Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Why all of us worship Lord Krishna? Why not Lord Vishnu?
Just Servant
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Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Why all of us worship Lord Krishna? Why not Lord Vishnu?
Just Servant
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Replies
Krishna and Vishnu are same person exhibiting different feature according to the inclination of devotees just like a man in home and at office. His dealings are different according to the relation with the people but the person is same. We Gaudiyas love the Krishna feature of Narayana and Other vaishnavas may love the Vishnu aspect. There is no difference.
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta
CC Ādi 2 Summary
CC Ādi 2.1: I offer my obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu, by whose mercy even an ignorant child can swim across the ocean of conclusive truth, which is full of the crocodiles of various theories.
CC Ādi 2.2: O my merciful Lord Caitanya, may the nectarean Ganges waters of Your transcendental activities flow on the surface of my desertlike tongue. Beautifying these waters are the lotus flowers of singing, dancing and loud chanting of Kṛṣṇa's holy name, which are the pleasure abodes of unalloyed devotees. These devotees are compared to swans, ducks and bees. The river's flowing produces a melodious sound that gladdens their ears.
CC Ādi 2.3: All glories to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Śrī Nityānanda! All glories to Advaitacandra, and all glories to the devotees of Lord Gaurāńga!
CC Ādi 2.4: Let me describe the meaning of the third verse [of the first fourteen]. It is an auspicious vibration that describes the Absolute Truth.
CC Ādi 2.5: What the Upaniṣads describe as the impersonal Brahman is but the effulgence of His body, and the Lord known as the Supersoul is but His localized plenary portion. Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself, full with six opulences. He is the Absolute Truth, and no other truth is greater than or equal to Him.
CC Ādi 2.6: Impersonal Brahman, the localized Paramātmā and the Personality of Godhead are three subjects, and the glowing effulgence, the partial manifestation and the original form are their three respective predicates.
CC Ādi 2.7: A predicate always follows its subject. Now I shall explain the meaning of this verse according to the revealed scriptures.
CC Ādi 2.8: Kṛṣṇa, the original form of the Personality of Godhead, is the summum bonum of the all-pervading Viṣṇu. He is all-perfect knowledge and all-perfect bliss. He is the Supreme Transcendence.
CC Ādi 2.9: He whom Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes as the son of Nanda Mahārāja has descended to earth as Lord Caitanya.
CC Ādi 2.10: In terms of His various manifestations, He is known in three features, called the impersonal Brahman, the localized Paramātmā and the original Personality of Godhead.
CC Ādi 2.11: "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth say that it is nondual knowledge and is called impersonal Brahman, the localized Paramātmā and the Personality of Godhead."
CC Ādi 2.12: What the Upaniṣads call the transcendental, impersonal Brahman is the realm of the glowing effulgence of the same Supreme Person.
CC Ādi 2.13: As with the naked eye one cannot know the sun except as a glowing substance, merely by philosophical speculation one cannot understand Lord Kṛṣṇa's transcendental varieties.
CC Ādi 2.14: "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes."
CC Ādi 2.15: [Lord Brahmā said:] "The opulences of the impersonal Brahman spread throughout the millions and millions of universes. That Brahman is but the bodily effulgence of Govinda."
CC Ādi 2.16: "I worship Govinda. He is my Lord. Only by His grace am I empowered to create the universe."
CC Ādi 2.17: "Naked saints and sannyāsīs who undergo severe physical penances, who can raise the semen to the brain, and who are completely equipoised in Brahman can live in the realm known as Brahmaloka."
CC Ādi 2.18: He who is described in the yoga-śāstras as the indwelling Supersoul [ātmā antar-yāmī] is also a plenary portion of Govinda's personal expansion.
CC Ādi 2.19: As the one sun appears reflected in countless jewels, so Govinda manifests Himself [as Paramātmā] in the hearts of all living beings.
CC Ādi 2.20: [The Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, said:] "What more shall I say to you? I live throughout this cosmic manifestation merely by My single plenary portion."
CC Ādi 2.21: [Grandfather Bhīṣma said:] "As the one sun appears differently situated to different seers, so also do You, the unborn, appear differently represented as the Paramātmā in every living being. But when a seer knows himself to be one of Your own servitors, no longer does he maintain such duality. Thus I am now able to comprehend Your eternal forms, knowing well the Paramātmā to be only Your plenary portion."
CC Ādi 2.22: That Govinda personally appears as Caitanya Gosāñi. No other Lord is as merciful in delivering the fallen souls.
CC Ādi 2.23: Lord Nārāyaṇa, who dominates the transcendental world, is full in six opulences. He is the Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the goddess of fortune.
CC Ādi 2.24: The Personality of Godhead is He who is described as the Absolute Whole in the Vedas, Bhāgavatam, Upaniṣads and other transcendental literatures. No one is equal to Him.
CC Ādi 2.25: Through their service, devotees see that Personality of Godhead, just as the denizens of heaven see the personality of the sun.
CC Ādi 2.26: Those who walk the paths of knowledge and yoga worship only Him, for it is Him they perceive as the impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā.
CC Ādi 2.27: Thus one may understand the glories of the Lord through different modes of worship, as the analogy of the sun illustrates.
CC Ādi 2.28: Nārāyaṇa and Śrī Kṛṣṇa are the same Personality of Godhead, but although They are identical, Their bodily features are different.
CC Ādi 2.29: This Personality of Godhead [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] has two hands and holds a flute, whereas the other [Nārāyaṇa] has four hands, with conch, wheel, mace and lotus.
CC Ādi 2.30: "O Lord of lords, You are the seer of all creation. You are indeed everyone's dearest life. Are You not, therefore, my father, Nārāyaṇa? Nārāyaṇa refers to one whose abode is in the water born from Nara [Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu], and that Nārāyaṇa is Your plenary portion. All Your plenary portions are transcendental. They are absolute and are not creations of māyā."
CC Ādi 2.31: After Brahmā had offended Kṛṣṇa by stealing His playmates and calves, he begged the Lord's pardon for his offensive act and prayed for the Lord's mercy.
CC Ādi 2.32: "I took birth from the lotus that grew from Your navel. Thus You are both my father and my mother, and I am Your son.
CC Ādi 2.33: "Parents never take seriously the offenses of their children. I therefore beg Your pardon and ask for Your benediction."
CC Ādi 2.34: Śrī Kṛṣṇa said, "O Brahmā, your father is Nārāyaṇa. I am but a cowherd boy. How can you be My son?"
CC Ādi 2.35: Brahmā replied, "Are You not Nārāyaṇa? You are certainly Nārāyaṇa. Please listen as I state the proofs.
CC Ādi 2.36: "All the living beings within the material and spiritual worlds are ultimately born of You, for You are the Supersoul of them all.
CC Ādi 2.37: "As the earth is the original cause and shelter of all pots made of earth, so You are the ultimate cause and shelter of all living beings.
CC Ādi 2.38: "The word 'nāra' refers to the aggregate of all the living beings, and the word 'ayana' refers to the refuge of them all.
CC Ādi 2.39: "You are therefore the original Nārāyaṇa. This is one reason; please listen as I state the second.
CC Ādi 2.40: "The direct Lords of the living beings are the puruṣa incarnations. But Your opulence and power are more exalted than Theirs.
CC Ādi 2.41: "Therefore You are the primeval Lord, the original father of everyone. They [the puruṣas] are protectors of the universes by Your power.
CC Ādi 2.42: "Since You protect those who are the shelters of all living beings, You are the original Nārāyaṇa.
CC Ādi 2.43: "O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead! Kindly hear my third reason. There are countless universes and fathomless transcendental Vaikuṇṭhas.
CC Ādi 2.44: "Both in this material world and in the transcendental world, You see all the deeds of all living beings, in the past, present and future. Since You are the witness of all such deeds, You know the essence of everything.
CC Ādi 2.45: "All the worlds exist because You oversee them. None can live, move or have their being without Your supervision.
CC Ādi 2.46: "You oversee the wanderings of all living beings. For this reason also, You are the primeval Lord Nārāyaṇa."
CC Ādi 2.47: Kṛṣṇa said, "Brahmā, I cannot understand what you are saying. Lord Nārāyaṇa is He who sits in the hearts of all living beings and lies down in the waters of the Kāraṇa Ocean."
CC Ādi 2.48: Brahmā replied, "What I have said is true. The same Lord Nārāyaṇa who lives on the waters and in the hearts of all living beings is but a plenary portion of You.
CC Ādi 2.49: "The Kāraṇodakaśāyī, Garbhodakaśāyī and Kṣīrodakaśāyī forms of Nārāyaṇa all create in cooperation with the material energy. In this way They are attached to māyā.
CC Ādi 2.50: "These three Viṣṇus lying in the water are the Supersoul of everything. The Supersoul of all the universes is known as the first puruṣa.
CC Ādi 2.51: "Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of the aggregate of living entities, and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of each individual living being.
CC Ādi 2.52: "Superficially we see that these puruṣas have a relationship with māyā, but above them, in the fourth dimension, is Lord Kṛṣṇa, who has no contact with the material energy.
CC Ādi 2.53: "'In the material world the Lord is designated as virāṭ, hiraṇyagarbha and kāraṇa. But beyond these three designations, the Lord is ultimately in the fourth dimension.'
CC Ādi 2.54: "Although these three features of the Lord deal directly with the material energy, none of Them are touched by it. They are all beyond illusion.
CC Ādi 2.55: "'This is the opulence of the Lord: Although situated in the material nature, He is never affected by the modes of nature. Similarly, those who have surrendered to Him and fixed their intelligence upon Him are not influenced by the modes of nature.'
CC Ādi 2.56: "You are the ultimate shelter of these three plenary portions. Thus there is not the slightest doubt that You are the primeval Nārāyaṇa.
CC Ādi 2.57: "The source of these three features is the Nārāyaṇa in the spiritual sky. He is Your vilāsa expansion. Therefore You are the ultimate Nārāyaṇa."
CC Ādi 2.58: Therefore according to the authority of Brahmā, the Nārāyaṇa who is the predominating Deity in the transcendental world is but the vilāsa feature of Kṛṣṇa. This has now been conclusively proved.
CC Ādi 2.59: The truth indicated in this verse [text 30] is the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This conclusion, through synonyms, applies everywhere.
CC Ādi 2.60: Not knowing that Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān are all features of Kṛṣṇa, foolish scholars speculate in various ways.
CC Ādi 2.61: Because Nārāyaṇa has four hands whereas Kṛṣṇa looks just like a man, they say that Nārāyaṇa is the original God whereas Kṛṣṇa is but an incarnation.
CC Ādi 2.62: In this way their arguments appear in various forms, but the poetry of the Bhāgavatam expertly refutes them all.
CC Ādi 2.63: "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth say that it is nondual knowledge and is called impersonal Brahman, the localized Paramātmā and the Personality of Godhead."
CC Ādi 2.64: My dear brothers, kindly listen to the explanation of this verse and consider its meaning: the one original entity is known in His three different features.
CC Ādi 2.65: Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself is the one undivided Absolute Truth, the ultimate reality. He manifests Himself in three features — as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.
CC Ādi 2.66: The import of this verse has stopped you from arguing. Now listen to another verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
CC Ādi 2.67: "All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras. But Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In every age He protects the world through His different features when the world is disturbed by the enemies of Indra."
CC Ādi 2.68: The Bhāgavatam describes the symptoms and deeds of the incarnations in general and counts Śrī Kṛṣṇa among them.
CC Ādi 2.69: This made Sūta Gosvāmī greatly apprehensive. Therefore he distinguished each incarnation by its specific symptoms.
CC Ādi 2.70: All the incarnations of Godhead are plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras, but the primeval Lord is Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the fountainhead of all incarnations.
CC Ādi 2.71: An opponent may say, "This is your interpretation, but actually the Supreme Lord is Nārāyaṇa, who is in the transcendental realm.
CC Ādi 2.72: "He [Nārāyaṇa] incarnates as Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the meaning of the verse as I see it. There is no need for further consideration."
CC Ādi 2.73: To such a misguided interpreter we may reply, "Why should you suggest such fallacious logic? An interpretation is never accepted as evidence if it opposes the principles of scripture.
CC Ādi 2.74: "'One should not state a predicate before its subject, for it cannot thus stand without proper support.'
CC Ādi 2.75: "If I do not state a subject, I do not state a predicate. First I speak the former and then I speak the latter.
CC Ādi 2.76: "The predicate of a sentence is what is unknown to the reader, whereas the subject is what is known to him.
CC Ādi 2.77: "For example, we may say, 'This vipra is a greatly learned man.' In this sentence, the vipra is the subject, and the predicate is his erudition.
CC Ādi 2.78: "The man's being a vipra is known, but his erudition is unknown. Therefore the person is identified first and his erudition later.
CC Ādi 2.79: "In the same way, all these incarnations were known, but whose incarnations they are was unknown.
CC Ādi 2.80: "First the word 'ete' ['these'] establishes the subject [the incarnations]. Then 'plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras' follows as the predicate.
CC Ādi 2.81: "In the same way, when Kṛṣṇa was first counted among the incarnations, specific knowledge about Him was still unknown.
CC Ādi 2.82: "Therefore first the word 'kṛṣṇa' appears as the subject, followed by the predicate, describing Him as the original Personality of Godhead.
CC Ādi 2.83: "This establishes that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. The original Personality of Godhead is therefore necessarily Kṛṣṇa.
CC Ādi 2.84: "Had Kṛṣṇa been the plenary portion and Nārāyaṇa the primeval Lord, the statement of Sūta Gosvāmī would have been reversed.
CC Ādi 2.85: "Thus he would have said, 'Nārāyaṇa, the source of all incarnations, is the original Personality of Godhead. He has appeared as Śrī Kṛṣṇa.'
CC Ādi 2.86: "Mistakes, illusions, cheating and defective perception do not occur in the sayings of the authoritative sages.
CC Ādi 2.87: "You say something contradictory and become angry when this is pointed out. Your explanation has the defect of a misplaced object. This is an unconsidered adjustment.
CC Ādi 2.88: "Only the Personality of Godhead, the source of all other Divinities, is eligible to be designated svayaḿ bhagavān, or the primeval Lord.
CC Ādi 2.89: "When from one candle many others are lit, I consider that one the original.
CC Ādi 2.90: "Kṛṣṇa, in the same way, is the cause of all causes and all incarnations. Please hear another verse to defeat all misinterpretations.
CC Ādi 2.91-92: "'Here [in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam] ten subjects are described: (1) the creation of the ingredients of the cosmos, (2) the creations of Brahmā, (3) the maintenance of the creation, (4) special favor given to the faithful, (5) impetuses for activity, (6) prescribed duties for law-abiding men, (7) a description of the incarnations of the Lord, (8) the winding up of the creation, (9) liberation from gross and subtle material existence, and (10) the ultimate shelter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The tenth item is the shelter of all the others. To distinguish this ultimate shelter from the other nine subjects, the mahājanas have described these nine, directly or indirectly, through prayers or direct explanations.'
CC Ādi 2.93: "To know distinctly the ultimate shelter of everything that be, I have described the other nine categories. The cause for the appearance of these nine is rightly called their shelter.
CC Ādi 2.94: "The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the shelter and abode of everything. All the universes rest in His body.
CC Ādi 2.95: "'The Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam reveals the tenth object, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the shelter of all surrendered souls. He is known as Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and He is the ultimate source of all the universes. Let me offer my obeisances unto Him.'
CC Ādi 2.96: "One who knows the real feature of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His three different energies cannot remain ignorant about Him.
CC Ādi 2.97: "The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa enjoys Himself in six primary expansions. His two manifestations are prābhava and vaibhava.
CC Ādi 2.98: "His incarnations are of two kinds, namely partial and empowered. He appears in two ages — childhood and boyhood.
CC Ādi 2.99: "The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally an adolescent, is the primeval Lord, the source of all incarnations. He expands Himself in these six categories of forms to establish His supremacy throughout the universe.
CC Ādi 2.100: "In these six kinds of forms there are innumerable varieties. Although they are many, they are all one: there is no difference between them.
CC Ādi 2.101: "The cit-śakti, which is also called svarūpa-śakti or antarańga-śakti, displays many varied manifestations. It sustains the kingdom of God and its paraphernalia.
CC Ādi 2.102: "The external energy, called māyā-śakti, is the cause of innumerable universes with varied material potencies.
CC Ādi 2.103: "The marginal potency, which is between these two, consists of the numberless living beings. These are the three principal energies, which have unlimited categories and subdivisions.
CC Ādi 2.104: "These are the principal manifestations and expansions of the Personality of Godhead and His three energies. They are all emanations from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Transcendence. They have their existence in Him.
CC Ādi 2.105: "Although the three puruṣas are the shelter of all the universes, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original source of the puruṣas.
Jai Srila Prabhupada!
Hari Bol!
Yes,we canbut in higherstage when we know our svarupa. Many devoteeslive in Vaikuntha-Ayodhya_Dvaraka etc in spiritual world. But Gaudiya Vaishnavas like to love onlyMadhurya vigraha Sri Krishna.
It is very highly philosophical question. Depends on rasa andsvarupa
There is no restriction.
SB Canto 3
He approached the Personality of Godhead, who bestows all boons and who dispels the agony of His devotees and of those who take shelter of His lotus feet. He manifests His innumerable transcendental forms for the satisfaction of His devotees.
Here the words bhaktānām anurūpātma-darśanam mean that the Personality of Godhead manifests His multiforms according to the desires of the devotees. For example, Hanumānjī (Vajrāṅgajī) wanted to see the form of the Lord as the Personality of Godhead Rāmacandra, whereas other Vaiṣṇavas want to see the form of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and still other devotees want to see the Lord in the form of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. The Māyāvādī philosophers think that although all these forms are assumed by the Lord just as the devotees desire to see Him, actually He is impersonal. From Brahma-saṁhitā, however, we can understand that this is not so, for the Lord has multiforms. It is said in the Brahma-saṁhitā, advaitam acyutam. The Lord does not appear before the devotee because of the devotee's imagination. Brahma-saṁhitā further explains that the Lord has innumerable forms: rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan (Bs. 5.39). He exists in millions and millions of forms. There are 8,400,000 spieces of living entities, but the incarnations of the Supreme Lord are innumerable. In the Bhāgavatam it is stated that as the waves in the sea cannot be counted but appear and disappear continually, the incarnations and forms of the Lord are innumerable. A devotee is attached to a particular form, and it is that form which he worships. We have just described the first appearance of the boar within this universe. There are innumerable universes, and somewhere or other the boar form is now existing. All the forms of the Lord are eternal. It is the devotee's inclination to worship a particular form, and he engages in devotional service to that form. In a verse in the Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumān, the great devotee of Rāma, said, "I know that there is no difference between the Sītā-Rāma and Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but nevertheless, the form of Rāma and Sītā has absorbed my affection and love. Therefore I want to see the Lord in the forms of Rāma and Sītā." Similarly, the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava loves the forms of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī at Dvārakā. The words bhaktānām anurūpātma-darśanam mean that the Lord is always pleased to favor the devotee in the particular form in which the devotee wants to worship and render service unto Him. In this verse it is stated that Brahmā approached Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This form of the Lord is Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Whenever there is some trouble and Brahmā has to approach the Lord, he can approach Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and it is the grace of the Lord that whenever Brahmā approaches about disturbances in the universe, the Lord gives him relief in so many ways.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
And according to the change of symbols, you will find different names. In the cover of the book Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you have seen. These symbols are there. And there are different names. Some of Them named Hṛṣīkeśa, some of Them named Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Padmanābha... In this way there are different names according to the different change of the symbolic representation.
So there are different kinds of devotees also. Some devotee worships the Nārāyaṇa feature, some devotee worships Kṛṣṇa feature, Nṛsiṁha-deva... So there are innumerable devotees and innumerable forms also of Kṛṣṇa. But not these ordinary demigods. When Kṛṣṇa says, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: (BG 4.11) "Any devotee who wants to worship Me in My different feature, I offer him in that feature..." Just like Hanumān. He was a devotee of Rāma. So there is one verse by Hanumān, that "I know Rāma and Nṛsiṁha and Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa, is the same. But still, I want to worship Rāma." Just like we, ourself, we know Lord Rāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa the same, but we want to worship Kṛṣṇa. So different devotees have different inclination to offer his service to different features of God. And therefore He has got innumerable features of the presentation. They are differently named.
Question about svarupa
Q: Is svarupa permanent or not?
A: Sastras give both answers.
As permanent it is described in SB 2.10.6 (svarupena vyavasthitih), 3.9.11p., 11.2.40 (sva-priya-nama). Chandogya Upanisad (3.14.1) describes two moods of worship of the Supreme Lord: madhurya (sweetness) and aisvarya (opulence). According to the mood of worship, the devotee attains an eternal relationship with a corresponding form of the Supreme Lord.
One revives his dormant love of Godhead in that particular relationship which he had originally. Therefore, considering this understanding, it is not that we surpass our original position and attain some higher position. Everyone is perfectly satisfied in their original position and therefore have no interest in attaining another position.
"According to the desire of the Supreme Lord, devotees relish particular flavors of devotion, even though they appreciate all forms of devotional service to all forms of the lord. Thus particular devotees assume particular roles of loving service to particular forms of the Lord." (Vedanta-sutra 3.3.57 paraphrased)
"After liberation, the devotee eternally serves that form of the Lord to whom he developed attachment." (Vedanta-sutra 3.3.58 paraphrased)
Bhagavad-gita As It Is, introduction: Arjuna was in a relationship with the Lord as friend. Of course there is a gulf of difference between this friendship and the friendship found in the material world. This is transcendental friendship, which cannot be had by everyone. Of course everyone has a particular relationship with the Lord, and that relationship is evoked by the perfection of devotional service. But in the present status of our life, not only have we forgotten the Supreme Lord, but we have forgotten our eternal relationship with the Lord. Every living being, out of the many, many billions and trillions of living beings, has a particular relationship with the Lord eternally. That is called svarupa. By the process of devotional service, one can revive that svarupa, and that stage is called svarupa-siddhi--perfection of one's constitutional position. So Arjuna was a devotee, and he was in touch with the Supreme Lord in friendship.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.43, purport: The result of perfection in Krishna consciousness is that after giving up one's material body, one is immediately transferred to the spiritual world in one's original spiritual body to become an associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Some devotees go to Vaikunthaloka, and others go to Goloka Vrndavana to become associates of Krishna.
Prabhupada's lecture, Nectar of Devotion 1972 (721020ND.VRN): Raga-marga is not artificial. It becomes, svayam eva sphuraty adhah. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau... Everything, devotional relationship with Krishna, you cannot establish artificially. Everyone has got a particular relationship with Krishna in his original constitutional position. That will be revealed gradually as you advance in devotional service in the prescribed rules and regulations as they are directed in the sastras and by spiritual master. When you are trained up properly, you come to the platform of raga-marga, then your devotional si... That is called svarupa-siddhi. Svarupa-siddhi. So svarupa-siddhi is attained at a certain stage. Just like svarupa-siddhi... The desire for sex life is there in every human being, but when the boy and the girl come to the mature stage, it become manifest. It is, is not learned artificially. Similarly, the raga-marga, svarupa-siddhi, becomes revealed or manifest. Sravanadi suddha citte karaye udaya. Udaya. This very word, udaya, is used.
Hamsaduta: Prabhupada, you said that when a person changes original spiritual
form, just like the Visnudutas, they have their four-handed form. Does that mean that they will never rise up to the state of associating with Krishna in two-handed form? What does it mean "original form"?
Prabhupada: Original form, two-handed.
Hamsaduta: Two-handed.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Hamsaduta: So that four-handed form is not complete perfection of Krishna consciousness?
Prabhupada: No. There is perfection everywhere in the spiritual world, but it is a question of variety, taste. When you take rasagulla, don't take kachori, that does not mean kachori is not perfect. It is a question of taste. Somebody likes kachori, omebody likes rasagulla. Not that kachori is inferior to rasagulla; rasagulla is inferior to kachori.
Hamsaduta: So that means if someone is situated in that svarupa...
Prabhupada: Yes. Everything is svarupa. Everything is svarupa.
Hamsaduta: Suppose someone is situated as Visnuduta. He may change his taste.
Prabhupada: Why he shall change it?
Hamsaduta: He may get a taste for associating with Krishna.
Prabhupada: The change is taking place in this material world. There all tastes are fixed up, rasa, eternal, eternal rasa. Every one of us has a different taste of associating with Krishna, and that will be realized when one is liberated.
Hamsaduta: So that's fixed already.
Prabhupada: Yes. When you are liberated, you will understand in which way you are related with Krishna. That is called svarupa-siddhi. But that is attained when you are actually perfect in devotional service. Just like in our family, we enjoy different rasas. We have got one kind of relationship with wife, one kind of relationship with sons and daughters, one kind of relation with friends, one kind of relationship with servants, one kind of relationship with property. So similarly, Krishna... The whole creation is His family, and He has got relationship in that way. So why the son will change his relationship into husband and wife?
Hamsaduta: I see.
Prabhupada: Yes. Because every relationship is very palatable. The gentleman, the head of the family, his relationship with wife and his relationship with servant is as much palatable. Maybe some degradation, but it is palatable. There is no question of changing. Not that "I am tasting this rasa at the present moment. Then I will get better rasas." No, that is not. Everyone thinks, "My rasa is the best." Although there is comparative gradation, but everyone thinks. These things are explained in Caitanya- caritamrta. Why don't you see?
Hamsaduta: And Nectar of Devotion.
Prabhupada: Yes. Everyone thinks, "My relationship with Krishna is the best."
Hamsaduta: So it's not a matter of aspiring to some...
Prabhupada: No, there is no question of aspiring, because he is already situated in the best of relationship with Krishna. Even the trees in Vrndavana, they want to serve Krishna silently in that way, supplying fruits and flowers. That is their ananda, everyone enjoying the supreme bliss. When Krishna comes, takes a flower or fruit, that is their enjoyment: "Oh..."
Revatinandana: When Krishna doesn't come, then they are feeling separation?
Prabhupada: Yes, certainly. That is another bliss, to feel separation from Krishna. Everything, either you meet or you separate, the bliss is there. Crying for Krishna is better bliss.
Gopiparanadhana Dasa: Lord Chaitanya recommends that everyone try to follow in the footsteps of the cowherd damsels of Vrndavana. But that does not mean that everyone is going to be able to enter Goloka Vrndavana, what to speak of enter the rasa dance. Yes, simply by chanting Hare Krishna it is possible to enter Goloka Vrndavana, that is, if your svarupa is situated there. Otherwise by chanting Hare Krishna you will go to Vaikuntha, which is good enough unless you are motivated by the urge for prestige. In Chaitanya-caritamrta there are the examples of both Murari Gupta and Anupama, whom Lord Caitanya encouraged to worship Radha-Krishna instead of Sita-Rama, but who could not give up their svarupa-seva; this greatly pleased Lord Chaitanya. It is possible to gradually realize one's ultimate svarupa in the spiritual world by stages, graduating to higher and higher rasas, or from Vaikuntha to Goloka. But one's ultimate svarupa is fixed, even before liberation. If one's fixed rasa is in Vaikuntha, then that is the highest that soul can go. Rupa Gosvami taught this science of innate rasas. The Sri Vaisnavas deny this idea, saying that restricting a liberated soul to only one rasa would unjustly limit his freedom. Thus we see the Alwar poets in their Tamil anthology Tiruvaymoli (Divya-prabandham) presenting themselves in one poem in the mood of a gopi and then on the very next page in the mood of Hanuman.
As nonpermanent it is described in CC Adi 7.17, purport (anyone can be in intimate circle of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) or CC Madhya 9.25-36, 9.159-161.
Nectar of Devotion, ch. 4: Some of the liberated persons who have achieved these four stages of liberation may also develop affection for Krishna and be promoted to the Goloka Vrndavana planet in the spiritual sky. In other words, those who are already promoted to the Vaikuntha planets and who possess the four kinds of liberation may also sometimes develop affection for Krishna and become promoted to Krishnaloka.
There is also a third option, which can be seen as a reconciliation: both are possible.
purna bhagavan avatare yei kale
ara saba avatara tante asi' mile
"When the complete Supreme Personality of Godhead descends, all other incarnations of the Lord meet together within Him." (CC Adi 4.10)
narayana, catur-vyuha, matsyady-avatara
yuga-manvantaravatara, yata ache ara
sabe asi' krsna-ange haya avatirna
aiche avatare krsna bhagavan purna
"Lord Narayana, the four primary expansions [Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha], Matsya and the other lila incarnations, the yuga-avataras, the manv-antara incarnations and as many other incarnations as there are - all descend in the body of Lord Krsna. In this way the complete Supreme Godhead, Lord Krsna Himself, appears." (CC Adi 4.11-12)
Bhaktivinoda Thakura: Navadvipa Mahatmya, ch. 5,10,11:
"'Brahma, hear these secret (antara) words, but do not reveal this openly in the scriptures. Taking the role of a devotee, I will taste the nectar of bhakti rasa and propagate the most rare process of sankirtana. I will make the devotees of all the previous avataras drunk with the nectar of Vrndavana."
"'O brahmana, I will tell you a very secret thing. In a short time, there will be ecstasy given out here. Gauranga will appear at Mayapur in Sacidevi's house, and He will freely distribute prema. In all these places the Lord and His devotees will dance madly in the nectar of sankirtana. The Lord will perform kirtana along with the devotees of all the previous incarnations. The whole universe will be drowned in the flood of prema; other than the false logicians, everyone will receive that gift of love.
"The Lord lifted the couple up with His two lotus hands and spoke nectarean words, 'Both of you are My exalted devotees, therefore I desired to give you My darsana. Very soon I will take birth in Nadia in the womb of Saci. With all the devotees of all the avataras, I will distribute the gift of prema and Krishna kirtana.
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/bhaktiyoga/philosophy.htm#6
SB Canto 7
Maya Dānava said: What has been destined by the Supreme Lord for oneself, for others, or for both oneself and others cannot be undone anywhere or by anyone, whether one be a demigod, a demon, a human being or anyone else.
The Supreme Lord is one—Kṛṣṇa, the viṣṇu-tattva. Kṛṣṇa expands Himself into viṣṇu-tattva personal expansions (svāṁśa), who control everything. Maya Dānava said, "However I plan, you plan or both of us plan, the Lord has planned what is to happen. No one's plan will be successful without His sanction." We may make our own various plans, but unless they are sanctioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, they will never be successful. Hundreds and millions of plans are made by all kinds of living entities, but without the sanction of the Supreme Lord they are futile.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to give chance to everyone to hear about Kṛṣṇa. This is the first process, śravaṇam. And when one has heard very nicely about Kṛṣṇa, they can, then he can speak about Kṛṣṇa. And he must speak. You cannot remain without speaking. That is the result of śravaṇam. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam. One who has heard nicely, he must speak or preach. And preaching and hearing about whom? Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, the same thing.
These nine different process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is being pushed on by the members of Kṛṣṇa conscious society all over the world. And we have opened also here in Bombay, the most important city of India. So we request you all to come every day and try to understand this philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness based on Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Vedānta-sūtra, Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata, all authentic scriptures.
So if you simply hear sincerely and submissively, then you will understand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa will reveal to you. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyam, there are different nine kinds of variety. So vandanam, offering prayers, that is also bhakti. Śravaṇam, to hear about it. Just like we are hearing about Kṛṣṇa from this Bhagavad-gītā. Chanting about His glory, Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is the beginning. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23). Viṣṇu means, everything is Viṣṇu. The meditation is Viṣṇu. The bhakti is Viṣṇu. Not without Viṣṇu. And Kṛṣṇa is the original form of Viṣṇu. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). The original form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So if we follow this process then we'll be able to understand without any doubt.
Prabhupāda: So those who are interested in spiritual salvation, they need not worship other demigods, but those who are interested for material profit, they can worship demigods. Yajante anya-devatāḥ. Karmaṇā... There is a verse. Just to have immediate result of material profit, the Vedas recommend, "All right, you worship this demigod, that demigod." So our concern is we don't want any material profit; we want Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we do not require to worship demigods.
Indian guest (5): But why not Viṣṇu?
Prabhupāda: Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa the same. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa the same. Kṛṣṇa is viṣṇu-tattva.
There are many yogis, many different types of yogis. But the best yogi, the foremost yogi, best of all is he... Who? Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatena: "Simply in relationship with Me, thinking of Me." Mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā. Within the core of heart, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Mad-gata. Yoga process means to concentrate the mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, generally Lord Viṣṇu. So Lord Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, there is no difference. They are the same. Kṛṣṇa is the original Viṣṇu. So the first-class yogi is he who is always concentrating his mind upon Kṛṣṇa. Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā, śraddhāvān. Unless you have got śraddhā, you cannot make any progress. Śraddhā. Śraddhā means faith. Just like you have all came. You have got little faith or more faith. There is faith. Without faith, how you could come here and spare some time for understanding Kṛṣṇa, or hearing about Kṛṣṇa? So this is the beginning, śraddhāvān. Śraddhāvān bhajate yo mām. With faith.
The self-interest is to understand Viṣṇu. Tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam. That is our aim. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, the same. But there is controversy whether Viṣṇu is secondary or Kṛṣṇa is secondary. According to śāstra, nobody's secondary. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, They are simply expansion. They are not different. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Viṣṇu has ananta-rūpam, unlimited forms. Advaitam acyutam. They are not different. The other day I explained. The candle... First candle, second candle, third candle... But no candle is less powerful than the other candles. This is the conclusion. So either we say Viṣṇu or we say Kṛṣṇa or Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Balarāma, They are all expansions of the Supreme Person Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "There is no more superior authority than Me." This is the conclusion. Mattaḥ, "from Me," na anyat, "nobody else is superior." That is the conclusion of the śāstra.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by constantly thinking of Kṛṣṇa, as Kṛṣṇa advises, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65), if you dovetail your whole life to these principles, thinking of Kṛṣṇa, man-manāḥ, to become devotee of Kṛṣṇa, mad-bhakta, mad-yājī, to worship Kṛṣṇa and to simply... If you cannot do anything, either four or one if you can do... If you simply come and offer your obeisances to Kṛṣṇa, you are getting the benefit. Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). The navadhā-bhakti, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam (SB 7.5.23). In this way, if you remain touched with Kṛṣṇa, that is the perfection. Some way or other you remain touch with in Kṛṣṇa. These are the process. Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa are the same. You have to hear. But people do not know the science, neither this science is taught in any school, college or university. But although the science is there, it is so neglected.
So one may be very educated, very good scholar in Vedic knowledge, but if he does not accept Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead... Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa the same. Viṣṇu-tattva. Viṣṇu-tattva means the category of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Out of false hopes, they are trying to become successful. That is not possible. Durāśayā. Such kind of hope is useless hope. It will never be... Moghāśā mogha-karmāṇaḥ. Leaving aside Viṣṇu and simply they are trying to become very highly learned, mogha-jñāna vicetasaḥ. So they are mogha, means their hopes will never be successful. They may go on.
General Lectures
Our business is to present Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). We say that, that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What Kṛṣṇa says Himself, we simply carry the message. That's all. Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: (BG 18.65) "Just always think of Me," man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, "just become My devotee," and man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī, "just worship Me and offer your respectful obeisances unto Me. In this way you shall come back to Me." So we are teaching that, that... We are teaching our students that "Always think of Kṛṣṇa." Smārtavyaṁ satato viṣṇuḥ. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, the same category.
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: Personal conception of God is there in every religion-Christian religion, Muhammadan religion, or Vedic religion. In the Vedic religion, oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayoḥ. Those who are sura, means advanced in spiritual knowledge, or the brāhmaṇas, one who knows the Supreme, they find the supreme father is Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa is the same category, or same substance. So God is person and the ultimate end. The impersonal realization is imperfect realization of God. The Supersoul realization is still advancement, but the final advancement is Bhagavān, or person God. So we must know our relationship with, and first of all our first business is to know God and our relationship with Him, then act accordingly. Then our life becomes perfect. This is the process of God realization.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: So the sky is one. Sky is one. So in the sky, in the atmosphere, where God is forgotten, that is called material sky. And the sky where God is not forgotten, that is spiritual sky. Just like the sky is one, and the sun is one. But when your eyes are covered by cloud, you say the cloudy sky. The sky is not cloudy. The sky is one, it is always clear. But some portion of the sky there is cloud, and you say, "This is cloudy." (break) Similarly, materialism means when you forget Kṛṣṇa, that is material. And when you know Kṛṣṇa and act for Kṛṣṇa, that is spiritual.
Prof. Regamay: Now, one question still. Why in the Ṛg Veda there is not even the name of Kṛṣṇa?
Prabhupāda: Oh yes, Viṣṇu, there is. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, I have already. There is no difference.
Prof. Regamay: Viṣṇu, yes, but not the name of Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: No, in Atharva Veda there is name of Kṛṣṇa.
Prof. Regamay: Viṣṇu, yes, I know that the...
Prabhupāda: So it doesn't require that in every Veda there should be, because the Upaniṣads, they are impersonal study, negation of the material existence. That is negation. There is no positivity. So when you come to the positivity, then you can understand Kṛṣṇa.
Why our parents call us by our nick name not the official name?
yas,
Hari Bol
CC Ādi 2.106: "Thus the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original, primeval Lord, the source of all other expansions. All the revealed scriptures accept Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord.
CC Ādi 2.107: "'Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes.'
CC Ādi 2.108: "You know all the conclusions of the scriptures very well. You create these logical arguments just to agitate me."
CC Ādi 2.109: That same Lord Kṛṣṇa, the fountainhead of all incarnations, is known as the son of the King of Vraja. He has descended personally as Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Ādi 2.110: Therefore Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Absolute Truth. To call Him Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu does not add to His glory.
CC Ādi 2.111: But such words from the lips of a sincere devotee cannot be false. All possibilities abide in Him, for He is the primeval Lord.
CC Ādi 2.112: All other incarnations are situated in potential form in the original body of the primeval Lord. Thus according to one's opinion, one may address Him as any one of the incarnations.
CC Ādi 2.113: Some say that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is directly Nara-Nārāyaṇa. Others say that He is directly Vāmana.
CC Ādi 2.114: Some say that Kṛṣṇa is the incarnation of Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. None of these statements is impossible; each is as correct as the others.
CC Ādi 2.115: Some call Him Hari, or the Nārāyaṇa of the transcendental world. Everything is possible in Kṛṣṇa, for He is the primeval Lord.
CC Ādi 2.116: I offer my obeisances unto the feet of all who hear or read this discourse. Kindly hear with attention the conclusion of all these statements.
CC Ādi 2.117: A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one's mind becomes attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
CC Ādi 2.118: By such conclusive studies I know the glories of Lord Caitanya. Only by knowing these glories can one become strong and fixed in attachment to Him.
CC Ādi 2.119: Just to enunciate the glories of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, I have tried to describe the glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in detail.
CC Ādi 2.120: The conclusion is that Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of the King of Vraja.
CC Ādi 2.121: Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.
Very sweet nectar, Shubham.
Thank you. jaya sri krsna.