First, puruṣāvatāra. Purusāvatāra, these Viṣṇus, three Viṣṇu—Mahā-Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu—They are called puruṣāvatāra. Then līlāvatāra. God sometimes manifests Himself as incarnation of fish, incarnation of hog, incarnation of lion, incarnation of Rāma. Rāma is also puruṣāvatāra, yes, I mean to say, līlāvatāra, Rāma. So līlāvatāra, then guṇāvatāra. Gunāvatāra is according to the modes of this material nature there are three guṇāvatāras. So first, Himself, Viṣṇu; and the second, Brahmā. Brahmā is also guṇāvatāra, incarnation of the quality.
There are three qualities in the material world. Brahmā is the incarnation of the passion, mode of passion, and Viṣṇu is the incarnation of the mode of goodness, and Śiva, Lord Śiva, is the incarnation of the mode of ignorance. So all these three avatāras, although they are different manifestation of God, still, in the scriptures this is recommended that if anyone wants to get out of this material entanglement, then he has to worship these incarnation in the modes of goodness, Viṣṇu-avatāra. That is . . . these things are described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So one may say that, "If three of them are incarnation of the Supreme, why particularly to Viṣṇu? Why not Lord Śiva and why not Brahmā?" That is described in the Bhāgavata. Just like I require fire. So fire, the fire, there is. Just like wood is produced from the earth, and fire is produced from the wood, similarly, although it, production, the source of production, is the same, but still, I require fire. I cannot have fire from the earth or from the, just tree. I have to take the wood, fuel. This example is there. Although the source is one, still, unless I get fire, my purpose will not be served.
Similarly, this Viṣṇu and Śiva and Brahmā . . . from, I mean to say, gross earth the wood is produced like tree, and from tree we take wood, and from wood there is fire. So when we get fire, then we can serve our purpose. Similarly, although these three avatāras are there in the material world, we have to take shelter of the viṣṇu-avatāra, goodness. So far spiritual progress, one has to be situated on the modes of goodness first.
Therefore we require to be Brāhmins, qualified Brāhmins, then Vaiṣṇava. Brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. Brāhmin does not mean caste. Brāhmin means one who knows the Supreme Brahman. He is Brāhmin. And then, after being Brāhmin, then you have to transcend that position and put yourself in the pure goodness.
This material goodness is contaminated. Sometimes goodness is affected by ignorance and passion in the material . . . so when you are transcendental to this material goodness, that stage is called Vāsudeva stage. And Vāsudeva stage, that means God realization.
So there are three incarnation of guṇāvatāra, then manvantarāvatāra. Manvantarāvatāra means . . . there is seventy-one yugas. One yuga means about 4,300,000's of years. 4,300,000's of years, that makes a complete yuga. Such seventy-one yuga is the duration of a Manu. That is called Man . . . and each Manu is also an incarnation, manvantarāvatāra. And such Manu takes place, fourteen Manus take place, during one day of Brahma. So manvantarāvatāra.
Then yuga avatāra. Yuga avatāra . . . in each yuga, during that 4,300,000's of years, there are yuga avatāra. They are the incarnation. They come. They are called yugāvatāras. And then there is śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Śaktyāveśa-avatāra, they are counted just like Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ. They are counted amongst the śaktyāveśāvatāras. They are also incarnation of śaktyāveśāvatāra, powerful. In this way the Supreme Lord manifests all over the universes. There are innumerable universes, and some of His incarnation are working always.
So God's kingdom is not vacant. Just like we are thinking that except this earthly planet, all planets are vacant. Somebody is suggesting it is a lump of ashes. Just like they are thinking of this moon planet—a lump of dust. I cannot, of course, think like that. How dust can remain in a lump and how so much illumination come out from the dust? But they are putting the theory that the moon planet is a lump of dust. So let them do. But from the scripture we understand that there are innumerable universes, and each and every universe is full with innumerable planets, and each planet is full with innumerable living entities, and God's incarnation is working somewhere, other, to reclaim these conditioned souls.