This chapter explains that Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore, the Brahman effulgence is the bodily luster of Lord Caitanya, and the localized Supersoul situated in the heart of every living entity is His partial representation. The puruṣa-avatāras are also explained in this connection. Mahā-Viṣṇu is the reservoir of all conditioned souls, but as confirmed in the authoritative scriptures, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate fountainhead, the source of numerous plenary expansions, including Nārāyaṇa, who is generally accepted by Māyāvādī philosophers to be the Absolute Truth. The Lord’s manifestation of prābhava and vaibhava expansions, as well as partial incarnations and incarnations with delegated powers, are also explained. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s ages of boyhood and youth are discussed, and it is explained that His age at the beginning of youth is His eternal form.
The spiritual sky contains innumerable spiritual planets, the Vaikuṇṭhas, which are manifestations of the Supreme Lord’s internal energy. Innumerable material universes are similarly exhibited by His external energy, and the living entities are manifested by His marginal energy. Because Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is not different from Lord Kṛṣṇa, He is the cause of all causes; there is no cause beyond Him. He is eternal, and His form is spiritual. Lord Caitanya is directly the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, as the evidence of authoritative scriptures proves. This chapter stresses that a devotee must have knowledge of Kṛṣṇa’s personal form, His three principal energies, His pastimes and the relationship of the living entities with Him in order to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
TEXT 1
śrī-caitanya-prabhuṁ vande
bālo ‘pi yad-anugrahāt
taren nānā-mata-grāha-
vyāptaṁ siddhānta-sāgaram
SYNONYMS
śrī-caitanya-prabhum-to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; vande-I offer obeisances; bālaḥ-an ignorant child; api-even; yat-of whom; anugrahāt-by the mercy; taret-may cross over; nānā-various; mata-of theories; grāha-the crocodiles; vyāptam-filled with; siddhānta-of conclusions; sāgaram-the ocean.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
By the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, even an inexperienced boy with no educational culture can be saved from the ocean of nescience, which is full of various types of philosophical doctrines that are like dangerous aquatic animals. The philosophy of the Buddha, the argumentative presentations of the jñānīs, the yoga systems of Patañjali and Gautama, and the systems of philosophers like Kaṇāda, Kapila and Dattātreya are dangerous creatures in the ocean of nescience. By the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu one can have real understanding of the essence of knowledge by avoiding these sectarian views and accepting the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate goal of life. Let us all worship Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for His gracious mercy to the conditioned souls.
TEXT 2
kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-kalā-pāthojani-bhrājitā
sad-bhaktāvali-haṁsa-cakra-madhupa-śreṇī-vihārāspadam
karṇānandi-kala-dhvanir vahatu me jihvā-maru-prāṅgaṇe
śrī-caitanya dayā-nidhe tava lasal-līlā-sudhā-svardhunī
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa; utkīrtana-loud chanting; gāna-singing; nartana-dancing; kalā-of the other fine arts; pāthaḥ-jani-with lotuses; bhrājitā-beautified; sat-bhakta-of pure devotees; āvali-rows; haṁsa-of swans; cakra-cakravāka birds; madhu-pa-and bumble bees; śreṇī-like swarms; vihāra-of pleasure; āspadam-the abode; karṇa-ānandi-gladdening the ears; kala-melodious; dhvaniḥ-sound; vahatu-let it flow; me-my; jihvā-of the tongue; maru-desertlike; prāṅgaṇe-in the courtyard; śrī-caitanya dayā-nidhe-O Lord Caitanya, ocean of mercy; tava-of You; lasat-shining; līlā-sudhā-of the nectar of the pastimes; svardhunī-the Ganges.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
Our tongues always engage in vibrating useless sounds that do not help us realize transcendental peace. The tongue is compared to a desert because a desert needs a constant supply of refreshing water to make it fertile and fruitful. Water is the substance most needed in the desert. The transient pleasure derived from mundane topics of art, culture, politics, sociology, dry philosophy, poetry and so on is compared to a mere drop of water because although such topics have a qualitative feature of transcendental pleasure, they are saturated with the modes of material nature. Therefore neither collectively nor individually can they satisfy the vast requirements of the desertlike tongue. Despite crying in various conferences, therefore, the desertlike tongue continues to be parched. For this reason, people from all parts of the world must call for the devotees of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who are compared to swans swimming around the beautiful lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or bees humming around His lotus feet in transcendental pleasure, searching for honey. The dryness of material happiness cannot be moistened by so-called philosophers who cry for Brahman, liberation and similar dry speculative objects. The urge of the soul proper is different. The soul can be solaced only by the mercy of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His many bona fide devotees, who never leave the lotus feet of the Lord to become imitation Mahāprabhus but all cling to His lotus feet like bees that never leave a honey-soaked lotus flower.
Lord Caitanya’s movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is full of dancing and singing about the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is compared herein to the pure waters of the Ganges, which are full of lotus flowers. The enjoyers of these lotus flowers are the pure devotees, who are like bees and swans. They chant like the flowing of the Ganges, the river of the celestial kingdom. The author desires such sweetly flowing waves to cover his tongue. He humbly compares himself to materialistic persons who always engage in dry talk from which they derive no satisfaction. If they were to use their dry tongues to chant the holy name of the Lord-Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare-as exemplified by Lord Caitanya, they would taste sweet nectar and enjoy life.
TEXT 3
jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
SYNONYMS
jaya jaya-all glory; śrī-caitanya-to Lord Caitanya; jaya-all glory; nityānanda-to Lord Nityānanda; jaya-all glory; advaita-candra-to Advaita Ācārya; jaya-all glory; gaura-bhakta-vṛnda-to the devotees of Lord Gaurāṅga.
TRANSLATION
All glories to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Śrī Nityānanda. All glories to Advaitacandra, and all glories to the devotees of Lord Gaurāṅga.
TEXT 4
tṛtīya ślokera artha kari vivaraṇa
vastu-nirdeśa-rūpa maṅgalācaraṇa
SYNONYMS
tṛtīya-third; ślokera-of the verse; artha-the meaning; kari-I do; vivaraṇa-description; vastu-of the Absolute Truth; nirdeśa-rūpa-in the form of delineation; maṅgala-auspicious; ācaraṇa-conduct.
TRANSLATION
Let me describe the meaning of the third verse [of the first fourteen]. It is an auspicious vibration that describes the Absolute Truth.
TEXT 5
yad advaitaṁ brahmopaniṣadi tad apy asya tanu-bhā
ya ātmāntar-yāmī puruṣa iti so ‘syāṁśa-vibhavaḥ
ṣaḍ-aiśvaryaiḥ pūrṇo ya iha bhagavān sa svayam ayaṁ
na caitanyāt krṣṇāj jagati para-tattvaṁ param iha
SYNONYMS
yat-that which; advaitam-without a second; brahma-the impersonal Brahman; upaniṣadi-in the Upaniṣads; tat-that; api-certainly; asya-His; tanu-bhā-the effulgence of His transcendental body; yaḥ-who; ātmā-the Supersoul; antaḥ-yāmī-indwelling Lord; puruṣaḥ-the supreme enjoyer; iti-thus; saḥ-He; asya-His; aṁśa-vibhavaḥ-expansion of a plenary portion; ṣaṭ-aiśvaryaiḥ-with the six opulences; pūrṇaḥ-full; yaḥ-who; iha-here; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; saḥ-He; svayam-Himself; ayam-this one; na-not; caitanyāt-than Lord Caitanya; kṛṣṇāt-than Lord Kṛṣṇa; jagati-in the world; para-higher; tattvam-truth; param-another; iha-here.
TRANSLATION
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. He 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.
PURPORT
The compilers of the Upaniṣads speak very highly of the impersonal Brahman. The Upaniṣads, which are considered the most elevated portion of the Vedic literature, are meant for persons who desire to get free from material association and who therefore approach a bona fide spiritual master for enlightenment. The prefix upa- indicates that one must receive knowledge about the Absolute Truth from a spiritual master. One who has faith in his spiritual master actually receives transcendental instruction, and as his attachment for material life slackens, he is able to advance on the spiritual path. Knowledge of the transcendental science of the Upaniṣads can free one from the entanglement of existence in the material world, and when thus liberated, one can be elevated to the spiritual kingdom of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by advancement in spiritual life.
The beginning of spiritual enlightenment is realization of impersonal Brahman. Such realization is effected by gradual negation of material variegatedness. Impersonal Brahman realization is the partial, distant experience of the Absolute Truth that one achieves through the rational approach. It is compared to one’s seeing a hill from a distance and taking it to be a smoky cloud. A hill is not a smoky cloud, but it appears to be one from a distance because of our imperfect vision. In imperfect or smoky realization of the Absolute Truth, spiritual variegatedness is conspicuous by its absence. This experience is therefore called advaita-vāda, or realization of the oneness of the Absolute.
The impersonal glowing effulgence of Brahman consists only of the personal bodily rays of the Supreme Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Since Śrī Gaurasundara, or Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, is identical with Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Brahman effulgence consists of the rays of His transcendental body.
Similarly, the Supersoul, which is called the Paramātmā, is a plenary representation of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The antar-yāmī, the Supersoul in everyone’s heart, is the controller of all living entities. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), wherein Lord Kṛṣṇa says, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ: “I am situated in everyone’s heart.” The Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) also states, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram, indicating that the Supreme Lord, acting in His expansion as the Supersoul, is the proprietor of everything. Similarly, the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.35) states, aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham. The Lord is present everywhere, within the heart of every living entity and within each and every atom as well. Thus by this Supersoul feature the Lord is all-pervading.
Furthermore, Lord Caitanya is also the master of all wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation because He is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is described as pūrṇa, or complete. In the feature of Lord Caitanya, the Lord is an ideal renouncer, just as Śrī Rāma was an ideal king. He accepted the order of sannyāsa and exemplified exceedingly wonderful principles in His own life. No one can compare to Him in the order of sannyāsa. Although in Kali-yuga acceptance of the sannyāsa order is generally forbidden, Lord Caitanya accepted it because He is complete in renunciation. Others cannot imitate Him but can only follow in His footsteps as far as possible. Those who are unfit for this order of life are strictly forbidden by the injunctions of the śāstras to accept it. Lord Caitanya, however, is complete in renunciation as well as all other opulences. He is therefore the highest principle of the Absolute Truth.
By an analytical study of the truth of Lord Caitanya, one will find that He is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa; no one is greater than or even equal to Him. In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.7) Lord Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: “O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no truth superior to Me.” Thus it is here confirmed that there is no truth higher than Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya.
The impersonal Brahman is the goal of those who cultivate the study of books of transcendental knowledge, and the Supersoul is the goal of those who perform the yoga practices. One who knows the Supreme Personality of Godhead surpasses realization of both Brahman and Paramātmā because Bhagavān is the ultimate platform of absolute knowledge.
The Personality of Godhead is the complete form of sac-cid-ānanda (full life, knowledge and bliss). By realization of the sat portion of the Complete Whole (unlimited existence), one realizes the impersonal Brahman of the Lord. By realization of the cit portion of the Complete Whole (unlimited knowledge), one can realize the localized aspect of the Lord, Paramātmā. But neither of these partial realizations of the Complete Whole can help one realize ānanda, or complete bliss. Without such realization of ānanda, knowledge of the Absolute Truth is incomplete.
This verse of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī is confirmed by a parallel statement in the Tattva-sandarbha by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. In the Ninth Part of the Tattva-sandarbha it is said that the Absolute Truth is sometimes approached as impersonal Brahman, which, although spiritual, is only a partial representation of the Absolute Truth. Nārāyaṇa, the predominating Deity in Vaikuṇṭha, is to be known as an expansion of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the object of the transcendental love of all living entities.
TEXT 6
brahma, ātmā, bhagavān–anuvāda tina
aṅga-prabhā, aṁśa, svarūpa–tina vidheya-cihna
SYNONYMS
brahma-the impersonal Brahman; ātmā-the localized Paramātmā; bhagavān-the Personality of Godhead; anuvāda-subjects; tina-three; aṅga-prabhā-bodily effulgence; aṁśa-partial manifestation; svarūpa-original form; tina-three; vidheya-cihna-predicates.
TRANSLATION
Impersonal Brahman, 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.
TEXT 7
anuvāda āge, pāche vidheya sthāpana
sei artha kahi, śuna śāstra-vivaraṇa
SYNONYMS
anuvāda-the subject; āge-first; pāche-afterwards; vidheya-the predicate; sthāpana-placing; sei-this; artha-the meaning; kahi-I speak; śuna-please listen; śāstra-vivaraṇa-to the description of the scriptures.
TRANSLATION
A predicate always follows its subject. Now I shall explain the meaning of this verse according to the revealed scriptures.
TEXT 8
svayaṁ bhagavān kṛṣṇa, viṣṇu-paratattva
pūrṇa-jñāna pūrṇānanda parama mahattva
SYNONYMS
svayam-Himself; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; viṣṇu-of all-pervading Viṣṇu; para-tattva-the ultimate truth; pūrṇa-jñāna-full knowledge; pūrṇa-ānanda-full bliss; parama-supreme; mahattva-greatness.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 9
‘nanda-suta’ bali’ yāṅre bhāgavate gāi
sei kṛṣṇa avatīrṇa caitanya-gosāñi
SYNONYMS
nanda-suta-the son of Nanda Mahārāja; bali’-as; yāṅre-who; bhāgavate-in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; gāi-is sung; sei-that; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; avatīrṇa-descended; caitanya-gosāñi-Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TRANSLATION
He whom Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes as the son of Nanda Mahārāja has descended to earth as Lord Caitanya.
PURPORT
According to the rules of rhetorical arrangement for efficient composition in literature, a subject should be mentioned before its predicate. The Vedic literature frequently mentions Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, and therefore these three terms are widely known as the subjects of transcendental understanding. But it is not widely known that what is approached as the impersonal Brahman is the effulgence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s transcendental body. Nor is it widely known that the Supersoul, or Paramātmā, is only a partial representation of Lord Caitanya, who is identical with Bhagavān Himself. Therefore the descriptions of Brahman as the effulgence of Lord Caitanya, the Paramātmā as His partial representation, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa as identical with Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu must be verified by evidence from authoritative Vedic literatures.
The author wants to establish first that the essence of the Vedas is the viṣṇu-tattva, the Absolute Truth, Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Godhead. The viṣṇu-tattva has different categories, of which the highest is Lord Kṛṣṇa, the ultimate viṣṇu-tattva, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā and throughout the Vedic literature. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the same Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa is described as Nanda-suta, the son of King Nanda. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says that Nandasuta has again appeared as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu because the conclusion of the Vedic literature is that there is no difference between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This the author will prove. If it is thus proved that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the origin of all tattvas (truths), namely Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, and that there is no difference between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, it will not be difficult to understand that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is also the same origin of all tattvas. The same Absolute Truth, as He is revealed to students of different realizations, is called Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.
TEXT 10
prakāśa-viśeṣe teṅha dhare tina nāma
brahma, paramātmā āra svayaṁ-bhagavān
SYNONYMS
prakāśa-of manifestation; viśeṣe-in variety; teṅha-He; dhare-holds; tina-three; nāma-names; brahma-Brahman; paramātmā-Paramātmā (Supersoul); āra-and; svayam-Himself; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained the word bhagavān in his Bhagavat-sandarbha. The Personality of Godhead, being full of all conceivable and inconceivable potencies, is the absolute Supreme Whole. Impersonal Brahman is a partial manifestation of the Absolute Truth realized in the absence of such complete potencies. The first syllable of the word bhagavān is bha, which means “sustainer” and “protector.” The next letter, ga, means “leader,” “pusher” and “creator.” Va means “dwelling” (all living beings dwell in the Supreme Lord, and the Supreme Lord dwells within the heart of every living being). Combining all these concepts, the word bhagavān carries the import of inconceivable potency in knowledge, energy, strength, opulence, power and influence, devoid of all varieties of inferiority. Without such inconceivable potencies, one cannot fully sustain or protect. Our modern civilization is sustained by scientific arrangements devised by many great scientific brains. We can just imagine, therefore, the gigantic brain whose arrangements sustain the gravity of the unlimited number of planets and satellites and who creates the unlimited space in which they float. If one considers the intelligence needed to orbit man-made satellites, one cannot be fooled into thinking that there is not a gigantic intelligence responsible for the arrangements of the various planetary systems. There is no reason to believe that all the gigantic planets float in space without the superior arrangement of a superior intelligence. This subject is clearly dealt with in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.13) where the Personality of Godhead says, “I enter into each planet, and by My energy they stay in orbit.” Were the planets not held in the grip of the Personality of Godhead, they would all scatter like dust in the air. Modern scientists can only impractically explain this inconceivable strength of the Personality of Godhead.
The potencies of the syllables bha, ga and va apply in terms of many different meanings. Through His different potential agents, the Lord protects and sustains everything, but He Himself personally protects and sustains only His devotees, just as a king personally sustains and protects his own children, while entrusting the protection and sustenance of the state to various administrative agents. The Lord is the leader of His devotees, as we learn from the Bhagavad-gītā, which mentions that the Personality of Godhead personally instructs His loving devotees how to make certain progress on the path of devotion and thus surely approach the kingdom of God. The Lord is also the recipient of all the adoration offered by His devotees, for whom He is the objective and the goal. For His devotees the Lord creates a favorable condition for developing a sense of transcendental love of Godhead. Sometimes He does this by taking away a devotee’s material attachments by force and baffling all his material protective agents, for thus the devotee must completely depend on the Lord’s protection. In this way the Lord proves Himself the leader of His devotees.
The Lord is not directly attached to the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world, for He is eternally busy in the enjoyment of transcendental bliss with His internal potential paraphernalia. Yet as the initiator of the material energy as well as the marginal potency (the living beings), He expands Himself as the puruṣa-avatāras, who are invested with potencies similar to His. The puruṣa-avatāras are also in the category of bhagavat-tattva because each and every one of them is identical with the original form of the Personality of Godhead. The living entities are His infinitesimal particles and are qualitatively one with Him. They are sent into this material world for material enjoyment to fulfill their desires to be independent individuals, but still they are subject to the supreme will of the Lord. The Lord deputes Himself in the state of Supersoul to supervise the arrangements for such material enjoyment. The example of a temporary fair is quite appropriate in this connection. If the citizens of a state assemble in a fair to enjoy for a short period, the government deputes a special officer to supervise it. Such an officer is invested with all governmental power, and therefore he is identical with the government. When the fair is over, there is no need for such an officer, and he returns home. The Paramātmā is compared to such an officer.
The living beings are not all in all. They are undoubtedly parts of the Supreme Lord and are qualitatively one with Him; yet they are subject to His control. Thus they are never equal to the Lord or one with Him. The Lord who associates with the living being is the Paramātmā, or supreme living being. No one, therefore, should view the tiny living beings and supreme living being to be on an equal level.
The all-pervading truth that exists eternally during the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material world and in which the living beings rest in trance is called the impersonal Brahman.
TEXT 11
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate
SYNONYMS
vadanti-they say; tat-that; tattva-vidaḥ-learned souls; tattvam-the Absolute Truth; yat-which; jñānam-knowledge; advayam-nondual; brahma-Brahman; iti-thus; paramātmā-Paramātmā; iti-thus; bhagavān-Bhagavān; iti-thus; śabdyate-is known.
TRANSLATION
“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth say that it is nondual knowledge and is called impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā and the Personality of Godhead.”
PURPORT
This Sanskrit verse appears as the eleventh verse of the First Canto, Second Chapter, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where Sūta Gosvāmī answers the questions of the sages headed by Śaunaka Ṛṣi concerning the essence of all scriptural instructions. Tattva-vidaḥ refers to persons who have knowledge of the Absolute Truth. They can certainly understand knowledge without duality because they are on the spiritual platform. The Absolute Truth is known sometimes as Brahman, sometimes as Paramātmā and sometimes as Bhagavān. Persons who are in knowledge of the truth know that one who tries to approach the Absolute simply by mental speculation will ultimately realize the impersonal Brahman, and one who tries to approach the Absolute through yoga practice will be able to realize Paramātmā, but one who has complete knowledge and spiritual understanding realizes the spiritual form of Bhagavān, the Personality of Godhead.
Devotees of the Personality of Godhead know that Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of the King of Vraja, is the Absolute Truth. They do not discriminate between Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, quality and pastimes. One who wants to separate the Lord’s absolute name, form and qualities must be understood to be lacking in absolute knowledge. A pure devotee knows that when he chants the transcendental name Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is present as transcendental sound. He therefore chants with full respect and veneration. When he sees the forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he does not see anything different from the Lord. If one sees otherwise, he must be considered untrained in absolute knowledge. This lack of absolute knowledge is called māyā. One who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious is ruled by the spell of māyā under the control of a duality in knowledge. In the Absolute, all manifestations of the Supreme Lord are nondual, just as the multifarious forms of Viṣṇu, the controller of māyā, are nondual. Empiric philosophers who pursue the impersonal Brahman accept only the knowledge that the personality of the living entity is not different from the personality of the Supreme Lord, and mystic yogīs who try to locate the Paramātmā accept only the knowledge that the pure soul is not different from the Supersoul. The absolute conception of a pure devotee, however, includes all others. A devotee does not see anything except in its relationship with Kṛṣṇa, and therefore his realization is the most perfect of all.
TEXT 12
tāṅhāra aṅgera śuddha kiraṇa-maṇḍala
upaniṣat kahe tāṅre brahma sunirmala
SYNONYMS
tāṅhāra-His; aṅgera-of the body; śuddha-pure; kiraṇa-of rays; maṇḍala-realm; upaniṣat-the Upaniṣads; kahe-say; tāṅre-unto that; brahma-Brahman; su-nirmala-transcendental.
TRANSLATION
What the Upaniṣads call the transcendental, impersonal Brahman is the realm of the glowing effulgence of the same Supreme Person.
PURPORT
Three mantras of the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (2.2.9-11) give information regarding the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They state:
“In the spiritual realm, beyond the material covering, is the unlimited Brahman effulgence, which is free from material contamination. That effulgent white light is understood by transcendentalists to be the light of all lights. In that realm there is no need of sunshine, moonshine, fire or electricity for illumination. Indeed, whatever illumination appears in the material world is only a reflection of that supreme illumination. That Brahman is in front and in back, in the north, south, east and west, and also overhead and below. In other words, that supreme Brahman effulgence spreads throughout both the material and spiritual skies.”
TEXT 13
carma-cakṣe dekhe yaiche sūrya nirviśeṣa
jñāna-mārge laite nāre kṛṣṇera viśeṣa
SYNONYMS
carma-cakṣe-by the naked eye; dekhe-one sees; yaiche-just as; sūrya-the sun; nirviśeṣa-without variegatedness; jñāna-mārge-by the path of philosophical speculation; laite-to accept; nāre-not able; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; viśeṣa-the variety.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 14
yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-
koṭīṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam
tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
SYNONYMS
yasya-of whom; prabhā-the effulgence; prabhavataḥ-of one who excels in power; jagat-aṇḍa-of universes; koṭi-koṭīṣu-in millions and millions; aśeṣa-unlimited; vasudhā-ādi-with planets, etc; vibhūti-with opulences; bhinnam-becoming variegated; tat-that; brahma-Brahman; niṣkalam-without parts; anantam-unlimited; aśeṣa-bhūtam-being complete; govindam-Lord Govinda; ādi-puruṣam-the original person; tam-Him; aham-I; bhajāmi-worship.
TRANSLATION
[Lord Brahmā said:] “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.
PURPORT
This verse appears in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40). Each and every one of the countless universes is full of innumerable planets with different constitutions and atmospheres. All these come from the unlimited nondual Brahman, or Complete Whole, which exists in absolute knowledge. The origin of that unlimited Brahman effulgence is the transcendental body of Govinda, who is offered respectful obeisances as the original and supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 15
koṭī koṭī brahmāṇḍe ye brahmera vibhūti
sei brahma govindera haya aṅga-kānti
SYNONYMS
koṭī-tens of millions; koṭī-tens of millions; brahma-aṇḍe-in universes; ye-which; brahmera-of Brahman; vibhūti-opulences; sei-that; brahma-Brahman; govindera-of Lord Govinda; haya-is; aṅga-kānti-bodily effulgence.
TRANSLATION
“The opulences of the impersonal Brahman spread throughout the millions and millions of universes. That Brahman is but the bodily effulgence of Govinda.
TEXT 16
sei govinda bhaji āmi, tehoṅ mora pati
tāṅhāra prasāde mora haya sṛṣṭi-śakti
SYNONYMS
sei-that; govinda-Lord Govinda; bhaji-worship; āmi-I; tehoṅ-He; mora-my; pati-Lord; tāṅhāra-His; prasāde-by the mercy; mora-my; haya-becomes; sṛṣṭi-of creation; śakti-power.
TRANSLATION
“I worship Govinda. He is my Lord. Only by His grace am I empowered to create the universe.”
PURPORT
Although the sun is situated far away from the other planets, its rays sustain and maintain them all. Indeed, the sun diffuses its heat and light all over the universe. Similarly, the supreme sun, Govinda, diffuses His heat and light everywhere in the form of His different potencies. The sun’s heat and light are nondifferent from the sun. In the same way, the unlimited potencies of Govinda are nondifferent from Govinda Himself. Therefore the all-pervasive Brahman is the all-pervasive Govinda. The Bhagavad-gītā (14.27) clearly mentions that the impersonal Brahman is dependent upon Govinda. That is the real conception of absolute knowledge.
TEXT 17
munayo vāta-vāsanāḥ
śramaṇā ūrdhva-manthinaḥ
brahmākhyaṁ dhāma te yānti
śāntāḥ sannyāsino ‘malāḥ
SYNONYMS
munayaḥ-saints; vāta-vāsanāḥ-naked; śramanāḥ-who perform severe physical penances; ūrdhva-raised up; manthinaḥ-whose semen; brahma-ākhyam-known as Brahmaloka; dhāma-to the abode; te-they; yānti-go; śāntāḥ-equipoised in Brahman; sannyāsinaḥ-who are in the renounced order of life; amalāḥ-pure.
TRANSLATION
[Śrī Uddhava said:] “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.”
PURPORT
In this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.6.47), vāta-vāsanāḥ refers to mendicants who do not care about anything material, including clothing, but who depend wholly on nature. Such sages do not cover their bodies even in severe winter or scorching sunshine. They take great pains not to avoid any kind of bodily suffering, and they live by begging from door to door. They never discharge their semen, either knowingly or unknowingly. By such celibacy they are able to raise the semen to the brain. Thus they become most intelligent and develop very sharp memories. Their minds are never disturbed or diverted from contemplation on the Absolute Truth, nor are they ever contaminated by desire for material enjoyment. By practicing austerities under strict discipline, such mendicants attain a neutral state transcendental to the modes of nature and merge into the impersonal Brahman.
TEXT 18
ātmāntaryāmī yāṅre yoga-śāstre kaya
seha govindera aṁśa vibhūti ye haya
SYNONYMS
ātmā antaḥ-yāmī-in-dwelling Supersoul; yāṅre-who; yoga-śāstre-in the scriptures of yoga; kaya-is spoken; seha-that; govindera-of Govinda; aṁśa-plenary portion; vibhūti-expansion; ye-which; haya-is.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is by nature joyful. His enjoyments, or pastimes, are completely transcendental. He is in the fourth dimension of existence, for although the material world is measured by the limitations of length, breadth and height, the Supreme Lord is completely unlimited in His body, form and existence. He is not personally attached to any of the affairs within the material cosmos. The material world is created by the expansion of His puruṣa-avatāras, who direct the aggregate material energy and all the conditioned souls. By understanding the three expansions of the puruṣa, a living entity can transcend the position of knowing only the twenty-four elements of the material world.
One of the expansions of Mahā-Viṣṇu is Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Supersoul within every living entity. As the Supersoul of the total aggregate of living entities, or the second puruṣa, He is known as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. As the creator or original cause of innumerable universes, or the first puruṣa, who is lying on the Causal Ocean, He is called Mahā-Viṣṇu. The three puruṣas direct the affairs of the material world.
The authorized scriptures direct the individual souls to revive their relationship with the Supersoul. Indeed, the system of yoga is the process of transcending the influence of the material elements by establishing a connection with the puruṣa known as the Paramātmā. One who has thoroughly studied the intricacies of creation can know very easily that this Paramātmā is the plenary portion of the Supreme Being, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 19
ananta sphaṭike yaiche eka sūrya bhāse
taiche jīve govindera aṁśa prakāśe
SYNONYMS
ananta-unlimited; sphaṭike-in crystals; yaiche-just as; eka-one; sūrya-sun; bhāse-appears; taiche-just so; jīve-in the living entity; govindera-of Govinda; aṁśa-portion; prakāśe-manifests.
TRANSLATION
As the one sun appears reflected in countless jewels, so Govinda manifests Himself [as the Paramātmā] in the hearts of all living beings.
PURPORT
The sun is situated in a specific location but is reflected in countless jewels and appears in innumerable localized aspects. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although eternally present in His transcendental abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, is reflected in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul. In the Upaniṣads it is said that the jīva (living entity) and the Paramātmā (Supersoul) are like two birds sitting in the same tree. The Supersoul engages the living being in executing fruitive work as a result of his deeds in the past, but the Paramātmā has nothing to do with such engagements. As soon as the living being ceases to act in terms of fruitive work and takes to the service of the Lord (Paramātmā), coming to know of His supremacy, he is immediately freed from all designations, and in that pure state he enters the kingdom of God known as Vaikuṇṭha.
The Supersoul (Paramātmā), the guide of the individual living beings, does not take part in fulfilling the desires of the living beings, but He arranges for their fulfillment by material nature. As soon as an individual soul becomes conscious of his eternal relationship with the Supersoul and looks only toward Him, he at once becomes free from the entanglements of material enjoyment. Christian philosophers who do not believe in the law of karma put forward the argument that it is absurd for a person to accept the results of past deeds of which he has no consciousness. A criminal is first reminded of his misdeeds by witnesses in a law court, and then he is punished. If death is complete forgetfulness, why should a person be punished for his past misdeeds? The conception of the Paramātmā is an invincible answer to these fallacious arguments. The Paramātmā is the witness of the past activities of the individual living being. A man may not remember what he has done in his childhood, but his father, who has seen him grow through different stages of development, certainly remembers. Similarly, the living being undergoes many changes of body through many lives, but the Supersoul is also with him and remembers all his activities, despite his evolution through different bodies.
TEXT 20
atha vā bahunaitena
kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam
ekāṁśena sthito jagat
SYNONYMS
atha vā-or; bahunā-much; etena-with this; kim-what use; jñātena-being known; tava-by you; arjuna-O Arjuna; viṣṭabhya-pervading; aham-I; idam-this; kṛtsnam-entire; eka-aṁśena-with one portion; sthitaḥ-situated; jagat-universe.
TRANSLATION
[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.”
PURPORT
Describing His own potencies to Arjuna, the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa spoke this verse of the Bhagavad-gītā (10.42).
TEXT 21
tam imam aham ajaṁ śarīra-bhājāṁ
hṛḍi hṛdi dhiṣṭhitam ātma-kalpitānām
prati-dṛśam iva naikadhārkam ekaṁ
samadhigato ‘smi vidhūta-bheda-mohaḥ
SYNONYMS
tam-Him; imam-this; aham-I; ajam-the unborn; śarīra-bhājām-of the conditioned souls endowed with bodies; hṛdi hṛdi-in each of the hearts; dhiṣṭhitam-situated; ātma-by themselves; kalpitānām-which are imagined; prati-dṛśam-for every eye; iva-like; na eka-dhā-not in one way; arkam-the sun; ekam-one; samadhigataḥ-one who has obtained; asmi-I am; vidhūta-removed; bheda-mohaḥ-whose misconception of duality.
TRANSLATION
[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.”
PURPORT
This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.9.42) was spoken by Bhīṣmadeva, the grandfather of the Kurus, when he was lying on a bed of arrows at the last stage of his life. Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa and numberless friends, admirers, relatives and sages had gathered on the scene as Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira took moral and religious instructions from the dying Bhīṣma. Just as the final moment arrived for him, Bhīṣma spoke this verse while looking at Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Just as the one sun is the object of vision of many different persons, so the one partial representation of Lord Kṛṣṇa who lives in the heart of every living entity as the Paramātmā is a variously perceived object. One who comes intimately in touch with Lord Kṛṣṇa by engaging in His eternal service sees the Supersoul as the localized partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhīṣma knew the Supersoul to be a partial expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, whom he understood to be the supreme unborn transcendental form.
TEXT 22
seita govinda sākṣāc caitanya gosāñi
jīva nistārite aiche dayālu āra nāi
SYNONYMS
seita-that; govinda-Govinda; sākṣāt-personally; caitanya-Lord Caitanya; gosāñi-Gosāñi; jīva-the fallen living entities; nistārite-to deliver; aiche-such; dayālu-a merciful Lord; āra-another; nāi-there is not.
TRANSLATION
That Govinda personally appears as Caitanya Gosāñi. No other Lord is as merciful in delivering the fallen souls.
PURPORT
Having described Govinda in terms of His Brahman and Paramātmā features, now the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta advances his argument to prove that Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the identical personality. The same Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in the garb of a devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, descended to this mortal world to reclaim the fallen human beings who had misunderstood the Personality of Godhead even after the explanation of the Bhagavad-gītā. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa directly instructed that the Supreme is a person. Impersonal Brahman is His glowing effulgence, the Paramātmā is His partial representation, and all men are therefore advised to follow the path of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, leaving aside all mundane “isms.” Offenders misunderstood this instruction, however, because of their poor fund of knowledge. Thus by His causeless, unlimited mercy Śrī Kṛṣṇa came again as Śrī Caitanya Gosāñi.
The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta most emphatically stresses that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is not an expansion of the prakāśa or vilāsa forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; He is the svayaṁ-rūpa, Govinda. Apart from the relevant scriptural evidence forwarded by Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, there are innumerable other scriptural statements regarding Lord Caitanya’s being the Supreme Lord Himself. The following examples may be cited:
(1) From the Caitanya Upaniṣad (5): gauraḥ sarvātmā mahā-puruṣo mahātmā mahā-yogī tri-guṇātītaḥ sattva-rūpo bhaktiṁ loke kāśyati. “Lord Gaura, who is the all-pervading Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears as a great saint and powerful mystic who is above the three modes of nature and is the emblem of transcendental activity. He disseminates the cult of devotion throughout the world.”
(2) From the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad:
“O Supreme Lord, You are the Supreme Maheśvara, the worshipable Deity of all the demigods and the Supreme Lord of all lords. You are the controller of all controllers, the Personality of Godhead, the Lord of everything worshipable.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.7)
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Mahāprabhu, who disseminates transcendental enlightenment. Just to be in touch with Him is to be in contact with the indestructible brahmajyoti.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.12)
(3) From the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.1.3):
yadā paśyaḥ paśyate rukma-varṇaṁ
kartāram īśaṁ puruṣaṁ brahma-yonim
“One who sees that golden-colored Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Lord, the supreme actor, who is the source of the Supreme Brahman, is liberated.”
(4) From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
dhyeyaṁ sadā paribhava-ghnam abhīṣṭa-dohaṁ
tīrthāspadaṁ śiva-viriñci-nutaṁ śaraṇyam
bhṛtyārti-haṁ praṇata-pāla bhavābdhi-potaṁ
vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam
“We offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Him, the Lord, upon whom one should always meditate. He destroys insults to His devotees. He removes the distresses of His devotees and satisfies their desires. He, the abode of all holy places and the shelter of all sages, is worshipable by Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. He is the boat of the demigods for crossing the ocean of birth and death.” (Bhāg. 11.5.33)
tyaktvā sudustyaja-surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīṁ
dharmiṣṭha ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam
māyā-mṛgaṁ dayitayepsitam anvadhāvad
vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam
“We offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord, upon whom one should always meditate. He left His householder life, leaving aside His eternal consort, whom even the denizens of heaven adore. He went into the forest to deliver the fallen souls, who are put into illusion by material energy.” (Bhāg. 11.5.34)
Prahlāda said:
itthaṁ nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-deva-jhaṣāvatārair
lokān vibhāvayasi haṁsi jagat-pratīpān
dharmaṁ mahā-puruṣa pāsi yugānuvṛttaṁ
channaḥ kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo ‘tha sa tvam
“My Lord, You kill all the enemies of the world in Your multifarious incarnations in the families of men, animals, demigods, ṛṣis, aquatics and so on. Thus You illuminate the worlds with transcendental knowledge. In the Age of Kali, O Mahāpuruṣa, You sometimes appear in a covered incarnation. Therefore You are known as Tri-yuga [one who appears in only three yugas].” (Bhāg. 7.9.38)
(5) From the Kṛṣṇa-yāmala-tantra: puṇya-kṣetre navadvīpe bhaviṣyāmi śacī-sutaḥ. “I shall appear in the holy land of Navadvīpa as the son of Śacīdevī.”
(6) From the Vāyu Purāṇa: kalau saṅkīrtanārambhe bhaviṣyāmi śacī-sutaḥ. “In the Age of Kali when the saṅkīrtana movement is inaugurated, I shall descend as the son of Śacīdevī.”
(7) From the Brahma-yāmala-tantra:
atha vāhaṁ dharādhāme
bhūtvā mad-bhakta-rūpa-dhṛk
māyāyāṁ ca bhaviṣyāmi
kalau saṅkīrtanāgame
“Sometimes I personally appear on the surface of the world in the garb of a devotee. Specifically, I appear as the son of Śacī in Kali-yuga to start the saṅkīrtana movement.”
(8), From the Ananta-saṁhitā:
ya eva bhagavān kṛṣṇo
rādhikā-prāṇa-vallabhaḥ
sṛṣṭy ādau sa jagan-nātho
gaura āsīn maheśvari
“The Supreme Person, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, who is the life of Śrī Rādhārāṇī and is the Lord of the universe in creation, maintenance and annihilation, appears as Gaura, O Maheśvarī.”
TEXT 23
para-vyomete vaise nārāyaṇa nāma
ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇa lakṣmī-kānta bhagavān
SYNONYMS
para-vyomete-in the transcendental world; vaise-sits; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; nāma-of the name; ṣaṭ-aiśvarya-of six kinds of opulences; pūrṇa-full; lakṣmī-kānta-the husband of the goddess of opulence; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 24
veda, bhāgavata, upaniṣat, āgama
‘pūrṇa-tattva’ yāṅre kahe, nāhi yāṅra sama
SYNONYMS
veda-the Vedas; bhāgavata-Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; upaniṣat-the Upaniṣads; āgama-other transcendental literatures; pūrṇa-tattva-full truth; yāṅre-unto whom; kahe-they say; nāhi-there is not; yāṅra-whose; sama-equal.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
There are innumerable authoritative statements in the Vedas regarding the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. Some of them are as follows:
(1) From the Ṛk-saṁhitā (1.22.20):
tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā
paśyanti sūrayo divīva cakṣur ātatam
“The Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu is the Absolute Truth, whose lotus feet all the demigods are always eager to see. Like the sun-god, He pervades everything by the rays of His energy. He appears impersonal to imperfect eyes.”
(2) From the Nārāyaṇātharva-śira Upaniṣad (1-2): nārāyaṇād eva samutpadyante nārāyaṇāt pravartante nārāyaṇe pralīyante. . . . atha nityo nārāyaṇaḥ. . . . nārāyaṇa evedaṁ sarvaṁ yad bhūtaṁ yac ca bhavyam. . . . śuddho deva eko nārāyaṇo na dvitīyo ‘sti kaścit. “It is from Nārāyaṇa only that everything is generated, by Him only that everything is maintained, and in Him only that everything is annihilated. Therefore Nārāyaṇa is eternally existing. Everything that exists now or will be created in the future is nothing but Nārāyaṇa, who is the unadulterated Deity. There is only Nārāyaṇa and nothing else.”
(3) From the Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad (1.4): yataḥ prasūtā jagataḥ prasūtī. “Nārāyaṇa is the source from whom all the universes emanate.”
(4) From the Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarātra: paramātmā harir devaḥ. “Hari is the Supreme Lord.”
(5) From the Bhāgavatam (11.3.34-35):
nārāyaṇābhidhānasya
brahmaṇaḥ paramātmanaḥ
niṣṭhām arhatha no vaktuṁ
yūyaṁ hi brahma-vittamāḥ
“O best of the brāhmaṇas, please tell us of the position of Nārāyaṇa, who is also known as Brahman and Paramātmā.”
sthity-udbhava-pralaya-hetur ahetur asya
yat svapna-jāgara-suṣuptiṣu sad bahiś ca
dehendriyāsu-hṛdayāni caranti yena
sañjīvitāni tad avehi paraṁ narendra
“O King, know Him who is causeless and yet is the cause of creation, maintenance and annihilation. He exists in the three states of consciousness-namely waking, dreaming and deep sleep-as well as beyond them. He enlivens the body, the senses, the breath of life, and the heart, and thus they move. Know Him to be supreme.”
TEXT 25
bhakti-yoge bhakta pāya yāṅhāra darśana
sūrya yena savigraha dekhe deva-gaṇa
SYNONYMS
bhakti-yoge-by devotional service; bhakta-the devotee; pāya-obtains; yāṅhāra-whose; darśana-sight; sūrya-the sun-god; yena-like; sa-vigraha-with form; dekhe-they see; deva-gaṇa-the denizens of heaven.
TRANSLATION
Through their service, devotees see that Personality of Godhead, just as the denizens of heaven see the personality of the sun.
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has His eternal form, which cannot be seen by material eyes or mental speculation. Only by transcendental devotional service can one understand the transcendental form of the Lord. The comparison is made here to the qualifications for viewing the personal features of the sun-god. The sun-god is a person who, although not visible to our eyes, is seen from the higher planets by the demigods, whose eyes are suitable for seeing through the glaring sunshine that surrounds him. Every planet has its own atmosphere according to the influence of the arrangement of material nature. It is therefore necessary to have a particular type of bodily construction to reach a particular planet. The inhabitants of earth may be able to reach the moon, but the inhabitants of heaven can reach even the fiery sphere called the sun. What is impossible for man on earth is easy for the demigods in heaven because of their different bodies. Similarly, to see the Supreme Lord one must have the spiritual eyes of devotional service. The Personality of Godhead is unapproachable by those who are habituated to speculation about the Absolute Truth in terms of experimental scientific thought, without reference to the transcendental vibration. The ascending approach to the Absolute Truth ends in the realization of impersonal Brahman and the localized Paramātmā but not the Supreme Transcendental Personality.
TEXT 26
jñāna-yoga-mārge tāṅre bhaje yei saba
brahma-ātma-rūpe tāṅre kare anubhava
SYNONYMS
jñāna-of philosophical speculation; yoga-and of mystic yoga; mārge-on the paths; tāṅre-Him; bhaje-worship; yei-who; saba-all; brahma-of impersonal Brahman; ātma-and of the Supersoul (Paramātmā); rūpe-in the forms; tāṅre-Him; kare-do; anubhava-perceive.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
Those who are fond of mental speculation (jñāna-mārga) or want to meditate in mystic yoga to find the Absolute Truth must approach the impersonal effulgence of the Lord and His partial representation respectively. Such persons cannot realize the eternal form of the Lord.
TEXT 27
upāsanā-bhede jāni īśvara-mahimā
ataeva sūrya tāṅra diyeta upamā
SYNONYMS
upāsanā-bhede-by the different paths of worship; jāni-I know; īśvara-of the Supreme Lord; mahimā-greatness; ataeva-therefore; sūrya-the sun; tāṅra-of Him; diyeta-was given; upamā-simile.
TRANSLATION
Thus one may understand the glories of the Lord through different modes of worship, as the example of the sun illustrates.
TEXT 28
sei nārāyaṇa kṛṣṇera svarūpa-abheda
eka-i vigraha, kintu ākāra-vibheda
SYNONYMS
sei-that; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; svarūpa-original form; abheda-not different; eka-i-one; vigraha-identity; kintu-but; ākāra-of bodily features; vibheda-difference.
TRANSLATION
Nārāyaṇa and Śrī Kṛṣṇa are the same Personality of Godhead, but although They are identical, Their bodily features are different.
TEXT 29
iṅhota dvi-bhuja, tiṅho dhare cāri hātha
iṅho veṇu dhare, tiṅho cakrādika sātha
SYNONYMS
iṅhota-this one; dvi-bhuja-two arms; tiṅho-He; dhare-manifests; cāri-four; hātha-hands; iṅho-this one; veṇu-flute; dhare-holds; tiṅho-He; cakra-ādika-the wheel, etc.; sātha-with.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
Nārāyaṇa is identical to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They are in fact the same person manifested differently, like a high court judge who is differently situated in his office and at home. As Nārāyaṇa the Lord is manifested with four hands, but as Kṛṣṇa He is manifested with two hands.
TEXT 30
nārāyaṇas tvaṁ na hi sarva-dehinām
ātmāsy adhīśākhila-loka-sākṣī
nārāyaṇo ‘ṅgaṁ nara-bhū-jalāyanāt
tac cāpi satyaṁ na tavaiva māyā
SYNONYMS
nārāyaṇaḥ-Lord Nārāyaṇa; tvam-You; na-not; hi-certainly; sarva-all; dehinām-of the embodied beings; ātmā-the Supersoul; asi-You are; adhīśa-O Lord; akhila-loka-of all the worlds; sākṣī-the witness; nārāyaṇaḥ-known as Nārāyaṇa; aṅgam-plenary portion; nara-of Nara; bhū-born; jala-in the water; ayanāt-due to the place of refuge; tat-that; ca-and; api-certainly; satyam-highest truth; na-not; tava-Your; eva-at all; māyā-the illusory energy.
TRANSLATION
“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.”
PURPORT
This statement, which is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.14), was spoken by Lord Brahmā in his prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa after the Lord had defeated him by displaying His mystic powers. Brahmā had tried to test Lord Kṛṣṇa to see if He were really the Supreme Personality of Godhead playing as a cowherd boy. Brahmā stole all the other boys and their calves from the pasturing grounds, but when he returned to the pastures he saw that all the boys and calves were still there, for Lord Kṛṣṇa had created them all again. When Brahmā saw this mystic power of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s, he admitted defeat and offered prayers to the Lord, addressing Him as the proprietor and seer of everything in the creation and as the Supersoul who is within each and every living entity and is dear to all. That Lord Kṛṣṇa is Nārāyaṇa, the father of Brahmā, because Lord Kṛṣṇa’s plenary expansion Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, after placing Himself on the Garbha Ocean, created Brahmā from His own body. Mahā-Viṣṇu in the Causal Ocean and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Supersoul in everyone’s heart, are also transcendental expansions of the Supreme Truth.
TEXT 31
śiśu vatsa hari’ brahmā kari aparādha
aparādha kṣamāite māgena prasāda
SYNONYMS
śiśu-playmates; vatsa-calves; hari’-stealing; brahmā-Lord Brahmā; kari-making; aparādha-offense; aparādha-offense; kṣamāite-to pardon; māgena-begged; prasāda-mercy.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 32
tomāra nābhi-padma haite āmāra janmodaya
tumi pitā-mātā, āmi tomāra tanaya
SYNONYMS
tomāra-Your; nābhi-padma-lotus of the navel; haite-from; āmāra-my; janma-udaya-birth; tumi-You; pitā-father; mātā-mother; āmi-I; tomāra-Your; tanaya-son.
TRANSLATION
“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.
TEXT 33
pitā mātā bālakera nā laya aparādha
aparādha kṣama, more karaha prasāda
SYNONYMS
pitā-father; mātā-mother; bālakera-of the child; nā-not; laya-take seriously; aparādha-the offense; aparādha-the offense; kṣama-please pardon; more-unto me; karaha-please show; prasāda-mercy.
TRANSLATION
“Parents never take seriously the offenses of their children. I therefore beg Your pardon and ask for Your benediction.”
TEXT 34
kṛṣṇa kahena–brahmā, tomāra pitā nārāyaṇa
āmi gopa, tumi kaiche āmāra nandana
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; kahena-says; brahmā-O Lord Brahmā; tomāra-your; pitā-father; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; āmi-I (am); gopa-cowherd boy; tumi-you; kaiche-how; āmāra-My; nandana-son.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said, “O Brahmā, your father is Nārāyaṇa. I am but a cowherd boy. How can you be My son?”
TEXT 35
brahmā balena, tumi ki nā hao nārāyaṇa
tumi nārāyaṇa–śuna tāhāra kāraṇa
SYNONYMS
brahmā-Lord Brahmā; balena-says; tumi-You; ki nā hao-are not; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; tumi-You; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; śuna-please hear; tāhāra-of that; kāraṇa-reason.
TRANSLATION
Brahmā replied, “Are You not Nārāyaṇa? You are certainly Nārāyaṇa. Please listen as I state the proofs.
TEXT 36
prākṛtāprākṛta-sṛṣṭye yata jīva-rūpa
tāhāra ye ātmā tumi mūla-svarūpa
SYNONYMS
prākṛta-material; aprākṛta-and spiritual; sṛṣṭye-in the creations; yata-as many as there are; jīva-rūpa-the living beings; tāhāra-of them; ye-who; ātmā-the Supersoul; tumi-You; mūla-svarūpa-ultimate source.
TRANSLATION
“All the living beings within the material and spiritual worlds are ultimately born of You, for You are the Supersoul of them all.
PURPORT
The cosmic manifestation is generated by the interaction of the three modes of material nature. The transcendental world has no such material modes, although it is nevertheless full of spiritual variegatedness. In that spiritual world there are also innumerable living entities, who are eternally liberated souls engaged in transcendental loving service to Lord Kṛṣṇa. The conditioned souls, who remain within the material cosmic creation, are subjected to the threefold miseries and pangs of material nature. They exist in different species of life because they are eternally averse to transcendental loving devotion to the Supreme Lord.
Saṅkarṣaṇa is the original source of all living entities because they are all expansions of His marginal potency. Some of them are conditioned by material nature, whereas others are under the protection of the spiritual nature. The material nature is a conditional manifestation of spiritual nature, just as smoke is a conditional stage of fire. Smoke is dependent on fire, but in a blazing fire there is no place for smoke. Smoke disturbs, but fire serves. The serving spirit of the residents of the transcendental world is displayed in five varieties of relationship with the Supreme Lord, who is the central enjoyer. In the material world everyone is a self-centered enjoyer of mundane happiness and distress. A person considers himself the lord of everything and tries to enjoy the illusory energy, but he is not successful because he is not independent: he is but a minute particle of the energy of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa. All living beings exist under the control of the Supreme Lord, who is therefore called Nārāyaṇa.
TEXT 37
pṛthvī yaiche ghaṭa-kulera kāraṇa āśraya
jīvera nidāna tumi, tumi sarvāśraya
SYNONYMS
pṛthvī-the earth; yaiche-just as; ghaṭa-of earthen pots; kulera-of the multitude; kāraṇa-the cause; āśraya-the shelter; jīvera-of the living beings; nidāna-root cause; tumi-You; tumi-You; sarva-āśraya-shelter of all.
TRANSLATION
“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.
PURPORT
As the vast earth is the source for the ingredients of all earthen pots, so the Supreme Soul is the source for the complete substance of all individual living entities. The cause of all causes, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the cause of the living entities. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.10), where the Lord says, bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām (“I am the seed of all living entities”), and in the Upaniṣads (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 5.3), which say, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (“the Lord is the supreme leader among all the eternal living beings”).
The Lord is the reservoir of all cosmic manifestation, animate and inanimate. The advocates of Viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda philosophy explain the Vedānta-sūtra by saying that although the living entity has two kinds of bodies-subtle (consisting of mind, intelligence and false ego) and gross (consisting of the five basic elements)-and although he thus lives in three bodily dimensions (gross, subtle and spiritual), he is nevertheless a spiritual soul. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who emanates the material and spiritual worlds, is the Supreme Spirit. As an individual spirit soul is almost identical to his gross and subtle bodies, so the Supreme Lord is almost identical to the material and spiritual worlds. The material world, full of conditioned souls trying to lord it over matter, is a manifestation of the external energy of the Supreme Lord, and the spiritual world, full of perfect servitors of the Lord, is a manifestation of His internal energy. Since all living entities are minute sparks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is the Supreme Soul in both the material and spiritual worlds. The Vaiṣṇavas following Lord Caitanya stress the doctrine of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, which states that the Supreme Lord, being the cause and effect of everything, is inconceivably, simultaneously one with His manifestations of energy and different from them.
TEXT 38
‘nāra’-śabde kahe sarva jīvera nicaya
‘ayana’-śabdete kahe tāhāra āśraya
SYNONYMS
nāra-śabde-by the word nāra; kahe-one means; sarva jīvera-of all living entities; nicaya-the assemblage; ayana-śabdete-by the word ayana; kahe-one means; tāhāra-of them; āśraya-the refuge.
TRANSLATION
“The word nāra refers to the aggregate of all the living beings, and the word ayana refers to the refuge of them all.
TEXT 39
ataeva tumi hao mūla nārāyaṇa
ei eka hetu, śuna dvitīya kāraṇa
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; tumi-You; hao-are; mūla-original; nārāyaṇa-Nārāyaṇa; ei-this; eka-one; hetu-reason; śuna-please listen; dvitīya-second; kāraṇa-to the reason.
TRANSLATION
“You are therefore the original Nārāyaṇa. This is one reason; please listen as I state the second.
TEXT 40
jīvera īśvara–puruṣādi avatāra
tāṅhā sabā haite tomāra aiśvarya apāra
SYNONYMS
jīvera-of the living beings; īśvara-the Supreme Lord; puruṣa-ādi-puruṣa incarnations, etc.; avatāra-incarnations; tāṅhā-Them; sabā-all; haite-than; tomāra-Your; aiśvarya-opulences; apāra-boundless.
TRANSLATION
“The direct Lords of the living beings are the puruṣa incarnations. But Your opulence and power are more exalted than Theirs.
TEXT 41
ataeva adhīśvara tumi sarva pitā
tomāra śaktite tāṅrā jagat-rakṣitā
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; adhīśvara-primeval Lord; tumi-You; sarva-of all; pitā-father; tomāra-Your; śaktite-by the energy; tāṅrā-They; jagat-of the cosmic creations; rakṣitā-protectors.
TRANSLATION
“Therefore You are the primeval Lord, the original father of everyone. They [the puruṣas] are protectors of the universes by Your power.
TEXT 42
nārera ayana yāte karaha pālana
ataeva hao tumi mūla nārāyaṇa
SYNONYMS
nārera-of the living beings; ayana-the shelters; yāte-those to whom; karaha-You give; pālana-protection; ataeva-therefore; hao-are; tumi-You; mūla-original; nārāyaṇa-Nārāyaṇa.
TRANSLATION
“Since You protect those who are the shelters of all living beings, You are the original Nārāyaṇa.
PURPORT
The controlling Deities of the living beings in the mundane worlds are the three puruṣa-avatāras. But the potent energy displayed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa is far more extensive than that of the puruṣas. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is therefore the original father and Lord who protects all creative manifestations through His various plenary portions. Since He sustains even the shelters of the collective living beings, there is no doubt that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Nārāyaṇa.
TEXT 43
tṛtīya kāraṇa śuna śrī-bhagavān
ananta brahmāṇḍa bahu vaikuṇṭhādi dhāma
SYNONYMS
tṛtīya-third; kāraṇa-reason; śuna-please hear; śrī-bhagavān-O Supreme Personality of Godhead; ananta-unlimited; brahma-aṇḍa-universes; bahu-many; vaikuṇṭha-ādi-Vaikuṇṭha, etc.; dhāma-planets.
TRANSLATION
“O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead! Kindly hear my third reason. There are countless universes and fathomless transcendental Vaikuṇṭhas.
TEXT 44
ithe yata jīva, tāra trai-kālika karma
tāhā dekha, sākṣī tumi, jāna saba marma
SYNONYMS
ithe-in these; yata-as many; jīva-living beings; tāra-of them; trai-kālika-past, present and future; karma-the activities; tāhā-that; dekha-You see; sākṣī-witness; tumi-You; jāna-You know; saba-of everything; marma-the essence.
TRANSLATION
“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.
TEXT 45
tomāra darśane sarva jagatera sthiti
tumi nā dekhile kāro nāhi sthiti gati
SYNONYMS
tomāra-Your; darśane-by the seeing; sarva-all; jagatera-of the universe; sthiti-maintenance; tumi-You; nā dekhile-in not seeing; kāro-of anyone; nāhi-there is not; sthiti-staying; gati-moving.
TRANSLATION
“All the worlds exist because You oversee them. None can live, move or have their being without Your supervision.
TEXT 46
nārera ayana yāte kara daraśana
tāhāteo hao tumi mūla nārāyaṇa
SYNONYMS
nārera-of the living beings; ayana-the motion; yāte-since; kara-You do; daraśana-seeing; tāhāteo-therefore; hao-are; tumi-You; mūla-original; nārāyaṇa-Nārāyaṇa.
TRANSLATION
“You oversee the wanderings of all living beings. For this reason also, You are the primeval Lord Nārāyaṇa.”
PURPORT
Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in His Paramātmā feature, lives in the hearts of all living beings in both the transcendental and mundane creations. As Paramātmā, He witnesses all actions the living beings perform in all phases of time, namely past, present and future. Śrī Kṛṣṇa knows what the living beings have done for hundreds and thousands of past births, He sees what they are doing now, and therefore He knows the results of their present actions that will fructify in the future. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the entire cosmic situation is created as soon as He glances over the material energy. Nothing can exist without His superintendence. Since He sees even the abode for rest of the collective living beings, He is the original Nārāyaṇa.
TEXT 47
kṛṣṇa kahena–brahmā, tomāra nā bujhi vacana
jīva-hṛdi, jale vaise sei nārāyaṇa
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; kahena-says; brahmā-O Brahmā; tomāra-your; nā-not; bujhi-I understand; vacana-speech; jīva-of the living entity; hṛdi-in the heart; jale-in the water; vaise-sits; sei-that; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa.
TRANSLATION
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.”
TEXT 48
brahmā kahe–jale jīve yei nārāyaṇa
se saba tomāra aṁśa–e satya vacana
SYNONYMS
brahmā-Lord Brahmā; kahe-says; jale-in the water; jīve-in the living being; yei-who; nārāyaṇa-Nārāyaṇa; se-They; saba-all; tomāra-Your; aṁśa-plenary part; e-this; satya-truthful; vacana-word.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 49
kāraṇābdhi-garbhodaka-kṣīrodaka-śāyī
māyā-dvāre sṛṣṭi kare, tāte saba māyī
SYNONYMS
kāraṇa-abdhi-Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu; garbha-udaka-Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu; kṣīra-udaka-śāyī-Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu; māyā-dvāre-with the material energy; sṛṣṭi-creation; kare-They do; tāte-therefore; saba-all; māyī-connected with māyā.
TRANSLATION
“The Kāraṇodakaśāyī, Garbhodakaśāyī and Kṣīrodakaśāyī forms of Nārāyaṇa all create in cooperation with the material energy. In this way They are attached to māyā.
TEXT 50
sei tina jala-śāyī sarva-antaryāmī
brahmāṇḍa-vṛndera ātmā ye puruṣa-nāmī
SYNONYMS
sei-these; tina-three; jala-śāyī-lying in the water; sarva-of all; antaḥ yāmī-the Supersoul; brahma-aṇḍa-of universes; vṛndera-of the multitude; ātmā-Supersoul; ye-who; puruṣa-puruṣa; nāmī-named.
TRANSLATION
“These three Viṣṇus lying in the water are the Supersoul of everything. The Supersoul of all the universes is known as the first puruṣa.
TEXT 51
hiraṇya-garbhera ātmā garbhodaka-śāyī
vyaṣṭi-jīva-antaryāmī kṣīrodaka-śāyī
SYNONYMS
hiraṇya-garbhera-of the total of the living entities; ātmā-the Supersoul; garbha-udaka-śāyī-Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu; vyaṣṭi-the individual; jīva-of the living entity; antaḥ-yāmī-Supersoul; kṣīra-udaka-śāyī-Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.
TRANSLATION
“Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of the aggregate of living entities, and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of each individual living being.
TEXT 52
e sabhāra darśanete āche māyā-gandha
turīya kṛṣṇera nāhi māyāra sambandha
SYNONYMS
e-this; sabhāra-of the assembly; darśanete-in seeing; āche-there is; māyā-gandha-connection with māyā; turīya-the fourth; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; nāhi-there is not; māyāra-of the material energy; sambandha-connection.
TRANSLATION
“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.
PURPORT
The three puruṣas-Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu-all have a relationship with the material energy, called māyā, because through māyā They create the material cosmos. These three puruṣas, who lie on the Kāraṇa, Garbha and Kṣīra oceans, are the Supersoul of everything that be: Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of the collective universes, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of the collective living beings, and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of all individual living entities. Because all of Them are somehow attracted to the affairs of the material energy, They can be said to have some affection for māyā. But the transcendental position of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself is not even slightly tinged by māyā. His transcendental state is called turīya, or the fourth-dimensional stage.
TEXT 53
virāḍ hiraṇya-garbhaś ca
kāraṇaṁ cety upādhayaḥ
īśasya yat tribhir hīnaṁ
turīyaṁ tat pracakṣate
SYNONYMS
virāṭ-the virāṭ manifestation; hiraṇya-garbhaḥ-the hiraṇyagarbha manifestation; ca-and; kāraṇam-the kāraṇa manifestation; ca-and; iti-thus; upādhayaḥ-particular designations; īśasya-of the Lord; yat-that which; tribhiḥ-these three; hīnam-without; turīyam-the fourth; tat-that; pracakṣate-is considered.
TRANSLATION
” ‘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.’
PURPORT
The phenomenal manifestation of the Supreme Whole, the numinous soul of everything, and the cause or causal nature are all but designations of the puruṣas, who are responsible for material creation. The transcendental position surpasses these designations and is therefore called the position of the fourth dimension. This is a quotation from Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary on the Eleventh Canto, Fifteenth Chapter, verse 16, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
TEXT 54
yadyapi tinera māyā la-iyā vyavahāra
tathāpi tat-sparśa nāhi, sabhe māyā-pāra
SYNONYMS
yadyapi-although; tinera-of these three; māyā-the material energy; la-iyā-taking; vyavahāra-the dealings; tathāpi-still; tat-of that; sparśa-the touch; nāhi-there is not; sabhe-all of them; māyā-pāra-beyond the material energy.
TRANSLATION
“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.
TEXT 55
etad īśanam īśasya
prakṛti-stho ‘pi tad-guṇaiḥ
na yujyate sadātma-sthair
yathā buddhis tad-āśrayā
SYNONYMS
etat-this; īśanam-opulence; īśasya-of the Supreme Lord; prakṛti-sthaḥ-situated in the material nature; api-although; tat-of māyā; guṇaiḥ-by the qualities; na-not; yujyate-is affected; sadā-always; ātma-sthaiḥ-which are situated in His own energy; yathā-as also; buddhiḥ-the intelligence; tat-of Him; āśrayā-which has taken shelter.
TRANSLATION
” ‘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.’
PURPORT
This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.11.38). Those who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead do not identify with the material world, even while living in it. Pure devotees may deal with the three modes of material nature, but because of their transcendental intelligence in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are not influenced by the material qualities. The spell of material activities does not attract such devotees. Therefore, the Supreme Lord and His devotees acting under Him are always free from material contamination.
TEXT 56
sei tina janera tumi parama āśraya
tumi mūla nārāyaṇa–ithe ki saṁśaya
SYNONYMS
sei-these; tina-three; janera-of the plenary portions; tumi-You; parama-ultimate; āśraya-shelter; tumi-You; mūla-primeval; nārāyaṇa-Nārāyaṇa; ithe-in this; ki-what; saṁśaya-doubt.
TRANSLATION
“You are the ultimate shelter of these three plenary portions. Thus there is not the slightest doubt that You are the primeval Nārāyaṇa.
PURPORT
Brahmā has confirmed that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, the source of the three manifestations known as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu (Mahā-Viṣṇu). For His pastimes, Lord Kṛṣṇa has four original manifestations-namely Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. The first puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu in the Causal Ocean, who is the creator of the aggregate material energy, is an expansion of Saṅkarṣaṇa; the second puruṣa, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is an expansion of Pradyumna; and the third puruṣa, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is an expansion of Aniruddha. All these are within the category of manifestations of Nārāyaṇa, who is a manifestation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 57
sei tinera aṁśī paravyoma-nārāyaṇa
teṅha tomāra vilāsa, tumi mūla-nārāyaṇa
SYNONYMS
sei-these; tinera-of the three; aṁśī-source; para-vyoma-in the spiritual sky; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; teṅha-He; tomāra-Your; vilāsa-pastime expansion; tumi-You; mūla-original; nārāyaṇa-Nārāyaṇa.
TRANSLATION
“The source of these three features is the Nārāyaṇa in the spiritual sky. He is Your vilāsa expansion. Therefore You are the ultimate Nārāyaṇa.”
TEXT 58
ataeva brahma-vākye–paravyoma-nārāyaṇa
teṅho kṛṣṇera vilāsa–ei tattva-vivaraṇa
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; brahma-of Lord Brahmā; vākye-in the speech; para-vyoma-in the spiritual sky; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; teṅho-He; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vilāsa-pastime incarnation; ei-this; tattva-of the truth; vivaraṇa-description.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 59
ei śloka tattva-lakṣaṇa bhāgavata-sāra
paribhāṣā-rūpe ihāra sarvatrādhikāra
SYNONYMS
ei-this; śloka-verse; tattva-the truth; lakṣaṇa-indicating; bhāgavata-of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; sāra-the essence; paribhāṣā-of synonyms; rūpe-in the form; ihāra-of this (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam); sarvatra-everywhere; adhikāra-jurisdiction.
TRANSLATION
The truth indicated in this verse [Text 30] is the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This conclusion, through synonyms, applies everywhere.
TEXT 60
brahma, ātmā, bhagavān–kṛṣṇera vihāra
e artha nā jāni’ mūrkha artha kare āra
SYNONYMS
brahma-impersonal Brahman; ātmā-Supersoul; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vihāra-manifestations; e-this; artha-meaning; nā-not; jāni’-knowing; mūrkha-fools; artha-meaning; kare-make; āra-other.
TRANSLATION
Not knowing that Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān are all features of Kṛṣṇa, foolish scholars speculate in various ways.
TEXT 61
avatārī nārāyaṇa, kṛṣṇa avatāra
teṅha catur-bhuja, iṅha manuṣya-ākāra
SYNONYMS
avatārī-source of incarnations; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; avatāra-incarnation; teṅha-that; catuḥ-bhuja-four arms; iṅha-this; manuṣya-like a man; ākāra-form.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
Some scholars argue that Nārāyaṇa is the original Personality of Godhead of whom Kṛṣṇa is an incarnation because Śrī Kṛṣṇa has two hands whereas Nārāyaṇa has four. Such unintelligent scholars do not understand the features of the Absolute.
TEXT 62
ei-mate nānā-rūpa kare pūrva-pakṣa
tāhāre nirjite bhāgavata-padya dakṣa
SYNONYMS
ei-mate-thus; nānā-many; rūpa-forms; kare-takes; pūrva-pakṣa-the objections; tāhāre-them; nirjite-overcoming; bhāgavata-of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; padya-poetry; dakṣa-expert.
TRANSLATION
In this way their arguments appear in various forms, but the poetry of the Bhāgavatam expertly refutes them all.
TEXT 63
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate
SYNONYMS
vadanti-they say; tat-that; tattva-vidaḥ-learned souls; tattvam-the Absolute Truth; yat-which; jñānam-knowledge; advayam-nondual; brahma-Brahman; iti-thus; paramātmā-Paramātmā; iti-thus; bhagavān-Bhagavān; iti-thus; śabdyate-is known.
TRANSLATION
“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth say that it is nondual knowledge and is called impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā and the Personality of Godhead.”
PURPORT
This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.11).
TEXT 64
śuna bhāi ei śloka karaha vicāra
eka mukhya-tattva, tina tāhāra pracāra
SYNONYMS
śuna-please listen; bhāi-brothers; ei-this; śloka-verse; karaha-please give; vicāra-consideration; eka-one; mukhya-principal; tattva-truth; tina-three; tāhāra-of that; pracāra-manifestations.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 65
advaya-jñāna tattva-vastu kṛṣṇera svarūpa
brahma, ātmā, bhagavān–tina tāṅra rūpa
SYNONYMS
advaya-jñāna-knowledge without duality; tattva-vastu-the Absolute Truth; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sva-rūpa-own nature; brahma-Brahman; ātmā-Paramātmā; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tina-three; tāṅra-of Him; rūpa-forms.
TRANSLATION
Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself is the one undivided Absolute Truth, the ultimate reality. He manifests Himself in three features-as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.
PURPORT
In the verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam cited above (Bhāg. 1.2.11), the principal word, bhagavān, indicates the Personality of Godhead, and Brahman and Paramātmā are concomitants deduced from the Absolute Personality, as a government and its ministers are deductions from the supreme executive head. In other words, the principal truth is exhibited in three different phases. The Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Bhagavān), is also known as Brahman and Paramātmā, although all these features are identical.
TEXT 66
ei ślokera arthe tumi hailā nirvacana
āra eka śuna bhāgavatera vacana
SYNONYMS
ei-this; ślokera-of the verse; arthe-by the meaning; tumi-you; hailā-have become; nirvacana-speechless; āra-other; eka-one; śuna-please hear; bhāgavatera-of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; vacana-speech.
TRANSLATION
The import of this verse has stopped you from arguing. Now listen to another verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
TEXT 67
ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
SYNONYMS
ete-these; ca-and; aṁśa-plenary portions; kalāḥ-parts of plenary portions; puṁsaḥ-of the puruṣa-avatāras; kṛṣṇaḥ-Lord Kṛṣṇa; tu-but; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; svayam-Himself; indra-ari-the enemies of Lord Indra; vyākulam-full of; lokam-the world; mṛḍayanti-make happy; yuge yuge-at the right time in each age.
TRANSLATION
“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.”
PURPORT
This statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.28) definitely negates the concept that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is an avatāra of Viṣṇu or Nārāyaṇa. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, the supreme cause of all causes. This verse clearly indicates that incarnations of the Personality of Godhead such as Śrī Rāma, Nṛsiṁha and Varāha all undoubtedly belong to the Viṣṇu group, but all of Them are either plenary portions or portions of plenary portions of the original Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 68
saba avatārera kari sāmānya-lakṣaṇa
tāra madhye kṛṣṇa-candrera karila gaṇana
SYNONYMS
saba-all; avatārera-of the incarnations; kari-making; sāmānya-general; lakṣaṇa-symptoms; tāra-of them; madhye-in the middle; kṛṣṇa-candrera-of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa; karila-did; gaṇana-counting.
TRANSLATION
The Bhāgavatam describes the symptoms and deeds of the incarnations in general and counts Śrī Kṛṣṇa among them.
TEXT 69
tabe sūta gosāñi mane pāñā baḍa bhaya
yāra ye lakṣaṇa tāhā karila niścaya
SYNONYMS
tabe-then; sūta gosāñi-Sūta Gosvāmī; mane-in the mind; pāñā-obtaining; baḍa-great; bhaya-fear; yāra-of whom; ye-which; lakṣaṇa-symptoms; tāhā-that; karila-he made; niścaya-certainly.
TRANSLATION
This made Sūta Gosvāmī greatly apprehensive. Therefore he distinguished each incarnation by its specific symptoms.
TEXT 70
avatāra saba–puruṣera kalā, aṁśa
svayaṁ-bhagavān kṛṣṇa sarva-avataṁsa
SYNONYMS
avatāra-the incarnations; saba-all; puruṣera-of the puruṣa-avatāras; kalā-parts of plenary portions; aṁśa-plenary portions; svayam-Himself; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; sarva-of all; avataṁsa-crest.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 71
pūrva-pakṣa kahe–tomāra bhāla ta’ vyākhyāna
paravyoma-nārāyaṇa svayaṁ-bhagavān
SYNONYMS
pūrva-pakṣa-opposing side; kahe-says; tomāra-your; bhāla-nice; ta’-certainly; vyākhyāna-exposition; para-vyoma-situated in the spiritual sky; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; svayam-Himself; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
An opponent may say, “This is your interpretation, but actually the Supreme Lord is Nārāyaṇa, who is in the transcendental realm.
TEXT 72
teṅha āsi’ kṛṣṇa-rūpe karena avatāra
ei artha śloke dekhi ki āra vicāra
SYNONYMS
teṅha-He (Nārāyaṇa); āsi’-coming; kṛṣṇa-rūpe-in the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa; karena-makes; avatāra-incarnation; ei-this; artha-meaning; śloke-in the verse; dekhi-I see; ki-what; āra-other; vicāra-consideration.
TRANSLATION
“He [Nārāyaṇa] incarnates as Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the meaning of the verse as I see it. There is no need for further consideration.”
TEXT 73
tāre kahe–kene kara kutarkānumāna
śāstra-viruddhārtha kabhu nā haya pramāṇa
SYNONYMS
tāre-to him; kahe-one says; kene-why; kara-you make; ku-tarka-of a fallacious argument; anumāna-conjecture; śāstra-viruddha-contrary to scripture; artha-a meaning; kabhu-at any time; nā-not; haya-is; pramāṇa-evidence.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 74
anuvādam anuktvā tu
na vidheyam udīrayet
na hy alabdhāspadaṁ kiñcit
kutracit pratitiṣṭhati
SYNONYMS
anuvādam-the subject; anuktvā-not stating; tu-but; na-not; vidheyam-the predicate; udīrayet-one should speak; na-not; hi-certainly; alabdha-āspadam-without a secure position; kiñcit-something; kutracit-anywhere; pratitiṣṭhati-stands.
TRANSLATION
” ‘One should not state a predicate before its subject, for it cannot thus stand without proper support.’
PURPORT
This rhetorical rule appears in the Ekādaśī-tattva, Thirteenth Canto, in connection with the metaphorical use of words. An unknown object should not be put before the known subject because the object has no meaning if the subject is not first given.
TEXT 75
anuvāda nā kahiyā nā kahi vidheya
āge anuvāda kahi, paścād vidheya
SYNONYMS
anuvāda-the subject; nā kahiyā-not saying; nā-not; kahi-I say; vidheya-the predicate; āge-first; anuvāda-the subject; kahi-I say; paścāt-afterwards; vidheya-the predicate.
TRANSLATION
“If I do not state a subject, I do not state a predicate. First I speak the former and then I speak the latter.
TEXT 76
‘vidheya’ kahiye tāre, ye vastu ajñāta
‘anuvāda’ kahi tāre, yei haya jñāta
SYNONYMS
vidheya-the predicate; kahiye-I say; tāre-to him; ye-that; vastu-thing; ajñāta-unknown; anuvāda-the subject; kahi-I say; tāre-to him; yei-that which; haya-is; jñāta-known.
TRANSLATION
“The predicate of a sentence is what is unknown to the reader, whereas the subject is what is known to him.
TEXT 77
yaiche kahi,–ei vipra parama paṇḍita
vipra–anuvāda, ihāra vidheya–pāṇḍitya
SYNONYMS
yaiche-just as; kahi-I say; ei-this; vipra-brāhmaṇa; parama-great; paṇḍita-learned man; vipra-the brāhmaṇa; anuvāda-subject; ihāra-of this; vidheya-predicate; pāṇḍitya-erudition.
TRANSLATION
“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.
TEXT 78
vipratva vikhyāta tāra pāṇḍitya ajñāta
ataeva vipra āge, pāṇḍitya paścāta
SYNONYMS
vipratva-the quality of being a vipra; vikhyāta-well known; tāra-his; pāṇḍitya-erudition; ajñāta-unknown; ataeva-therefore; vipra-the word vipra; āge-first; pāṇḍitya-erudition; paścāta-afterwards.
TRANSLATION
“The man’s being a vipra is known, but his erudition is unknown. Therefore the person is identified first and his erudition later.
TEXT 79
taiche iṅha avatāra saba haila jñāta
kāra avatāra?–ei vastu avijñāta
SYNONYMS
taiche-in the same way; iṅha-these; avatāra-incarnations; saba-all; haila-were; jñāta-known; kāra-whose; avatāra-incarnations; ei-this; vastu-thing; avijñāta-unknown.
TRANSLATION
“In the same way, all these incarnations were known, but whose incarnations they are was unknown.
TEXT 80
‘ete’-śabde avatārera āge anuvāda
‘puruṣera aṁśa’ pāche vidheya-saṁvāda
SYNONYMS
ete-śabde-in the word ete (these); avatārera-of the incarnations; āge-first; anuvāda-the subject; puruṣera-of the puruṣa-avatāras; aṁśa-plenary portions; pāche-afterwards; vidheya-of the predicate; saṁvāda-message.
TRANSLATION
“First the word, ‘ete’ [‘these’], establishes the subject [the incarnations]. Then ‘plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras’ follows as the predicate.
TEXT 81
taiche kṛṣṇa avatāra-bhitare haila jñāta
tāṅhāra viśeṣa-jñāna sei avijñāta
SYNONYMS
taiche-in the same way; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; avatāra-bhitare-among the incarnations; haila-was; jñāta-known; tāṅhāra-of Him; viśeṣa-jñāna-specific knowledge; sei-that; avijñāta-unknown.
TRANSLATION
“In the same way, when Kṛṣṇa was first counted among the incarnations, specific knowledge about Him was still unknown.
TEXT 82
ataeva ‘kṛṣṇa’-śabda āge anuvāda
‘svayaṁ-bhagavattā’ piche vidheya-saṁvāda
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; kṛṣṇa-śabda-the word kṛṣṇa; āge-first; anuvāda-the subject; svayam-bhagavattā-being Himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead; piche-afterwards; vidheya-of the predicate; saṁvāda-the message
TRANSLATION
“Therefore first the word ‘kṛṣṇa’ appears as the subject, followed by the predicate, describing Him as the original Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 83
kṛṣṇera svayaṁ-bhagavattā–ihā haila sādhya
svayaṁ-bhagavānera kṛṣṇatva haila bādhya
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; svayam-bhagavattā-the quality of being Himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ihā-this; haila-was; sādhya-to be established; svayam-bhagavānera-of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kṛṣṇatva-the quality of being Lord Kṛṣṇa; haila-was; bādhya-obligatory
TRANSLATION
“This establishes that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. The original Personality of Godhead is therefore necessarily Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 84
kṛṣṇa yadi aṁśa haita, aṁśī nārāyaṇa
tabe viparīta haita sūtera vacana
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; yadi-if; aṁśa-plenary portion; haita-were; aṁśī-the source of all expansions; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; tabe-then; viparīta-the reverse; haita-would have been; sūtera-of Sūta Gosvāmī; vacana-the statement.
TRANSLATION
“Had Kṛṣṇa been the plenary portion and Nārāyaṇa the primeval Lord, the statement of Sūta Gosvāmī would have been reversed.
TEXT 85
nārāyaṇa aṁśī yei svayaṁ-bhagavān
teṅha śrī-kṛṣṇa–aiche karita vyākhyāna
SYNONYMS
nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; aṁśī-the source of all incarnations; yei-who; svayam-bhagavān-Himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead; teṅha-He; śrī-kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; aiche-in such away; karita-would have made; vyākhyāna-explanation.
TRANSLATION
“Thus he would have said: ‘Nārāyaṇa, the source of all incarnations, is the original Personality of Godhead. He has appeared as Śrī Kṛṣṇa.’
TEXT 86
bhrama, pramāda, vipralipsā, karaṇāpāṭava
ārṣa-vijña-vākye nāhi doṣa ei saba
SYNONYMS
bhrama-mistakes; pramāda-illusion; vipralipsā-cheating; karaṇa-apāṭava-imperfectness of the senses; ārṣa-of the authoritative sages; vijña-vākye-in the wise speech; nāhi-not; doṣa-faults; ei-these; saba-all.
TRANSLATION
“Mistakes, illusions, cheating and defective perception do not occur in the sayings of the authoritative sages.
PURPORT
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has listed the avatāras, the plenary expansions of the puruṣa, and Lord Kṛṣṇa appears among them. But the Bhāgavatam further explains Lord Kṛṣṇa’s specific position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, reason and argument establish that His position is always supreme.
Had Kṛṣṇa been a plenary expansion of Nārāyaṇa, the original verse would have been differently composed; indeed, its order would have been reversed. But there cannot be mistakes, illusion, cheating or imperfect perception in the words of liberated sages. Therefore there is no mistake in this statement that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Sanskrit statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are all transcendental sounds. Śrīla Vyāsadeva revealed these statements after perfect realization, and therefore they are perfect, for liberated sages like Vyāsadeva never commit errors in their rhetorical arrangements. Unless one accepts this fact, there is no use in trying to obtain help from the revealed scriptures.
Bhrama refers to false knowledge or mistakes, such as accepting a rope as a snake or an oyster shell as gold. Pramāda refers to inattention or misunderstanding of reality, and vipralipsā is the cheating propensity. Karaṇāpāṭava refers to imperfectness of the material senses. There are many examples of such imperfection. The eyes cannot see that which is very distant or very small. One cannot even see his own eyelid, which is the closest thing to his eye, and if one is disturbed by a disease like jaundice, he sees everything to be yellow. Similarly, the ears cannot hear distant sounds. Since the Personality of Godhead and His plenary portions and self-realized devotees are all transcendentally situated, they cannot be misled by such deficiencies.
TEXT 87
viruddhārtha kaha tumi, kahite kara roṣa
tomāra arthe avimṛṣṭa-vidheyāṁśa-doṣa
SYNONYMS
viruddha-artha-contrary meaning; kaha-say; tumi-you; kahite-pointing out; kara-you do; roṣa-anger; tomāra-your; arthe-in the meaning; avimṛṣṭa-vidheya-aṁśa-of the unconsidered predicate portion; doṣa-the fault.
TRANSLATION
“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.
TEXT 88
yāṅra bhagavattā haite anyera bhagavattā
‘svayaṁ-bhagavān’-śabdera tāhātei sattā
SYNONYMS
yāṅra-of whom; bhagavattā-the quality of being the Supreme Personality of Godhead; haite-from; anyera-of others; bhagavattā-the quality of being the Supreme Personality of Godhead; svayam-bhagavān-śabdera-of the word svayaṁ-bhagavān; tāhātei-in that; sattā-the presence.
TRANSLATION
“Only the Personality of Godhead, the source of all other Divinities, is eligible to be designated svayaṁ bhagavān, or the primeval Lord.
TEXT 89
dīpa haite yaiche bahu dīpera jvalana
mūla eka dīpa tāhā kariye gaṇana
SYNONYMS
dīpa-a lamp; haite-from; yaiche-just as; bahu-many; dīpera-of lamps; jvalana-lighting; mūla-the original; eka-one; dīpa-lamp; tāhā-that; kariye-I make; gaṇana-consideration
TRANSLATION
“When from one candle many others are lit, I consider that one the original.
PURPORT
The Brahma-saṁhitā, Chapter Five, verse 46, states that the viṣṇu-tattva, or the principle of the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is like a lamp because the expansions equal their origin in all respects. A burning lamp can light innumerable other lamps that are not inferior, but still one lamp must be considered the original. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself in the plenary forms of the viṣṇu-tattva, but although they are equally powerful, the original powerful Personality of Godhead is considered the source. This example also explains the appearance of qualitative incarnations like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā-According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, śambhos tu tamo-‘dhiṣṭhānatvāt kajjalamaya-sūkṣma-dīpa-śikhā-sthānīyasya na tathā sāmyam: “The śambhu-tattva, or the principle of Lord Śiva, is like a lamp covered with carbon because of his being in charge of the mode of ignorance. The illumination from such a lamp is very minute. Therefore the power of Lord Śiva cannot compare to that of the Viṣṇu principle.”
TEXT 90
taiche saba avatārera kṛṣṇa se kāraṇa
āra eka śloka śuna, kuvyākhyā-khaṇḍana
SYNONYMS
taiche-in a similar way; saba-all; avatārera-of the incarnations; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; se-He; kāraṇa-the cause; āra-another; eka-one; śloka-verse; śuna-please hear; ku-vyākhyā-fallacious explanations; khaṇḍana-refuting.
TRANSLATION
“Kṛṣṇa, in the same way, is the cause of all causes and all incarnations. Please hear another verse to defeat all misinterpretations.
TEXTS 91-92
atra sargo visargaś ca
sthānaṁ poṣaṇam ūtayaḥ
manvantareśānukathā
nirodho muktir āśrayaḥ
daśamasya viśuddhy-arthaṁ
navānām iha lakṣaṇam
varṇayanti mahātmānaḥ
śrutenārthena cāñjasā
SYNONYMS
atra-in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; sargaḥ-the creation of the ingredients of the universe; visargaḥ-the creations of Brahmā; ca-and; sthānam-the maintenance of the creation; poṣaṇam-the favoring of the Lord’s devotees; ūtayaḥ-impetuses for activity; manu-antara-prescribed duties given by the Manus; īśa-anukathāḥ-a description of the incarnations of the Lord; nirodhaḥ-the winding up of creation; muktiḥ-liberation; āśrayaḥ-the ultimate shelter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; daśamasya-of the tenth (the āśraya); viśuddhi-artham-for the purpose of perfect knowledge; navānām-of the nine; iha-here; lakṣaṇam-the nature; varṇayanti-describe; mahā-ātmānaḥ-the great souls; śrutena-by prayer; arthena-by explanation; ca-and; añjasā-direct.
TRANSLATION
” ‘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.’
PURPORT
These verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.10.1-2) list the ten subject matters dealt with in the text of the Bhāgavatam. Of these, the tenth is the substance, and the other nine are categories derived from the substance. These ten subjects are listed as follows:
(1) Sarga-the first creation by Viṣṇu, the bringing forth of the five gross material elements, the five objects of sense perception, the ten senses, the mind, the intelligence, the false ego and the total material energy, or universal form.
(2) Visarga-the secondary creation, or the work of Brahmā in producing the moving and unmoving bodies in the universe (brahmāṇḍa).
(3) Sthāna-the maintenance of the universe by the Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu’s function is more important and His glory greater than Brahmā’s and Lord Śiva’s, for although Brahmā is the creator and Lord Śiva the destroyer, Viṣṇu is the maintainer.
(4) Poṣaṇa-special care and protection for devotees by the Lord. As a king maintains his kingdom and subjects but nevertheless gives special attention to the members of his family, so the Personality of Godhead gives special care to His devotees who are souls completely surrendered to Him.
(5) Ūti-the urge for creation, or initiative power, that is the cause of all inventions, according to the necessities of time, space and objects.
(6) Manvantara-the regulative principles for living beings who desire to achieve perfection in human life. The rules of Manu, as described in the Manu-saṁhitā, guide the way to such perfection.
(7) Iśānukathā: scriptural information regarding the Personality of Godhead, His incarnations on earth and the activities of His devotees. Scriptures dealing with these subjects are essential for progressive human life.
(8) Nirodha: the winding up of all energies employed in creation. Such potencies are emanations from the Personality of Godhead who eternally lies in the Kāraṇa Ocean. The cosmic creations, manifested with His breath, are again dissolved in due course.
(9) Mukti: liberation of the conditioned souls encaged by the gross and subtle coverings of body and mind. When freed from all material affection, the soul, giving up the gross and subtle material bodies, can attain the spiritual sky in his original spiritual body and engage in transcendental loving service to the Lord in Vaikuṇṭhaloka or Kṛṣṇaloka. When the soul is situated in his original constitutional position of existence, he is said to be liberated. It is possible to engage in transcendental loving service to the Lord and become jīvan-mukta, a liberated soul, even while in the material body.
(10) Āśraya: the Transcendence, the summum bonum, from whom everything emanates, upon whom everything rests and in whom everything merges after annihilation. He is the source and support of all. The āśraya is also called the Supreme Brahman, as in the Vedānta-sūtra (athāto brahma-jijñāsā, janmādy asya yataḥ). Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam especially describes this Supreme Brahman as the āśraya. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is this āśraya, and therefore the greatest necessity of life is to study the science of Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam accepts Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the shelter of all manifestations because Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the ultimate source of everything, the supreme goal of all.
Two different principles are to be considered herein-namely āśraya, the object providing shelter, and āśrita, the dependents requiring shelter. The āśrita exist under the original principle, the āśraya. The first nine categories, described in the first nine cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, from creation to liberation-including the puruṣa-avatāras; the incarnations; the marginal energy, or living entities; and the external energy, or material world-are all āśrita. The prayers of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, however, aim for the āśraya-tattva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The great souls expert in describing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam have very diligently delineated the other nine categories, sometimes by direct narrations and sometimes by indirect narrations such as stories. The real purpose of doing this is to know perfectly the Absolute Transcendence, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, for the entire creation, both material and spiritual, rests on the body of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 93
āśraya jānite kahi e nava padārtha
e navera utpatti-hetu sei āśrayārtha
SYNONYMS
āśraya-the ultimate shelter; jānite-to know; kahi-I discuss; e-these; nava-nine; pada-artha-categories; e-these; navera-of the nine; utpatti-of the origin; hetu-cause; sei-that; āśraya-of the shelter; artha-the meaning.
TRANSLATION
“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.
TEXT 94
kṛṣṇa eka sarvāśraya, kṛṣṇa sarva-dhāma
kṛṣṇera śarīre sarva-viśvera viśrāma
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; eka-one; sarva-āśraya-shelter of all; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; sarva-dhāma-the abode of all; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; śarīre-in the body; sarva-viśvera-of all the universes; viśrāma-resting place.
TRANSLATION
“The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the shelter and abode of everything. All the universes rest in His body.
TEXT 95
daśame daśamaṁ lakṣyam
āśritāśraya-vigraham
śrī-kṛṣṇākhyaṁ paraṁ dhāma
jagad-dhāma namāmi tat
SYNONYMS
daśame-in the Tenth Canto; daśamam-the tenth subject matter; lakṣyam-to be seen; āśrita-of the sheltered; āśraya-of the shelter; vigraham-who is the form; śrī-kṛṣṇa-ākhyam-known as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa; param-supreme; dhāma-abode; jagat-dhāma-the abode of the universes; namāmi-I offer my obeisances; tat-to Him.
TRANSLATION
” ‘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.’
PURPORT
This quotation comes from Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary on the first verse of the Tenth Canto, Chapter One, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
TEXT 96
kṛṣṇera svarūpa, āra śakti-traya-jñāna
yāṅra haya, tāṅra nāhi kṛṣṇete ajñāna
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sva-rūpa-the real nature; āra-and; śakti-traya-of the three energies; jñāna-knowledge; yāṅra-whose; haya-there is; tāṅra-of him; nāhi-there is not; kṛṣṇete-in Lord Kṛṣṇa; ajñāna-ignorance.
TRANSLATION
“One who knows the real feature of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His three different energies cannot remain ignorant about Him.
PURPORT
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states in his Bhagavat-sandarbha (16) that by His potencies, which act in natural sequences beyond the scope of the speculative human mind, the Supreme Transcendence, the summum bonum, eternally and simultaneously exists in four transcendental features: His personality, His impersonal effulgence, particles of His potency (the living beings), and the principal cause of all causes. The Supreme Whole is compared to the sun, which also exists in four features, namely the personality of the sun-god, the glare of his glowing sphere, the sun rays inside the sun planet, and the sun’s reflections in many other objects. The ambition to corroborate the existence of the transcendental Absolute Truth by limited conjectural endeavors cannot be fulfilled, because He is beyond the scope of our limited speculative minds. In an honest search for truth, we must admit that His powers are inconceivable to our tiny brains. The exploration of space has demanded the work of the greatest scientists of the world, yet there are countless problems regarding even fundamental knowledge of the material creation that bewilder scientists who confront them. Such material knowledge is far removed from the spiritual nature, and therefore the acts and arrangements of the Absolute Truth are, beyond all doubts, inconceivable.
The primary potencies of the Absolute Truth are mentioned to be three: internal, external and marginal. By the acts of His internal potency, the Personality of Godhead in His original form exhibits the spiritual cosmic manifestations known as the eternal Vaikuṇṭhalokas, which exist eternally, even after the destruction of the material cosmic manifestation. By His marginal potency the Lord expands Himself as living beings who are part of Him, just as the sun distributes its rays in all directions. By His external potency the Lord manifests the material creation, just as the sun with its rays creates fog. The material creation is but a perverse reflection of the eternal Vaikuṇṭha nature.
These three energies of the Absolute Truth are also described in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, where it is said that the living being is equal in quality to the internal potency, whereas the external potency is indirectly controlled by the chief cause of all causes. Māyā, the illusory energy, misleads a living being as fog misleads a pedestrian by blocking off the light of the sun. Although the potency of māyā is inferior in quality to the marginal potency, which consists of the living beings, who are part and parcel of the Lord, it nevertheless has the power to control the living beings, just as fog can block the actions of a certain portion of the sun’s rays although it cannot cover the sun. The living beings covered by the illusory energy evolve in different species of life, with bodies ranging from that of an insignificant ant to that of Brahmā, the constructor of the cosmos. The pradhāna, the chief cause of all causes in the impersonal vision, is none other than the Supreme Lord, whom one can see face to face in the internal potency. He takes the material all-pervasive form by His inconceivable power. Although all three potencies-namely internal, external and marginal-are essentially one in the ultimate issue, they are different in action, like electric energy, which can produce both cold and heat under different conditions. The external and marginal potencies are so called under various conditions, but in the original, internal potencies there are no such conditions, nor is it possible for the conditions of the external potency to exist in the marginal, or vice versa. One who is able to understand the intricacies of all these energies of the Supreme Lord can no longer remain an empiric impersonalist under the influence of a poor fund of knowledge.
TEXT 97
kṛṣṇera svarūpera haya ṣaḍ-vidha vilāsa
prābhava-vaibhava-rūpe dvi-vidha prakāśa
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; svarūpera-of the form; haya-there are; ṣaṭ-vidha-six kinds; vilāsa-pastime forms; prābhava-vaibhava-rūpe-in the divisions of prābhava and vaibhava; dvi-vidha-two kinds; prakāśa-manifestations.
TRANSLATION
“The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa enjoys Himself in six primary expansions. His two manifestations are prābhava and vaibhava.
PURPORT
Now the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta turns to a description of the Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa in His innumerable expansions. The Lord primarily expands Himself in two categories, namely prābhava and vaibhava. The prābhava forms are fully potent like Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the vaibhava forms are partially potent. The prābhava forms are manifested in relation with potencies, but the vaibhava forms are manifested in relation with excellences. The potent prābhava manifestations are also of two varieties: temporary and eternal. The Mohinī, Haṁsa and Śukla forms are manifested only temporarily, in terms of a particular age. Among the other prābhavas, who are not very famous according to the material estimation, are Dhanvantari, Ṛṣabha, Vyāsa, Dattātreya and Kapila. Among the vaibhava-prakāśa forms are Kūrma, Matsya, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, Varāha, Hayagrīva, Pṛśnigarbha, and Baladeva, as well as the manv-antara avatāras Yajña, Vibhu, Satyasena, Hari, Vaikuṇṭha, Ajita, Vāmana, Sārvabhauma, Ṛṣabha, Viṣvaksena, Dharmasetu, Sudhāmā, Yogeśvara and Bṛhadbhānu.
TEXT 98
aṁśa-śaktyāveśa-rūpe dvi-vidhāvatāra
bālya paugaṇḍa dharma dui ta’ prakāra
SYNONYMS
aṁśa-of the plenary expansion; śakti-āveśa-of the empowered; rūpe-in the forms; dvi-vidha-two kinds; avatāra-incarnations; bālya-childhood; paugaṇḍa-boyhood; dharma-characteristics of age; dui-two; ta’-certainly; prakāra-kinds
TRANSLATION
“His incarnations are of two kinds, namely partial and empowered. He appears in two ages-childhood and boyhood.
PURPORT
The vilāsa forms are six in number. Incarnations are of two varieties, namely śakty-āveśa (empowered) and aṁśāveśa (partial). These incarnations also come within the category of prābhava and vaibhava manifestations. Childhood and boyhood are two special features of the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but His permanent feature is His eternal form as an adolescent youth. The original Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa is always worshiped in this eternal adolescent form.
TEXT 99
kiśora-svarūpa kṛṣṇa svayaṁ avatārī
krīḍā kare ei chaya-rūpe viśva bhari’
SYNONYMS
kiśora-svarūpa-whose real nature is that of an adolescent; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; svayam-Himself; avatārī-the source of all incarnations; krīḍā kare-He plays; ei-these; chaya-rūpe-in six forms; viśva-the universes; bhari’-maintaining
TRANSLATION
“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.
TEXT 100
ei chaya-rūpe haya ananta vibheda
ananta-rūpe eka-rūpa, nāhi kichu bheda
SYNONYMS
ei-these; chaya-rūpe-in six forms; haya-there are; ananta-unlimited; vibheda-varieties; ananta-rūpe-in unlimited forms; eka-rūpa-one form; nāhi-there is not; kichu-any; bheda-difference.
TRANSLATION
“In these six kinds of forms there are innumerable varieties. Although they are many, they are all one: there is no difference between them.
PURPORT
The Personality of Godhead manifests Himself in six different features: (1) prābhava, (2) vaibhava, (3) empowered incarnations, (4) partial incarnations, (5) childhood and (6) boyhood. The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose permanent feature is adolescence, enjoys His transcendental proclivities by performing pastimes in these six forms. In these six features there are unlimited divisions of the Personality of Godhead’s forms. The jīvas, or living beings, are differentiated parts and parcels of the Lord. They are all diversities of the one without a second, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 101
cic-chakti, svarūpa-śakti, antaraṅgā nāma
tāhāra vaibhava ananta vaikuṇṭhādi dhāma
SYNONYMS
cit-śakti-spiritual energy; svarūpa-śakti-personal energy; antaḥ-aṅgā-internal; nāma-named; tāhāra-of that; vaibhava-manifestations; ananta-unlimited; vaikuṇṭha-ādi-Vaikuṇṭha, etc.; dhāma-abodes.
TRANSLATION
“The cit-śakti, which is also called svarūpa-śakti or antaraṅga-śakti, displays many varied manifestations. It sustains the kingdom of God and its paraphernalia.
TEXT 102
māyā-śakti, bahiraṅgā, jagat-kāraṇa
tāhāra vaibhava ananta brahmāṇḍera gaṇa
SYNONYMS
māyā-śakti-the illusory energy; bahiḥ-aṅgā-external; jagat-kāraṇa-the cause of the universe; tāhāra-of that; vaibhava-manifestations; ananta-unlimited; brahma-aṇḍera-of universes; gaṇa-multitudes.
TRANSLATION
“The external energy, called māyā-śakti, is the cause of innumerable universes with varied material potencies.
TEXT 103
jīva-śakti taṭasthākhya, nāhi yāra anta
mukhya tina śakti, tāra vibheda ananta
SYNONYMS
jīva-śakti-the energy of the living entity; taṭa-stha-ākhya-known as marginal; nāhi-there is not; yāra-of which; anta-end; mukhya-principal; tina-three; śakti-energies; tāra-of them; vibheda-varieties; ananta-unlimited.
TRANSLATION
“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.
PURPORT
The internal potency of the Lord, which is called cit-śakti or antaraṅga-śakti, exhibits variegatedness in the transcendental Vaikuṇṭha cosmos. Besides ourselves, there are unlimited numbers of liberated living beings who associate with the Personality of Godhead in His innumerable features. The material cosmos displays the external energy, in which the conditioned living beings are provided all liberty to go back to the Personality of Godhead after leaving the material tabernacle. The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.8) informs us:
na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate
na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate
svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca
“The Supreme Lord is one without a second. He has nothing to do personally, nor does He have material senses. No one is equal to Him or greater than Him. He has unlimited, variegated potencies of different names, which exist within Him as autonomous attributes and provide Him full knowledge, power and pastimes.”
TEXT 104
e-mata svarūpa-gaṇa, āra tina śakti
sabhāra āśraya kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇe sabhāra sthiti
SYNONYMS
e-mata-in this way; svarūpa-gaṇa-personal forms; āra-and; tina-three; śakti-energies; sabhāra-of the whole assembly; āśraya-the shelter; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; kṛṣṇe-in Lord Kṛṣṇa; sabhāra-of the whole assembly; sthiti-the existence.
TRANSLATION
“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.
TEXT 105
yadyapi brahmāṇḍa-gaṇera puruṣa āśraya
sei puruṣādi sabhāra kṛṣṇa mūlāśraya
SYNONYMS
yadyapi-although; brahma-aṇḍa-gaṇera-of the multitude of universes; puruṣa-the puruṣa-avatāra; āśraya-the shelter; sei-that; puruṣa-ādi-of the puruṣa-avatāras, etc.; sabhāra-of the assembly; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; mūla-āśraya-original source.
TRANSLATION
“Although the three puruṣas are the shelter of all the universes, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original source of the puruṣas.
TEXT 106
svayaṁ bhagavān kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa sarvāśraya
parama īśvara kṛṣṇa sarva-śāstre kaya
SYNONYMS
svayam-Himself; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; sarva-āśraya-the shelter of all; parama-Supreme; īśvara-Lord; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; sarva-śāstre-all scriptures; kaya-say.
TRANSLATION
“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.
TEXT 107
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
SYNONYMS
īśvaraḥ-the controller; paramaḥ-supreme; kṛṣṇaḥ-Lord Kṛṣṇa; sat-eternal existence; cit-absolute knowledge; ānanda-absolute bliss; vigrahaḥ-whose form; anādiḥ-without beginning; ādiḥ-the origin; govindaḥ-Lord Govinda; sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam-the cause of all causes.
TRANSLATION
” ‘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.’
PURPORT
This is the first verse of the Fifth Chapter of the Brahma-saṁhitā.
TEXT 108
e saba siddhānta tumi jāna bhāla-mate
tabu pūrva-pakṣa kara āmā cālāite
SYNONYMS
e-these; saba-all; siddhānta-conclusions; tumi-you; jāna-know; bhāla-mate-in a good way; tabu-still; pūrva-pakṣa-objection; kara-you make; āmā-to me; cālāite-to give useless anxiety.
TRANSLATION
“You know all the conclusions of the scriptures very well. You create these logical arguments just to agitate me.”
PURPORT
A learned man who has thoroughly studied the scriptures cannot hesitate to accept Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If such a man argues about this matter, certainly he must be doing so to agitate the minds of his opponents.
TEXT 109
sei kṛṣṇa avatārī vrajendra-kumāra
āpane caitanya-rūpe kaila avatāra
SYNONYMS
sei-that; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; avatārī-the source of all incarnations; vrajendra-kumāra-the son of the King of Vraja; āpane-personally; caitanya-rūpe-in the form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; kaila-made; avatāra-incarnation.
TRANSLATION
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.
TEXT 110
ataeva caitanya gosāñi paratattva-sīmā
tāṅre kṣīroda-śāyī kahi, ki tāṅra mahimā
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; caitanya gosāñi-Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; para-tattva-sīmā-the highest limit of the Absolute Truth; tāṅre-Him; kṣīroda-śāyī-Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu; kahi-if I say; ki-what; tāṅra-of Him; mahimā-glory.
TRANSLATION
Therefore Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Absolute Truth. To call Him Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu does not add to His glory.
TEXT 111
sei ta’ bhaktera vākya nahe vyabhicārī
sakala sambhave tāṅte, yāte avatārī
SYNONYMS
sei-that; ta’-certainly; bhaktera-of a devotee; vākya-speech; nahe-is not; vyabhicārī-deviation; sakala-all; sambhave-possibilities; tāṅte-in Him; yāte-since; avatārī-the source of all incarnations.
TRANSLATION
But such words from the lips of a sincere devotee cannot be false. All possibilities abide in Him, for He is the primeval Lord.
TEXT 112
avatārīra dehe saba avatārera sthiti
keho kona-mate kahe, yemana yāra mati
SYNONYMS
avatārīra-of the source; dehe-in the body; saba-all; avatārera-of the incarnations; sthiti-existence; keho-someone; kona-mate-in some way; kahe-says; yemana-as in the manner; yāra-of whom; mati-the opinion.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
It is not contradictory for a devotee to call the Supreme Lord by any one of the various names of His plenary expansions because the original Personality of Godhead includes all such categories. Since the plenary expansions exist within the original person, one may call Him by any of these names. In Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata (Madhya 6.95) Lord Caitanya says, “I was lying asleep in the ocean of milk, but I was awakened by the call of Nāḍā, Śrī Advaita Prabhu.” Here the Lord refers to His form as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.
TEXT 113
kṛṣṇake kahaye keha–nara-nārāyaṇa
keho kahe, kṛṣṇa haya sākṣāṭ vāmana
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇake-Lord Kṛṣṇa; kahaye-says; keha-someone; nara-nārāyaṇa-Nara-Nārāyaṇa; keho-someone; kahe-says; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; haya-is; sākṣāt-directly; vāmana-Lord Vāmana.
TRANSLATION
Some say that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is directly Nara-Nārāyaṇa. Others say that He is directly Vāmana.
TEXT 114
keho kahe, kṛṣṇa kṣīroda-śāyī avatāra
asambhava nahe, satya vacana sabāra
SYNONYMS
keho-someone; kahe-says; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; kṣīroda-śāyī-Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu; avatāra-incarnation; asambhava-impossible; nahe-is not; satya-true; vacana-speeches; sabāra-of all.
TRANSLATION
Some say that Kṛṣṇa is the incarnation of Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. None of these statements is impossible; each is as correct as the others.
PURPORT
The Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (5.383) states:
ata evā purāṇādau
kecin nara-sakhātmatām
mahendrānujatāṁ kecit
kecit kṣīrābdhi-śāyitām
sahasra-śīrṣatāṁ kecit
kecid vaikuṇṭha-nāthatām
brūyuḥ kṛṣṇasya munayas
tat-tad-vṛtty-anugāminaḥ
“According to the intimate relationships between Śrī Kṛṣṇa (the primeval Lord) and His devotees, the Purāṇas describe Him by various names. Sometimes He is called Nārāyaṇa; sometimes Upendra (Vāmana), the younger brother of Indra, King of heaven; and sometimes Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Sometimes He is called the thousand-hooded Śeṣa Nāga, and sometimes the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha.”
TEXT 115
keho kahe, para-vyome nārāyaṇa hari
sakala sambhave kṛṣṇe, yāte avatārī
SYNONYMS
keho-someone; kahe-says; para-vyome-in the transcendental world; nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; hari-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sakala sambhave-all possibilities; kṛṣṇe-in Lord Kṛṣṇa; yāte-since; avatārī-the source of all incarnations.
TRANSLATION
Some call Him Hari, or the Nārāyaṇa of the transcendental world. Everything is possible in Kṛṣṇa, for He is the primeval Lord.
TEXT 116
saba śrotā-gaṇera kari caraṇa vandana
e saba siddhānta śuna, kari’ eka mana
SYNONYMS
saba-all; śrotā-gaṇera-of the hearers; kari-I do; caraṇa-to the lotus feet; vandana-praying; e-these; saba-all; siddhānta-conclusions; śuna-please hear; kari’-making; eka-one; mana-mind.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
Prostrating himself at the feet of his readers, the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta entreats them in all humility to hear with rapt attention these conclusive arguments regarding the Absolute Truth. One should not fail to hear such arguments because only by such knowledge can one perfectly know Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 117
siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa
ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa
SYNONYMS
siddhānta-conclusion; baliyā-considering; citte-in the mind; nā kara-do not be; alasa-lazy; ihā-this; ha-ite-from; kṛṣṇe-in Lord Kṛṣṇa; lāge-becomes fixed; su-dṛḍha-very firm; mānasa-the mind.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
There are many students who, in spite of reading the Bhagavad-gītā, misunderstand Kṛṣṇa because of imperfect knowledge and conclude Him to be an ordinary, historical personality. This one must not do. One should be particularly careful to understand the truth about Kṛṣṇa. If because of laziness one does not come to know Kṛṣṇa conclusively, one will be misguided about the cult of devotion, like those who declare themselves advanced devotees and imitate the transcendental symptoms sometimes observed in liberated souls. Although the use of thoughts and arguments is a most suitable process for inducing an uninitiated person to become a devotee, neophytes in devotional service must always alertly understand Kṛṣṇa through the vision of the revealed scriptures, the bona fide devotees and the spiritual master. Unless one hears about Śrī Kṛṣṇa from such authorities, one cannot make advancement in devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The revealed scriptures mention nine means of attaining devotional service, of which the first and foremost is hearing from authority. The seed of devotion cannot sprout unless watered by the process of hearing and chanting. One should submissively receive the transcendental messages from spiritually advanced sources and chant the very same messages for one’s own benefit as well as the benefit of one’s audience.
When Brahmā described the situation of pure devotees freed from the culture of empiric philosophy and fruitive actions, he recommended the process of hearing from persons who are on the path of devotion. Following in the footsteps of such liberated souls, who are able to vibrate real transcendental sound, can lead one to the highest stage of devotion, and thus one can become a mahā-bhāgavata. From the teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Sanātana Gosvāmī (Cc. Madhya 22.65) we learn:
śāstra-yuktye sunipuṇa, dṛḍha-śraddhā yāṅra
‘uttama-adhikārī’ sei tāraye saṁsāra
“A person who is expert in understanding the conclusion of the revealed scriptures and who fully surrenders to the cause of the Lord is actually able to deliver others from the clutches of material existence.” Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his Upadeśāmṛta (3), advises that to make rapid advancement in the cult of devotional service one should be very active and should persevere in executing the duties specified in the revealed scriptures and confirmed by the spiritual master. Accepting the path of liberated souls and the association of pure devotees enriches such activities.
Imitation devotees, who wish to advertise themselves as elevated Vaiṣṇavas and who therefore imitate the previous ācāryas but do not follow them in principle, are condemned in the words of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.24) as stone-hearted. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has commented on their stone-hearted condition as follows: bahir aśru-pulakayoḥ sator api yad dhṛdayaṁ na vikriyeta tad aśma-sāram iti kaniṣṭhādhikāriṇām eva aśru-pulakādi-mattve ‘pi aśma-sāra-hṛdayatayā nindaiṣā. “Those who shed tears by practice but whose hearts have not changed are to be known as stone-hearted devotees of the lowest grade. Their imitation crying, induced by artificial practice, is always condemned.” The desired change of heart referred to above is visible in reluctance to do anything not congenial to the devotional way. To create such a change of heart, conclusive discussion about Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His potencies is absolutely necessary. False devotees may think that simply shedding tears will lead one to the transcendental plane, even if one has not had a factual change in heart, but such a practice is useless if there is no transcendental realization. False devotees, lacking the conclusion of transcendental knowledge, think that artificially shedding tears will deliver them. Similarly, other false devotees think that studying books of the previous ācāryas is unadvisable, like studying dry empiric philosophies. But Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, following the previous ācāryas, has inculcated the conclusions of the scriptures in the six theses called the Ṣaṭ-sandarbhas. False devotees who have very little knowledge of such conclusions fail to achieve pure devotion for want of zeal in accepting the favorable directions for devotional service given by self-realized devotees. Such false devotees are like impersonalists, who also consider devotional service no better than ordinary fruitive actions.
TEXT 118
caitanya-mahimā jāni e saba siddhānte
citta dṛḍha hañā lāge mahimā-jñāna haite
SYNONYMS
caitanya-mahimā-the glory of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; jāni-I know; e-these; saba-all; siddhānte-by the conclusions; citta-the mind; dṛḍha-firm; hañā-becoming; lāge-becomes fixed; mahimā-jñāna-knowledge of the greatness; haite-from.
TRANSLATION
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.
PURPORT
One can know the glories of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu only by reaching, in knowledge, a conclusive decision about Śrī Kṛṣṇa, strengthened by bona fide study of the conclusions of the ācāryas.
TEXT 119
caitanya-prabhura mahimā kahibāra tare
kṛṣṇera mahimā kahi kariyā vistāre
SYNONYMS
caitanya-prabhura-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; mahimā-the glories; kahibāra tare-for the purpose of speaking; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; mahimā-the glories; kahi-I speak; kariyā-doing; vistāre-in expansion.
TRANSLATION
Just to enunciate the glories of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, I have tried to describe the glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in detail.
TEXT 120
caitanya-gosāñira ei tattva-nirūpaṇa
svayaṁ-bhagavān kṛṣṇa vrajendra-nandana
SYNONYMS
caitanya-gosāñira-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; ei-this; tattva-of the truth; nirūpaṇa-settling; svayam-bhagavān-Himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; vrajendra-nandana-the son of the King of Vraja.
TRANSLATION
The conclusion is that Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of the King of Vraja.
TEXT 121
śrī-rūpa-raghunātha-pade yāra āśa
caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa
SYNONYMS
śrī-rūpa-Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī; raghunātha-Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī; pade-at the lotus feet; yāra-whose; āśa-expectation; caitanya-caritāmṛta-the book named Caitanya-caritāmṛta; kahe-describes; kṛṣṇa-dāsa-Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī.
TRANSLATION
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.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Second Chapter, describing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
