear in His original spiritual form in any material element, including stone, wood, paint, gold, silver and jewels, because the material elements are all His energy. The śāstras warn, arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīḥ . . . nārakī saḥ: one should never think of the arcā-mūrti, the Deity within the temple, as stone, wood or any other material element. Because of his advanced devotional position, the younger brāhmaṇa knew that although the Deity of Gopāla appeared to be stone, He was not stone. He was the son of Nanda Mahārāja, Vrajendra-nandana Himself. As such, the Deity could act exactly as the Lord does in His original form as Kṛṣṇa.
Lord Kṛṣṇa was talking to the young brāhmaṇa just to test his knowledge about the arcā-vigraha. In other words, those who have understood the science of Kṛṣṇa—Kṛṣṇa's name, form, qualities and so forth—can also talk with the Deity. To an ordinary person, however, the Deity will appear to be made of stone, wood or some other material. In the higher sense, since all material elements ultimately emanate from the supreme spiritual entity, nothing is really material. Being omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, Kṛṣṇa can deal with His devotee in any form without difficulty. By the mercy of the Lord, the devotee knows perfectly well about the Lord's dealings. Indeed, he can talk face to face with the Lord.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu first showed him the four-handed form and then appeared before him in His original form of Kṛṣṇa, with a blackish complexion and a flute to His lips.
When Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya saw the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa manifested in Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he immediately fell down flat to offer Him obeisances. Then he stood up and with folded hands began to offer prayers.
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.
“Lord Kṛṣṇa has made a firm promise for all time. If one renders service unto Him, Kṛṣṇa correspondingly gives him an equal amount of success in devotional service to the Lord.
It is a completely mistaken idea that one can worship Kṛṣṇa in any form or in any way and still attain the ultimate result of receiving the favor of the Lord. This is a decision made by gross materialists. Generally such men say that you can manufacture your own way of worshiping the Supreme Lord and that any type of worship is sufficient to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Certainly there are different means for attaining different results in fruitive activity, speculative knowledge, mystic yoga and austerity. Crude men therefore say that one who adopts any of these methods achieves the Supreme Personality of Godhead's favor. They claim that it doesn’t matter what kind of method one adopts. A general example is given: If one wishes to arrive at a certain place, there are many roads leading there, and one can go to that place by any one of these roads. Similarly, these gross materialists say, there are different ways to attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They claim that one can conceive of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as goddess Durgā, goddess Kālī, Lord Śiva, demigod Gaṇeśa, Lord Rāmacandra, Kṛṣṇa, the impersonal Brahman or whatever, and one can chant the Lord's name in any way and in any form. Such materialists claim that since ultimately all these names and forms are one, the result is the same. They also give the example that a man who has different names will answer if called by any one of them. Therefore, they claim, there is no need to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. If one chants the name of Kālī, Durgā, Śiva, Gaṇeśa or anyone else, the result will be the same.
Impersonal realization of the Absolute Truth is certainly transcendental, but this does not mean that one who has attained this realization can understand the sac-cid-ānanda form of the Lord. Similarly, Paramātmā realization—realization of the plenary expansion of the Absolute Truth within everyone's heart—is also an incomplete understanding of the Absolute Truth. Even a devotee of the Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa cannot actually understand the transcendental attractive features of Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, a devotee of Kṛṣṇa who is attached to the sublime attractive features of the Lord does not consider Nārāyaṇa very important. When the gopīs sometimes saw Kṛṣṇa in the form of Nārāyaṇa, they were not very much attracted to Him. The gopīs never addressed Kṛṣṇa as Rukmiṇī-ramaṇa. Kṛṣṇa's devotees in Vṛndāvana address Him as Rādhāramaṇa, Nandanandana and Yaśodānandana, but not as Vasudeva-nandana or Devakī-nandana. Although according to the material conception Nārāyaṇa, Rukmiṇī-ramaṇa and Kṛṣṇa are one and the same, in the spiritual world one cannot use the name Rukmiṇī-ramaṇa or Nārāyaṇa in place of the name Kṛṣṇa. If one does so out of a poor fund of knowledge, his mellow with the Lord becomes spiritually faulty and is called rasābhāsa, an overlapping of transcendental mellows. The advanced devotee who has actually realized the transcendental features of the Lord will not commit the mistake of creating a rasābhāsa situation by using one name for another. Because of the influence of Kali-yuga, there is much rasābhāsa in the name of extravagance and liberal-mindedness. Such fanaticism is not very much appreciated by pure devotees.
“"The progress of loving affairs between a young boy and a young girl is like the movement of a snake. On account of this, two types of anger arise between a young boy and girl—anger with cause and anger without cause."
During the rāsa dance, one form of Kṛṣṇa was between every two gopīs. But by the side of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī there was only one Kṛṣṇa. Although this was the case, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī still manifested disagreement with Kṛṣṇa. This verse is from the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Śṛṅgāra-bheda-kathana 102), written by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
One who expands the conjugal love of Kṛṣṇa and His enjoyment among the gopīs is called a sakhī. Such a person is a confidential gopī in the conjugal affairs. Such assistants are like jewels in the form of Kṛṣṇa's confidantes.
In the form of Kṛṣṇa, the Lord enjoys spiritual bliss and remains the shelter of all devotees, viṣaya-vigraha. And in His Gaurāṅga feature Kṛṣṇa tastes separation from Kṛṣṇa in the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. This ecstatic form is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is always the transcendental reservoir of all pleasure, and He is technically called dhīra-lalita. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the embodiment of spiritual energy, personified as ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa; therefore only Kṛṣṇa can touch Her. The dhīra-lalita aspect is not seen in any other form of the Lord, including Viṣṇu and Nārāyaṇa. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is therefore known as Govinda-nandinī and Govinda-mohinī, for She is the only source of transcendental pleasure for Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the only person who can enchant His mind.
“Since Kṛṣṇa and Nārāyaṇa are the same personality, Lakṣmī’s association with Kṛṣṇa does not break her vow of chastity. Rather, it was in great fun that the goddess of fortune wanted to associate with Lord Kṛṣṇa.”
This is the answer to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's question, and from this we can understand that Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa knew the truth. He told Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu that Nārāyaṇa is a form of Kṛṣṇa associated with transcendental opulence. Although Kṛṣṇa is two-armed and Nārāyaṇa four-armed, there is no difference in the person. They are one and the same. Nārāyaṇa is as beautiful as Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa's pastimes are more sportive. It is not that the sportive pastimes of Kṛṣṇa make Him different from Nārāyaṇa. Lakṣmī’s desiring to associate with Kṛṣṇa was perfectly natural. In other words, it is understandable that a chaste woman wants to associate with her husband in all his different dresses. Therefore one should not criticize Lakṣmī for wanting to associate with Kṛṣṇa.
Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa continued, “"According to transcendental realization, there is no difference between the forms of Nārāyaṇa and Kṛṣṇa. Yet in Kṛṣṇa there is a special transcendental attraction due to the conjugal mellow, and consequently He surpasses Nārāyaṇa. This is the conclusion of transcendental mellows."
This verse quoted by Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa is also found in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.59).
“Lord Nārāyaṇa, the opulent form of Kṛṣṇa, attracts the minds of the goddess of fortune and her followers.
“"According to transcendental realization, there is no difference between the forms of Kṛṣṇa and Nārāyaṇa. Yet in Kṛṣṇa there is a special transcendental attraction due to the conjugal mellow, and consequently He surpasses Nārāyaṇa. This is the conclusion of transcendental mellows."
This is a verse from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.59). Here Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja says that Lord Caitanya spoke the verse to Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, and earlier he said that Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa spoke it to the Lord. But since their conversation took place long, long before the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu was composed, the question my be raised as to how either of them quoted the verse. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains that this verse and many others like it were current among devotees long before the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu was composed. Thus devotees would always quote them and explain their purport in ecstasy.
“"Once Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa playfully manifested Himself as Nārāyaṇa, with four victorious hands and a very beautiful form. When the gopīs saw this exalted form, however, their ecstatic feelings were crippled. A learned scholar, therefore, cannot understand the gopīs" ecstatic feelings, which are firmly fixed upon the original form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the son of Nanda Mahārāja. The wonderful feelings of the gopīs in ecstatic parama-rasa with Kṛṣṇa constitute the greatest mystery in spiritual life.’”
This is a verse spoken by Nārada Muni in the Lalita-mādhava-nāṭaka (6.14), a drama written by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
The Lord is advaita, without differentiation. There is no difference between the forms of Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, Nārāyaṇa and Viṣṇu. All of Them are one. Sometimes foolish people ask whether when we chant "Rāma" in the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra we refer to Lord Rāmacandra or Lord Balarāma. If a devotee says that the name Rāma in the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra refers to Balarāma, a foolish person may become angry because to him the name Rāma refers to Lord Rāmacandra. Actually there is no difference between Balarāma and Lord Rāma. It does not matter whether one refers to Balarāma or to Lord Rāmacandra when chanting Hare Rāma, for there is no difference between Them. However, it is offensive to think that Balarāma is superior to Lord Rāmacandra or vice versa. Neophyte devotees do not understand this śāstric conclusion, and consequently they unnecessarily create an offensive situation. In text 154 Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu clarified this in a very lucid way: īśvaratve bheda mānile haya aparādha. "It is offensive for one to differentiate between the forms of the Lord." On the other hand, one should not think that the forms of the Lord are the same as the forms of the demigods.
"Without having ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, one cannot see Him directly. Therefore through the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Brahmānanda Bhāratī has acquired direct vision of the Lord."
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "You are Brahmānanda Bhāratī, an advanced devotee who ecstatically loves the Supreme Lord. Therefore you see Kṛṣṇa everywhere, and there is no doubt about it." Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was a mediator between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Brahmānanda Bhāratī, and his judgment was that an advanced devotee like Brahmānanda Bhāratī was seeing Kṛṣṇa by Kṛṣṇa's mercy. Kṛṣṇa directly presents Himself before the vision of an advanced devotee. Since Brahmānanda Bhāratī was an advanced devotee, he saw Kṛṣṇa in the person of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In the words of the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38):
- premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
- santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
- yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, who is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of Śyāmasundara, situated within the heart of the devotee."
The offenseless chanting of the holy name does not depend on the initiation process. Although initiation may depend on puraścaryā or puraścaraṇa, the actual chanting of the holy name does not depend on puraścaryā-vidhi, or the regulative principles. If one chants the holy name even once without committing an offense, he attains all success. During the chanting of the holy name, the tongue must work. Simply by chanting the holy name, one is immediately delivered. The tongue is sevonmukha-jihvā—it is controlled by service. One whose tongue is engaged in tasting material things and also talking about them cannot use the tongue for absolute realization.
- ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
- sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ
- (CC Madhya 17.136)
"With the material senses one cannot understand the transcendental holy name of the Lord or His form, activities and pastimes. But when one actually engages in devotional service, utilizing the tongue, the Lord is revealed." As it is said in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Madhya 17.134):
- ataeva kṛṣṇera "nāma", "deha", "vilāsa",
- prākṛtendriya-grāhya nahe, haya sva-prakāśa
"The holy name of Kṛṣṇa, His body and His pastimes cannot be understood by the blunt material senses. They are manifested independently."
“The Lord's holy name, His form and His personality are all one and the same. There is no difference between them. Since all of them are absolute, they are all transcendentally blissful.
“"Therefore material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṇa's holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord's holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord's food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṇa really is.’
This verse is recorded in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.234).
Gopāla stayed in a village called Annakūṭa-grāma on Govardhana Hill. The villagers who lived in that village were mainly from Rajasthan.
The village named Annakūṭa-grāma is referred to in the Bhakti-ratnākara (Fifth Wave):
- gopa-gopī bhuñjāyena kautuka apāra
- ei hetu "āniyora" nāma se ihāra
- annakūṭa-sthāna ei dekha śrīnivāsa
- e-sthāna darśane haya pūrṇa abhilāṣa
"Here all the gopīs and the gopas enjoyed wonderful pastimes with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore this place is also called Āniyora. The Annakūṭa ceremony was celebrated here. O Śrīnivāsa, whoever sees this place has all his desires fulfilled." It is also stated:
- kuṇḍera nikaṭa dekha niviḍa-kānana
- ethāi "gopāla" chilā hañā saṅgopana
"Look at the dense forest near the kuṇḍa. It was there that Gopāla was concealed." Also, the Stavāvalī (Vraja-vilāsa-stava 75), by Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, states:
- vrajendra-varyārpita-bhogam uccair
- dhṛtvā bṛhat-kāyam aghārir utkaḥ
- vareṇa rādhāṁ chalayan vibhuṅkte
- yatrānna-kūṭaṁ tad ahaṁ prapadye
"When Nanda Mahārāja offered a large quantity of food to Govardhana Hill, Kṛṣṇa assumed a gigantic form and eagerly invited everyone to ask boons from Him. Then, deceiving even Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, He ate all the offered food. Let me take shelter of the place known as Annakūṭa, where Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoyed these pastimes."
Lord Kṛṣṇa has many forms, as stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33): advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Raghupati Upādhyāya which form was the best of Lord Kṛṣṇa's millions of forms, and he immediately replied that the supreme form was the Śyāmasundara form. In that form, Kṛṣṇa stands curved in three places and holds His flute. The Śyāmasundara form is also described in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38):
- premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
- santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
- yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, who is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of Śyāmasundara, situated within the heart of the devotee."
Those who are filled with ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa always see the form of Śyāmasundara within their hearts. Raghupati Upādhyāya confirms that the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has many incarnations—Nārāyaṇa, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha and others—but Kṛṣṇa is distinguished as the supermost. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.28), kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam: "Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead." Kṛṣṇa means Śyāmasundara, who plays His flute in Vṛndāvana. Of all forms, this form is the best of all. Kṛṣṇa lives sometimes in Mathurā and sometimes in Dvārakā, but Mathurā is considered the better place. This is also confirmed by Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Upadeśāmṛta (9): vaikuṇṭhāj janito varā madhu-purī. "Madhu-purī, or Mathurā, is far superior to the Vaikuṇṭhalokas in the spiritual world."
“"The form of Śyāmasundara is the supreme form, the city of Mathurā is the supreme abode, Lord Kṛṣṇa"s fresh youth should always be meditated upon, and the mellow of conjugal love is the supreme mellow.’”
This verse is found in the Padyāvalī (82).
The highest type of religious system is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6) thus: sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. The highest form of religion is that by which one becomes fully conscious of the existence of God, including His form, name, qualities, pastimes, abode and all-pervasive features. When everything is completely known, that is the perfection of Vedic knowledge. The fulfillment of Vedic knowledge is systematic knowledge of the characteristics of God. This is confirmed by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. The aim of Vedic knowledge is to understand God. Therefore those who are actually following Vedic knowledge and searching after God cannot commit sinful activities against the Supreme Lord's order. However, in this Age of Kali, although men profess to belong to so many different kinds of religions, most of them commit sinful activities against the orders of the Vedic scriptures. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says herein, veda-niṣiddha pāpa kare, dharma nāhi gaṇe. In this age, men may profess a religion, but they actually do not follow the principles. Instead, they commit all kinds of sins.
“‘Just as the celestial waters of the Ganges flow unobstructed into the ocean, so when My devotees simply hear of Me, their minds come to Me. I reside in the hearts of all.
This verse and the following three verses are quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.29.11–14). They were spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of Kapiladeva.
“When Kṛṣṇa manifested His universal form, Arjuna became reverent and fearful, and he begged forgiveness for his past impudence toward Kṛṣṇa as a friend.
The following summary of this chapter is given by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. When Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī was imprisoned by Nawab Hussain Shah, he received news from Rūpa Gosvāmī that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had gone to Mathurā. Sanātana Gosvāmī thereafter satisfied the superintendent of the jail by sweet solicitations and bribery. After giving the jailer seven thousand gold coins, Sanātana Gosvāmī was released. He then crossed the Ganges and fled. One of his servants, Īśāna, followed him, carrying eight gold coins. Sanātana Gosvāmī and his servant then spent the night in a small hotel on the way to Vārāṇasī (Benares). The hotel owner knew that Sanātana Gosvāmī and his servant had eight gold coins, and he decided to kill them and take the money. Making plans in this way, the hotel owner received them as honorable guests. Sanātana Gosvāmī, however, asked his servant how much money he had, and taking seven of the gold coins, Sanātana offered them to the hotel owner. Thus the owner helped them cross the hilly tract and proceed toward Vārāṇasī. On the way, Sanātana Gosvāmī met his brother-in-law, Śrīkānta, at Hājipura, and Śrīkānta helped him after he had heard about all Sanātana's troubles. Thus Sanātana Gosvāmī finally arrived at Vārāṇasī and stood before the door of Candraśekhara. Caitanya Mahāprabhu called him in and ordered him to change his dress so that he would look like a gentleman. For his garment, he used an old cloth of Tapana Miśra's. Later, he exchanged his valuable blanket for a torn quilt. At this time Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with him, and thus Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī received knowledge of the Absolute Truth from the Lord Himself.
First they discussed the constitutional position of the living entities, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained to Sanātana Gosvāmī how the living entity is one of Lord Kṛṣṇa's energies. After this, the Lord explained the way of devotional service. While discussing the Absolute Truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Lord analyzed Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, as well as the expansions of the Lord called svayaṁ-rūpa, tad-ekātma and āveśa, which are divided into various branches known as vaibhava and prābhava. Thus the Lord described the many forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He also described the incarnations of God within the material world, incarnations such as the puruṣa-avatāras, manvantara-avatāras, guṇa-avatāras and śaktyāveśa-avatāras. The Lord also discussed the divisions of Kṛṣṇa's different ages, such as bālya and paugaṇḍa, and the different pastimes of the different ages. He explained how Kṛṣṇa attained His permanent form when He reached youth. In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained and described everything to Sanātana Gosvāmī.
“The transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa is unlimited and also has unlimited opulence. He possesses the internal potency, external potency and marginal potency.
“O Sanātana, please hear about the eternal form of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He is the Absolute Truth, devoid of duality but present in Vṛndāvana as the son of Nanda Mahārāja.
“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.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described the svayaṁ-rūpa in his Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta, Pūrva-khaṇḍa, verse 12: ananyāpekṣi yad rūpaṁ svayaṁ-rūpaḥ sa ucyate. "The form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that does not depend on other forms is called the svayaṁ-rūpa, the original form." This form is also described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (1.3.28). "Kṛṣṇa is the original form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." That Kṛṣṇa's form as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana is the original form of the Personality of Godhead (svayaṁ-rūpa) is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.1):
- īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
- anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
There is nothing superior to Govinda. He is the ultimate source and the cause of all causes. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.7), where the Lord says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: "There is no truth superior to Me."
The tad-ekātma-rūpa forms are also described in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva-khaṇḍa, verse 14):
- yad rūpaṁ tad-abhedena svarūpeṇa virājate
- ākṛtyādibhir anyādṛk sa tad-ekātma-rūpakaḥ
"The tad-ekātma-rūpa forms exist simultaneously with the svayaṁ-rūpa form and are nondifferent. At the same time, their bodily features and specific activities appear to be different." The tad-ekātma-rūpa forms are divided into two categories—svāṁśa and vilāsa.
Lord Kṛṣṇa's āveśa forms are also explained in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 18):
- jñāna-śakty-ādi-kalayā yatrāviṣṭo janārdanaḥ
- ta āveśā nigadyante jīvā eva mahattamāḥ
"A living entity who is specifically empowered by the Lord with knowledge or strength is technically called āveśa-rūpa." As stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Antya 7.11), kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: Unless a devotee is specifically empowered by the Lord, he cannot preach the holy name of the Lord all over the world. This is an explanation of the word āveśa-rūpa.
“The original form of the Lord (svayaṁ-rūpa) is exhibited in two forms—svayaṁ-rūpa and svayaṁ-prakāśa. In His original form as svayaṁ-rūpa, Kṛṣṇa is observed as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana.
“In His original form, Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself in two features—prābhava and vaibhava. He expands His one original form into many, as He did during the rāsa-līlā dance.
When a form of Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent from the original form but is less important and exhibits less potency, it is called svāṁśa. Examples of svāṁśa expansions can be found in the quadruple forms of the Lord residing in Their respective places, beginning with Saṅkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, and also in the puruṣa-avatāras, līlā-avatāras, manvantara-avatāras and yuga-avatāras.
“Balarāma, who has the same original form as Kṛṣṇa, is Himself a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana, and He also considers Himself a member of the kṣatriya race in Dvārakā. Thus His color and dress are different, and He is called a pastime form of Kṛṣṇa.
“These four prābhava pastime forms of Lord Kṛṣṇa reside eternally in Dvārakā and Mathurā.
At the top of the paravyoma, the spiritual sky, there is Goloka Vṛndāvana, which is divided into three parts. Two of the parts, called Mathurā and Dvārakā, are the residences of Kṛṣṇa in His prābhava-vilāsa forms. Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa's vaibhava-prakāśa, is eternally situated in Gokula. From the quadruple prābhava-vilāsa, twenty-four forms of the vaibhava-vilāsa are expanded. Each has four hands holding weapons in different positions. The topmost planet in the spiritual sky is Goloka Vṛndāvana, and below that planet is the spiritual sky itself. In that spiritual sky, Kṛṣṇa Himself is four-handed and is situated as Nārāyaṇa.
“Vāsudeva and the three others are direct prābhava pastime forms of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Of these quadruple forms, the pastime expansions are twenty in number.
“In this way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of Viṣṇu maintains the entire material world. Since He is always beyond the material qualities, the material nature cannot touch Him.
“The Supreme Lord in His form of Rudra (Lord Śiva) brings about the dissolution of this material creation. In other words, only by His will are there creation, maintenance and dissolution of the whole cosmic manifestation.
“Such a devotee is empowered by Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. In this way, an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa in the form of Brahmā engineers the total creation of the universe.
Rudra is simultaneously one with and different from the viṣṇu-tattva. Due to his association with māyā, he is different from the viṣṇu-tattva, but at the same time he is an expansion of Kṛṣṇa's personal form. This situation is called bhedābheda-tattva or acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, simultaneously one and different.
“Lord Kṛṣṇa exhibits His pastimes of childhood, boyhood and pre-youth. When He reaches pre-youth, He continues to exist eternally to perform His rāsa dance and other pastimes.
The comparison made here is very interesting. Kṛṣṇa does not grow like an ordinary human being, even though He exhibits His pastimes of childhood, boyhood and pre-youth. When He reaches the age of pre-youth, kaiśora, He does not grow any older. He simply remains in His kaiśora age. He is therefore described in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) as nava-yauvana:
- advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam
- ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca
- vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
This nava-yauvana, or pre-youth, is the eternal transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa never grows older than nava-yauvana.
"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."
“The spiritual sky, which is full in all six opulences, is the intermediate residence of Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is there that an unlimited number of forms of Kṛṣṇa enjoy Their pastimes.
“"To exhibit the strength of His own spiritual potency, Lord Kṛṣṇa manifested a form just suitable for His pastimes in the material world. This form was wonderful even for Him and was the supreme abode of the wealth of good fortune. Its limbs were so beautiful that they increased the beauty of the ornaments worn on different parts of His body."
This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.2.12) is stated in a conversation between Vidura and Uddhava. Uddhava thus begins his description of the pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in His form exhibited by yogamāyā.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“The wonderful form of Kṛṣṇa in His personal feature is so great that it attracts even Kṛṣṇa to taste His own association. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa becomes very eager to taste it. Total beauty, knowledge, wealth, strength, fame and renunciation are the six opulences of Kṛṣṇa. He is eternally situated in His opulences.
“"What austerities must the gopīs have performed? With their eyes they always drink the nectar of the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is the essence of loveliness and is not to be equaled or surpassed. That loveliness is the only abode of beauty, fame and opulence. It is self-perfect, ever fresh and unique."
This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.44.14) was spoken by the women of Mathurā when they saw Kṛṣṇa in the wrestling arena.
“Such ecstatic transactions between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs are possible only in Vṛndāvana, which is full of the opulences of transcendental love. The form of Kṛṣṇa is the original source of all transcendental qualities. It is like a mine of gems. The opulences belonging to all the personal expansions of Kṛṣṇa are to be understood to be bestowed by Kṛṣṇa; therefore Kṛṣṇa is the original source and shelter of everyone.
"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.
“Through His all-pervasive feature, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has expanded the entire creation. He is holding and maintaining this creation by His extraordinary potency. By His conjugal potency, He maintains the planetary system known as Goloka Vṛndāvana. Through His six opulences, He maintains many Vaikuṇṭha planets.
In His gigantic form, Lord Kṛṣṇa has covered the creation. He holds all the planetary systems and maintains them by His inconceivable potencies. Similarly, He is maintaining His personal abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, through His conjugal love, and He is maintaining the spiritual world containing the Vaikuṇṭha planets by His opulences.
Regarding the variety of personalities known as Bhagavān, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that the Personality of Godhead known as Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that His expansions are also called the Personality of Godhead. In other words, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the origin of all other Personalities of Godhead. Speculative philosophers and mystic yogīs also meditate upon the form of Kṛṣṇa, but this form is not the form of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a Bhagavān is but a partial representation of the Lord's full potency. Nonetheless, He also has to be understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To clarify this matter, one should simply understand that Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana, the friend of the cowherd boys and lover of the gopīs, is actually the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is attained by spontaneous love. Although His expansions are also called the Supreme Personality of Godhead, They are attained only by the execution of regulative devotional service.
In the Vedic literatures, including the Purāṇas, there are full descriptions of the spiritual potency of Kṛṣṇa. All the pastimes of the Lord are eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, just as the form of Kṛṣṇa Himself is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1)). Unintelligent people with a poor fund of knowledge compare their temporary bodies to the spiritual body of Kṛṣṇa, and by such foolishness they try to understand Kṛṣṇa as one of them. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam. The Bhagavad-gītā (9.11) points out that foolish people think of Kṛṣṇa as one of them. Not understanding His spiritual potency, they simply decry the personal form of the Absolute Truth, foolishly thinking of themselves as jñānīs cognizant of the complete truth. They cannot understand that just as the material energy of the Lord has a variety of activities, the spiritual energy has variety also. They consider activities in devotional service the same as activities in material consciousness. Under such a wrong impression, they sometimes dare joke about the spiritual activities of the Lord and His devotional service.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement especially aims at defeating the Māyāvāda conclusion about the Absolute Truth. Since the members of the Māyāvāda school cannot understand the spiritual form of the Lord, they incorrectly think the Lord's form is also made of material energy. They think that He is covered by a material body just like other living beings. Due to this offensive understanding, they cannot recognize that Śrī Kṛṣṇa's personal form is transcendental, not material. Their conclusion is a great offense at the lotus feet of the Lord. As explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Kṛṣṇa has His eternal, blissful form that is full of knowledge, and all Vaiṣṇava ācāryas accept this. That is the proper understanding of the Absolute Truth.
CC Antya-lila
Because mother Śacī was feeling separation from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, she thought she was dreaming that her son had come to her. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, wanted to inform her that actually it was not a dream. He actually came there and ate whatever His mother offered Him. Such are the dealings of advanced devotees with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38):
- premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
- santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
- yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, who is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of Śyāmasundara, situated within the heart of the devotee." Pure devotees realize dealings with the Lord on the transcendental plane, but because the devotees are still in the material world, they think that these are dreams. The Lord, however, talks with the advanced devotee, and the advanced devotee also sees Him. It is all factual; it is not a dream.
Lord Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, is advaya-jñāna; in other words, there is no distinction between His body and His soul, for His existence is completely spiritual. According to the verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam beginning with the words vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam (1.2.11), the Absolute Truth is always to be understood from three angles of vision as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Unlike the objects of the material world, however, the Absolute Truth is always one and always the same. Thus there is no distinction between His body and His soul. His form, name, attributes and pastimes, therefore, are completely distinct from those of the material world. One should know perfectly well that there is no difference between the body and the soul of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When one conceives of a distinction between His body and His soul, one is immediately conditioned by material nature. Because a person in the material world makes such distinctions, he is called baddha-jīva, a conditioned soul.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed Raghunātha dāsa, "This stone is the transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Worship the stone with great eagerness."
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya that in the opinion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the govardhana-śilā, the stone from Govardhana Hill, was directly the form of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda. The Lord used the stone for three years, and then in the heart of Raghunātha dāsa the Lord awakened devotional service to the stone. The Lord then gave the stone to Raghunātha dāsa, accepting him as one of His most confidential servants. However, some envious people conclude that because Raghunātha dāsa had not taken birth in the family of a brāhmaṇa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not give him the right to worship the Deity directly but instead gave him a stone from Govardhana. This kind of thought is nārakī, or hellish.
| Page Title: | Form of Krsna (CC) |
| Compiler: | MadhuGopaldas |
| Created: | 22 of Apr, 2013 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=109, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 109 |