CC Madhya 24.285 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 285
- 'ātmā'-śabde kahe--sarva-vidha bhagavān
- eka 'svayaṁ bhagavān', āra 'bhagavān'-ākhyāna
SYNONYMS
ātmā-śabde—by the word ātmā; kahe—it is said; sarva-vidha bhagavān—all types of Personalities of Godhead; eka—one; svayam bhagavān—the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa; āra—another; bhagavān-ākhyāna—the Personality of Godhead by an expansive designation.
TRANSLATION
"The word ātmā refers to all the different expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One of them is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Kṛṣṇa, and the others are different incarnations or expansions of Kṛṣṇa.
PURPORT
The word ātmā also includes all kinds of Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This means that Kṛṣṇa has unlimited expansions. This is described in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.46):
- dīpārcir eva hi daśāntaram abhyupetya
- dīpāyate vivṛta-hetu-samāna-dharmā
- yas tādṛg eva hi ca viṣṇutayā vibhāti
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
These expansions are thus compared to candles that have been lit from an original candle. All the secondary candles are equally powerful, but the original candle is that from which all the others have been lit. Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He is expanded as Balarāma, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, Pradyumna and Vāsudeva. In this way there are innumerable incarnations and expansions who are also called Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.