Sections 35–45

English witness · section(s) 31

Anuccheda 31

1 That the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is birthless and beginningless is also confirmed in the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (5.25.9): “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is beginningless and unlimited. He enables the modes of material nature to act as the causes of universal creation, maintenance and destruction.”* 2 That the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never affected by birth, death, or any other material transformation is explained in the following verse from Srimad Bhagavatam (5.17.19) where Lord Siva describes the Personality of Godhead Lord Sankarsana in the following words: “We cannot control the force of our anger. Therefore when we look at material things, we cannot avoid feeling attraction or repulsion for them. But the Supreme Lord is never affected in this way. Although He glances over the material world for the purpose of creating, maintaining and destroying it, He is not affected, even to the slightest degree. Therefore, one who desires to conquer the force of the senses must take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Then he will be victorious.”* 3 That the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always unaffected by the transformations caused by the material energy is confirmed by the following statements of Srila Sukadeva Gosvami: “My dear King, approximately 240 000 miles beneath the planet Patala lives another incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the expansion of Lord Visnu known as Lord Ananta or Lord Sankarsana. He is always in the transcendental position, but because He is worshipped by Lord Siva, the deity of tamo-guna or darkness, He is sometimes called tamasi. Lord Ananta is the predominating Deity of the material mode of ignorance as well as the false ego of all conditioned souls. When a conditioned living being thinks ‘I am the enjoyer, and this world is meant to be enjoyed by me’, this conception of life is dictated to him by Sankarsana. Thus the mundane conditioned soul thinks himself the Supreme Lord.”* Srimad Bhagavatam 5.25.1 “In Ilavrta-varsa, Lord Siva is always encircled by ten billion maidservants of goddess Durga, who minister to him. The quadruple expansion of the Supreme Lord is composed by Vasudeva,, Pradyumna, Anirrudha and Sankarsana. Sankarsana, the fourth expansion, is certainly transcendental, but because his activities of destruction in the material world are in the mode of ignorance, He is known as tamasi, the Lord’s form in the mode of ignorance. Lord Siva knows that Sankarsana is the original cause of his own existence, and thus he always meditates upon Him in trance by chanting the following mantra.”* Srimad Bhagavatam 5.17.16 4 That all the forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are transcendental to the inferior material energy is also confirmed by the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (5.25.10) where Srila Sukadeva Gosvami says: “This manifestation of subtle and gross matter exists within the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Out of causeless mercy toward His devotees, He exhibits various forms, which are all transcendental. The Supreme Lord is most liberal, and He possesses all mystic power. To conquer the minds of His devotees and give pleasure to their hearts, He appears in different incarnations and manifests many pastimes.”* 5 That all the forms of the Personality of Godhead are eternal is also confirmed by the following prayer from the Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda: “I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appears as the Universal Form. All the forms of the Lord are birthless, deathless and unlimited.” 6 Here someone may protest that there are statements in the Skanda Purana and other Vedic literatures that describe the Supreme Lord’s form as temporary and material. Such statements are deliberately inserted in some scriptures in order to hide the Lord’s glories from the eyes of the atheists, and the Puranas containing such faulty information are clearly known as Puranas in the mode of ignorance. Even the Srimad Bhagavatam contains some few statements that are not to be accepted by the devotees as the Bhagavatam itself declares (10.77.30): We will specifically establish this point later on in the Sri Krsna-sandarbha. 7 My only opinion is that the Lord’s forms are certainly eternal and transcendental and this view is confirmed by the statements of Srimad Bhagavatam 1.16.27 (where the earth deity explains that the Supreme Lord’s qualities, such as beauty, endurance, energy, and strength are all eternal), 10.3.25 and 5.25.9 which have been quoted in the previous texts. The verse quoted in the beginning of this Anuccheda was spoken by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami.

Srila Jiva Gosvami’s Sri Bhagavat-sandarbha An Essay on Bhagavan Volume Two

Table of Contents

Bhagavan is Both All-pervading and Localised, Anucchedas 32-39 Page 2

Bhagavan Appears in Many Forms, Anucchedas 40-43 Page 11

Bhagavan is the All-pervading Supersoul, Anuccheda 44 Page 19

Bhagavan’s Form is Transcendental, Anuccheda 45 Page 20

Bhagavan Reveals Himself, Anuccheda 46 Page 23

Bhagavan’s Forms and Activities are Spiritual, Anuccheda 47 Page 24

English witness · section(s) 32

Anuccheda 32

1 That the Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervading is confirmed by the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (10.9.13-14): “The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no beginning and no end, no exterior and no interior, no front and no rear. In other words, He is all-pervading. Because He is not under the influence of the element of time, for Him there is no difference between past, present and future; He exists in His own transcendental form at all times. Being Absolute, beyond relativity, He is free from distinction between cause and effect, although He is the cause and effect of everything. That unmanifested person, who is beyond the perception of the senses, had now appeared as a human child, and mother Yasoda, considering Him her own ordinary child, bound Him to the wooden mortar with a rope.”* 2 Srila Sridhara Svami comments on this verse in the following words: “If an object has limits of beginning and end, it may be bound with a rope, but if an object has no limits, then it cannot be surrounded by anything, or bound with any rope. In this verse Srimad Bhagavatam confirms that Sri Krsna is all-pervading and without limits (na cantah). Indeed, He is everything (jagac ca yah). Still, ‘the unmanifested Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond the perception of the senses (adhoksajam) had now appeared as a human child (martya-lingam) and Mother Yasoda considering (matva) Him (tam) her own ordinary child (atmajam) bound (babandha) Him to the wooden mortar with a rope..’” 3 The phrase ‘jagac ca yah’ (He is everything in creation in total) may be understood in the following way: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not different from either the cause of creation, or the cosmic manifestation that is the effect of that cause. In other words, because the entire material universe is nothing but the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is not different from it. Because an ordinary material rope is simply a fragmental part of one of His energies, such a rope has no power to bind Him, any more than a small flame has the power to burn up a large fire. 4 At this point someone may raise the following objection: “If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervading, then how is it possible that Yasoda-devi tied Him with a small rope that could not even have extend the breadth of the material universe?” This objection is answered in this verse by the words ‘martya-lingam’ (in order to perform His pastimes, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared like an ordinary human child). In order to act like an ordinary human being, the Supreme Lord allowed Himself to be bound by Mother Yasoda’s rope. 5 At this point someone may raise the following question: ‘If the Supreme Personality of Godhead has a human-like form, than that form is certainly manifested within a limited area of space. How can such a limited form be all-pervading?” This question is answered by the use of the word ‘adhoksajam’ (beyond the perception of the senses). The form of the Personality of Godhead cannot be properly understood by the senses of the conditioned soul, nor can it be understood by any other process for acquiring knowledge available to the conditioned souls. Because He is thus inconceivable, although He may appear to be limited within time and space, in actual fact He is all-pervading. Because He is not properly understood by ordinary living entities, He is therefore described in this verse as ‘avyaktam’ (unmanifested). 6 At this point someone may ask: “If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervading, even though His form appeared like that of an ordinary human being, then why did He not reveal His all-pervading nature to His mother, Yasoda-devi?” This question is answered by the words ‘atmajam-matva’ (Mother Yasoda considered Krsna her own ordinary child). The relationship between Sri Krsna and Yasoda-devi was that of son and mother. In order not to disrupt the blissful exchange of love between Himself and His mother, Lord Krsna concealed His all-pervasiveness and His other opulences from her eyes. Mother Yasoda’s ignorance of the super human prowess of her son was actually her great glory, for in order to keep the loving parent-child relationship with her, He allowed Himself to be bound by a few small ropes. The exalted position of Mother Yasoda is described in the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (10.9.20): “Neither Lord Brahma, nor Lord Siva, nor even the goddess of fortune, who is always the better half of the Supreme Lord, can obtain from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the deliverer from this material world, such mercy as received by mother Yasoda.”* 7 Some may say that the phrase ‘adhoksajam prakrtam yatha’ means that the Personality of Godhead, who is all-pervading, accepted the illusory form of a human being through the agency of His maha-maya potency. Such a conception is completely false. They who think that the Supreme Lord, who cannot be touched by the material potency maya, can be understood by the infantile logic of the conditioned souls, are great fools. They are just like the gullible audience that believes in the existence of the magician’s creation of a blazing fire in the middle of the ocean. They do not understand the nature of the Supreme. That the Supreme Personality of Godhead is difficult to understand is confirmed by the following statement of Sruti-sastra: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-powerful. He alone created all the demigods. Who can understand how He appears in this world?” 8 In this verse (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.9.13-14), the relative and co-relative pronouns ‘yat’ and ‘tat’ both refer to Sri Krsna. For this reason it should be understood that the form of Sri Krsna is simultaneously limited within space, (because He has a clearly defined form with hands, feet, and other limbs) and also all-pervading. These apparently contradictory qualities of the Lord may be accepted because He is the reservoir of hundreds of mutually contradictory potencies, and therefore any otherwise impossible thing may easily be done by Him. That mutually contradictory actions may performed by a single cause may be seen even in the material sphere where there are some medicines that create many different effects on the body, some of them contradicting other effects caused by the same medicine. 9 That Sri Krsna is simultaneously limited within space and also all-pervading is possible because He is the master of all inconceivable potencies which cannot be grasped by the tiny brains of the conditioned souls, is confirmed by the following statement of Brahma-samhita (5.34): “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, only the tip of the toe of whose lotus feet is approached by the yogis who aspire after the transcendental and betake themselves to pranayama by drilling the respiration; or by the jnanis who try to find out the non differentiated Brahman by the process of elimination of the mundane, extending over thousands and millions of years.”** 10 That the Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses mutually contradictory qualities, including the ability to be simultaneously limited in space and all-pervading, is confirmed in the following statement of the Sruti-sastra as quoted in the commentaries of Sripada Madhvacarya: “Lord Hari is neither large, small, or of a middle-size. He is simultaneously all-pervading and not all-pervading. He has and does not have a beginning. He is and is not the material universe. He has qualities and He does not have qualities.” 11 That the Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses mutually contradictory qualities is also described in the following statement of the Nrsimha-tapani Upanisad (2.6.1): “The Supreme Personality of Godhead exists outside the material sphere, but then again He exists within the material sphere. He is the self, but then again He is not the self. He is ferocious and He is also not ferocious. He is powerful and also powerless. He is great, and He is also not great. He is all-pervading, and not all-pervading. He is very splendid and He is not splendid at all. His faces are manifest everywhere, and again His faces are not manifest everywhere.” 12 This is also confirmed by the following statement of the Brahma Purana: “The Supreme Godhead has a form neither large nor small. He is not the material universe, but then again He is the material universe. He possesses innumerable qualities and opulences, many of which contradict each other. Because He is full of all opulences, He is known as the Supreme Person.” 13 This is also confirmed by the following statement of the Visnu-dharma Purana: “I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is simultaneously the greatest and the smallest. He is one thousandth the six of an atom, and at the same time He is so large that all the material universes barely occupy a millionth part of the size of His abdomen.” 14 The Supreme Personality of Godhead describes His own self-contradictory powers and opulences in the following verses of Bhagavad-gita (9.4-5): “By Me in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them. And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me, behold My mystic opulence!”* We may note that the word ‘avyakta-murtina’ used in this verse may mean ‘by My form, which is beyond the comprehension of the limited material intelligence.’

English witness · section(s) 33

Anuccheda 33

1 In the next section of this book (Anucchedas 31-39) we will quote various statements of the demigod Brahma that confirm the statement that the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is simultaneously limited within space, and yet all-pervading. In the first quotation (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.11) Brahma says: “Where am I, a small creature of seven spans of the measure of my own hand? I am enclosed in the universe composed of material nature, the total material energy, false ego, ether, air, water and earth. And what is Your glory? Unlimited universes pass through the pores of Your body just like particles of dust passing through the opening of a window.”* 2 In the next verse Brahma explains (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.12): “O Adhoksaja, if a child within the womb plays with his legs, and while playing touches the body of the mother, is the mother offended with the child? Of course she isn’t. Similarly, I may be a very great personality within this universe, and yet not only myself but everything that be is existing within You. Therefore You are considered to be the mother and everything existing within Your womb is considered to be a child. And a good mother is never offended with the child, even if he touches her body by kicking his legs.”* 3 In the next verse (10.14.13) Brahma explains that it is well known that Brahma himself has taken birth from the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “At the end of the universe, when the three planetary systems are merged into the ocean of devastation, Your plenary portion Narayana lies down on the waters of that ocean, and from His navel a lotus stem grows. The Puranas describe that Brahma, the unborn, appears from that lotus stem. O Supreme Controller, indeed, am I not born from You?”* 4 Considering that Lord Krsna might say “If I were Lord Narayana, who lies down on the waters of devastation, then you might say that you have taken birth from Me. The actual truth, however, is something else. I am not Narayana”, Brahma spoke the next verse (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.14): “O Lord of lords, You are the seer of all creation. You are indeed everyone’s dearest life. Are You not therefore, my father, Narayana? Narayana refers to one whose abode is in the water born from Nara (Garbhodakasayi Visnu) and that Narayana is Your plenary portion. All Your plenary portions are transcendental. They are absolute and are not creations of maya.”* 5 In this verse the word ‘adhisa’ means ‘O Supreme Personality of Godhead, who are situated above the form of Lord Narayana, who resides in the hearts of all conditioned souls,’ ‘hi’ means ‘certainly’, ‘narayanas tvam na’ means ‘Are You not Narayana?’, and ‘naravano nigam’ means ‘Lord Narayana is Your plenary portion’. Brahma says in this verse ‘O Lord, because I have taken birth from Your plenary portion, therefore it may be considered that I have taken birth from You.” 6 Brahma thought Sri Krsna might say; ‘How is it that You say I am Lord Narayana? Certainly there is a great difference between Lord Narayana and Me. In order to answer this question, Brahma said the words ‘dehinam atma’ (You are Lord Narayana, the all-pervading Supersoul present in the hearts of all conditioned souls). The word Narayana may be interpreted to mean ‘He who is the refuge (ayana) of all living entities (nara). Narayana is the Supersoul who resides in the hearts of all conditioned souls, but Sri Krsna is the Original form of the Personality of Godhead, situated above Narayana, and taking no part in Narayana’s activities as the Supersoul. 7 Lord Brahma continued His explanation by using the word ‘akhila-loka-saksi’ (Lord Narayana is the seer of all creation). If the word ‘nara’ is taken to mean ‘all living entities’ and the word ‘ayana’ is taken to mean ‘understanding’, the word ‘narayana’ may be understood to mean ‘He who knows everything about all living entities.’ In this way the word ‘akhila-loka-saksi’ refers to Lord Narayana. Lord Krsna does not directly take part in the activities of witnessing the actions of the conditioned souls, but He does this activity through His plenary expansion of the Supersoul Narayana. In this way, also, Lord Krsna is different from Narayana. 8 Brahma thought that Sri Krsna might raise the following objection: ‘My dear Brahma, your statement ‘narayanas tvam na’ certainly means that I am not Narayana. If one were to interpret this phrase to mean that I am Lord Narayana, then this interpretation would make no senses. How is it possible that I am Lord Narayana?” In order to answer this possible objection, Brahma addressed Krsna using the word ‘adhisa’, ‘Isa’ means ‘the controller’, and that word clearly refers to Lord Narayana, the controller of all living entities. The word ‘adhisa’ however, means ‘the controller of the controller’. In other words, by addressing Sri Krsna as ‘adhisa’, Brahma explained that Krsna is the controller of Lord Narayana, just as the king of a country is the controller of many aristocrats. That Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead, superior to Lord Narayana and the other forms of the Lord will be explained at a later time, according to the methodical arrangement of these six sandarbhas, in the book known as Sri Krsna-sandarbha. 9 At this point someone may object: The proper understanding of the name Narayana is found in the following statement of Vedic literature: “They who are wise know that the word ‘nara’ means ‘the various material elements manifested from the purusa-avatara (nara). ‘Ayana’ means ‘resting place’, and therefore the word ‘narayana’ means ‘He who is the resting place within which the various material elements are contained.’” 10 Our objector may also quote the following verse from Visnu Purana (1.4.6) to support his interpretation of the name Narayana: “The water (Garbhodaka ocean) produced from the purusa-avatara is known as ‘nara’. ‘Ayana’ means ‘resting place’, and therefore the name ‘narayana’ means ‘He who rests on the Garbhodaka ocean.’” 11 Thinking Sri Krsna might interpret the word ‘narayana’ to mean ‘He who lies down on the Garbhadaka Ocean’, Brahma said: ‘nara-bhu-jalayanat tac capi satyam na tavaiva maya’ (The word ‘Narayana’ does not mean ‘He who lies down on the Pralaya ocean’. This interpretation of the word ‘Narayana’ is created by Your illusory potency, maya).” Here we may quote the Visva-prakasa Dictionary’s definition of the word ‘maya’: “The word ‘maya’ may be taken to mean ‘trickery’ or ‘mercy’. The meaning of Brahma’s statement should be understood in the following way: “O lord, because of Your inconceivable potency, Your form is simultaneously limited in space and also all-pervading. Therefore any conception of You that limits You to the form of Narayana who lies down on the Pralaya ocean is certainly an illusion.” In these four verses Brahma says: ‘O Lord, myself, this entire universe, and all other universes also, all rest in Narayana. The form of Narayana, however, rest within You.” Therefore the proper definition of the word ‘Narayana’ is ‘He who is all-pervading.” 12 The proper interpretation of the word Narayana is given in the following mantra of the Maha-Narayana Upanisad (2.6): “Lord Narayana is all-pervading. He is present within and without everything that has ever been seen or heard in all the material universes.”

English witness · section(s) 34

Anuccheda 34

1 Brahma cites his own direct experience to prove that Sri Krsna’s transcendental form is not limited by the Garbhodaka Ocean or any other boundary placed within this material world. He says (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.15): “The gigantic universal body, which is still resting on the water known as Garbhodaka, is another manifestation of Your energy. On account of His resting on the water, this universal form is also Narayana, and we are all within the womb of this Narayana form. I see Your different Narayana forms everywhere. I can see You on the water, I can feel You within my heart, and I can also see You before me now. You are the original Narayana.”* 2 In this verse Brahma said: “The form of Narayana, who rests on the Garbhodaka Ocean, is not eternally manifest there. O Lord who is the master of all inconceivable opulences (bhagavan), if this form eternally remains on the Garbhodaka Ocean, then why did I not see it when I climbed down the stem of the lotus flower? “If one were to say that the form of Naryana is an illusion created by the maya-potency (which is described in the Trikanda-sesa Dictionary as ‘the energy by which Sambara and others created many illusory things that did not actually exist) then why was it that I was able to see the form of Narayana, which is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, when I meditated upon Him and was able to see Him in my heart, although after the yogic meditation was ended I was no longer able to see Him?” From this we may understand that the transcendental form of the Lord is certainly real and eternal, but the conception that the Lord’s existence is limited by any specific form, and therefore He is not all-pervading, is not a true conception.

English witness · section(s) 35

Anuccheda 35

1 The account of Brahma’s failure to see Narayana by climbing down the lotus stem, and His ultimately seeing Him in the trance of meditation is recounted in the Third Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam and the reader is referred to that for the details of the story. In this verse the words ‘tac cej jala-stham tava saj jagad vapuh’ inform us that the form of Lord Narayana is real, eternal, and transcendental, and because the material universe is expanded from that Supreme Reality of Lord Narayana, it is also real. The material universe is situated within the form of the Lord Narayana, as was directly perceived by Mother Yasoda. This is explained by Brahma in the next verse (10.14.16): 2 “My dear Lord, in this incarnation You have proved that You are the supreme controller of maya. You remain within the cosmic manifestation, and yet the whole creation is within You. This fact has already been proved by You when You exhibited the whole universal creation within Your mouth before Your mother Yasoda. By Your inconceivable potency of yogamaya, You can make such things effective without external help.”* 3 In this verse Brahma says: “My dear Lord, in this incarnation You have proved that You are the supreme controller of maya (mayadhamanavatare). You remain within the cosmic manifestation, and yet the whole creation is within You” (prapancasya bahih sphutasya krtsnasya cantar jathare). Because Lord Krsna is both within and without the cosmic manifestation, we may understand that He is not limited by the boundaries of matter, and when He appears to occupy a limited position in relation to time and space, that appearance of limitation is simply an illusion. Although Lord Krsna appears to be situated within the cosmic manifestation, the cosmic manifestation is also within Him, for it has emanated from Him. Brahma says in this verse: “O Lord, By Your inconceivable potency of yogamaya, You are now all-pervading within the cosmic manifestation, although originally the cosmos is within You.” Brahma gives an example to demonstrate that the cosmos actually exists within Lord Krsna by saying: ‘This fact has already been proved by You when You exhibited the whole universal creation within You mouth before Mother Yasoda.”

English witness · section(s) 36

Anuccheda 36

1 In this verse the word ‘mayadhamana’ means ‘O supreme controller of maya’. Brahma said: ‘O Lord, by Your mercy You revealed that the entire cosmic manifestation is situated within You.’ In order to establish the truth of this statement, as well as to refute any contrary argument, Brahma spoke the next verse (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.17): 2 “My dear Lord Krsna, the whole cosmic manifestation that we are visualising at present is all within Your body. Yet I am seeing You outside, and You are also seeing me outside. How can such things happen without being influenced by Your inconceivable energy?”* 3 When the words of this verse are placed in their prose order they read ‘yasya kuksau sarvam idam satman yatha bhati tat sarvam iha (bahir api tathaiva) tvayi bhati’. The meaning of this verse is that just as Sri Krsna is situated within Vrajabhumi, in the same way (because Sri Krsna is all-pervading) Vrajabhumi is situated within Him. In this way the statement of Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.16, that Sri Krsna is within the cosmic manifestation, and the cosmic manifestation is also within Him, is confirmed. When Mother Yasoda saw Sri Krsna before her with the entire cosmos within His mouth, she was able to directly perceive these two truths about Krsna. At that time she tried to understand what she had just seen and she said (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.8.40): “Is this a dream, or is it an illusory creation by the external energy? Has this been manifested by my own intelligence, or is it some mystic power of my child?”* Brahma explains in this connection: “O Lord, although by the power of Your inconceivable potency You appear to occupy a limited space within the land of Vraja, You are nevertheless all-pervading. You directly showed these two truths about Yourself to Your mother, Yasoda.” 4 The statement of this verse (10.14.17) is also confirmed by the following explanation of Srimad Bhagavatam (2.7.30): “When the cowherd woman (Krsna’s foster mother, Yasoda) was trying to tie the hands of her son with ropes, she found the rope to be always insufficient in length, and when she finally gave up, Lord Krsna, by and by, opened His mouth, wherein the mother found all the universes situated. Seeing this, she was doubtful in her mind, but she was convinced in a different manner of the mystic nature of her son.”* This is confirmed by the words ‘(tava) kuksau sarvam idam yatha bhati iha’ (My dear Lord Krsna, the whole cosmic manifestation that we are visualising at present is all within Your body). Although the cosmic manifestation is situated within You, You are still all-pervading within it. The Bhagavatam says: ‘tvayi tat sarvam bhati’ (Everything is present within You).

English witness · section(s) 37

Anuccheda 37

1 Brahma intended to say: “O all-pervading Lord, without being influenced by Your maya-potency, which conceals the actual truth about You, how is it possible to believe that You are limited by the boundaries of material time and space? It is not possible. This I have directly seen.” Brahma said (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.18): 2 “My dear Lord, leaving aside all other thins and just considering today’s happenings - what I have seen - are they not all due to Your inconceivable energies? First of all I saw You alone; thereafter You expanded Yourself as Your friends, this calves and all existence of Vrndavana; then I saw You and all the boys as four-handed Visnus, and They were being worshipped by all elements and demigods, including myself. Again They were all wound up, and You remained alone as You were before. Does this not mean that You are the Supreme Lord Narayana, the origin of everything, and from You everything emanates, and again everything enters unto You, and You remain the same as before?”* 3 In this verse Brahma says: ‘Just today (adyaiva) was it not revealed to me (mama) that this universe (asya), which is filled with bewildered conditioned souls and is a product of Your maya potency (mayatvam), has emanated from Your humanlike form (tvad rte)? This has certainly been revealed to me.” 4 At this point Lord Krsna might raise the following question: “What is the nature of My form?” In order to answer this question Brahma says: ‘eko si’ (You are alone). This means ‘Now that all the cowherd boys and calves have disappeared, You have manifested Yourself as these boys and calves, and therefore these are all You (eko si). Because You are able to do this, I declare that You are in truth the non-dual Supreme Brahman (advayam brahma)”. All material substances are born at a certain time, remain manifested for a certain period, and perish at certain time. These material changes are known as the ‘duality’ of matter. Because the Supreme Brahman is not affected by any of these changes, but is eternal and unchanging, He is known as ‘advayam’. The Supreme Brahma is by nature all-pervading. By establishing Sri Krsna as the Supreme Brahman, Brahma has proven that Sri Krsna is all-pervading.

English witness · section(s) 38

Anuccheda 38

1 At this point Sri Krsna might raise the following question: “At the beginning of universal creation, only Brahma, Visnu, and Siva were manifest, and they are considered the original causes of everything that exists. During the time of cosmic manifestation, many incarnations also appear, and I may be considered such an incarnation, but how is it possible to say that I am the original cause of all causes? Brahma, Siva and Visnu are the original causes.” To answer this question, Brahma says (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.19): 2 “Persons who are unaware of Your inconceivable energy cannot understand that You alone expand Yourself as the creator Brahma, maintainer Visnu, and annihilator Siva. Persons who are not in awareness of things as they are contemplate that I, Brahma, am the creator, Visnu is the maintainer, and Lord Siva is the annihilator. Actually, You are alone everything: creator, maintainer and annihilator.”* 3 In this verse the second-person pronoun ‘tvam’ (You) is the subject of the sentence and the word ‘bhasi’ (are manifest) is the verb. The word ‘iva’ (as if) does not refer to ‘tvam’, but rather to ‘esah’ (He, Lord Visnu). The word ‘esah’ does not refer to the transcendental form of Lord Krsna, because Lord Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead, and not a guna-avatara, such as Lord Visnu is. To consider Sri Krsna as guna-avatara would contradict the previous verse, where Brahma said: “O Krsna, everything emanates from You.” In this verse the word ‘tvat-padavim’ means ‘Your transcendental form’, ‘ajanatam’ means ‘to those who do not understand’, ‘atma’ means ‘You who are the origin of all incarnations of Godhead’, ‘atmana’ means ;by Your various expansions’, ‘mayam’ means ‘the potency for creating, maintaining, and annihilating the material universes’, ‘anatmani’ means ‘in the inert, unconscious, unmanifested three modes of material nature (pradhana), which are the original cause of the mahat-tattva, and other forces that cause the creation of the material universes’, ‘vitatya’ means ‘having expanded’ and ‘bhasi’ means ‘You are manifested, appearing in different forms according to these different activities of creation, maintenance, and annihilation of the material universes.” At this point Sri Krsna might say: ‘How is it possible that I perform the activities of Brahma, Visnu and Siva?” In order to answer this question, Brahma says: ‘You appear as if You are me, who am engaged in the activities of universal creation (jagatah srstav aham), You appear as if You are Visnu, who is engaged in the activities of universal maintenance (vidhane esa iva), and You also appear as if You are Siva, who is engaged in the activities of universal destruction (ante tri-netra iva). In truth, You expand Yourself in these various forms. Only they who are foolish and bewildered see these three demigods as different from You.” 4 That Sri Krsna performs the activities of creation, maintenance and destruction of the material universes is confirmed by the following verse of Srimad Bhagavatam (2.6.32), where Lord Brahma says: “By His will, I create, Lord Siva destroys and He Himself, in His eternal form as the Personality of Godhead, maintains everything. He is the powerful controller of these three energies.”* From this verse we may understand that Lord Visnu is a direct manifestation of the Personality of Godhead, and thus He is essentially non-different from the transcendental form of Sri Krsna. Visnu is therefore, different from Brahma and Siva, who are not direct manifestations of the Personality of Godhead, but are of a different category.

English witness · section(s) 39

Anuccheda 39

Lord Krsna expands not only as the guna-avataras, but as other incarnations as well. Brahma describes this in the next verse (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.20): “Similarly, You expand Yourself in different incarnations among the demigods You incarnate as Vamanadeva, among the great sages You incarnate as Parasurama, among the human beings You appear as Yourself, as Lord Krsna, or Lord Rama, among the animals You appear as the boar incarnation , and among the aquatics You appear as the incarnation of fish. And yet You have no appearance; You are always eternal. Your appearance and disappearance are made possible by your inconceivable energy just to give protection to the faithful devotees and to annihilate the demons.”* We may note that in this verse the words ‘ajanasya janma (the unborn has taken birth) indicate that Sri Krsna does not take birth, but simply appears in this world according to His own wish.

English witness · section(s) 40

Anuccheda 40

1 At this point Sri Krsna might raise the following objection: “My dear Brahma, how is it that you have come to this conclusion? It is not possible for My form to be all-pervading. My form is composed of various material elements just like an earthen pot or other material substances seen in this world. How is it that you say My form is otherwise? How is it that you say My form is spiritual? You may have become a little bewildered seeing some wonderful opulences here, but I assure you, you perfectly understand Me. You completely know the full extent of My powers. As far as the transformation of these boys and calves into four-armed Visnu-forms which you have just seen, it has happened somehow or other, because of the expansion of some unknown person, but I have certainly nothing to do with this magical display. Furthermore, all these forms are spiritual, full of knowledge and unlimited bliss, and all these human-like forms appeared at the same moment, and there were so many of them, that you did see all of them. How is it possible for a little cowherd boy like Me to manifest so many spiritual forms at the same time? I am not the cause of this wonderful thing.” Thinking that Sri Krsna might present this argument, Brahma said (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.21): 2 “O supreme great one! O Supreme Personality of Godhead! O Supersoul, master of all mystic power! Your pastimes are taking place continuously in these worlds, but who can estimate where, how and where You are employing Your spiritual energy and performing Your pastimes? No one can understand the mystery of these activities.”* 3 In this verse Brahma says” “O Lord, Your pastimes are taking place continuously (kati va) in these worlds (trilokyam), but who can estimate (ko vetti) where (kva), how (katham) and when (kada) You are employing Your spiritual energy (yogamayam vistarayan) and performing Your pastimes (kridasi bhavata utih)? No one can understand the mystery of these activities.” No one can completely understand Lord Krsna. This is also confirmed by the following statement of the Kena Upanisad (2.3): “One who thinks he understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not actually understand Him, but one who knows that he does not actually understand the Lord is actually aware of the nature of the Supreme Person.” 4 In the previous four verses Brahma has explained that Sri Krsna is by nature inconceivable. In this verse he explains why the Lord is inconceivable by addressing Him with the word ‘bhuman’, which means ‘O Lord who appears in innumerable different forms.’ This means that although the Supreme Personality of Godhead has one principal form, He also appears in innumerable other transcendental forms. This is confirmed by the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (10.40.7), where Akrura prays to Sri Krsna: “I offer my obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead who, although Me originally appears in a single transcendental form, has expanded into innumerable other transcendental forms.” In this connection the Sruti-sastra also says: “Although He is one, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is seen to appear in many different transcendental forms.” 5 The Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in different forms according to the way in which He is worshipped. This is confirmed by the following statement of Madhva Muni in his commentary on Vedanta-sutra 3.3.52: “The Personality of Godhead appears in different forms according to the way in which His devotees worship Him.” The following example may be given in this regard: A silken garment may be fashioned with many different colours in an intricate design, just as a peacock feather is decorated with many colours. If one looks at a specific part of such a garment he may see a specific colour, and if one looks at another part of the garment he may see another colour. If one looks at the entire garment at once he will see the garment as a whole. In this example Sri Krsna is the entire garment, and when He is partially manifested this is known as the various incarnations of Godhead. 6 That innumerable forms of Godhead emanate from the form of Sri Krsna is also confirmed by the following statement of Narada-pancaratra: “When the jewel known as vaidurya touches other materials, it appears to be separated into different colours. Consequently the forms also appear different. Similarly, according to the meditational ecstasy of the devotees, the Lord, who is known as Acyuta (infallible) appears in different forms, although He is essentially one.”* In this verse the jewel referred to is the vaidurya stone (lapis lazuli), and the words ‘nila-pitadibhih’ refer to the various transcendental attributes of the Lord. This explanation of the various forms of the Lord reveals the meaning of the word ‘kva’ (where?) in the previously quoted statement of Lord Brahma (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.21). 7 The Supreme Lord’s expansion in the forms of the various incarnations manifested from His single original form is described in the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (8.18.12), where Srila Sukadeva Gosvami describes the form of the Vamana-incarnation: “The Lord appeared in His original form, with ornaments and weapons in His hands. Although this ever-existing form is not visible in the material world, He nonetheless appeared in this form. Then, in the presence of His father and mother, He assumed the form of Vamana, a brahmana-dwarf, a brahmacari, just like a theatrical actor.”* 8 In this verse Srila Sukadeva Gosvami explains that the Lord first appeared in His original form (vapuh), which is not a manifestation expanded from any other form of Godhead, but is originally existing and has no other forms as its origin. That form is spiritual (cit) and full of perfect and complete transcendental bliss, and that form is manifested (bhati) with ornaments and weapons in its hands (vibhusanayudhaih). The Lord appeared in this original form in the material world (vyaktam adharayat). After this original form was manifested, the Lord assumed the form of a brahmana-dwarf, a brahmacari (tenaiva vamano vatur babhuva harih). The word ‘eva’ (certainly) emphasises that this was the form the Lord assumed. He did not assume any other form at that time. 9 One may ask: “Under what circumstances did the Lord appear as the Vamana-incarnation?” The answer is given in this verse with the word ‘sampasyatoh’ (the Lord appeared as Vamana in the presence of His parents Kasyapa and Aditi). The question may be asked: “What is the nature of the Lord’s form? The answer is given in the word ‘divya-gatih’ (His movements are wonderful). ‘Divya’ means ‘supremely inconceivable’, and ‘gatih’ means ‘movements or pastimes’. The Lord’s forms and pastimes are all eternal, although sometimes they may be seen by the living entities, and sometimes they cannot be seen. That the Lord’s forms are eternal is confirmed by the following statement of Sruti-sastra: “The Personality of Godhead existed in the past. He exists in the present, and He will continue to exist in the future eternally.” 10 In this connection in order to given an example of how the Supreme Lord assumes the forms of His various incarnations, thus manifesting certain features of His original form, Sukadeva Gosvami says: “The Lord assumed the form of Vamana, just like a theatrical actor.”* In this comparison of the Lord to an actor, Sukadeva Gosvami notes that the Lord is a wonderful actor (divya-gatih) and the gestures of His hands and movements of His body will fill the audience with wonder. Although when the Lord appears in His various incarnations He may seem to be an ordinary human being or demigod, in truth He never suffers the material miseries which are the everyday experiences of the conditioned souls, and He is never imperfect in any way. 11 The Personality of Godhead is supremely independent. For example, He creates the various material universes without any external help, just as a spider constructs a web from the saliva within its own body. This is described in the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (11.9.21): “As a spider creates a web with saliva from within its mouth, and then, having created it, again swallows it, so does the Supreme Personality of Godhead create, and again swallow, the material worlds.” 12 In the following verse from Srimad Bhagavatam (3.9.11), Lord Brahma explains that the Personality of Godhead appears in the forms of His many different incarnations according to the different ways in which the devotees approach Him. Brahma says: “O my Lord, Your devotees can see You through the ears by the process of bona fide hearing, and thus their hearts become cleansed, and You take Your seat there. You are so merciful to Your devotees that You manifest Yourself in the particular eternal form of transcendence in which they always think of You.”* In this verse the word ‘pranayase’ means ‘You manifest’. We may note that by saying ‘sruteksita-pathah’ (the devotees learn about the Lord by hearing the bona-fide descriptions of Him in the Vedic literatures), Brahma confirms the reality of the Supreme Lord’s transcendental forms. In other words, the Lord’s forms are not the product of the meditator’s imagination. They actually exist. 13 Some may say that the various forms of the Personality of Godhead do not delight the devotees. This false conception is refuted by the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (3.24.31), where Kardama Muni addresses the Personality of Godhead in the following words: “My dear Lord, although You have no material form, You have Your own innumerable forms. They truly are Your transcendental forms, which are pleasing to Your devotees.”* This verse means ‘Whatever (yani yani) forms (rupani) of You (te) there are, these forms (tany eva), please (rocante) Your devotees.’ The word ‘abhirupani’ means ‘the Lord only accepts forms that are suitable.’ He never accepts any unsuitable form. 14 The Lord may sometimes accept forms that appear to be unsuitable. An example of this is when He assumed an apparently abominable material form before King Rantideva. That this form was abominable and material is, of course, an illusion. This form is described in the following words (Srimad Bhagavatam 9.21.15): “Demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, who can satisfy all materially ambitious men by giving them the rewards they desire, then manifested their own identities before King Rantideva, for it was they who had presented themselves as the brahmana sudra, candala, and so on.”* 15 Sridhara Svami comments on this verse: ‘The word ‘tribhuvanandhisah’ means ‘Brahma, Visnu and Siva’, and the word ‘maya’ means that in order to examine how patient and tolerant Maharaja Rantideva was, the Lord, with the assistance of His bewildering maya-potency, assumed the form of the brahmana, sudra and candala.’ The reason the Lord never accepts an unpleasant form is given in the word ‘arupinah’, which means ‘He who never accepts a material form.” Sridhara Svami comments: “Because the Lord never accepts an abominable form, His forms are never material.” 16 Returning now to the verse originally under discussion (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.21, quoted in text 2) we may note the three phrases ‘katham va’ (how?), ‘kati va’ (how many?) and ‘kada va’ (when?), and we may also note the three words in the vocative case (bhagavan, paramatman, and yogesvara), used to address the Lord. Each of these three phrases is related to one of the three vocative addresses, as we shall now explain. The word ‘katham va’ (how You are performing Your pastimes)’ is used with the word ‘bhagavan’ which should be interpreted to mean “O Master of all inconceivable potencies.” The Lord’s form is full of all inconceivable potencies, and any other interpretation that contradicts this should not be accepted. 17 The word ‘kati va’ (how many times You incarnate and perform pastimes) is used with the word ‘paratman’, which may be explained to mean: ‘O Lord, because You are unlimited You possess all opulences and are the origin of innumerable incarnations of Godhead, who each possess limitless potencies. O Lord, You cannot be understood by the limited material mind or adequately described by the limited material power of speech. For this reason it is said: ‘No one can understand how many times You incarnate in this world and perform pastimes (kati va).” 18 The phrase ‘kada’ (when You appear and perform pastimes) is used with the word ‘yogesvara’ (O master of all mystic power). This word means ‘O Lord, You are the master of the yogamaya potency, by whose assistance You appear in many different forms. O Lord, all these transcendental forms of Your Lordship are contained within Your single most important form. When You wish, You appear in one of these forms, which are manifested according to the different ways in which the devotees worship You.” From this we may understand that the forms of all incarnations of Godhead are contained in the form of Sri Krsna, the Original Form of the Lord.