BY: SUN STAFF
Jun 18, CANADA (SUN) —
Sri Krsna-sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
Anuccheda 90
1 That Sri Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead, the origin from whom the catur-vyuha expansions of Godhead have emanated, is confirmed in the Gopala-tapani Upanisad’s (2.68-69) definition of the sacred syllable om:
2 “The sacred syllable om consists of three letters: a, u, and m. Balarama, the son of Rohini, is the letter a. Splendid Pradyumna is the letter u.
3 “Intelligent Aniruddha is the letter m. Lord Krsna, in whom the entire universe rests, is the ardha-matra letter (m), which complete the syllable om.”
4 By quoting the verse “krsnas tu bhagavan svayam” (Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead) (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28) and many other verses also, it has been clearly demonstrated that Sri Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead, and when He appears in the material world, all other forms of Godhead appear within His form.
Just as this fact has been clearly demonstrated, I shall now establish the fact that Sri Krsna eternally resides in the holy abode of Vrndavana, and the other places where He enjoyed pastimes. It is not that He temporarily appears, and then after His appearance in this world He is no longer manifest. He eternally remains in these spiritual abodes.
5 At this point someone may object, saying that the Hari-vamsa describes Lord Krsna as an incarnation of Lord Upendra (Vamana). This false conception is refuted by the following words spoken by Lord Krsna in the Srimad Bhagavatam, which describe Lord Krsna’s return to His own eternal abode in the spiritual world (11.6.31) and which are spoken in connection with the story of the Kumara’s cursing of Jaya and Vijaya. Lord Krsna said (to Brahma and the other demigods as He was about to leave the earth planet to return to the spiritual world):
“O Brahma, now that the Yadu dynasty has been destroyed by the curse of the brahmanas, I shall visit your planet, known as Brahmaloka and from there I shall return to My own abode in the spiritual world.”
Sridhara Svami explains this verse in his commentary:
“O Brahma, I shall visit your abode and then return to the spiritual world of Vaikuntha.
That Lord Krsna, after leaving the earth planet, returned to His own abode in the spiritual world is also confirmed in the following statement of Brahma (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.6.27):
“O Lord, Your mission in this world is now completed. Please return, if You will, to Your own abode in the spiritual world. O Lord, please also protect us, the controllers of the planets, along with all our subjects, for we are all Your sincere servants.
In some places in the scriptures it may say that Lord Vaikuntha, the son of Vikuntha-devi, appeared as Lord Krsna; in other places it may say that Ksirodakasayi Visnu appeared as Lord Krsna; in other places in the scriptures it may say that the purusa incarnations appeared as Lord Krsna; in other places in the scriptures it may say that Narayana Rsi appeared as Lord Krsna; in the Brhat-sahasra-nama Prayers in the description of the identity of Lord Balarama and Lord Laksmana, it may say that Lord Ramacandra appeared as Lord Krsna; in other places in the scriptures it may say that a hair of Lord Narayana appeared as Lord Krsna; and in other places in the scriptures there may also be other descriptions of how other forms of Godhead have incarnated as Lord Krsna. How are these contradictory statements to be resolved? Actually all these statements are true, for all forms of the Personality of Godhead are simultaneously present in the form of the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, and when Sri Krsna descends to this material world, all other forms of Godhead also descend with Him.
6 When Sisupala and Dantavakra were killed by Lord Krsna, they attained sayujya-mukti, merging into the body of the Lord. However, when the Lord’s earthly pastimes were concluded, and the Lord had returned to His own abode in the spiritual world, Sisupala and Dantavakra also returned with Him, and resumed their original posts as personal associates of the Lord. This is described by Narada Muni in the following words (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.1.46):
7 “These two associates of Lord Visnu - Jaya and Vijaya - maintained a feeling of enmity for a very long time. Because of always thinking of Krsna in this way, they regained the shelter of the Lord, having returned home, back to Godhead.”*
8 That Lord Ksirodakasayi Visnu entered the body of Lord Krsna when He incarnated on this earth just as Jaya and Vijaya did when they were killed by the Lord is confirmed in the following celebrated passage from the Hari-vamsa (Visnu-parva, Chapter 4):
“Observing that Lord Ksirodakasayi Visnu’s crown had been stolen by the demons, Garuda attacked the thieves, killed them, and recovered the Lord’s crown. As all this was happening, Lord Ksirodakasayi Visnu descended to the earth where Lord Krsna was performing His pastimes, and entered Lord Krsna’s body. In this way Lord Ksirodakasayi Visnu appeared during Lord Krsna’s incarnation. Garuda, trying to return the crown, was unable to find his master in the spiritual world. He finally found Ksirodakasayi Visnu manifested within the form of Lord Krsna (who was then enjoying pastimes on the peak of Gomanta Mountain). Garuda then returned his master’s crown.”
9 How the different forms of Godhead appear in the transcendental body of Lord Krsna may be understood from the following statement of Vedanta-sutra (4.3.1):
“At the time of death, the perfect yogis can travel to any planet using the sun’s rays, the subtle nadi passages extending throughout the universe, the passages of air, or celestial airplanes, as their means of transport.”
Just as the yogis may travel in this way to attain liberation or residence in a higher planet, in the same way the various forms of the Personality of Godhead may easily enter the body of Lord Krsna, and appear with Him as He displays His pastimes on earth.
10 That all forms of Godhead are manifested from the body of Lord Krsna is confirmed by the following statement of Uddhava (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.28):
“O Lord Krsna, You are the Original Personality of Godhead, the master of the spiritual world of Vaikuntha. You appear in this material world, assuming the forms of Your many incarnations just to fulfil the desires of Your devotees.”
11 In this verse the phrase ‘tvam avatirno si’ means ‘O Supreme Personality of Godhead, You have now descended to this material world.’ The Supreme Lord’s glories and opulences are described in the following words: ‘brahma tvam’ (You are the Supreme Spirit), ‘vyoma’ (You are the master of the spiritual world of Vaikuntha) and ‘prakrteh parah purusah’ (You are the Supreme Person, beyond the touch of material energy).
Someone may ask: Why does the Supreme Personality of Godhead descend to this material world?
The answer is given in the word ‘svecchopatta-prthag-vapuh’ (You appear in many forms in order to fulfil the desires of Your devotees).
By describing Lord Krsna in this way, Uddhava affirms that Krsna is the Original Personality of Godhead, who assumes many forms to please His devotees.
Go to Anuccheda Ninety-one
Return to Anuccheda Eighty-nine
