Krsna Book Audio Dictation - Chapter 02
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Second Chapter heading: "Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb."
King Kaṁsa not only occupied the kingdoms of the Yadu dynasty, Bhoja dynasty, Andhaka dynasty and the kingdom of Śūrasena, but he made alliances with all the demoniac other kings, known as the demon Pralamba, demon Baka, demon Cūrāṇa (Cāṇūra), demon Tṛṇāvarta, demon Aghāsura, demon Muṣṭika, demon Ariṣṭa, demon Dvivida, demon Pūtanā, demon Keśī, and demon Dhenuka. At that time Jarāsandha was the king of Magadha province, at present known as Bihar state. Thus by diplomatic policy he become the most powerful king of his time under the protection of Jarāsandha and made alliances with such kings as Bāṇāsura, Saumāsura (Bhaumāsura). Thus making himself the strongest, Kaṁsa, he began to behave most inimically to the Yadu dynasty, where Kṛṣṇa was to take His birth.
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Thus, being harassed by Kaṁsa, the kings of Yadu dynasty, Bhoja dynasty, Andhaka dynasty began to take shelter in different other states, such as the state of the Kurus, the state of the Paṣcāla, the state known as Kekaya, the state known as Śālya (Śālva), the state known as Vidarbha, the state known as Niṣad, the state known as Videha and the state known as Kośala. Thus he broke the solidarity of the kingdom of the Yadus and Bhoja as well as Andhaka. Practically he made his position as solid as anything within the vast tract of land known at that time as Bhārata-varṣa.
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When Kaṁsa killed six babies of Devakī and Vasudeva one after another, many friends and relatives of Kaṁsa approached him and requested him not to continue these heinous activities. Actually, all of them became worshiper of Kaṁsa.
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When Devakī became pregnant for the seventh time, at that time a plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa who is known as Ananta, He appeared within the womb of Devakī. At that time Devakī was overwhelmed both by jubilation and lamentation. She was joyful that she could understand that Lord Viṣṇu has taken shelter within his…, within her womb, but at the same time she was sorry that as soon as her child will come out, Kaṁsa would kill Him. At that time the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, being compassionate with the fearful condition of the Yadus out of atrocities committed by Kaṁsa, He ordered the Yogamāyā, or the internal potency of the Lord, because He is not only the Lord of the universe, but He is specifically the Lord of the Yadu dynasty.
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This Yogamāyā is the chief of all potencies of the Personality of Godhead. In the Vedas it is stated that the Lord, Supreme Personality of Godhead, has got multipotencies. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8).
(The Supreme Lord has nothing to do. Nothing is equal to Him or greater than Him. He acts in different phases by manifesting His parts and parcels, which are all simultaneously differently situated by His unlimited, variegated potencies. Each potency acts quite naturally in sequences, providing Him full knowledge, power and pastimes.)
All those different potencies are acting externally and internally, and Yogamāyā is the chief of all such potencies. He ordered her to appear in the land of Vrajabhūmi, Vṛndāvana, which is always decorated and full with beautiful cows. In Vṛndāvana, Rohiṇī, one of the wives of Vasudeva, is residing at the house of King Nanda and Queen Yaśodā. Not only Rohiṇī but many other people of the Yadu dynasty, they were scattered all over the country on account of being afraid of the atrocities of Kaṁsa. Some of them were living in the caves of the mountain also.
The Lord also informed Yogamāyā that "Under the imprisonment of Kaṁsa, Devakī and Vasudeva are there, and at the present moment within the womb of Devakī My plenary expansion Śeṣa is there. You can just arrange transfer of the Śeṣa womb from Devakī to the womb of Rohiṇī. Just after this arrangement I am personally going to appear within the womb of Devakī with My full potencies, then I shall appear as the son of Devakī and Vasudeva, and you should appear as the daughter of Nanda and Yaśodā in Vṛndāvana.
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"Sinc you will appear as My contemporary sister, people within the world will worship you with all kinds of valuable presentation: incense, candles, flowers, and sometimes offering sacrifice also before you, because you shall be quickly satisfy their desires of sense gratification. People who are after materialistic perfection would worship you under different forms of your expansion, and they would be named like Bhadrakālī, Vijayā, Vaiṣṇavī, Kumudā, Caṇḍrikā, Kṛṣṇā, Mādhavī, Kanyakā, Māyā, Nārāyaṇī, Īśānī, Śāradā, Ambikā."
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Since Kṛṣṇa and Yogamāyā appeared as contemporary brother and sister, or in other words the Supreme Powerful and the supreme power… Although there is no remarkable distinction between the powerful and the power, still, power is always subordinate to the powerful. Those who are materialistic, they are worshiper of the power, but those who are transcendentalist, they are worshiper of the powerful. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Powerful, and Durgā within this material world is the supreme power. Actually, people in the Vedic culture worship these powerful and the power. There are many hundreds and thousands of temples of Viṣṇu and Devī. Sometimes it is also found that people worship both the powerful and the power simultaneously. The worshiper of the power, Durgā, or external energy of Kṛṣṇa, may achieve all kinds of material success very easily, but anyone who wants to be elevated transcendentally, he must engage himself in worshiping the Powerful in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
The Lord also declared to Yogamāyā that "My plenary expansion Ananta Śeṣa, who is now lying in the womb of Devakī, and because you will transfer Him to the womb of Yaśodā (sic), on account of thus being forcibly attracted, He would be known as Saṅkarṣaṇa. On the other hand, because He would be the source of all spiritual power called bala, by which one will be able to attain the highest bliss of life which is called ramaṇa, therefore My plenary portion Ananta after appearance will be known either as Saṅkarṣaṇa or Balarāma."
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- In the Upaniṣad it is stated,
- nāyam ātmā bala hīnena labhya .
- (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.4)
- (Self-realization is not possible without being strengthened by the mercy of Balarāma.)
The purport is nobody can attain the supreme platform of self-realization without being sufficiently favored by Balarāma. Bala. Bala means Balarāma. It is not that bala means physical strength. Nobody can attain the spiritual perfection by his physical strength, but one must have spiritual strength which is infused by Balarāma, or Saṅkarṣaṇa. The Ananta Śeṣa-nāga, He is the power which sustains all the planet in their different position. Materially this sustaining power is known as law of gravitation, but actually it is the display, the potency, of Saṅkarṣaṇa. So Balarāma, or Saṅkarṣaṇa, is spiritual power, or the original spiritual master. Therefore, Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, who is also incarnation of Balarāma, is the original spiritual master. And the spiritual master is representative of Balarāma, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead who supplies the spiritual strength. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is confirmed that the spiritual master is the manifestation of mercy of Kṛṣṇa.
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When Yogamāyā was ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in that way, she circumambulated the Lord and then appeared within this material world according to the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the supreme power of the Supreme Powerful Personality of Godhead attracted Lord Śeṣa from the womb of Devakī to the womb of Rohiṇī, both of them were under the spell of Yogamāyā, which is called yoga-nidrā. When this was done, then people understood that Devakī's seventh pregnancy was miscarriage. Thus Lord Balarāma, although appeared as the son of Devakī, was transferred to the womb of Rohiṇī to appear as her son.
After this arrangement, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, who is always ready to place His unalloyed devotees in His full potency, and as the Lord of the whole creation, entered within the mind of Vasudeva in full potency of inconceivable energy. It is however understood in this connection that Lord Kṛṣṇa first of all took the situation in the unalloyed heart of Vasudeva, and then He was transferred to the heart of Devakī. Actually, He was not put into the womb of Devakī by seminal discharge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His inconceivable potency, can appear in any way. It is not necessary that He has to appear in the ordinary way of giving birth through seminal injection within the womb of an woman.
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Thus when Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun, whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in the pure unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form of Kṛṣṇa. The appearance of Kṛṣṇa's form anywhere, and specifically within the heart, is called dhāma. Dhāma means not only Kṛṣṇa's form but His name, His form, His quality, His paraphernalia. Everything become manifest simultaneously.
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Thus the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full potencies was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devakī, exactly like the sunshine transfers to the full moon rising from the eastern direction. Thus... (break)
17:25 Kṛṣṇa, tape number four.
Thus Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the body of Devakī from the body of Vasudeva without any condition of the ordinary living entity. When Kṛṣṇa was there, it is to be understood that all His plenary expansions, such as Nārāyaṇa and incarnations like Lord Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, everyone was with Him without any condition of material existence. In this way, Devakī become the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is one without a second and the cause of all creation. Although Devakī become the residence of the Absolute Truth, still, on account of her being interned in the house of Kaṁsa, she was looking as if suppressed fire or misused education. When fire is covered by the walls of a pot, or in other words when fire is kept in some jug, actually the illuminating rays of the fire cannot be appreciated very much. Similarly, if knowledge is misused without doing any good to the people in general, such knowledge is not very much appreciated. Similarly, Devakī, who became the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was kept within the prison walls of Kaṁsa. Therefore people could not see the transcendental beauty of Devakī on account of conceiving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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When Kaṁsa, however, saw the transcendental beauty of his sister Devakī, he concluded that "Certainly the Supreme Personality of Godhead has taken shelter now in the womb of Devakī, because she was not so wonderfully beautiful before." He could distinctly understand that there is something wonderful within the womb of Devakī; otherwise how she could become so much exceptionally beautiful which she was never before. In this way Kaṁsa became perturbed within his mind, because he became assured that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, (who) would kill him in future, must have already been there.
Kaṁsa thus began to think within himself, "What is to be done now with Devakī? Because surely, she has now Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, within her womb. It is sure and certain that Kṛṣṇa has come to execute the mission of the demigods, so even if I kill Devakī immediately, His mission cannot be frustrated." Kaṁsa knew it very well that the purpose of Viṣṇu nobody can frustrate. Any intelligent man can understand that the laws of God cannot be violated. His purpose must be served in spite of all impediments offered by the demons. "If I kill Devakī at present moment, Viṣṇu will enforce His supreme will more vehemently because that if I kill Devakī just now, it would be the most abominable action on my part. Nobody desires to kill his reputation, even in awkward situation. So if I kill Devakī just now, all my reputation will be spoiled. Devakī is a woman, and she is under my shelter, she is pregnant, and if I kill her immediately all my reputation, result of pious activities and duration of life must be finished."
He also began to deliberate that "A person who is too much cruel, he lives even in his lifetime as dead. Because nobody likes a cruel person, and after the death of such cruel person, people curse such person. Because a cruel person, on account of his concept of self-identified with the body, must be degraded, being pushed into the darkest region of hell." Considering thus all the pros and cons of killing Devakī at that time, he finally decided not to kill Devakī at that time but to wait for the inevitable future. But his mind became absorbed in animosity with Personality of Godhead.
Thus, he patiently waited for the deliverance of the child, expecting to kill Him as he had done previously with other babies of Devakī. Thus, being merged in the ocean of animosity with the Personality of Godhead, he began to think of Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu while sitting, while sleeping, while walking, while eating, while working, or in all situation of his life. His mind become so much absorbed with the thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that indirectly he could see only all around him Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu. Unfortunately, although his mind was so much absorbed in the thought of Viṣṇu, still he is not recognized as a devotee because he was thinking of Kṛṣṇa as enemy.
The same status of mind is found in the person of a great devotee, but a devotee thinks of Kṛṣṇa favorably, not unfavorably as Kaṁsa used to think of Him. To think of Kṛṣṇa favorable is therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To think of Kṛṣṇa unfavorable is not Kṛṣṇa consciousness. At this time all the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and accompanied by great sages like Nārada, followed by many other demigods, invisibly appeared in the house of Kaṁsa. They began to pray for the Supreme Personality of Godhead in very nice selected version, which are so much pleasing to the devotee and which can award fulfillment of the desire of the devotees.
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The demigods began to offer their prayers as follows. The first word they used, that "The Lord is true to His vow." As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that Kṛṣṇa descends in this material world just to protect the pious and to destroy the impious. That is His vow. So, the demigods could understand that "The Lord has now taken His residence within the womb of Devakī to fulfill this vow. He is appearing just to fulfill the same principle as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: to protect the pious and to annihilate the impious. " In other words, the demigods were very much engladdened that the Lord is appearing to fulfill His mission. Then they addressed Him as satyam param. Satyam param means the Supreme Absolute Truth. Everyone is searching after the truth. That is the philosophical way of thinking. So, the demigods giving us information that the Supreme Absolute Truth is Kṛṣṇa. For one who becomes fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, he can search out or attain the Absolute Truth. He is Absolute Truth because relative truth is not truth in all the three phases of eternal time. The time is divided into past, present and future. So Kṛṣṇa is truth always, past, present and future.
In the material world everything is being controlled by the supreme time, in the course of past, present and future. Before the creation, Kṛṣṇa was existing; when there is creation, everything is resting in Kṛṣṇa; and when this creation will be finished, Kṛṣṇa will remain. Therefore, He is Absolute Truth in all circumstances. If there is any truth within this material world, that is emanated from the Supreme Truth, Kṛṣṇa. If there is any opulence within this material world, the cause of such opulence is Kṛṣṇa. If there is any value of reputation within this material world, the cause of such reputation is Kṛṣṇa. If there is any value of strength within this material world, the cause of such strength is Kṛṣṇa. If there is any value of wisdom and education within this material world, the cause of such wisdom and education is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is the source of all relative truths.
This material world is composed of five principal elements, namely earth, water, fire, air and sky, and all such elements are emanation from Kṛṣṇa. The material scientists accept these primary five elements as the cause of material manifestation, but the elements in their gross and final stage are produced by Kṛṣṇa. The living entities who are working within this material world, they are also production of His marginal potency. In the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, it is clearly stated that the whole manifestation is combination of two kinds of energies: the superior energy and inferior energy of Kṛṣṇa. The living entities are the superior energy, whereas the dead material elements are inferior energy of Kṛṣṇa. So everything remains in its dormant stage in Kṛṣṇa.
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The demigods continued to offer their respectful prayers unto the supreme form of the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, by analytical study of the material manifestation. What is this material manifestation? It is just like a tree. As the tree stands on the ground, similarly, the material manifestation as tree is standing on the ground of material nature. This material manifestation is compared with a tree because a tree is ultimately cut off in due course of time. Because a tree is cut off in due course of time it is called vṛkṣa. Vṛkṣa means the thing which will be ultimately cut off. Therefore, this tree of material manifestation cannot be accepted as the Ultimate Truth, because on the material manifestation there is influence of time, but so far Kṛṣṇa's body is concerned, He is eternal. That is already explained, that He existed before the material manifestation, He is existing while the material manifestation is continuing, and when the material manifestation will be dissolved, at that time Kṛṣṇa will continue to exist. As such, this material world cannot be accepted as the Absolute Truth. Only Kṛṣṇa can be accepted as the Absolute Truth.
So far the material manifestation is compared with a tree, it is standing on the material nature. This tree has got two kinds of fruits, namely distress and happiness. Those who are living on the tree, they are also just like two birds. So one bird is the localized aspect of Kṛṣṇa known as Paramātmā, and the other bird is the living entity. The living entity is eating the fruits of this material manifestation, namely, sometimes he is eating the fruit of distress and sometimes he is eating the fruit of happiness. But the other bird is not interested in eating the fruit of distress or happiness because He is self-satisfied. This is also confirmed in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad that two birds are sitting in this tree of body. One bird is eating the fruits; another bird is simply witnessing.
And this tree has got its roots extended in three directions. That means the root of the tree is the three modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. As the root expands, similarly, by association of the root modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), one expands his duration of material existence. So far the fruits are concerned, their taste are four kinds. They are called religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and ultimately liberation. According to the different association of three modes of material nature the living entities are tasting different kinds of religiosity, different kinds of economic development, different kinds of sense gratification and different ideas of liberation. Practically in ignorance…
(break) …live in the material world, but because there are three qualities, sometimes the ignorance is covered by the quality of goodness or the quality of passion. As such, there are different kinds of religious principles, different kinds of economic development, different kinds of ideas of liberation. So, they are taken as four kinds of taste of the fruits of distress and happiness. The first taste of the material fruits are also accepted through five kinds of senses, the five kinds of sense organs. Knowledge acquired by such five kinds of sense organs are also subjected to six kinds of whips, namely lamentation, illusion, infirmity, death, hunger and thirst.
This material body, or the material manifestation, is covered by seven layers, namely skin, muscle, flesh, marrow, bone, fat and semina. The branches of the trees are eight, namely earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and ego. There are nine gates in this body, just like the two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, one genital, one rectum. And there are ten kinds of internal air passing within the body, just like vyāna, apāna, udāna, prāṇa. The two birds seated in this tree, as explained above, is the living entity and the supreme localized Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā.
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The root cause of all this descriptive material manifestation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself to take charge of the three qualities of the material world, namely, Viṣṇu takes charge of the modes of goodness and Brahmā takes charge of the modes of passion and Lord Śiva takes charge of the modes of ignorance. So, by Brahmā, or by the modes of passion, creates this manifestation; Lord Viṣṇu by the modes of goodness maintains this manifestation; and Lord Śiva by the modes of ignorance annihilates the whole creation. Ultimately, the Supreme Lord is the cause of creation, maintenance and dissolution. And when the whole manifestation is dissolved, in its subtle form as energy of the Lord it rests within the body of the Supreme Lord.
"At the present, the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is appearing just for the matter of maintenance of this manifestation." Actually, the cause, Supreme Cause, is one, but being deluded by the three modes of material nature, less intelligent person sees that the material world is manifested by different causes. Actually, those who are intelligent persons, they can see that the cause is one: Kṛṣṇa. As it is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (Bs 5.1), sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the cause of all causes. Brahmā is the deputed agent for creation, Viṣṇu is expansion of Kṛṣṇa for maintenance, and Lord Śiva is expansion of Kṛṣṇa for dissolution.
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"My dear Lord, it is very difficult to understand Your eternal form of personality. Mostly people are unable to understand Your actual form. Therefore, You are personally descending to exhibit Your original, eternal form. Generally, people can understand somehow the different incarnations of Your Lordship, but they are puzzled to understand the eternal form of Kṛṣṇa with two hands and moving amongst the human beings exactly like one of them. This eternal form of Your Lordship is ever-increasingly transcendental pleasure for the devotees, but for the nondevotees, this form is very, very dangerous." As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa is very pleasing to the sādhus, because in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ (BG 4.8).
But this form is very much dangerous for the demons, because Kṛṣṇa descends also to kill the demons. He is therefore simultaneously pleasing to the devotees but dangerous to the demons.
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"My dear lotus-eyed Lord, You are the source of pure goodness, therefore there are many great sages who, simply by samādhi, or transcendentally meditating upon Your lotus feet, thus being absorbed in Your thought, they have easily transformed the great ocean of nescience created by the material nature as if a pit impressed by the hoof of a calf." The purpose of meditation is to focus concentration of mind upon the Personality of Godhead, beginning from His lotus feet. By doing so, simply by such meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord, great sages, they cross over this vast ocean of material existence without any difficulty.
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"O the self-illuminated, the great saintly persons who have crossed over the ocean of nescience by the help of the transcendental boat of Your lotus feet, they have not taken away such boat. There is still lying in this side." The idea is that if you take a boat to cross over a river, the boat also goes with you to the other side of the river. So, when one reaches the destination, so how the same boat can be available to others who are in this side? So, to answer this difficulty, the demigods say that the boat is not taken by them, but the boat is still lying in this side with us to cross over the ocean of material nature. The devotees do not require to take the boat with them to the other side. Simply by approaching the boat, the whole ocean of material nescience become reduced to the size of the pit caused by the hoof of a calf, and as such, without taking the boat the other side, they simply cross the ocean immediately. Because such great saintly persons are compassionate for all other conditioned soul, so the boat is still lying on the lotus feet of the Lord. One can meditate upon at any time, and by doing so, one can cross over the great ocean of material existence.
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So, editation means to meditate upon the lotus feet of the Lord. Lotus feet is indicating the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But those who are impersonalist, they do not recognize the lotus feet of the Lord; therefore, their object of meditation is something impersonal. So the demigods expressed their mature verdict that persons who are interested in the matter of meditating something void or impersonal, they cannot cross over the ocean of nescience. Such persons are simply concocting that they have become liberated. "Actually, O my Lord, the lotus-eyed, their intelligence is contaminated because they are missing to meditate upon the lotus feet of Your Lordship."
"As a result of this neglectful activities of such impersonalist, they fall down again on the material way of conditioned life, although they rise up to the point of impersonal realization. Impersonalists, however, undergo severe austerities and penances to merge themselves into the Brahma effulgence, or impersonal Brahma existence. But because their minds are not free from material contamination, simply they have tried to negativate the material ways of thinking, that does not mean that they have become liberated. So they fall down."
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that the impersonalist has to undergo great tribulation in realizing the ultimate goal. In the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is also stated that without devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nobody can achieve liberation from the bondage of fruitive activities. In the Bhagavad-gītā the statement of Lord Kṛṣṇa is there, and in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the statement of great sage like Nārada is there, and here also the demigods confirm it, that "Persons who have not taken to devotional service are supposed to have not reached the ultimate purpose of knowledge without being favored by Your grace." Impersonalists simply think that they are liberated, but actually they have no feeling for the Personality of Godhead, because they think that Kṛṣṇa, when He comes to the material world, He accepts a material body. Therefore, they neglect the transcendental body of Kṛṣṇa. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: avajānanti māṁmūḍhāḥ (BG 9.11).
So in spite of conquering over the material lust, rising up to the point of liberation, such persons fall down. Without taking to the devotional service of the Lord, if somebody is engaged just to know things for the matter of knowledge, such person cannot achieve the desired result, but their only achievement is the trouble for knowing things. That's all. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly stated that to realize Brahma identification is not all. Brahma identification may help one to become joyful without any material attachment and detachment to achieve the platform of equilibrium, but one has to take to devotional service after this stage. When actually one takes to devotional service after being elevated to the Brahma realization platform, then only one is admitted into the spiritual kingdom for permanent residence in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the result of devotional service.
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On the other hand, those who are devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they never fall down like the impersonalist. The reason is that the devotees, even if they fall down, they remain in form affection with your Lordship. As such they can meet all kinds of obstacles on the path of devotional service and very freely, without any fear, can traverse on the head of the soldier of such obstacles. On account of their surrender, they are sure and certain that Kṛṣṇa would always protect them, as promised by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītāthat His devotees are never vanquished.
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"My dear Lord, You have appeared in Your original, unalloyed, eternal form of goodness for the welfare of all living entities within this material world. Taking advantage of Your appearance, all of them can very easily understand what is the nature and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Persons belonging to the four divisions of social order—namely the brahmacārīs, the gṛhasthas, the vānaprasthas and the sannyāsīs—all of them can take advantage of Your appearance.
58:05 Tape number five, Kṛṣṇa.
"My dear Lord, the husband of the goddess of fortune, it is sure, however, that Your devotees who are some way or other dovetailed in Your service do not fall down from high position like the impersonalist. As mentioned above, on account of their being protected by You, they are able to traverse over the heads of many commander-in-chiefs of māyā, who can always put stumbling blocks on the path of liberation. My dear Lord, You appear in Your transcendental, eternal form for benefiting the living entities so that they can see You face to face and offer their worshipful sacrifices by ritualistic performance of the Vedas, mystic meditation and devotional service as they are recommended in the scriptures. My dear Lord, if You would not have appeared in Your eternal, transcendental form, full of bliss and knowledge—which can eradicate all kinds of speculative ignorance about Your position in truth—then all people would simply imagine about You according to their respective modes of material nature."
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The appearance of Kṛṣṇa is the solution of all imaginative iconography of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone imagines the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to his mode of material nature. Just like in the Brahmā-saṁhitā it is said that the Lord is the oldest person. As such, some section of religionist imagine that God must be very old; therefore they depict a form of the Lord like a very old man. But in the same Brahmā-saṁhitā, it is contradicted that although He is the oldest of all living entities, He has His eternal form as a fresh, youthful person. The exact words used in this connection in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is vijṣānam ajṣāna…, ajṣāna-bhidāpamārjanam (SB 10.2.35), means transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead—vijṣānam.
Transcendental knowledge has to be accepted by the descending process, or from disciplic succession. As Brahmā presents the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa in the Brahma-saṁhitā, so this is vijṣānam. As he realized by his transcendental experience, so he presented the form and the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in the transcendental abode. So this is called vijṣānam. And this vijṣānam…Actually vijṣānam means ajṣānabhida: which can smash all kinds of speculation. In ignorance, people are imagining about the form of the Lord: sometimes no form, sometimes form, according to their different imagination. But the presentation of Kṛṣṇa in the Brahma-saṁhitā is vijṣānam—is scientific experienced knowledge given by Lord Brahmā and accepted by Lord Caitanya. So there is no doubt about it. Śrī Kṛṣṇa's form, Kṛṣṇa's flute, Kṛṣṇa's color, everything is reality. Now here it is said that this vijṣānam, this scientific experienced knowledge, is always defeating all kinds of speculative knowledge.
"Therefore, without Your presence, without Your appearance as Kṛṣṇa as You are, this ajṣāna, nescience of speculative knowledge, and this vijṣāna, both of them would not be realized. Ajṣāna mārjana āpamārjanam: by Your appearance the speculative knowledge of ignorance will be vanquished, and by Your appearance the real knowledge, experienced knowledge of authorities like Lord Brahmā, will be established. There are men influenced by three kinds of the modes of material nature, and they imagine their own God according to the modes of material nature, and in this way God is presented in various ways. But Your appearance will establish what is the real form of God."
The highest blunder committed by the impersonalist is that when God comes, when incarnation of God comes, He accepts the form of matter in goodness. But actually, the form of Kṛṣṇa or Nārāyaṇa, that is transcendental to any material ideas. Even the greatest impersonalist, Śaṅkarācārya, has admitted that nārāyaṇaḥ paro 'vyaktāt: this material creation is caused by the avyakta, impersonal manifestation of matter, or nonphenomenal of total reservation of matter, but Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to such material conception. That is expressed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, śuddha-sattva (SB 4.3.23).
Śuddha-sattva, viśuddha-sattva, that means transcendental. He does not belong to material modes of goodness, but He is above that position of material goodness. He belongs to the transcendental, eternal status of bliss and knowledge.
"My dear Lord, when You appear in Your different incarnations, such incarnations have different names and forms according to different situation. Just like Lord Kṛṣṇa is Your name because You are all-attractive. You are called Śyāmasundara, but because…, on account of Your transcendental beauty, śyāma—blackish—and still it is said that You are more beautiful than thousands of Cupids. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya (Bs 5.30).
In the material world nobody blackish in color can be beautiful. But because You are Transcendental Absolute, even You appear in a color which is compared with the blackish cloud, still Your beauty is many more times than the delicate body of Cupid. You are sometimes called Giridhārī, on account of lifting the hill known as Govardhana.
(break) You are sometimes called Nandanandana or Vāsudeva or Devakīnandana, because You appear as the son of Mahārāja Nanda or Devakī or Vasudeva.
"Impersonalists think that Your so many names or forms are according to the particular type of work and quality, because they accept You in such position as a material observer. But actually, simply by seeing Your form and activities one cannot study Your absolute nature by speculation of the mind or suggesting the name by words. But, my dear Lord, that is not the way of understanding You. One must engage himself in the devotional service. Then one can understand Your absolute nature, transcendental form, transcendental name, transcendental quality. Actually, a person who has got a little taste of Your lotus feet, he can understand Your transcendental nature of form and quality. Others may go on speculating for millions of years, still it is not possible to understand even a single part of Your actual position."
In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, cannot be understood by the nondevotees, because by Yogamāyā there is a curtain which covers Kṛṣṇa's actual features before the nondevotees. As it is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya (BG 7.25).
Battlefield of Kurukṣetra; everyone saw Him. But not that everyone could understand Him that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet still, everyone who died in His presence, he attained complete liberation from material bondage and transferred to the spiritual world.
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"My Lord, the impersonalists or nondevotees cannot understand that Your name and Your form is identical." The Lord being Absolute, there is no difference between His name and His actual form. In the material world there is difference between the form and the name. A fruit mango is different from the form of the mango. One cannot taste the mango fruit simply by chanting "mango, mango, mango." But the devotee, who knows that there is no difference between the name and the form of the Lord, they chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, and they realize actually that they are always in accompaniment with Kṛṣṇa.
Persons who are not very much advanced in the absolute knowledge of the Supreme, for them Lord Kṛṣṇa exhibits His transcendental pastimes so that they can simply think of the pastimes of the Lord. Still they get the same benefit, because as there is no difference between the transcendental name and form of the Lord, similarly, there is no difference between the transcendental pastimes and the form of the Lord. People who are less intelligent, just like the woman class, the laborer class or the mercantile class, for them the great sage Vyāsadeva wrote Mahābhārata. In the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa is there in His different activities. So Mahābhārata is the history.
So less-intelligent class of men, simply by studying the history of Mahābhārata and hearing and memorizing the transcendental activities of Kṛṣṇa, they also gradually come to the standard of pure devotee, what to speak of the pure devotees, who are always absorbed in the thought of transcendental lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and always are engaged in devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Such persons are never to be supposed in the material world.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has explained that those who are always in the business of Kṛṣṇa consciousness by their body, mind and activities, they are supposed to be liberated even within this body. The same thing is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: those who are engaged in devotional service of the Lord, they have already transcended the material position. The appearance of Kṛṣṇa means giving chance both to the devotees and nondevotees for ultimate goal of life. The devotee gets direct chance of seeing Him and worshiping Him, and those who are not on that platform, they get the chance of memorizing His activities and thus elevated to the same position.
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"My dear Lord, the supreme controller, we understand that just on Your appearance on this earth all the demons like Kaṁsa and Jarāsandha will be vanquished. All auspiciosity will be ushered into this world on Your appearance, and because You shall walk on the globe by Your lotus feet, there will be impression of the marks on Your sole, namely the flag, the trident, the thunderbolt, et cetera. And by seeing those marks impressed on the surface of the globe, not only this earth will be considered as having been graced by You, but we who are in the heavenly planets, the upper space, we shall also be glorified by seeing such marks."
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"My dear Lord, You are unborn; therefore we do not find any reason for Your appearance than Your pleasure pastimes." Although the reason of appearance of the Lord in the Bhagavad-gītāis stated that He descends just to give protection to the devotee and to vanquish the nondevotee, but actually He descends for pleasure-meeting with devotees, not for vanquishing the nondevotees. The nondevotees can be vanquished simply by one fix of material nature.
"The action and reaction of the external energy, material nature, the creation of the material world and annihilation of it or maintenance of it are being carried on automatically, and simply by taking shelter of Your holy name—because Your holy name and Your personality is nondifferent—so if the devotee can take shelter of Your holy name, it is sufficient for their protection." In other words, the protection of the devotees and annihilation of the nondevotees actually is not the business of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but when He descends it is just for His pleasure transcendental. There cannot be any other reason for His appearance.
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"My dear Lord, You are appearing as the best of the Yadu dynasty, and we are offering our respectful humble obeisances unto Your lotus feet. Before this appearance, You also appeared as the fish incarnation, as the horse incarnation, tortoise incarnation, as the lion-and-man combined incarnation, as boar incarnation, as swan incarnation, as the king Rāmacandra incarnation, as Paraśurāma incarnation; similar many other incarnations You appeared, just to protect the devotees. Similarly, we request You about Your present appearance as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself to give us similar protection all over the three worlds and remove the obstacles for peaceful execution of our life.
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"My dear mother Devakī, within your womb is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appearing along with His all plenary extensions. He is the original Personality of Godhead, appearing for our auspiciosity. Therefore you should not be afraid of your brother, the king of Bhoja. Your son Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the original Personality of Godhead, will appear for protection of the pious Yadu dynasty. The Lord is appearing not only alone but accompanied by His immediate plenary portion, Baladeva."
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Actually, Devakī was very much afraid of his (her) brother Kaṁsa, because he had already killed so many children of her. So she used to remain very much anxious about Kṛṣṇa. So there is a statement in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that in order to pacify Devakī, all the demigods, along with their wives, used to visit always to encourage her not to be disappointed and afraid of her son being killed by Kaṁsa. Because Kṛṣṇa, who was within his (her) womb, was to appear not only for diminishing the overburden of the world but specifically to protect the interest of the Yadu dynasty, and what to speak of Devakī and Vasudeva.
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In the previous verse it is understood that from the mind of Vasudeva Kṛṣṇa was transferred to the mind of Devakī, and from the mind, the Lord was within the womb of Devakī. Thus Devakī being the mother of Kṛṣṇa, he was…, she was worshipable by all the demigods. Thus worshiping the transcendental form of the Lord, all the demigods departed from that place to their respective heavenly abodes, keeping Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva in the front.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Chapter in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the matter of "Prayers of the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb."