Who is God?
God is that, which is the cause of itself, and the cause of all causes - sarva kaaran kaaranam.
God is all pervading - Omnipresent. Vasudeva or Vishnu means one who is present everywhere.
God is all powerful - Omnipotent. Everything is possible for God. Tena vina trnam api na calati - not a blade of grass moves without the consent of God.
God is all knowing - Omniscient, one who knows everything - past, present and future.
God is Imminent and Transcendental
God is Creator, Maintainer and Destroyer of this Universe.
God is perfect and complete. And only perfect and complete things arise from God.
For most of us, God is Avyakta or not manifest and Acintya or inconceivable. God is beyond the perception of our senses and beyond the comprehension of our mind and intelligence.
There are three stages in God Realization:
(1) God is the all pervading Brahman (like the sunshine). This the Jnani's (person with spiritual knowledge) Realization.
(2) God is the locally manifest Parmatma in our heart (like the reflection of the sun in the mirror)
(3) God is the Supreme Person - Bhagwan (like the Sun). This this is the devotee's realization.
Although this Supreme Person is also inconceivable and not manifest, out of mercy for His devotees, God appears in human form as Avataar (one who descends).
The Avataar delivers Saints, destroys Evil-doers and reestablishes the Principles of Religion.
Still, Saints rest in transcendental bliss, Karma helps Evil-doers destroy themselves and Devotees preserve and spread the already established Principles of Religion. So why should God descend as an Avataar?
The real reason that God appears as Avataar is to enable us to easily approach Him.
It is difficult or impossible to love an inconceivable and invisible God. Still when God appears as an Avataar, we can easily establish a loving relationship with Him. We can visualize His form, recall His activities and chant His name, completely and easily absorbing ourselves in Him.
Krishna is not a mythological or a literary character. There is sufficient archaeological evidence to show that Krishna is historical personality who walked on this earth 5000 years ago.
Although Krishna appears in an apparently human form, this form is not finite. This form is Sat Chit Ananda Vigraha - Eternal, full of Knowledge and a source of Bliss.
When Yashoda looks into Krishna's mouth, she sees the entire Universe (with herself and Krishna in it). Krishna contains the Universe within His spiritual form and through His mystic opulence simaltaneously appears within it.
No Avataar before or after Krishna, manifests qualities or activities that match those He displays. Krishna is the only Purna (complete) Avataar. He exhibits the qualities of every incarnation of God and has many additional glories.
Krishna is Bhagavan - the Supreme Person who fully possesses the six distinctions of Beauty, Strength, Knowledge, Wealth, Fame and Renunciation.
(1) The Chandogya Upanishad mentions Krishna long before He appears on earth.
(2) He reveals the Viraat Svarupa (Cosmic Universal Form) as a standard against which you may measure other Avataars.
(3) Krishna performs extraordinary activities never imitated in world history.
(4) He has a unique message and mission: salvation by Divine Grace through adoration and surrender to His personal form.
(5) Krishna's hands and feet possess the birth marks of the Avataar (elephant's goad, thunderbolt, flag)
Thus Krishna fulfills all the scriptural criteria of an Avataar.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a veiled incarnation of Lord Krishna who appeared in Nava-Dvipa (West Bengal) 500 years ago. He also fulfills the scriptural criteria for an Avataar.
The Chaitanya Upanishad (Atharva Veda) mentions Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 4500 years before His appearance and He reveals His Viraat Svarupa (Cosmic Universal Form) before His devotee Advaita Acharya. He also bears birth marks of the Avataar on His hands and feet. Chaitanya's unique message and mission are the propagation of the Sankirtana movement (congregational chanting of the Holy Name).
Ram Avataar appeared to display the behavior of an ideal King. Similarly, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared to show the world the conduct of an ideal Devotee. Teaching by example the behavior of an ideal Devotedd, Lord Chaitanya never allowed His devotees to worship Him as God, He taught that all of us are eternal servants of Krishna and directed us to the goal of life - love of God (Bhakti), through unmotivated and uninterrupted devotional service.
Lord Chaitanya frequently quoted this verse from the Brhad Naradiya Purana: Harer Nama Harer Nama Harer Nama eva Kevalam Kalau Naste eva Naste eva Naste eva Gatir Anyatha - There is no other way in Kaliyug, There is no other way in Kaliyug, There is no other way in Kaliyug, other than by chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally always chanted the Maha Mantra from the Kali Santarana Upanishad:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Courtesy: My Spiritual Master S U N
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