Demigod Worship

Published on September 29th, 2000 | by

13

Krishna is an Incarnation of Maha-Visnu? There is No Krsnaloka??

As a matter of fact Krisna is only an avatara of Maha Visnu, and there are many such avataras. You have also stated in many verses about golok brundavana. In which scripture did you find it that there is some loka with this name? As far as i know there is Vaikuntam, which is the abode of LORD Maha Visnu…

Hello in verse 14 of 9 th chapter you wrote

“…………Pure devotees are not even attracted by Krsna’s other features, such as the four-armed Maha-Visnu. They are simply attracted by the two-armed form of Krsna. Since they are not attracted to other features of Krsna (what to speak of the demigods), they are not concerned with any form of a demigod or of a human being. They only meditate upon Krsna in Krsna consciousness………..”

what do you mean by this? do you mean maha visnu is an avatara of krishna . Actually they are one and the same. You are diferentiating maha visnu from krishna.

As a matter of fact krisna is only an avatara of maha visnu. and there are many such avataras. it doesnt matter how many hand he has got.

and you have also stated in many verses about golok brundavana. In which scripture did you find it that there is some loka with this name? As far as i know there is Vaikuntam, which is the abode of LORD maha visnu. In many text you are trying to convince that only krisna is everything , and should one should concentrate only on krisna. But it is not true, one can worship or concentrate on any form of LORD, to get liberation.

Dont make your website Exclusive for word krishna

Please remove this kind of commentaries from your website, and please do not spoil bagavath geetha, the eternal and most secret science of yoga from breath of LORD.

i hope you take up this issue, and do the meaningful very soon. at the same time it is a great service to provide gita on internet. thanks for that.

thank you

dilip

Dear Dilip,

Hello, Hare Krishna. Thank you very much for visiting the http://www.asitis.com website and sending in your comments. I am very glad you have asked this question, as it is a very common notion among the Hindus that Krishna is an incarnation of Visnu. It is a sad history. Over the years there have been hundreds and thousands of translations and commentaries on Krishna’s Bhagavad-gita both in India and in the West. Unfortunately most of them were prepared with some motive other than simply presenting the discussion between Krishna and Arjuna that occurred five thousand years ago on the battlefield of Kurusettra. Unfortunately people who read these motivated commentaries do not understand Krishna or the message of Kirshna’s book, Bhagavad-gita. For more information on this you can read the preface to Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

This phenomenon was dramatically illustrated in the Western countries. For more than the last two hundred years Krishna’s Bhagavad-gita has been very popular in the West among philosophers, religionists and scholars and the general public also. There have been hundreds of translations in the English language and the Gita had been read by millions of people in the West before the Founder-Acarya of the Hare Krishna movement, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, came to America in 1965. The amazing thing is, although the message of Krishna’s Gita is so clear if read “As It Is,” before 1965 not a single person in the Western world had became a devotee of Krishna. Before Srila Prabhupada presented his translation, “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” the Gita was accepted as a brilliant book of philosophy. But the thought of surrendering to Krishna never entered into anyone’s mind until they read Srila Prabhupada’s translation, Bhagavad-gita AS IT IS.

Srila Prabhupada’s translation of the Gita has created a revolution unlike any before it. It has inspired tens of thousands of wealthy, materially comfortable Westerners [and many Indians now also] to give up the materialistic way of life and take on a completely different life dedicated to serving Krishna. Why? Because Srila Prabhupada has not, like almost all the other translators of the Gita, tried to minimize Krishna’s position or twist some meaning other than surrender to Krishna out of the book. Srila Prabhupada has let Krishna speak to the world by presenting His book, AS IT IS and the results have been wonderful.

Our general tendency in the material world is to be envious of others. We envy anyone who has a position greater than our own, that is the materialistic way. So when Krishna comes and says He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that we should all surrender to Him, such instructions are not liked by materialistic persons. So they write commentaries on the Gita to cover up all the clear instructions Krishna has given with their mental speculation and word jugglery and the poor reader is left totally confused and certainly does not understand the Bhagavad-gita at all.

In my experience that is generally the position of the Hindus at present. Totally confused. Even in India. Before I joined the Hare Krishna movement I went on a student exchange program to India [Rajhastan and Gujrat] and I stayed with may wealthy Indian families and they were all pious families, almost all devotees of Krishna. I asked them so many questions, but even though they were going to the temple every day, they did not know why and could not explain what they believed at all.

So I was very pleased when I discovered the books of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He has so perfectly and completely explained the philosophy of India that even we can understand it…

As for your specific question in regard to Krishna and Visnu. Visnu is an incarnation of Krishna, Krishna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, syam bhagavan. It is true that all the Visnu-tattva incarnations including Maha-Visnu are non-different from Krishna, but still Krishna is the origin of them all. This point is confirmed in so many places in the Bhagavad-gita and in so many other Vedic texts also. Where are your quotes from the Bhagavad-gita to say Maha-Visnu is the origin of Krishna? There is no such quote at all. So where have you got the idea from? It is not in the Bhagavad-gita at all.

It is Krishna who is speaking the Bhagavad-gita and all the way through the book He is using the word aham meaning “I”. He says aham sarvasya prabhavo, “I am the source of all the material and spiritual worlds…”

Bhagavad-gita 10.41 The Opulence of the Absolute

yad yad vibhutimat sattvam
srimad urjitam eva va
tat tad evavagaccha tvam
mama tejo-‘msa-sambhavam

Know that all beautiful, glorious, and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My [KRISHNA’S] splendor.

Bhagavad-gita 14.3 The Three Modes Of Material Nature

mama yonir mahad brahma
tasmin garbham dadhamy aham
sambhavah sarva-bhutanam
tato bhavati bharata

The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, and it is that Brahman that I [KRISHNA] impregnate, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata.

Bhagavad-gita 14.4 The Three Modes Of Material Nature

sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita

It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I [KRISHNA] am the seed-giving father.

In this verse it is clearly explained that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the original father of all living entities. The living entities are combinations of the material nature and the spiritual nature. Such living entities are seen not only on this planet, but in every planet, even in the highest, where Brahma is situated. Everywhere there are living entities; within the earth there are living entities, even within water and within fire. All these appearances are due to the mother, material nature, and Krsna’s seed-giving process. The purport is that the living entities, being impregnated in the material world, come out and form at the time of creation according to their past deeds.

Bhagavad-gita 4.7 Transcendental Knowledge

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham

Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion–at that time I {KRISHNA] descend Myself.

Bhagavad-gita 7.7 Knowledge of the Absolute

mattah parataram nanyat
kincid asti dhananjaya
mayi sarvam idam protam
sutre mani-gana iva

O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me {KRISHNA]. Everything rests upon Me [KRISHNA], as pearls are strung on a thread.

Bhagavad-gita 9.7 The Most Confidential Knowledge

sarva-bhutani kaunteya
prakrtim yanti mamikam
kalpa-ksaye punas tani
kalpadau visrjamy aham

O son of Kunti, at the end of the millennium every material manifestation enters into My [KRISHNA’S] nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by [KRISHNA’S] My potency I again create.

Bhagavad-gita 9.10 The Most Confidential Knowledge

mayadhyaksena prakrtih
suyate sa-caracaram
hetunanena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate

This material nature is working under [KRISHNA’S] My direction, O son of Kunti, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.

I have just included a few quotes for your reading, there are hundreds more. But where are the quotes saying Maha-Visnu is the origin of Krishna?

Bhagavad-gita 10.8 The Opulence of the Absolute

aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah

I [KRISHNA] am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me [KRISHNA]. The wise who know this perfectly engage in [KRISHNA’S] My devotional service and worship [KRISHNA] Me with all their hearts.

A learned scholar who has studied the Vedas perfectly and has information from authorities like Lord Caitanya and who knows how to apply these teachings can understand that Krsna is the origin of everything in both the material and spiritual worlds, and because he knows this perfectly he becomes firmly fixed in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. He can never be deviated by any amount of nonsensical commentaries or by fools. All Vedic literature agrees that Krsna is the source of Brahma, Siva and all other demigods. In the Atharva Veda it is said, “yo brahmanam vidadhati: purvam yo vai vedams ca gapayati sma krsnah.” “It was Krsna who in the beginning instructed Brahma in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past.” Then again it is said, “atha puruso ha vai narayano ‘kamayata prajah srjeya ity upakramya.” “Then the Supreme Personality Narayana desired to create living entities.” Again it is said:

narayanad brahma jayate, narayanad prajapatih prajayate,
narayanad indro jayate,
narayanad astau vasavo jayante,
narayanad ekadasa
rudra jayante, narayanad dvadasadityah.

“From Narayana, Brahma is born, and from Narayana, the patriarchs are also born. From Narayana, Indra is born, from Narayana the eight Vasus are born, from Narayana the eleven Rudras are born, from Narayana the twelve Adityas are born.”

It is said in the same Vedas, brahmanyo devaki-putrah: “The son of Devaki, Krsna, is the Supreme Personality.” Then it is said:

eko vai narayana asin na brahma na isano napo nagni samau neme
dyav-aprthivi na naksatrani na suryah sa ekaki na ramate tasya
dhyanantah sthasya yatra chandogaih kriyamanastakadi-samjnaka
stuti-stomah stomam ucyate.

“In the beginning of the creation there was only the Supreme Personality Narayana. There was no Brahma, no Siva, no fire, no moon, no stars in the sky, no sun. There was only Krsna, who creates all and enjoys all”

In the many Puranas it is said that Lord Siva was born from the highest, the Supreme Lord Krsna, and the Vedas say that it is the Supreme Lord, the creator of Brahma and Siva, who is to be worshiped. In the Moksa-dharma Krsna also says, prajapatim ca rudram capy aham eva srjami vai tau hi mam na vijanito mama maya-vimohitau. “The patriarchs, Siva and others are created by Me, though they do not know that they are created by Me because they are deluded by My illusory energy.” In the Varaha Purana it is also said, narayanah paro devas tasmaj jatas caturmukhah tasmad rudro ‘bhavad devah sa ca sarva-jnatam gatah. “Narayana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from Him Brahma was born, from whom Siva was born.”

Lord Krsna is the source of all generations, and He is called the most efficient cause of everything. He says that because “everything is born of Me, I am the original source of all. Everything is under Me; no one is above Me.” There is no supreme controller other than Krsna. One who understands Krsna in such a way from a bona fide spiritual master and from Vedic literature, who engages all his energy in Krsna consciousness, becomes a truly learned man. In comparison to him, all others, who do not know Krsna properly, are but fools. Only a fool would consider Krsna to be an ordinary man. A Krsna conscious person should not be bewildered by fools; he should avoid all unauthorized commentaries and interpretations on Bhagavad-gita and proceed in Krsna consciousness with determination and firmness.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.28 Krsna Is the Source of All Incarnations

ete camsa-kalah pumsah
krsnas tu bhagavan svayam
indrari-vyakulam lokam
mrdayanti yuge yuge

All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Sri Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.

In this particular stanza Lord Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, is distinguished from other incarnations. He is counted amongst the avataras (incarnations) because out of His causeless mercy the Lord descends from His transcendental abode. Avatara means “one who descends.” All the incarnations of the Lord, including the Lord Himself, descend on the different planets of the material world as also in different species of life to fulfill particular missions. Sometimes He comes Himself, and sometimes His different plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions, or His differentiated portions directly or indirectly empowered by Him, descend on this material world to execute certain specific functions. Originally the Lord is full of all opulences, all prowess, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation. When they are partly manifested through the plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions, it should be noted that certain manifestations of His different powers are required for those particular functions. When in the room small electric bulbs are displayed, it does not mean that the electric powerhouse is limited by the small bulbs. The same powerhouse can supply power to operate large-scale industrial dynamos with greater volts. Similarly, the incarnations of the Lord display limited powers because so much power is needed at that particular time.

According to Srila Jiva Gosvami’s statement, in accordance with authoritative sources, Lord Krsna is the source of all other incarnations. It is not that Lord Krsna has any source of incarnation. All the symptoms of the Supreme Truth in full are present in the person of Lord Sri Krsna, and in the Bhagavad-gita the Lord emphatically declares that there is no truth greater than or equal to Himself. In this stanza the word svayam is particularly mentioned to confirm that Lord Krsna has no other source than Himself. Although in other places the incarnations are described as bhagavan because of their specific functions, nowhere are they declared to be the Supreme Personality. In this stanza the word svayam signifies the supremacy as the summum bonum.

The summum bonum Krsna is one without a second. He Himself has expanded Himself in various parts, portions and particles as svayam-rupa, svayam-prakasa, tad-ekatma, prabhava, vaibhava, vilasa, avatara, avesa, and jivas, all provided with innumerable energies just suitable to the respective persons and personalities. Learned scholars in transcendental subjects have carefully analyzed the summum bonum Krsna to have sixty-four principal attributes. All the expansions or categories of the Lord possess only some percentages of these attributes. But Sri Krsna is the possessor of the attributes cent percent. And His personal expansions such as svayam-prakasa, tad-ekatma up to the categories of the avataras who are all visnu-tattva, possess up to ninety-three percent of these transcendental attributes. Lord Siva, who is neither avatara nor avesa nor in between them, possesses almost eighty-four percent of the attributes. But the jivas, or the individual living beings in different statuses of life, possess up to the limit of seventy-eight percent of the attributes. In the conditioned state of material existence, the living being possesses these attributes in very minute quantity, varying in terms of the pious life of the living being. The most perfect of living beings is Brahma, the supreme administrator of one universe. He possesses seventy-eight percent of the attributes in full. All other demigods have the same attributes in less quantity, whereas human beings possess the attributes in very minute quantity. The standard of perfection for a human being is to develop the attributes up to seventy-eight percent in full. The living being can never possess attributes like Siva, Visnu or Lord Krsna. A living being can become godly by developing the seventy-eight-percent transcendental attributes in fullness, but he can never become a God like Siva, Visnu or Krsna. He can become a Brahma in due course. The godly living beings who are all residents of the planets in the spiritual sky are eternal associates of God in different spiritual planets called Hari-dhama and Mahesa-dhama. The abode of Lord Krsna above all spiritual planets is called Krsnaloka or Goloka Vrndavana, and the perfected living being, by developing seventy-eight percent of the above attributes in fullness, can enter the planet of Krsnaloka after leaving the present material body.

Bhagavad-gita 10.12-13 The Opulence of the Absolute

arjuna uvaca
param brahma param dhama
pavitram paramam bhavan
purusam sasvatam divyam
adi-devam ajam vibhum

ahus tvam rsayah sarve
devarsir naradas tatha
asito devalo vyasah
svayam caiva bravisi me

Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.

In these two verses the Supreme Lord gives a chance to the modern philosopher, for here it is clear that the Supreme is different from the individual soul. Arjuna, after hearing the essential four verses of Bhagavad-gita in this chapter, became completely free from all doubts and accepted Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He at once boldly declares, “You are Parambrahma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” And previously Krsna states that He is the originator of everything and everyone. Every demigod and every human being is dependent on Him. Men and demigods, out of ignorance, think that they are absolute and independent of the Supreme Lord Krsna. That ignorance is removed perfectly by the discharge of devotional service. This is already explained in the previous verse by the Lord. Now by His grace, Arjuna is accepting Him as the Supreme Truth, in concordance with the Vedic injunction. It is not because Krsna is an intimate friend of Arjuna that he is flattering Him by calling Him the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. Whatever Arjuna says in these two verses is confirmed by Vedic truth. Vedic injunctions affirm that only one who takes to devotional service to the Supreme Lord can understand Him, whereas others cannot. Each and every word of this verse spoken by Arjuna is confirmed by Vedic injunction.

Here Arjuna expresses himself through the grace of Krsna. If we want to understand Bhagavad-gita, we should accept the statements in these two verses. This is called the parampara system, acceptance of the disciplic succession. Unless one is in the disciplic succession, he cannot understand Bhagavad-gita. It is not possible by so-called academic education. Unfortunately those proud of their academic education, despite so much evidence in Vedic literatures, stick to their obstinate conviction that Krsna is an ordinary person.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.1 Questions by the Sages

om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
janmady asya yato ‘nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat
tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah
tejo-vari-mrdam yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ‘mrsa
dhamna svena sada nirasta-kuhakam satyam param dhimahi

O my Lord, Sri Krsna, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Sri Krsna because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmaji, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Sri Krsna, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.

Obeisances unto the Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, directly indicate Lord Sri Krsna, who is the divine son of Vasudeva and Devaki. This fact will be more explicitly explained in the text of this work. Sri Vyasadeva asserts herein that Sri Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead, and all others are His direct or indirect plenary portions or portions of the portion. Srila Jiva Gosvami has even more explicitly explained the subject matter in his Krsna-sandarbha. And Brahma, the original living being, has explained the subject of Sri Krsna substantially in his treatise named Brahma-samhita. In the Sama-veda Upanisad, it is also stated that Lord Sri Krsna is the divine son of Devaki. Therefore, in this prayer, the first proposition holds that Lord Sri Krsna is the primeval Lord, and if any transcendental nomenclature is to be understood as belonging to the Absolute Personality of Godhead, it must be the name indicated by the word Krsna, which means the all-attractive. In Bhagavad-gita, in many places, the Lord asserts Himself to be the original Personality of Godhead, and this is confirmed by Arjuna, and also by great sages like Narada, Vyasa, and many others. In the Padma Purana, it is also stated that out of the innumerable names of the Lord, the name of Krsna is the principal one. Vasudeva indicates the plenary portion of the Personality of Godhead, and all the different forms of the Lord, being identical with Vasudeva, are indicated in this text. The name Vasudeva particularly indicates the divine son of Vasudeva and Devaki. Sri Krsna is always meditated upon by the paramahamsas, who are the perfected ones among those in the renounced order of life.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.28-29 Divinity and Divine Service

vasudeva-para veda
vasudeva-para makhah
vasudeva-para yoga
vasudeva-parah kriyah

vasudeva-param jnanam
vasudeva-param tapah
vasudeva-paro dharmo
vasudeva-para gatih

In the revealed scriptures, the ultimate object of knowledge is Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead. The purpose of performing sacrifice is to please Him. Yoga is for realizing Him. All fruitive activities are ultimately rewarded by Him only. He is supreme knowledge, and all severe austerities are performed to know Him. Religion [dharma] is rendering loving service unto Him. He is the supreme goal of life.

That Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, is the only object of worship is confirmed in these two slokas. In the Vedic literature there is the same objective: establishing one’s relationship and ultimately reviving our lost loving service unto Him. That is the sum and substance of the Vedas. In the Bhagavad-gita the same theory is confirmed by the Lord in His own words: the ultimate purpose of the Vedas is to know Him only. All the revealed scriptures are prepared by the Lord through His incarnation in the body of Srila Vyasadeva just to remind the fallen souls, conditioned by material nature, of Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead. No demigod can award freedom from material bondage. That is the verdict of all the Vedic literatures. Impersonalists who have no information of the Personality of Godhead minimize the omnipotency of the Supreme Lord and put Him on equal footing with all other living beings, and for this act such impersonalists get freedom from material bondage only with great difficulty. They can surrender unto Him only after many, many births in the culture of transcendental knowledge.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.18 The Passing Away of Bhismadeva in the Presence of Lord Krsna

esa vai bhagavan saksad
adyo narayanah puman
mohayan mayaya lokam
gudhas carati vrsnisu

This Sri Krsna is no other than the inconceivable, original Personality of Godhead. He is the first Narayana, the supreme enjoyer. But He is moving amongst the descendants of King Vrsni just like one of us and He is bewildering us with His self-created energy.

Here is an authority speaking about Sri Krsna as the original Personality of Godhead and the first Narayana. Even such an impersonalist as Acarya Sankara has said in the beginning of his commentation on the Bhagavad-gita that Narayana, the Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material creation. The universe is one of the material creations, but Narayana is transcendental to such material paraphernalia.

Bhismadeva is one of the twelve mahajanas who know the principles of transcendental knowledge. His confirmation of Lord Sri Krsna’s being the original Personality of Godhead is also corroborated by the impersonalist Sankara. All other acaryas have also confirmed this statement, and thus there is no chance of not accepting Lord Sri Krsna as the original Personality of Godhead. Bhismadeva says that He is the first Narayana. This is also confirmed by Brahmaji in the Bhagavatam (10.14.14). Krsna is the first Narayana. In the spiritual world (Vaikuntha) there are unlimited numbers of Narayanas, who are all the same Personality of Godhead and are considered to be the plenary expansions of the original Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. The first form of the Lord Sri Krsna first expands Himself as the form of Baladeva, and Baladeva expands in so many other forms, such as Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Vasudeva, Narayana, Purusa, Rama and Nrsimha. All these expansions are one and the same visnu-tattva, and Sri Krsna is the original source of all the plenary expansions. He is therefore the direct Personality of Godhead. He is the creator of the material world, and He is the predominating Deity known as Narayana in all the Vaikuntha planets. Therefore, His movements amongst human beings is another sort of bewilderment. The Lord therefore says in the Bhagavad-gita that foolish persons consider Him to be one of the human beings without knowing the intricacies of His movements.

The bewilderment regarding Sri Krsna is due to the action of His twofold internal and external energies upon the third one, called marginal energy. The living entities are expansions of His marginal energy, and thus they are sometimes bewildered by the internal energy and sometimes by the external energy. By internal energetic bewilderment, Sri Krsna expands Himself into unlimited numbers of Narayanas and exchanges or accepts transcendental loving service from the living entities in the transcendental world. And by His external energetic expansions, He incarnates Himself in the material world amongst the men, animals or demigods to reestablish His forgotten relation with the living entities in different species of life. Great authorities like Bhisma, however, escape His bewilderment by the mercy of the Lord.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.1.19 The Supreme Lord Is Equal to Everyone

sapator asakrd visnum
yad brahma param avyayam
svitro na jato jihvayam
nandham vivisatus tamah

Although these two men–Sisupala and Dantavakra–repeatedly blasphemed the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu [Krsna], the Supreme Brahman, they were quite healthy. Indeed, their tongues were not attacked by white leprosy, nor did they enter the darkest region of hellish life. We are certainly most surprised by this.

Krsna is described by Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita (10.12) as follows: param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan. “You are the Supreme Brahman, the supreme abode and purifier.” Herein this is confirmed. Visnum yad brahma param avyayam. The Supreme Visnu is Krsna. Krsna is the cause of Visnu, not vice versa. Similarly, Brahman is not the cause of Krsna; Krsna is the cause of Brahman. Therefore Krsna is the Parabrahman (yad brahma param avyayam).

Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.21.5 P Bali Maharaja Arrested by the Lord
Vamanadeva first expanded Himself to the universal form and then reduced Himself to the original Vamana-rupa. Thus He acted exactly like Lord Krsna, who, at the request of Arjuna, first showed His universal form and later resumed His original form as Krsna. The Lord can assume any form He likes, but His original form is that of Krsna (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). According to the capacity of the devotee, the Lord assumes various forms so that the devotee can handle Him. This is His causeless mercy. When Lord Vamanadeva resumed His original form, Lord Brahma and his associates collected various paraphernalia for worship with which to please Him.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.24.53-55 Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead

astamas tu tayor asit
svayam eva harih kila
subhadra ca mahabhaga
tava rajan pitamahi

The eight sons born of Sahadeva such as Pravara and Sruta, were exact incarnations of the eight Vasus in the heavenly planets. Vasudeva also begot eight highly qualified sons through the womb of Devaki. These included Kirtiman, Susena, Bhadrasena, Rju, Sammardana, Bhadra and Sankarsana, the controller and serpent incarnation. The eighth son was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself–Krsna. The highly fortunate Subhadra, the one daughter, was your grandmother.

The fifty-fifth verse says, svayam eva harih kila, indicating that Krsna, the eighth son of Devaki, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsna is not an incarnation. Although there is no difference between the Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari and His incarnation, Krsna is the original Supreme Person, the complete Godhead. Incarnations exhibit only a certain percentage of the potencies of Godhead; the complete Godhead is Krsna Himself, who appeared as the eighth son of Devaki.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.24.56 P Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead
In the present age, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to inaugurate the Hare Krsna movement. At the present time, in Kali-yuga, people are extremely sinful and bad (manda). They have no idea of spiritual life and are misusing the benefits of the human form to live like cats and dogs. Under these circumstances Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has inaugurated the Hare Krsna movement, which is not different from Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one associates with this movement, he directly associates with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. People should take advantage of the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra and thus gain relief from all the problems created in this age of Kali.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.8.13 Lord Krsna Shows the Universal Form Within His Mouth

asan varnas trayo hy asya
grhnato ‘nuyugam tanuh
suklo raktas tatha pita
idanim krsnatam gatah

Your son Krsna appears as an incarnation in every millennium. In the past, He assumed three different colors–white, red and yellow–and now He has appeared in a blackish color. [In another Dvapara-yuga, He appeared (as Lord Ramacandra) in the color of suka, a parrot. All such incarnations have now assembled in Krsna.]

It may be noted that Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his book Krama-sandarbha, has enunciated the purport of this verse. In every millennium, Krsna appears in a different form, either as white, red or yellow, but this time He personally appeared in His original, blackish form and, as predicted by Gargamuni, exhibited the power of Narayana. Because in this form the Supreme personality of Godhead exhibits Himself fully, His name is Sri Krsna, the all-attractive.

Factually, Krsna is the source of all avataras, and therefore all the different features of the different avataras are present in Krsna. When Krsna incarnates, all the features of other incarnations are already present within Him. Other incarnations are partial representations of Krsna, who is the full-fledged incarnation of the Supreme Being. It is to be understood that the Supreme Being, whether appearing as sukla, rakta or pita (white, red or yellow), is the same person. When He appears in different incarnations, He appears in different colors, just like the sunshine, which contains seven colors. Sometimes the colors of sunshine are represented separately; otherwise the sunshine is observed mainly as bright light. The different avataras, such as the manvantara-avataras, lila-avataras and dasa-avataras, are all included in the krsna-avatara. When Krsna appears, all the avataras appear with Him. As described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.26):

avatara hy asankhyeya
hareh sattva-nidher dvijah
yathavidasinah kulyah
sarasah syuh sahasrasah

The avataras incessantly appear, like incessantly flowing water. No one can count how many waves there are in flowing water, and similarly there is no limitation of the avataras. And Krsna is the full representation of all avataras because He is the source of all avataras. Krsna is amsi, whereas others are amsa, part of Krsna. All living entities, including us, are amsas (mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah). These amsas are of different magnitude. Human beings (who are minute amsas) and the demigods, visnu-tattva and all other living beings are all part of the Supreme. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13). Krsna is the full representation of all living entities, and when Krsna is present, all avataras are included in Him.

The Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam describes the incarnations for each yuga in chronological order. The Bhagavatam says, krte suklas catur-bahuh, tretayam rakta-varno’sau, dvapare bhagavan syamah and krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam. We actually see that in Kali-yuga, Bhagavan has appeared in pita-varna, or a yellow color, as Gaurasundara, although the Bhagavatam speaks of krsna-varnam. To adjust all these statements, one should understand that although in some yugas some of the colors are prominent, in every yuga, whenever Krsna appears, all the colors are present. Krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam: although Caitanya Mahaprabhu appears without krsna, or a blackish color, He is understood to be Krsna Himself. Idanim krsnatam gatah. The same original Krsna who appears in different varnas has now appeared. The word asan indicates that He is always present. Whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in His full feature, He is understood to be krsna-varnam, although He appears in different colors. Prahlada Maharaja states that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is channa; that is, although He is Krsna, He is covered by a yellow color. Thus the Gaudiya Vaisnavas accept the conclusion that although Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in pita color, He is Krsna.

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi sumedhasah

(Bhag. 11.5.32)

Bs 5.1 T

isvarah paramah krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva-karana-karanam

Krsna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Tags: Bhagavad Gita, Hare Krishna, Hinduism, India, Prabhupada, Preaching

About the Author

Related Posts

Press Conference, Dallas (MP3 Audio) →

The Invisible Hand of the Lord →

If I see our leaders are enthusiastic, that gives me more enthusiasm. →

Srila Prabhupada’s books Should Not be changed! →