Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami
Krishna has many forms:
avatara hy asankhyeya hareh sattva-nidher dvijah
athavidasinah kulyah sarasah syuh sahasrasah
The incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water. [Bhag. 1.3.26]
In Brahma-samhita 5.46 it is said,
diparcir eva hi dasantaram abhyupetya
dipayate vivrta-hetu-samana-dharma
yas tadrg eva hi ca visnutaya vibhati
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
From one original lamp many other lamps may be lit, and they will all give the same light. There is no difference in their potencies. Similarly, there is no difference between avataraand avatari. Krishna is the one original lamp, mula-dipa-eka, and his avataras areasaìkhya, innumerable. Krishna is avatari, the source of all incarnations.
ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan
nanavataram akarod bhuvanesu kintu
krsnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who is always situated in various incarnations such as Rama, Nrisimha, and also many sub-incarnations, but who is the original personality of Godhead known as Krishna, who also incarnates personally. [Brahma-samhita5.39]
Rama, Nrisimha and Vaman are kala, plenary portions of the portion of Krishna. They are giving equal light, but still one is the original lamp. There is no other difference.
The devotees worship the form they are most attracted to. Rama-bhaktas are attracted to the form of Rama. Nrsimha-bhaktas like Prahlada are attracted to the form of Lord Nrisimha. Those who are Krsna-bhaktas are attracted to the all-beautiful form of Krishna. Hanuman is a devotee of Rama. He has developed unalloyed devotion to the form of Lord Rama. Goswami Tulasi Das was a great devotee of Lord Rama. Like Hanuman, he only wanted to see the beautiful form of Lord Rama. He didn't want to see the form of Krishna. Once he went to a Krishna temple and prayed to the deity, "Please give up your flute and hold a bow and arrow. Show me your form as Lord Rama. Then I will bow down to you." The deity immediately changed and he saw the beautiful form of Lord Rama. Then he bowed down.
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