Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 21.13-49 Prabhupada: …Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. nantam vidamy aham ami munayo agrajas te maya-balasya purusasya kuto ’vara ye gayan gunan dasa-satanana adi-devah seso ’dhunapi samavasyati nasya param This is a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam. This was recited by Brahma. The purpose of this verse is… Brahma says that “Although I am Brahma, and before me all the great sages, everyone, has tried to know the Supreme Lord in complete, but nobody could understand where is the end of the unlimited potencies of the Supreme Lord.” seho rahu—sarvajna-siromani sri-krsna nija-gunera anta na pana hayena satrsna Even Lord Sri Krsna Himself, He does not know how unlimited is His potency. Lord Caitanya says that. He also does not know. seha rahu—vraje yabe krsna avatara tanra caritra vicarite mana na paya para prakrtaprakrta srsti kaila eka-ksane asesa-vaikunthajanda svasvanatha-sane In this way, the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, by His plenary expansions, He is doing unlimited activities, transcendental. So for a living entity, a small living entity like us, we cannot know. The only thing is that, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that satatam kirtayanto mam yatantas ca drdha-vratah, tusyanti ca ramanti ca [Bg. 9.14] The subject matter is so nice that the devotees who are engaged in Krsna consciousness in the transcendental loving service, they like. And in the association of pure devotees these topics become palatable. There are many instances in the Bhagavata also. When Saunakadi Rsi, sages headed by Saunaka Muni, was hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam by Suta Gosvami, they also uttered this, vayam tu na vitrpyama. “You are reciting about the glories of the Supreme Lord, His activities, so please continue. We are not yet satisfied. The subject matter is so nice that we want to more and more…” Svadu svadu pade pade. As you go on hearing and as you become purified… There is a very practical example: the sugar candy. Sugar candy is, by nature it is very sweet. But if you give it to a patient who is jaundiced, if you give, he will taste it, that he’ll say that it is bitter. It is bitter. You will have practical exam… If you ask him what is the taste, he’ll say bitter. Everyone knows that sugar candy is very sweet, but if you give to a patient suffering from jaundice, he’ll say it is bitter. Similarly, the krsna-katha, the Lord’s name, fame, quality, entourage, all these things are very sweet. To whom? Those who are liberated from this jaundice of materialism. For them it is very sweet. So as you feel sweetness of this Krsna-katha, you should know that you are becoming liberated from this material entanglement. The same thing: sugar candy is the only medicine for jaundice. Those who are suffering from jaundice, they are prescribed by physician to take sugar candy water in the morning. And by drinking that sugar candy water, gradually he feels the sweetness of sugar candy. That is the test that he is getting free from the disease. So similarly, Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam or anything where the topics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is discussed, if you feel it is interesting, that means you are getting out of the jaundice of this material disease. Yes. This is the test. If you don’t feel interested, then you must know that the jaundice of material disease is there. So this is the test. The more you feel krsna-katha, the topics of Krsna, tasteful, the more you’ll know that you are getting free from the jaundice of material disease. e-mata anyatra nahi suniye adbhuta yahara sravane citta haya avadhuta ‘krsna-vatsair asankhyataih’—sukadeva-vani krsna-sange kata gopa—sankhya nahi jani Gopa. Krsna, you know, in His abode, He is just like a sixteen-years- old boy, and His main pastime is to take the cows in the pasturing ground with His friends, boyfriends, and play with them. This is Krsna’s day’s business. So Sukadeva Gosvami has written a very nice verse, that these boys who are playing with Krsna, in their past lives they had accumulated heaps of pious activities. Krta-punya-punjah. Sakam vijahruh. Ittham satam brahma-sukhanubhutya. Now, Sukadeva Gosvami is writing. These boys who are playing with Krsna, they are playing with whom? They are playing with the Supreme Absolute Truth, who is considered as impersonal by the great sages. Ittham satam brahma… Brahma-sukha. Brahma, transcendental Brahman realization. The reservoir of Brahman realization is here, Krsna. So these boys who are playing with this Krsna, He is the reservoir of that Brahman realization. Ittham satam brahma-sukhanubhutya dasyam gatanam para-daivatena. Dasyam gatanam, those who have accepted the Supreme Lord as master, that means devotees, for them this Krsna is the Supreme Lord. For the impersonalists He is Supreme Brahman, and for the personalists He is Supreme Lord. And mayasritanam nara-darakena. And those who are under the spell of materialism, for them He is ordinary boy. Mayasritanam nara-darakena sakam vijahruh krta-punya-punjah [Bhag. 10.12.11] With Him these boys, who had accumulated millions and millions births of pious activities, now they have got the opportunity of playing with Krsna face to face just like ordinary boys play. So similarly, Krsna is very much fond of playing with His young boyfriends. That is mentioned in the Brahma-samhita. Surabhir abhipalayantam, laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam [Bs. 5.29]. So these things are explained here also. eka eka gopa kare ye vatsa carana koti, arbuda, sankha, padma, tahara ganana Now there are so many friends, cowherd boys, nobody can count. Nobody… Unlimited, everything unlimited. They have unlimited number of cows, unlimited number of boyfriends, everything unlimited. vetra, venu dala, srnga, vastra, alankara, gopa-ganera yata, tara nahi lekha-para Now these cowherds boys, they have got a cane in the hand, vetra. And each of them has got a flute also. Vetra venu dala. And a lotus flower, and a srngara, a horn. Srngara vastra, and very nicely dressed. And full of ornaments. Just like Krsna is dressed, similarly, His friends, cowherd boys, they are also dressed. In the spiritual world, when you go, you’ll not be able to understand who is Krsna and who is not Krsna. Everyone is like Krsna. Similarly, in the Vaikuntha planets everyone is like Visnu. That is called sayujya-mukti. The living entities, when they enter into the spiritual planets, they become as good as Krsna and Visnu—there is no difference— because it is absolute world. Here the difference is there. The impersonalists, they cannot understand that even in individuality there is no difference. As soon as they think of individuality, oh, they think that there is a difference. Then what is liberation? Yes. And actually there is no difference. The difference is only that Krsna’s personality and others’ personalities, they are conscious that “Krsna is our object of love.” That’s it. The center is Krsna. In this way the individual boys and girls and Krsna, everyone is enjoying spiritual bliss. sabe haila caturbhuja vaikunthera pati prthak prthak brahmandera brahma kare stuti eka krsna-deha haite sabara prakase ksaneke sabai sei sarire pravese Now, these, all these cowherd boys and everything, cows and everything, they are all expansion of Krsna’s energy. It is spiritual. Just like we are expansion of Krsna’s marginal energy and the matter is also expansion of Krsna’s inferior material energy, similarly, in the spiritual world all those things—Krsna, the cowherd boys, the cows, and everything—they are also expansion of His spiritual energy. eka krsna-deha haite sabara prakase ksaneke sabai sei sarire pravese iha dekhi’ brahma haila mohita, vismita stuti kari’ ei pache karila niscita Brahma, he was bewildered. When Krsna came on this planet, Brahma… Muhyanti yat surayah. Brahma was astonished and Indra was astonished: “How is that my Lord Krsna has come at Vrndavana as a cowherd boy?” So they came to Vrndavana to test. So all… So Brahma, by his… He has got so much power. He had kidnapped all the cows and the boys of Krsna. And when he came back he saw Krsna is playing with the same cows and boys again. Then he could understand that “This boy is Krsna.” Then he offered his prayer and begged pardon from Him that “I misunderstood.” In this way there are many narrations in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Here Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is referring to that incident. iha dekhi’ brahma haila mohita, vismita stuti kari’ ei pache karila niscita So he was astonished, and then, after prayer, he was satisfied. ye kahe—‘krsnera vaibhava muni saba janon’ se januka,—kaya-mane muni ei manon So Brahma admitted that “If anybody says that ‘I know Krsna. I know the Supreme Personality of Godhead in detail,’ so maybe he may know, but so far I am concerned, I do not know.” The purport is that Brahma is the first creature in this universe. He is the first living entity. He accepts his inability to understand about Krsna, and what to speak of others? What to speak of the commentator who says that “This is not Krsna; this is something else.” ei ye tomara ananta vaibhavamrta-sindhu mora van-mano-gamya nahe eka bindu Brahma admitted that “Your activities, Your pastimes, everything of You, it is not possible even to taste or to understand even a particle of it.” The very verse recited here, jananta eva janantu kim bahuktya na me prabho manaso vapuso vaco vaibhavam tava gocarah Nobody can understand how great is Krsna. krsnera mahima rahu—keba tara jnata vrndavana-sthanera dekha ascarya vibhuta That is described, the glories of Krsna—nobody can understand. Similarly, vrndavana-sthanera ascarya vibhuta. Similarly, the land which is known as Vrndavana, it has also got unlimited potency. Still, as I have several times mentioned, if you go to Vrndavana you’ll find unlimited potency of spiritual atmosphere still. And therefore Lord Caitanya recommended that aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayah tad dhama vrndavanam: “As Lord Krsna is worshipable, similarly His place, Vrndavana, is as good as Krsna. It is also worshipable.” And actually, still in India, if you go to Vrndavana, you’ll see so many saints and sages are still there. They are worshiping Vrndavana-dhama. apara aisvarya krsnera—nahika ganana sakha-candra-nyaye kari dig-darasana aisvarya kahite sphurila aisvarya-sagara manendriya dubila, prabhu ha-ila phanpara bhagavatera ei sloka padila apane artha asvadite sukhe karena vyakhyane Now, Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s attitude was… When He was speaking of Krsna He sometimes became in trance, and He became sometimes unconscious. That was His… Because Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s incarnation is that He is Krsna, and Krsna is trying to understand Krsna as Krsna’s devotee. That is His feature. These are very complicated things, but that is the position of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So when He used to speak something of Krsna, He sometimes became unconscious. brahma visnu hara—ei srstyadi-isvara tine ajnakari krsnera krsna—adhisvara So… So far the demigods are concerned, Brahma is the chief. Brahma, Visnu and Mahesvara, they are ajnakari. They are under the order of Krsna: Brahma, Visnu, Mahesvara. e samanya tryadhisvarera suna artha ara jagat-karana tina purusavatara Then there are three purusa-avataras, we have already discussed. Jagat… For material creation there are three purusa incarnations. maha-visnu, padmanabha, ksirodaka-svami ei tina—sthula-suksma-sarva-antaryami And those three incarnations are called Maha-Visnu, Padmanabha, Padmanabha Visnu. Padmanabha means from His navel there is a stem of lotus flower, and Ksirodakasayi Visnu… Ei tina—sthula-suksma-sarva-antaryami. ei tina—sarvasraya jagat-isvara eho saba kala-amsa krsna—adhisvara So all these incarnations are plenary parts of Krsna. And this is confirmed in Brahma-samhita: yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Bs. 5.48] So Govinda, the Supreme Lord, the cause of all causes, His plenary portions are these three Visnus. ei artha—madhyama, suna ‘gudha’ artha ara tina avasa-sthana krsnera sastre khyati yara Now, Krsna abode, the planet which is called Goloka Vrndavana, that has three divisions. As we have got replica on this earth, there is Vrndavana, Mathura, and Dvaraka. Dvaraka is in Gujarat, and Mathura and Vrndavana is in U.P., Uttar Pradesh, near Delhi. And Dvaraka is about three hundred miles or more than that from Delhi. So these are replicas of the original Krsnaloka. ‘antahpura’—goloka-sri-vrndavana yahan nitya-sthiti mata-pita-bandhu-gana madhuraisvarya-madhurya-krpadi-bhandara yogamaya dasi yahan rasadi lila-sara So out of these three places, Vrndavana-dhama is the most important. That is the confidential home of Krsna. Just like a businessman might have many places for his business activities, but his home is different from all this business. He may live in the countryside in a cottage, but he may be a very big businessman. Similarly Krsna, although He’s all-powerful, He lives at Vrndavana in the gardenlike city. Not city; a tract of land. A small city is there now. They have named Vrndavana. But Vrndavana’s not that small city. It is a tract of land about eighty-four miles. So it is full of gardens and full of nice places. Anywhere you go, you will find something wonderful to see. There are many trees and fruits and flowers, many varieties of birds, and the cranes on the Yamuna side. Each and every place is remembering Krsna. If you go there you’ll find that “Krsna is… Somewhere He was playing. I must find out.” It is such nice place. So Vrndavana is the most confidential part of Krsna’s abode. tara tale paravyoma—‘visnuloka’-nama narayana-adi ananta svarupera dhama So in the spiritual world, that Vrndavana planet is the highest planet, and below that planet there are innumerable Vaikuntha planets which are called Visnuloka. tara tale paravyoma—‘visnuloka’-nama narayana-adi ananta svarupera dhama And the presiding Deity, predominating Deity in those planets is called Narayana. Narayana is also expansion of Krsna. Generally, Narayana is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but from authentic scripture we understand that Narayana is expansion of Krsna. ‘madhyama-avasa’ krsnera—sad-aisvarya-bhandara ananta svarupe yahan karena vihara Although Krsna is two-handed and, I mean to say, busy with His flute-playing, but we do not know, many do not know, that He is, has expanded as Narayana and Visnu. He is the predominating Deity all over the spiritual world. ananta vaikuntha yahan bhandara-kothari parisada-gane sad-aisvarye ache bhari’ And in each and every planet there are innumerable devotees. He’s surrounded by the innumerable devotees. And He’s reciting evidences, verse from Brahma-samhita: goloka-namni nija-dhamni tale ca tasya devi-mahesa-hari-dhamasu tesu tesu te te prabhava-nicaya vihitas ca yena govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Bs. 5.43] His own personal planet is Goloka Vrndavana, and below that planet there are many other, innumerable planets which are known as Vaikuntha. And below that spiritual world there is material world. And between material world and spiritual world there is another space, which is called Sivaloka. And below that Sivaloka is this Devi- dhama. This material is called Devi-dhama. Durga. The presiding deity of this Devi-dhama is Durga. He’s giving evidences from many authentic Vedic literatures. One of them is Brahma-samhita. Thank you very much. Any question? (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
New York, January 4, 1967