Nārāyaṇa has got two kinds of expansion. One is called svāṁśa, personal expansion. Just like there are so many incarnations:
- rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan
- nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu
- kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.39)
So Nārāyaṇa, He has got many forms. Kṛṣṇa is the original Nārāyaṇa. And from Kṛṣṇa there are expansion, catur-vyūha: Vāsudeva, Śaṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, Pradyumna. Then Nārāyaṇa. From Nārāyaṇa, puruṣāvatāra: the Mahā Viṣṇu avatāra, the Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu avatāra, the Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu avatāra. In this way Nārāyaṇa has got personal expansion. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca (Bs. 5.33). We get this information from Vedic literature.
So Nārāyaṇa . . . and we are also expansion of Nārāyaṇa, vibhinnāṁśa. We are called vibhinna, separated particles, part and parcel of Nārāyaṇa. And Nārāyaṇa has got personal expansions. So we are to get knowledge from Nārāyaṇa, or Kṛṣṇa. That is perfect. That is perfect knowledge. The Vedas means the knowledge from Nārāyaṇa. Therefore it is perfect. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye (SB 1.1.1). He imparted the Vedic knowledge. Lord Brahmā is not independent. He received knowledge from Nārāyaṇa. So if you receive knowledge from Nārāyaṇa, that is perfect knowledge. That Nārāyaṇa, sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ nārāyaṇaḥ (Śaṅkarācārya). If you receive knowledge from Kṛṣṇa, that is perfect.