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Formless (Conversations)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 17, 1971, Allahabad:

Prabhupāda: Everything you desire, it is present immediately.

Guest (1): You mean the spirit has got subtle form, though it may be exact form?

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Yes.

Guest (1): Though mind has got no form outside but mind has a form.

Prabhupāda: The spirit, he has a form.

Guest (1): Intelligence is also accepting...

Prabhupāda: These are different coating. Just like you have got your form, therefore your coat has got a form.

Room Conversation -- November 11, 1971, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: The learned scholar, they have been described in Bhagavad-gītā, māyaya apahṛta-jñānā asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because they have taken this view that God is impersonal, He has no form, this is āsurī. Then māyaya apahṛta-jñānā. Therefore, however learned they may be, māyā takes away their knowledge. Māyaya apahṛta-jñānā asurī-bhāvam āśr... That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. (Hindi) The Absolute Truth, that is subjected to be imagined by me. I am a tiny soul. And if a learned sannyāsī says like that, how many thousands of people will believe in that, will be wrongly impressed? This paper will be read by thousands and millions. (Hindi) ...hodge-podge.

Guest: Another one, Bala Yogi, has made a statement that "I will call myself anybody but not Hindu"

Prabhupāda: Huh?

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Krishna Tiwari -- May 22, 1973, New York:

Krishna Tiwari: There is a form of soul, according to you.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. But they say there is no form. That is my point.

Krishna Tiwari: Well, they don't know probably, at this moment. But I don't..., I..., we have trouble, at least I have trouble, in understanding whether anybody else knows about soul. According to you...

Prabhupāda: Now, so far we are laymen, we have no instrument to measure. We simply hear from the śāstra and we try to perceive, that's all. But there is something. That measurement very, may be very, very small, but there is the substance. That is our point.

Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor, Dr. Suneson -- September 5, 1973, Stockholm:

Pradyumna: "...śakti, the power to throw the living entity in the ocean of material existence, and āvaraṇātmikā-śakti, the power to cover the knowledge of the living entity. The function of the āvaraṇātmikā-śakti is explained the Bhagavad-gītā by the word: māyayāpahṛta-jñāna. Why the daivī-māyā, or illusory energy of Kṛṣṇa takes away the knowledge of the Māyāvādī philosophers is also explained in Bhagavad-gītā by the use of the words āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ, which refer to a person who does not agree to the existence of the Lord. The Māyāvādīs, who are not in agreement with the existence of the Lord, can be classed in two groups, exemplified by the impersonalists Śaṅkarites of Vārāṇasī and the Buddhists of Saranātha. Both of them are Māyāvādīs, and Kṛṣṇa takes away their knowledge due to their atheistic philosophies. Neither of them agree to accept the existence of a personal God. The Buddhist philosophers clearly deny, clearly deny both the soul and God, and although the Śaṅkarites do not openly deny God, they say that the Absolute is nirākāra, or formless. Thus both of them are aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ (SB 10.2.32), or imperfect and unclean in their knowledge and intelligence."

Prabhupāda: What do you think?

Professor: That's... Of course, in the introduction to Śaṅkara's commentary to Bhagavad-gītā, he does, it seems, if it is for him, which is that...

Prabhupāda: He accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Morning Walk -- December 6, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Śaṅkara's cheating is also like that, because he was taking, he was accepting from the Buddhists. If he immediately says that "Lord Buddha was, cheated you," they'll not accept. Therefore he made some compromise. The Buddhist theory is "void," and he said, "No form." So it is almost the same. But he said, "There is Brahman." Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. That much improvement. The same process. Just like one wants to eat meat. He is given some regulation, "Yes, you can eat meat. There is no harm. But you do like this: Go to a mosque. On Eid day you can kill one animal." Or "You go to the synagogue under the protection of..." And our Hindu śāstra says, "Go to the Goddess Kālī's temple, and get a goat, black goat." That means under condition. If it is good thing, it would have been sanctioned, "Yes, you can do whatever you like." But it is not good. But if you say, "It is not good," he'll not accept. Therefore under some condition. (break)

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- February 13, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Beyond form.

Guest (1): ...through loving the form of God... It has form and yet it's formless. It's both..., has form and formless.

Prabhupāda: What is that formlessness, and what is that form?

Guest (1): That I can't say. What do I know about these things? My own knowledge is just very slight.

Prabhupāda: You are not learning there, where you are staying?

Guest (1): I'm learning. I'm learning love. It's, Mahārāja..., this Nim Karoli Baba, has told us that love, love of God is the highest.

Room Conversation -- February 13, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: You are not learning there, where you are staying?

Guest (1): I'm learning. I'm learning love. It's, Mahārāja..., this Nim Karoli Baba, has told us that love, love of God is the highest.

Prabhupāda: But love, if you have no form where to love? The air?

Guest (1): You love the form, it's true. You have bhakti, you love the form of God.

Prabhupāda: But you said it's formless.

Guest (1): Ah, yes. Well, it's, uh, that, I've read the...

Prabhupāda: How it is? How, if is formless, how you can love, enjoy?

Guest (1): You can't love the formless, it's true.

Room Conversation -- February 13, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Fictitious love. Why don't you ask this intelligent question? If you say formless, then where is the love?

Guest (1): He doesn't teach the formless. That was my own view, but that is not anything that he's ever taught me.

Prabhupāda: What does he teach?

Guest (1): He said...

Prabhupāda: He teaches form?

Guest (1): He says that... Yes. He is a great bhakta of Hanumānji.

Prabhupāda: Who is Hanumān?

Room Conversation -- February 13, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Śyāmasundara: The thing you said when you came in was that we merge with something which is formless beyond Kṛṣṇa, the first...

Guest (1): No, it's not beyond Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: If he has read Bhagavad-gītā, that he cannot say, because Kṛṣṇa says brahmaṇo ahaṁ pratiṣṭhā, I am the resort of Brahman. So He is greater than Brahman. Mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate, even Brahman emanates from Me, and actually it is so. Just like the sunshine (indistinct) sun globe. Although the sunshine is universe(?), but still dependent on the sun globe.

Morning Walk -- February 17, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Ahaituky apratihatā.

Dr. Patel: I mean, all-powerful God can be anything. God can assume form, God can remain formless. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...by (indistinct).

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Vallabhācārya himself?

Prabhupāda: It is recorded in the court. There was a court case, and it was found that Gopālajī belongs to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Who, who was pressing the court case?

Prabhupāda: It was amongst themselves.

Morning Walk -- April 5, 1974, Bombay:

Girirāja: (reads synonyms)

Dr. Patel: At the same time, all the gods were seeing the same thing?

Prabhupāda: Viṣṇu, this word has been used, "all-pervading, all-pervading forms." It does not mean that because all-pervading, there is no form. Form is there always.

Dr. Patel: Shall I go ahead?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- April 11, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. His physiognomy is sac-cid-ānanda vigraha (Bs. 5.1). That we can understand. Sac-cid-ānanda. He is eternal, He is full of knowledge and He is blissful. Sac-cid-ānanda. Your body, my body, is just opposite. It is not eternal, it is temporary. And it is full of ignorance. Therefore we require knowledge. (aside:) Little away, yes. So this is full of ignorance, and there are so many miseries. So Kṛṣṇa hasn't got a body like this. (aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa's body is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. So we can distinguish what is Kṛṣṇa's body and what is our body. (break) ...understand. Try to understand, that what is the nature... That is called spiritual body. So we have got also similar body, but very small, very small. That is covered by this material body. And because in the spiritual body I am person, I have got form, therefore the material elements have taken a form. Just like when your coat is made, it is made according to your body. Because you have got hands, so the coat has got a hand. But the hand of the coat is not real. The real hand is within the coat. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). Within. These foolish people, they do not understand. They take, "This is hand. This is hand." He does not know that this hand is artificial, outward. Real hand is within. This is their misconception. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Try to understand. These are very important question. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Because within the coat the real man is there, therefore the dress has assumed two hands, two legs, one collar, like that. But this is false, like dress. Real... Therefore every living entity has got form. He is not formless. This less intelligent class of men, because they cannot see the form... It is so small... It is so small that if you divide the top portion of your hair into ten thousand parts,...

Morning Walk -- April 11, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...is heat and light.

Italian Man (1): And fire is...?

Prabhupāda: Fire is the origin. That is form. That is not formless. Heat may be formless. Light may be formless, but fire is not formless. Thik hai? If you have got intelligence, then from the form-less, you can approach the form. Just like the sunshine, shining is formless. If you have got form, go to the sun planet. And if you go to the sun planet, you will see the sun-god. But they cannot go. They cannot appreciate that there is a person who is known as sun-god. But it is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham... The name is also given, what is the name of that person. (break)

Morning Walk -- June 12, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: You worship. Because you are rascal, you worship.

Yogeśvara: No, they...

Prabhupāda: We, we worship Kṛṣṇa in His form, but you are formless. You worship that stone. When we make the form of Kṛṣṇa in stone, then we worship, not that any stone. Because Kṛṣṇa is everything, that does not mean I have to worship the dog. That you worship. Because you are impersonalist, you worship dog. And you are doing that. In the morning, you take a dog and worship it. That is your business. Our business is to worship the form of Kṛṣṇa. That is the, required. (pause)

Bhagavān: Could we say that anyone who is engaged in glorifying the body is actually engaged in idol worship?

Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Karandhara: Well, they have an aim. But the aim is... Because they haven't...

Prabhupāda: That you say they have got; he does not say. You say.

Karandhara: No, but I mean philosophically considering, they have an aim, but it's very obscure. The substance and the significance of that aim is without form or conception.

Prabhupāda: So without aim, what is the use of practice? (French)

Pṛthu Putra: He says he likes the practice without goal, and he doesn't give any value to the practice because there is goal.

Prabhupāda: That is foolishness. Without goal, practicing something, it is foolishness. (French)

Room Conversation -- June 20, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: No, influence should be only Kṛṣṇa or God. Kṛṣṇa, when we speak of Kṛṣṇa, God, but they have no clear idea what is God. How does He speak, how does He act. Where does He live. What is His form. What is his color. Nobody knows. Ask any religious people, "Do you know about all these?" (tape too faint to hear) (indistinct) If they think about it at all. First of all, generally they think of something impersonal or void. The Buddhists they think God is zero. And others they think God has no form. So, two classes. The Hindus they think God has not particular form, (indistinct). And you can imagine any of them(?) That is Śaṅkara. The pañcopāsanā. But still Śaṅkara is very careful. He has given five particular forms—the Goddess Durgā, Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Siva, the sun. Therefore there are sections—the sun worshipers, the fire worshipers. Originally, (indistinct). That is Vedic culture.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Metaphysics Society -- February 21, 1975, Caracas:

Prabhupāda: (aside:) Keep Bhagavad-gītā in hand, yes. That's it.

Guest (Hṛdayānanda): So he is saying that this material world is a combination of so many different elements, intelligence, so on and so forth. And in the center of all of this, the essence is that which is eternal. And this eternal thing cannot have any name because then it would be limited, and that would be a contradiction. And also it has no form.

Prabhupāda: No, that eternity, that is nice, that the material world is temporary, and the eternity is spiritual. That is clear understanding. Material elements, just like earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, ego, intelligence, and the spiritual element is which is utilizing these material elements. Do you admit this?

Guest: Si.

Room Conversation with Canadian Ambassador to Iran -- March 13, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: No. The influence should be only Kṛṣṇa, or God. Kṛṣṇa, when we speak of "Kṛṣṇa"—God. But they have no clear idea what is God. How does He speak, how does He act, where does He live, what is His form, what is His qualities—nobody knows. Ask any religious people, "Do you know about all this, about God?" They do not know. What do you think, Atreya? Have they any clear conception of God? They imagine something. If they think of God at all... First of all, generally they think of impersonal or void. Just like the Buddhists. They think God is zero. And others, they think that God has no form. The two classes. The Hindus they think, "Yes, God has no particular form, but He has got many forms. And you can imagine any one of them." That is Śaṅkara, the pañcopāsana. But still, Śaṅkara is very careful. He has given five particular forms. The Goddess Durgā, Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva, the sun, then... Therefore there are a section who are the sun worshiper, or fire worshiper. Original Iranians were like that. So that is Vedic culture.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: Therefore in Islam religion the form is rejected because it will come to that. As soon as they think of form, they think of this material form, beautiful face of woman. That is degradation. Therefore we are strict not to conceive material form. That is Vedic conception. Apāni-pādaḥ javano grahītā: "He has no legs and no hands." This is... means denying the form. And next he says, the Vedas say, javano grahītā: "He can accept whatever you offer to Him." That means God has no material form, but He has form; otherwise how He can accept? How He can understand my love? So therefore in the original Islamism the form is not accepted. So that is Vedic description, form and formless. Formless means no material form, and form means spiritual form, simultaneous. Just like I am, you are. I am within the body, but I am not this body. This form not I am.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: So the pant practically is not the leg. The real leg is within the pant. Similarly, this is not my form; this is like pant, leg of the pant or hand of the coat. Real form is within, asmin dehe. That is not material form. If the real form I could see, you could see, then there was no controversy, the spirit. But they cannot see. Therefore they say "formless." If it is formless, then how the outer form comes out? How it can be? The tailor makes the coat because the man has got form. As the coat has got hands, so it is concluded that the man for whom the coat is made, he has got form. How you can say without form? The difficulty is that we can see the form of the coat, but we cannot see the form of the man. That is my defect with the eyes, not that the God is formless. God is not formless.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: That is another. That is secondary. But God has got form. That is the conclusion. But we cannot see with our present eyes. That is described, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grahyam indriyaiḥ (Brs. 1.2.234). By your these blunt senses... The same thing. Just like I see you. What I see you? Your body. You see me—my body. And when the body is there and the soul is not there, then it is lump of matter. You kick it out and nobody will protest. If a dead body you smash with your legs and boots, nobody will say that "Why you are doing this?" But so long the soul is there, if somebody is smashed like that, immediately there will be protest from all side, "Why you are doing this?" So the people have no knowledge about the real form. Therefore they say formless.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: This has been... Body has been described as the dress. So the form of the dress cannot be there unless there is form of the person who puts on the dress. How can you deny it? Because the dress has got form, the person who puts on the dress must have form. How can you deny this argument? You cannot say "formless." It may be, you cannot see it. That is different thing. But it must be form and individual. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that Kṛṣṇa says, "Arjuna, you and Me and all these persons who are here, they were existing like that in the past, they are now existing, and they will exist in the same way." Therefore all are individual.

Yoga student: With Kṛṣṇa can one say that Kṛṣṇa is the form that presents itself, of Godhead, which presents itself to man, and Bhagavān is the essential aspect?

Prabhupāda: Bhagavān? Yes, in the original.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: That is His action. What is His form?

Young man: A heavenly being.

Young man (2): There is no form given for God. It's spiritual.

Prabhupāda: The description must be there.

Girl: He's a human being. He's got a human form.

Prabhupāda: That I am asking, what is the form?

Young man: Well, the only thing... It just says that He created man after His own image. So...

Prabhupāda: That is the Christian idea.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. There may be different form. But that form is God. Then you have to accept Him God.

Indian man: Yes, OK. And when I say one form, it may be formless also, and I may...

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be, that form is God. You have to accept.

Indian man: OK, I will accept.

Prabhupāda: Then if you accept God, the whole thing is finished.

Indian man: We accept God, but just I was telling...

Indian man: No, same thing as that lady was telling, she sees that God is a light.

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be... That we accept. God is light, God... There are many forms, but that form is God.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1975, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Therefore, Islam religion, (indistinct) reject it (indistinct). As soon as they think of form, they think of this material form, beautiful face of woman. That is degradation. Therefore, we are strict not to conceive material form. That is Vedic conception. Apāni-pādo javano grahitā. "He has no legs, no hands." This is denying the form. Next he says, Vedas says, javana grahitā. "He can accept whatever you offer to Him." That means He has, God has, no material form, but He has form, otherwise how He can accept it? How I can understand by love? So, therefore the original Islam the form is not accepted. That is Vedic description, form and formless. Formless means no material form and form means spiritual form, simultaneous. Just like I am, you are, I am within the body, but I am not this body. This form, I am not I am, but what from the form of the body has come into existence? Because I have got form. The sweater has got hand, because I have got hand.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1975, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Similarly, this is not my form, this is like pant, leg of the pant or hand of the coat. Real form is within. Asmin dehe. That is not material form. If the real form I could see, you could see, then there would be no controversy, but they cannot see. Therefore, they say "formless". If it is formless then how the outward form comes about? How it can be? The tailor makes the coat because the man has got form. As the coat has got hand, so it is concluded that the man for whom the coat is made he has got form. How you can say without form? The difficulty is that we can see the form of the coat but we cannot see the form of the man. That is my defect in the eyes, not that the God is formless. God is not formless.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1975, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: That is another, that is second maybe, but God has got form. That is the conclusion, but we cannot see with the present eyes. That is described, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (Brs. 1.2.234). By your, these blunt senses.... Same thing, just like I see you, but I see your body. You see me, my body, and.... But the body is there, and the soul is not there then it is lump of matter and you kick it out, nobody will protest. If a dead body is smashed with your legs or boots, nobody will say (indistinct). But so long the soul is there, if somebody is smashed like that, immediately they will protest. (indistinct). So people have no knowledge about the real form, therefore they say formless.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1975, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: You may have a big coat or small coat, overcoat, the form is the same. But for convenience (indistinct) or small coat. This has been, body has been, described as the dress so the form of the dress cannot be there unless there is form of the person who puts on the dress. How can I deny it? Because the dress has got form, the person who puts on the dress must have form. How can I deny this argument? You cannot say formless. Maybe you cannot see, that is the way, but the person must be form. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says, "Arjuna, you and Me and all these persons who are here, they are existing like that in the past, they are now existing, and (indistinct), they will always be (indistinct)."

Conversation with Indian Guests -- April 12, 1975, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: He has said somewhere, I don't particularly know, "The Indian priests(?) think like that."

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: In his Gītā, in the verse that describes how to meditate on the formless, he states that although it says in the Bhagavad-gītā that it is very difficult to understand the formless aspect, he says this was true five thousand years ago but now it is no longer true.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I have read in his Gītā.

Guest: Five thousand years ago it must have been true but now...

Room Conversation with Jesuit -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: No, no.

Jesuit: We would say He's pure spirit...

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes, yes, that is stated in the...

Jesuit: There's no form of passivity in God, there's no form of change in God, there's no, no limitations of any sort. Matter has limitations. The soul is immortal because it has no principle of corruption in it. Aristotle would say that matter has parts, outside parts, and so it can, it has in itself the power of dissolving and it would break up, corrupts. The soul never does.

Prabhupāda: We have got this material body and spiritual soul. That is in this material condition there is distinction between the spirit and matter. As soon as the spirit goes from this material body, it has no value.

Conversation with Professor Hopkins -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prabhupāda: That is their theory. Then there is no more difference. In the preliminary stage, when I am not perfect, I am worshiping some imaginary form of God. But when I become perfect there is no need of worshiping, I become one with God. This is impersonal. Now, actually, the Supreme has no form so they recommend whichever form you like to worship you can select out of these five. But their destination is the same. So somebody likes "I worship Śiva," somebody says "I worship Gaṇeśa," somebody says, "I worship Durgā," and Sūrya, or somebody says, "I worship Viṣṇu." So this Vaiṣṇava is impersonalist. You'll find amongst smārta brāhmaṇas there are also some of them Vaiṣṇavas, but they are impersonalists.

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Indian man (2): You see, he has got the principles of Ārya-samāj. Because he is... "Everybody is God." That is his... They are brainwashed. Brainwash is there.

Prabhupāda: What is God? Let us have, understand.

Indian man (3): God has no form.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Indian man (3): Why? Because that is a principle.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Indian man (3): That's the principle.

Prabhupāda: That is your principle.

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Indian man (3): That's the principle.

Prabhupāda: That is your principle.

Indian man (3): He has given all the principles and these principles they taught us...

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. You say God has no form.

Indian man (3): Yes.

Prabhupāda: That is your principle, not others'. You cannot say that is the principle. That is your principle.

Indian man (3): But, sir, there are certain principles laid down.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Indian man (3): And He Himself also cannot break those principles.

Prabhupāda: What is this principle? You have got form, and God has no form?

Indian man (3): Yes.

Prabhupāda: What God has done, fault?

Indian man (3): If He will take form, then He is just a...

Prabhupāda: That is your word.

Indian man (2): That is what we are.

Prabhupāda: No, no. That is your word.

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is your philosophy.

Indian man (2): It is not my philosophy.

Prabhupāda: Because just like you say, "God has no form," we say, "God has form." That is your philosophy.

Indian man (3): Then we have to find out.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Then we have to discuss whether God has form or no form. That will be philosophy. That will be philosophy. If you say, "God has no form," if I say, "God has form," then I don't fol...

Indian man (3): God is sarva-vyāpaka. He cannot be sarva-vyāpaka if He takes form.

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man (3): Sun has no...

Indian man (2): Let him finish.

Prabhupāda: Let me finish. Your "God has no form"—I am trying to explain to that. Now, you say, your reason, the sarva-vyāpaka. Sarva-vyāpaka, I am giving this example. The sunlight is sarva-vyāpaka, but wherefrom the sunlight is coming, it has got a form. So the sarva-vyāpaka, that energy is there. That is called Brahman. That is coming from Kṛṣṇa.

Indian man (3): But what is that sun?

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be, it is example. It is example that this sarva-vyāpaka-prakāśa is coming from the sun globe. So sun globe is localized. Everyone can see. And this prakāśa is coming from Him. Similarly, the sarva-vyāpaka energy is extended everywhere, but it is coming from Kṛṣṇa.

Indian man (3): Coming, right. But that has no form.

Prabhupāda: Why no form? You can see.

Indian man (3): But you see the mat..., a material.

Prabhupāda: It is a matter... You have no idea without matter. How you can say of spirit? You have no idea.

Indian man (3): God is not matter.

Prabhupāda: That's all right, but you cannot...

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: No, hin... There is question of hindrance. I am seeing as it is. That is another thing.

Indian man (2): Hindrance is already there, as I described before. (laughter) Swamijī, my request is that the world is divided into two main things. One, some people believe, a group, believe that world is formless. Some say world has got a form. So instead of entering to this controversy, why we should not agree that whatever you...?

Prabhupāda: No, this is not controversy. This is fact, that God is... That is... We learn from śāstra,

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattva yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate
(SB 1.2.11)

The Absolute Truth is manifested in three ways: impersonal Brahman, and all-pervading Paramātmā, and Personality of Godhead-brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate—but they are one and the same. This is the verdict of the śāstra. So we can understand from this example that the sun is localized.

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: (Hindi)

Indian man (3): There are three things: jīvātmā, Paramātmā or prakṛti. (Hindi) Who is not connected with anything, He is, simply is a guide. He guides.

Prabhupāda: So formless guidance... (Hindi)?

Indian man (3): Formless guidance, Īśvara... (Hindi)

Indian man (2): If you want a guidance, then you have to become formless.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. You are talking. You are not formless. You are giving us guidance, you are talking, but you are not formless.

Indian man (3): Guidance I am not giving. It is guidance of God. It is given by God. It is given by God.

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Indian man (3): Guidance I am not giving. It is guidance of God. It is given by God. It is given by God.

Prabhupāda: No, no. How? No, no. If guidance cannot be given by a formless...

Indian man (3): I am a medium simply. The guidance is given by God. That is through Vedas.

Prabhupāda: These are contradictory. You are talking something, you are form, and you say the original talker is formless. How it is possible?

Kartikeya: Sir, you are building building. There is no architect? How in the building there are no architects? Anything that is made must have got an architect or...

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Indian man (3): Just because you have got form, He must also have a form?

Kartikeya: Yes, because we are His reflection; we are His particles.

Indian man (3): No, no, no. We are not His particles. I say it is not...

Prabhupāda: No, no, where you get this idea that formless can give guidance? Where do you get this idea? Where is your experience? Your experience is as soon as there is guidance, there is a form. So how do you get this expe... Why do you talk something which is not within your experience, nobody's experience? As soon as you talk of guidance, there is form.

Indian man (3): But what is air?

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: No, no, first of all answer this. Why do you get this idea that a guidance comes from formless? Just like this government. We do not see that the guidance coming from the sky. There is Indira Gandhi; there is minister.

Indian man (3): But these are all in the material world.

Prabhupāda: So how do you say that guidance is coming from formless? Because you have no such experience, why do you say something which is not within your experience?

Indian man (3): So whatever we experience should be...

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Otherwise you cannot talk. If you cannot say anything which is not within your experience, then what is the meaning of that talk?

Indian man (2): Even if there is no form, we have to create a form.

Indian man (3): But why?

Indian man (2): Just to have our faith in that form.

Indian man (3): Now, actually, when you pray God actually, do you open your eyes or do you close your eyes? What do you do?

Indian man (2): We close our eyes. We also...

Indian man (3): Why do you close the eyes?

Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: No, we can walk on this. This is nice.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: This is okay?

Prabhupāda: This is open. We can walk. (break) Nirākāra, impersonalist, "God is formless"—that is another way of denying God, gentlemanly way of denying God. "Yes, there is God, but He has no head." (chuckles) What kind of God? "He has no head. He has no tail, He has no leg, He has... He cannot see. He cannot eat." Then what He is? This is another way of denying God. (break)

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: ...reasonable to put forward the argument that if man can do all of these things, then God must be able to do at least those things plus more.

Prabhupāda: No. God has no head. Then what can he do?

Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: No. God has no head. Then what can he do?

Devotee (2): I asked one lady, she said, "God wants to test your faith that... Ultimately He has no form, but He wants to test your faith to see if you..."

Prabhupāda: No, how He'll test? He has no head. How He'll test? Unless one has got head, how he can act with brain? Where you get this idea that one has no head, still he has got brain? Where you get this idea? Hm? The brain substance is within the head. This is our experience. So where do you get this idea that He has no head and still He has got brain? Hm? What is the answer?

Harikeśa: They will say that God is man's conception.

Morning Walk -- December 3, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Śūnyavādī. Śūnyavādī. That is śūnyavādī. Nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādī. Śūnyavādī, they say, "There is no God, and there is nothing, fact. Everything is combination of some illusory things." This is śūnyavādī. And the Māyāvādī, they say, "Yes, there is God, but He has no form." Therefore we have to kill both of them. Nirviśeṣa-śūnyavād-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe. The whole Western world are filled up with these śūnyavādi and impersonalists. India is also nowadays, but there are, still there are devotees in the ācārya-sampradāya. They are fighting against śunyavāda and nirviśeṣa.

Harikeśa: In South India I think a lot of the Rāmānuja followers are.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break)

Room Conversation -- December 14, 1975, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: So, then Kṛṣṇa is speaking, otherwise how he heard? Hm? This nonsense is going on. Everywhere, it is very difficult position. So many rascals. And we have to push on our movement through so many obstacles, but still we are going on, that is Kṛṣṇa's mercy. Otherwise we are simply meeting with obstacles. What can be done? We have to go, forward. I, I met in... same idea! Impersonalism, bogus thought and no clear idea.

Bhāgavata: One man came to Calcutta temple, and he insisted that Kṛṣṇa was impersonal, that He has no form. That He was, ultimately there is just the Brahman. I said that Kṛṣṇa says in the Gītā, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham; He says, "that aham means the Brahman." I said that if that aham means the Brahman, then why is Kṛṣṇa being redundant in saying that the Brahman is subordinate to the Brahman? Brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham, He just said Brahman is subordinate to aham, Me.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 8, 1976, Nellore:

Mahāṁsa: It's become a world issue.

Acyutānanda: In most books about Hinduism they describe that Hinduism is a cult where they worship many gods and ultimately God is formless.

Prabhupāda: No.

Acyutānanda: So we are against that. Then we are not Hindus even philosophically according to that.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We are against all so-called cheating religion. The Hinduism is also a cheating religion. We are preaching Bhāgavata, and Bhāgavata beginning that "We have kicked out all cheating religion." What is cheating religion? That one has to understand. And Bhāgavata says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇitam: (SB 6.3.19) "Religion means the order given by God." If you do not know who is God, "imperson," then where is your religion? We have to tackle things.

Morning Walk -- January 12, 1976, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: That impersonal preaching is not atheism.

Indian man: For example?

Prabhupāda: Anyone impersonalist—"God has no form." There are so many rascals. So he has got form to speak against God, and God has no form. This is going on all over the world. He speaks against the God, that "God is not a person." So he is person, and God is not person. Just see their foolishness. He is made by God, and he is a person, and who made him, he is not a person. This is foolishness.

Indian man: Yes, there's a good sense in it.

Prabhupāda: Everything.... But therefore they are senseless, that "I am person, my father is person..."

Room Conversation -- April 23, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: So love of God means six things. This is the difference between other literature and Vedic literature. Here it is said, "love of God," but in the Vedic literature you will find the process of love,

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
(SB 7.5.23)

Nine different processes. First of all you should hear about the glories of God, śravaṇam. Then you should preach the glories of God. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. You should always remember God, smaraṇam. Pāda-sevanam: you should worship the Lord by worshiping, giving service to His lotus feet. But if God is imperson, where is feet? And if God is no form, then how you can remember Him?

Morning Walk -- June 8, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Otherwise, why the form came? Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). If we have to accept this sūtra, that everything emanates from Him, so unless Kṛṣṇa has got such similar form...?

Hari-śauri: That's one argument that always defeats the impersonalists. They can't explain how forms have come from something without form.

Prabhupāda: Impersonalists are neophytes. My Guru Mahārāja used to say, "With poor fund of knowledge." Their knowledge is imperfect.

Rāmeśvara: Yesterday you were telling a reporter that it is not possible for modern man to travel to the moon, but in your Second Canto you describe that in a previous age of Kali the men had created mechanical means for going to other planets, and they were creating havoc all over the universe, and Lord Buddha appeared to stop their nonsense.

Prabhupāda: Lord Buddha?

Answers to a Questionnaire from Bhavan's Journal -- June 28, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Reason means people do not know. They cheat. Suppose I present something, a misconception, and if there are others also who can speak something on the... There are two lawyers. One is speaking one point of law, another lawyer is speaking. So if you take one side only, then how you will understand? So they are simply reading this Śārīraka-bhāṣya. They are not reading other bhāṣyas, just like the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is natural. And they are cheating people. That's all. Why there are two lawyers? Two opposite parties, there are two lawyers. One lawyer says this law is like this, and the other party says, "No, it is this." And the judge is there, he will take what is the real meaning. But this interpretation is required when things are not clear. Now the Vedānta-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), "The Absolute Truth is that from whom everything comes in, emanates." Now, here is... In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa said that ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). Clearly. That "I am the origin of everything, and everything comes from Me." So why don't you take it? Why simply you remain theoretically understood that Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates. But when the Absolute Truth comes before you and says that "I am the origin of everything. Everything comes from Me." Why don't you accept Kṛṣṇa as Absolute Truth? Why do you take the so-called impersonalist view only, that God has no form?

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Yes. As he desired, so he got a form. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). The form is offered by the Supreme Absolute Truth, as he desires. Just like the cloth has no form, but as the customer desires, the tailor gives a form suitable to his desire. Similarly, material world means we have got varieties. In the spiritual world also we have got varieties. Because we are originally of varieties of form, we are getting these varieties of body, being influenced by the modes of material nature. So I'm desiring that if I get such body, I can eat even stool. So God gives you, "All right, you take this body. Become a pig and eat stool." This is going on. Why? Your desiring. You eat, actually. So īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). He's friendly, He's sitting in everyone's heart, and the living entity is desiring. So bhrāmayan. Desiring means he wants to go here and there.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: No, no, how you can say nobody is inhabiting?

Devotee: You said that they are there, you just go to the different forms. So that means they are existing without anyone living there?

Prabhupāda: No, form, a class of form. It can be immediately, that A class, B class, C class, D class. So if you are fit for D class, immediately form for you, a D class body is there, made.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It is also existing in the sense that in the unmanifested form, before it is manifested, the form is there.

Morning Walk -- July 12, 1976, New York:

Rāmeśvara: Prabhupāda, in New York City, many of these big buildings have courtyards, and in the courtyards they have purchased sculpture. So all the sculpture is abstract. They are against form; they are all impersonalists. And they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to have these gigantic structures. All over New York City you see them. They have no form.

Prabhupāda: That is a form. The structure itself has a form.

Rāmeśvara: But it's abstract.

Prabhupāda: No, it is not ab..., it is form.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's not personal, that's what he means.

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is a form of their imagination, that's all. Not standard form, but it is a form. They want to make everything formless with form. That means they cannot avoid form.

Morning Walk -- July 14, 1976, New York:

Hari-śauri: This is the kind of artwork that they're putting up everywhere now (bangs on the sculpture).

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Hollow. Called the formless form.

Prabhupāda: Hmm? Yes.

Devotee: That's supposed to be pleasing to the eye, it's supposed to bring pleasant thoughts into the mind. (laughter) It simply makes them crazy.

Rāmeśvara: It's like the "emperor's new clothes." Everyone thinks it is pleasing because the leaders or the artists say it is pleasing. Everyone is being fooled. And if they say it is meaningless then they are called a fool.

Prabhupāda: In Bengali it is called pare mukhe jhalma(?). Somebody says "Oh, it is very hot!" "Oh, it is very hot!" (laughter) He did not taste, but the other man says "Oh, it is very hot!" So he says "Oh, it is very hot!" Pare mukhe jhalma.

Room Conversation -- September 11, 1976, Vrndavana:

Pradyumna: I was just underlining that thing and...

Prabhupāda: So you write. I've already told you. I cannot speak now. You write. I have given you already hints.

Pradyumna: Avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannam. He says, "I come from the formless." But Kṛṣṇa says anyone who says that is abuddhayaḥ.

Prabhupāda: Besides that, He says in another place that as they pass through our existence... (break) ...in future we shall continue, then when he becomes avyakta?

Pradyumna: Yes. Past existence he was, future existence he will be when he becomes...

Prabhupāda: Past, present, future, there are three times. So if every time he is person, when he becomes imperson?

Letter to Sai Baba -- September 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Putaparti? What is that?

Pradyumna: Putaparti is in Andhra. "His contemporary avatāra rests in the trinity of Sirti Baba, Sai Baba, and Prem Baba to come. So Satya Sai Baba, the second of the triple incarnation, asserted in the course of a marathon interview to add, 'In my present avatāra, I have come armed with the fullness of the power of the formless God to save humanity.' "

Prabhupāda: So, to whom we shall address this letter?

Pradyumna: Well, it depends where we want to send it for publishing. To this or to another magazine.

Prabhupāda: He says that "I'm avatāra." So therefore it should be addressed to him. He says. So address to Satya Sai Baba. Where is he, at Bombay?

Letter to Sai Baba -- September 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Pradyumna: "Then you have claimed to take..."

Prabhupāda: No, no. What he has written.

Pradyumna: "In my present avatāra I have come armed with the fullness of the power of the formless God to save humanity."

Prabhupāda: So you have claimed to... What is that? Again read it.

Pradyumna: "I have come armed with the fullness of the power of the formless God to save humanity."

Prabhupāda: So you have claimed to take a form of the formless God. But we see in the Bhagavad-gītā that God is never formless. Find out this verse, avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannaṁ manyante mām abuddhayaḥ.

Letter to Sai Baba -- September 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Purport.

Pradyumna: "Those who are worshipers of demigods have been described as less intelligent persons, and here the impersonalists are similarly described. Lord Kṛṣṇa in His personal form is here speaking before Arjuna, and still, due to ignorance, impersonalists argue that the Supreme Lord ultimately has no form. Yāmunācārya, a great devotee of the Lord in the disciplic succession from Rāmānujācārya, has written two very appropriate verses in this connection. He says, 'My dear Lord, devotees like Vyāsadeva and Nārada know You to be the Personality of Godhead. By understanding different Vedic literatures, one can come to know Your characteristics, Your form and Your activities, and one can thus understand that You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance, the demons, the nondevotees, cannot understand You.

Letter to Sai Baba -- September 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. Last what you have written.

Pradyumna: "Similarly, Lord Rāma's incarnation, Lord Buddha's incarnation, Lord Caitanya's incarnationness, we have got full information from the Vedic scriptures. Where is your incarnation described? Will you kindly give the reference. Anyone can say like you, that one is an incarnation, as it has become a fashion nowadays. But is that claim only the proof of one's becoming an incarnation? Such unauthorized claim of one's becoming an incarnation is certainly ridiculous. Then you have claimed to take a form of the formless God. But we see in the Bhagavad-gītā that God is never formless."

Letter to Sai Baba -- September 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: (dictating:) Only the rascals and less intelligent class of men think that God is formless and when He incarnates, He takes a particular form. In this connection, a verse from Yāmunācārya may be quoted as follows. You have quoted the Bhagavad-gītā? That quote?

Pradyumna: Well, it doesn't mention the Sanskrit here of that Yāmunācārya verse.

Prabhupāda: No, no. "In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said"—what you have written?

Pradyumna: Oh. We can put the Sanskrit, avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannam.

Prabhupāda: No, what you have written here?

Letter to Sai Baba -- September 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Pradyumna: Oh. We can put the Sanskrit, avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannam.

Prabhupāda: No, what you have written here?

Pradyumna: "Such unauthorized claim of one's becoming... Then you have claimed to take a form of the formless God, but we see in the Bhagavad-gītā..."

Prabhupāda: That you have to quote.

Pradyumna: Yes. So, Bhagavad-gītā 7.24, Sanskrit and translation. "But we see in the Bhagavad-gītā..."

Prabhupāda: Read it.

Letter to Sai Baba -- September 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Pradyumna:

avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannaṁ
manyante mām abuddhayaḥ
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto
mamāvyayam anuttamam
(BG 7.24)

"Unintelligent men who know Me not, think that I have assumed this form and personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is changeless and supreme." That God is never formless. Only the rascals and less intelligent class of men think that God is formless and when He incarnates he takes a particular form. In this connection a verse from Yāmunācārya may be quoted as follows.

Prabhupāda: So what is Yāmunacārya's quotation?

Pradyumna: "My dear Lord, devotees like Vyāsadeva and Nārada know You to be the Personality of Godhead. By understanding different Vedic literatures, one can come to know Your characteristics, Your form and Your activities, and one can thus understand that You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Room Conversation on New York court case -- November 2, 1976, Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: That Bhavan's Journal, he did not dare to publish my statement. Everyone is combined to kill Kṛṣṇa. Everyone, all over the world. God... "There is no God," the scientists, these philosophers, the politicians, everyone. This is the only movement talking of God. Nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādī. Everywhere, impersonalists and zero. There is no God. The zero-vādīs, they are little frank but these rascals, nirviśeṣavādīs, God has no head, no tail, they are dangerous. Zero-vādīs, they call him zero, that's alright. That is, we can understand, they admit. But these rascals, zero, nirviśeṣavādīs, "Yes, there is God, but He has no head, he has no tail, he has no hand, he has no leg." Then what he has? They are greatest cheater. More dangerous than the śūnyavādīs. That is the version of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Vedinam mayima bhogda hoila nāstik, vedāśraya, nāstikavāda bhogda ki hodi. These Buddhists, they do not care for the Vedic injunction. We can understand. But these Śankarites they take shelter of the Vedas and they say, "There is no form of God." And that is being followed (by) the so-called Hindus. All the invitees in that meeting, Bajaj meeting, they are all nirviśeṣvādī.

Press Conference -- December 16, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Yes, immediately you see Him. Kṛṣṇa's picture is there. Kṛṣṇa's picture and Kṛṣṇa is not different. So if you concentrate upon Kṛṣṇa, you immediately see Him.

Guest (4): You see Him.

Prabhupāda: Yes, immediately. But if you think Kṛṣṇa has no form, then it is difficult. Immediately. Now He says, man-manāḥ. He personally says, man-manāḥ, so where is the difficulty?

Guest (4): No, the form of the light, you see or...?

Prabhupāda: Why light? With two hands, two legs, He is speaking, man-manāḥ: "Me." Why light? Light is another feature of His existence, but He says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. Therefore we are presenting. Mām evaiṣyasi asaṁśayaḥ (BG 18.68).

Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- December 26, 1976, Bombay:

Guest (2): Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, he's a person. His father must be person.

Prabhupāda: Yes. This is common sense. If son of God, if the son has form, how the father hasn't got form? What do you say? I'm asking you. This English boy. How the father can be formless? Christ says that he's the son of God. Is it not?

Englishman: He said he was, yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But he's a person. So how the father is imperson? What kind of father?

Dr. Patel: Sir, instead of calling person, we say he's an individual. Person means this body.

Prabhupāda: Person is individual.

Dr. Patel: Individual. So God is an individual then?

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Evening Darsana -- May 9, 1977, Hrishikesh:

Prabhupāda: I say, "Here is Kṛṣṇa. He is God." They accept it, worship Him. Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ. Just if you cannot do anything, just offer one obeisances, namaskāra. Any child can do. They have done it, and they are going ahead. (Hindi) Kṛṣṇa-upadeśa is there, perfect upadeśa. (Hindi) As Kṛṣṇa says, you try to assimilate it and distribute it. There is no diffi... (Hindi) Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nān... (Hindi) Eighty-four books, each book, four hundred pages, in ten years. And we are selling, collecting by selling books, five to six lakh of rupees daily in foreign countries. What is that qualification? We have tried to convince people that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Being. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). (Hindi) "The Supreme Being is Kṛṣṇa." Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. (Hindi) Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). (Hindi) Form. Formlessness. Formless is another feature, but real feature is Śyāmasundara. Yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpam.

Evening Darsana -- May 15, 1977, Hrishikesh:

Prabhupāda: Just like in the Upaniṣads it is said, paśyaty acakṣuḥ: "He sees, but He has no eyes." So what is that? How we can think of, one is seeing without eye? Aiye. There are so many. Śṛṇoty akarṇaḥ: "He has no ears..." So both things are there. When it is said, paśyaty acakṣuḥ... Mean cakṣuḥ, eyes, as soon we think of eyes, we think of our eyes, own eyes, and therefore it is forbidden, "Not like your eyes." Paśyati. He can see everywhere. Therefore we have to discuss śāstra. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti (Bs. 5.32). The aṅga, the different parts of the body of Kṛṣṇa, has got all the qualities of other aṅga. Just like we can see with eyes, but Kṛṣṇa can speak also with eyes. He can eat also with eyes. That is difference. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti. So paśyaty acakṣuḥ means He has different type of eyes, not like our eyes. When there is nirākāra... Nirākāra means He hasn't got a ākāra, a form, like ours. That is nirākāra. But He has his form. And Kṛṣṇa says... So dehino 'smin yathā dehe: (BG 2.13) "Within this body the owner of the body is there." But if the owner of the body has no form, how the material form has come into existence?

Page Title:Formless (Conversations)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:22 of Jun, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=69, Let=0
No. of Quotes:69