Isvara means

Expressions researched:
"Isvara means" |"Isvarah means" |"Isvaram means" |"isvara, means"

SB Canto 3

SB 3.25.9, Purport:

Kapila Muni is accepted as an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Here the word ādyaḥ means "the origin of all living entities," and puṁsām īśvaraḥ means "the Lord (īśvara) of the living entities" (īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1)). Kapila Muni is the direct expansion of Kṛṣṇa, who is the sun of spiritual knowledge. As the sun dissipates the darkness of the universe, so when the light of the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes down, it at once dissipates the darkness of māyā. We have our eyes, but without the light of the sun our eyes are of no value. Similarly, without the light of the Supreme Lord, or without the divine grace of the spiritual master, one cannot see things as they are.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.6.35, Purport:

Lord Śiva is full of wisdom and tapasya, austerity. One who knows the modes of work is understood to be situated on the path of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One cannot serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead unless one has achieved full perfectional knowledge in the ways and means of performing devotional service. Lord Śiva is described here as adhīśvara. Īśvara means "controller," and adhīśvara means particularly "controller of the senses." Generally our materially contaminated senses are apt to engage in sense gratificatory activities, but when a person is elevated by wisdom and austerity, the senses then become purified, and they become engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Introduction to Gitopanisad (Earliest Recording of Srila Prabhupada in the Bhaktivedanta Archives):

So in this Bhagavad-gītā the subject matter is comprehending five different truths. The first truth is what is God. It is the preliminary study of the science of God. So that science of God is explained here. Next, the constitutional position of the living entities, jīva. Īśvara and jīva. The Lord, the Supreme Lord, He is called īśvara. Īśvara means controller, and jīva, the living entities are... Jīvas, the living entities, they are not īśvara, or the controller. They are controlled. Artificially, if I say that "I am not controlled, I am free," this is not the sign of a sane man. A living being is controlled in every respect.

Lecture on BG 1.15 -- London, July 15, 1973:

Īśvara, the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Īśvara means the Supreme, īśvara means controller. But the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Control everyone of us, we are controller. We control our family, our society, our business, our factory. There are different kinds of controller. So in that sense everyone is īśvara, but different types of īśvara. But the supreme īśvara.... Supreme means nobody controls Him, but He controls everyone. That is Supreme. Here we are controller, but we are also controlled, somebody else, superior than me. Therefore we cannot be called supreme controller. Supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 1.21-22 -- London, July 18, 1973:

God never becomes fallen down from His original position. The original position is, God describes Himself, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "There is no more superior authority than Me." That is God. One, if he is controlled, how he can be God? The supreme controller is God, the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ means controller, and paramaḥ means supreme. And who is that? Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says also, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). So He is acyuta. He keeps His position. He never falls down. We are all fallen souls. Because our position, our Acyuta position is to serve Kṛṣṇa. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

Kṛṣṇa means God. In the śāstra it is said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ means controller, and paramaḥ, the supreme. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). That is the instruction of Vedic literature. So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a sectarian religious movement. It is a scientific philosophical movement. Try to understand it.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 7, 1966:

Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ. Īśvara. Īśvara means the Lord. Now, there are different lords, different lords, degree. Lord means controller or proprietor. So you have got some lordship over your environment. He has got some lordship. I have got some lordship. He has got some lordship. Or the President Johnson, he has got some lordship. In this way you'll find different degrees of lordship. But here it is said that the supreme, superlative degree Lord is Kṛṣṇa. Above Him, there is no other Lord.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Hyderabad, November 18, 1972:

So here is Kṛṣṇa. From śāstric evidences, by His opulences, by His power... Because Bhagavān means full of six opulences. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47). He must be the richest. He must be the strongest. He must be the most famous. He must be the most beautiful. He must be the great renouncer. In this way, that is the definition of God. So that definition is confirmed by Lord Brahmā: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. Unless one is powerful, how he can control? So every one of us is little, a small controller.

Lecture on BG 2.22 -- Hyderabad, November 26, 1972:

Are you God at the time of death? God means controller. Can you control your death? Then how you are God? God, īśvara... Īśvara means controller. Are you īśvara? Are you controller? Can you control birth? Can you control death? Can you control disease? Can you control old age? Then what kind of God you are? The foolish, foolish person, mūḍha. They are called mūḍha. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ (BG 9.11). "The rascals only, avajānanti, defy Me." So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is only to request you... It is your country's literature. Try to understand Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa. You'll be liberated.

Lecture on BG 2.51-55 -- New York, April 12, 1966:

Every living entity is Brahman. Because he's not this matter, he's spirit soul. Whoever is spirit soul, he is called Brahman. But Kṛṣṇa is addressed here, Paraṁ Brahma. Just like we recited that śloka, the verse, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara, every one of us, īśvara. The translation of īśvara word is "god." Now, god, god means, īśvara means controller. So every one of us is controller, but Kṛṣṇa is the supreme controller. He has no controller. I am controller, I am Brahman, but at the same time, I have got superior controller over me. But Kṛṣṇa is called Paraṁ Brahma, or the īśvara parama, the supreme controller, because He has no controller over Him. That is the acceptance of Arjuna.

Lecture on BG 3.27 -- Madras, January 1, 1976:

Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller, one who controls. So everyone has got some capacity to control, every one of us. You are also controlling your family, controlling your business, and I am controlling this institution, and so on, so on. Everyone has got some. In that sense everyone is īśvara. There is no fight on this point. But we are controller of a limited circle, but we are controlled also. That is our position. Not that I am simply controller but I am controlled by higher authority. So therefore I am not supreme controller. I am controller, īśvara, but here is one, īśvara, Kṛṣṇa, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ. He is supreme controller. Why supreme controller? Because he is not controlled by anyone. That is Kṛṣṇa's position.

Lecture on BG 4.6 -- Bombay, March 26, 1974:

So in all the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Saṁhitās, the same thing is described in different way. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). In this way. Here Kṛṣṇa Himself describes Himself that ajo 'pi and avyayātmā. Avyayātmā. It does... Kṛṣṇa's body, mind, there is no difference, absolute. What is Kṛṣṇa's body, that is Kṛṣṇa's soul. What is Kṛṣṇa's mind, that is Kṛṣṇa's soul. Or what is Kṛṣṇa's soul, that is Kṛṣṇa's body, that is Kṛṣṇa. Avyayātmā. Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaraḥ. Īśvaraḥ. He's not ordinary living being. Bhūtānām īśvaraḥ. That is the difference. He's īśvaraḥ. We are not īśvaraḥ. We may be īśvaraḥ. Īśvaraḥ means controller. But that, we are not the supreme īśvara. The supreme īśvara is called Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). We are not supreme īśvara.

Lecture on BG 4.39-42 -- Los Angeles, January 14, 1969:

So everyone is controller in different degrees. And the Brahma-saṁhitā says that God is supreme controller. That's all. He is also controller. But there is nobody else who can control Him. He controls everything. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. Parama means the supreme. Very nice, very simple description of God.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, March 26, 1968:

So these are the evidences from revealed scripture. And in the Brahma-saṁhitā also, Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is a very old book, supposed to be written by Brahma. It is called Brahma-saṁhitā. In that Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ means God. There are many gods, but... In Sanskrit language, about God, there are many demigods, and there is Supreme God. So this Brahma-saṁhitā says, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ, "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme God. He is the God of gods."

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Hyderabad, April 27, 1974:

"O Kṛṣṇa, You are Parabrahman." Parabrahman. The word... There are two words: Parabrahman and Brahman. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi, that does not mean ahaṁ parabrahmāsmi. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: I am also spirit soul, but not the Supreme. Parabrahman is Kṛṣṇa. I am also īśvara. Īśvara means controller. You are also īśvara. Just like in this school, the teacher is īśvara in his class. He is controlling some students. I am controlling my disciples. I am also īśvara. So everyone can be īśvara. There is no... Everyone can be god. But we are using the word "Godhead."

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Hyderabad, April 27, 1974:

Full opulent: complete wealth, complete strength, complete beauty, complete knowledge, complete renunciation. One who possesses all these six things completely, he is Bhagavān. Bhagavān is not so cheap thing that it can be found in the lanes and streets and road. So that is also another misunderstanding. Therefore, Vyāsadeva says, "śrī-bhagavān uvāca..." He is complete in everything. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ. Īśvara means controller. Parama means supreme, no more better than that. That is also enunciated by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "There is no more superior element than Me." So, if we study Bhagavad-gītā, if we understand what is the nature of Bhagavān, then our life is successful. Asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu (BG 7.1).

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Fiji, May 24, 1975:

So there are so many causes. I am caused by my father, my father is caused by his father, his father is caused by his father, you go on, go on. Then you come to the supreme father. He is the cause of all causes. That is Kṛṣṇa. The supreme father is the cause of all subordinate fathers. That is the definition of God, another definition. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ, īśvaraḥ means controller. So controller, you are also controller. You control over your family, over your son, over your wife. And if you go to the office you become controlled by your boss. So here the controller is relative. Both I am controller and controlled. But when you find somebody else—he is simply controller, not controlled—that is God. This is simple definition of God. You will find everyone relatively controller and controlled. But go on searching out where is that person that He is controller but not controlled. That is īśvaraḥ. That is īśvaraḥ paramaḥ, the supreme īśvara.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Bombay, December 20, 1975:

Bhagavān means the fully opulent, samagrasya. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya: He is the most powerful, the supreme rich, supreme wise, supreme beautiful and at the same time supremely renounced. These qualification makes one Bhagavān. So kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). That is the verdict of Vedic literature. So īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Bhagavān is also sometimes called Parameśvara. Īśvara means the ruling power or the personality who controls. So everyone of us, we have got some controlling power either in the society or family or community or government or international. Everyone has got some capacity to control, but nobody is supreme controller. Supreme controller means that He is no more controlled by anyone.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Bombay, December 20, 1975:

So everyone of us, we have got some controlling power either in the society or family or community or government or international. Everyone has got some capacity to control, but nobody is supreme controller. Supreme controller means that He is no more controlled by anyone. Other controller, they are controllers, but they are controlled by somebody else. But Kṛṣṇa is not that kind of controller. He is the supreme controller means He controls everyone but nobody has above Him to control. Therefore He is called Parameśvara. Īśvaraḥ means controller.

Lecture on BG 7.2 -- San Francisco, September 11, 1968:

So in every way, you are under control. So there is a controller. And the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. There is one controller over another controller. If you go on searching out who is the ultimate controller, then you'll find Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1). The Brahma-saṁhitā affirms, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ, the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ means controller. So we have to get knowledge of this controller, how He is controlling. (child making noises) (aside:) It is disturbing. So jñānaṁ vijñānaṁ te sahitam. Not only to know the controller, but to know how He is controlling, how many energies the controller has got and how He is one controlling—that is vijñānam. So jñānaṁ vijñānaṁ te nate tubhyāṁ prapannāya aśeṣataḥ.

Lecture on BG 7.7 -- Vrndavana, August 13, 1974:

So Kṛṣṇa is the origin. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). They are īśvara. Īśvara means controller, powerful. Even the demigods, they are also īśvaras. You are also īśvara. I am also īśvara. Īśvara means controller. Anyone who has got little control, he can be called īśvara. That is the dictionary meaning. But even the original īśvaras, namely Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, they are also not supreme īśvara. The supreme īśvara is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). That is the shastric inclusion, conclusion. So śāstra says Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Kṛṣṇa Himself also says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). Therefore, as Arjuna understood Kṛṣṇa, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān... (BG 10.12).

Lecture on BG 9.2-5 -- New York, November 23, 1966:

So if you believe Bhagavad-gītā, then you have to believe that there is a sun-god whose name is Vivasvān. If you don't believe, then why you take so much trouble to read Bhagavad-gītā? If you have no faith in it, then what is the use of reading it? And if you have faith in it, then you have to believe. There is sun-god. In every planet there is a predominating feature predominant. So similarly, over and above all of them, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ... (Bs. 5.1). The Brahma-saṁhitā says that everywhere you'll find the īśvara... Īśvara means controller. In your New York City the Mr. Lindsay is the controller. And in New York State, Mr. Rockefeller, he is controller. In your United States, Mr. Johnson is the controller. Finish. Then you go to another state, and similarly, in every planet, every place, there is a controller.

Lecture on BG 9.4 -- Calcutta, March 9, 1972:

Vasudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). One who understands Kṛṣṇa perfectly... We cannot understand Kṛṣṇa perfectly—that is not possible. But as far as our knowledge is concerned, as far as we can study Vedas, if we simply can understand that Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Every one of us, somehow or other, we are īśvaraḥ. Īśvaraḥ means controller. So we have got some controlling capacity, according to our capacity, but we are not the supreme controller. That is not possible. Supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. You may be controller, I am controller, but above me there is another controller. Above him there is another controller. But above him there is another controller. In this way, within this material world, the supreme controller is Brahmā, within this material world, not beyond this material world. Only on the..., on this universe, in each and every universe, there are many Brahmās, many Rudras, and many other demigods—many suns, many moons, many, many, millions.

Lecture on BG 9.18-19 -- New York, December 4, 1966:

Gatir bhartā prabhuḥ. Prabhu means the master. And sākṣī. Sākṣī means witness. God is sitting within your heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Īśvara, means Supreme Lord, is sitting in everyone's heart. So He is witness. Whatever you are doing, He is witness. He is giving you facility to do whatever you like, but at the same time you may forget. Suppose I wanted to do something in this life. This is not fulfilled. And next life, when I get another body, so God reminds me. "Well, you wanted to do this. Why not experiment?" That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Lecture on BG 13.1-3 -- Durban, October 13, 1975:

Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated by Vyāsadeva that kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. Similarly, in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. So parama means the supreme. So every one of us, we are more or less controller. But we are not supreme controller. We must know this. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). There are some men who claim to become Īśvara, to become God. So we have no objection, that if somebody says, "I am God," or "I am controller," we have no objection. But if somebody says that "I am supreme God," or "supreme controller," then we have got objection. Supreme means he has no controller.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, September 30, 1973:

But actually the arrangement is that ruler should be one, and the supreme ruler is Kṛṣṇa. Ruler means īśvara. So there are so many īśvaras. Īśvara means that actually there must be one īśvara, one ruler, but because here in this material world every one of us is trying to become īśvara, therefore the Māyāvādī philosophy is that everyone is īśvara. That's all right. But that īśvara is not sublime. I may become īśvara amongst my disciples, but I am not the supreme, I'm not īśvara of everyone. So īśvara is actually Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1), the śāstra says. There are īśvaras, rulers. That's all right. But the supreme ruler is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac cid ananda vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). This is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, and Kṛṣṇa also says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). "There is nobody else superior than Me." That is the fact.

Lecture on BG 13.23 -- Bombay, October 22, 1973:

The same word again, maheśvara. Mahā īśvara. Mahā means great. Īśvara means controller. So we can controller a few men, but Maheśvara means He controls all living entities. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). We may be very proud of controlling a factory, a few thousands of workers, but we are not Maheśvara. The Maheśvara is Kṛṣṇa, Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is in His Paramātmā feature, is situated in every body. Paramātmeti ca apy ukto dehe 'smin, asmin dehe, within this body.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- New Vrindaban, September 4, 1972:

So the supreme yogic power is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is said, brūhi yogeśvare kṛṣṇe. Yogeśvara. Īśvara means controller. There are many yogic power and yogis, but he is the supreme controller of everyone. Therefore He is mentioned here, brūhi yogeśvare kṛṣṇe: "The master of the mystic power, Kṛṣṇa, having gone from this planet..." Brahmaṇye dharma-varmaṇi. Dharma-varmaṇi means whose weapon is religious principle. Dharma means God, or Kṛṣṇa. Dharma, the Sanskrit word, it is translated into English as "religion," but this is not perfect translation. Dharma is different from religion.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Delhi, November 11, 1973:

In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller or the powerful man who controls. Take for example the president or the king. So there are many īśvaras, or controllers. You are also īśvara; I am also īśvara. Because you also control at least your family members or some animals. So this controlling capacity is there in everyone because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. But we are not supreme controller. We are controller of some entities, but we are controlled also by something superior. Therefore we are not absolute controller. We are relative controller. But about Kṛṣṇa, it is said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Paramaḥ means supreme. He controls everyone or everything, but He is not controlled by anyone. That is īśvaraḥ paramaḥ.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Detroit, August 3, 1975, University Lecture:

Parama, controller... Īśvara means controller. So here in the material world we find that I am controller; I am controlled by somebody else. Then that controller is controlled by somebody else. So controller over controller over controller over... When you come to the point when the controller is there but no more controller upon him, that is God. That is God.

Lecture on SB 1.2.30 -- Vrndavana, November 9, 1972:

That is explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta: ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya (CC Adi 5.142). Only Kṛṣṇa is the supreme master. Ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya. Now... Śiva-viriñci-nutam (SB 11.5.33). Even great demigods like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, they also subordinate to Kṛṣṇa. They offer their obeisances to Kṛṣṇa. Śiva-viriñci-nutam. And in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is confirmed by Brahmā: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara. Everyone can be an īśvara. Īśvara means controller. So we are also controller of something. A business man is controller of his business; I am controller of my disciples. There are so many controllers. So in that sense, everyone is īśvara, in the sense of controller. But Lord Brahmā says, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1): "The supreme controller, the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa."

Lecture on SB 1.5.29 -- Vrndavana, August 10, 1974:

derstand Kṛṣṇa. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān (BG 7.19). Not foolish person. Foolish person cannot understand. But even jñānavān, who is wise, perfectly wise, learned scholar, such person, even after many, many births struggling to understand Kṛṣṇa... So that is mahātmā, one who has understood Kṛṣṇa. He is mahātmā. One who does not understand Kṛṣṇa or verifies himself as Kṛṣṇa, he's durātmā. He's not mahātmā. He's a rascal. Mahātmā is that person who has understood Kṛṣṇa, that vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti: (BG 7.19) "Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, is the cause of all causes." Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). One who has understood this perfectly, that the Supreme Controller, Īśvara... Īśvara means controller. And not only controller, but Supreme Controller.

Lecture on SB 1.7.2-4 -- Durban, October 14, 1975:

Just like if you stand facing the sun, the back side of your, there is a big shadow, that is māyā. So both things are there, the puruṣam, the Kṛṣṇa, and the māyā also. Both things he saw. But He is not affected by māyā. This is the special significance of Kṛṣṇa. Although māyā is there, he says, māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam. Māyā is there, but Kṛṣṇa is not influenced by māyā, but He is controller of māyā. Therefore He is described, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. We are controlled by māyā, but Kṛṣṇa is the controller of māyā. That is the difference. We are not controller; we are controlled.

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Vrndavana, April 23, 1975:

All these fools and rascals, if they hear with great attention from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about the activities and glories of Kṛṣṇa... Yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyāṁ kṛṣṇe parama-pūruṣe (SB 1.7.7). He is the parama-puruṣa. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). He is īśvara, parama-puruṣa, the Supreme Person. Īśvara means the Supreme Person. In the English dictionary also it is said "God means the Supreme Person." God means the Supreme Person. So that Supreme Person is Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "There is no more superior authority than Me." But people do not understand, because ajānataḥ. Ajānataḥ means without any knowledge.

Lecture on SB 1.8.18 -- Mayapura, September 28, 1974:

ruṣam ādyam īśvaram. Īśvaram means controller. He's the original controller. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Mayādhyakṣeṇa (BG 9.10). Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram. Even this material nature, wonderful things are going on, that is being controlled by Kṛṣṇa. This is to be understood. So we are reading Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literature. What is the purpose? The purpose is vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). The purpose is to understand Kṛṣṇa. If you don't understand Kṛṣṇa, then your reading of so-called Vedas and Vedāntas and Upaniṣads, they are useless waste of time. So here Kuntī is directly saying that "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are ādyaṁ puruṣam, the original person. And īśvaram. You are not ordinary person. You are the supreme controller." That is understanding of Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Everyone is controller, but the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.8.18 -- Chicago, July 4, 1974 :

We have got experience that anything in our experience, it has got a beginning. Beginning. But Kṛṣṇa is without beginning, and all others, they have got beginning. From Kṛṣṇa, within this material world, from Kṛṣṇa, Brahmā. From Brahmā, Nārada or many other demigods. Then from demigods, we human being. In this way we have increased. Brahmā is the first created being within this universe, and h is created by Kṛṣṇa. So they are taking account of this material, this universe, so Brahmā is therefore called grandfather, or a father of the father. But Kṛṣṇa is the great-grandfather, the father of Brahmā's. Therefore it is said ādyam, the original person. Namasye puruṣaṁ tvā, ādyam. What kind of ādyam? Īśvaram. Īśvaram means controller. Ādyam īśvaram, the original controller.

Lecture on SB 1.8.28 -- Mayapura, October 8, 1974:

So that kālam, that eternal time, is Kṛṣṇa. Tvām. Manye: "I think that eternal time, You are, Kṛṣṇa." That's the fact. And īśānam. Īśānam means the Supreme Controller. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Controller means īśvara; īśvara means controller. He's the Supreme Controller. He's controlling the whole creation. Īśānam. Kālam īśānam. But who is controlling Him? No, He is not controlled. Anādi-beginningless. Neither endless or beginningless, anādi or nidhanam. And vibhum, the Supreme. This is the understanding of Kṛṣṇa. We have to take lessons from authorities.

Lecture on SB 1.8.38 -- Los Angeles, April 30, 1973:

So this formless, nirviśeṣa... You offer your prayers: nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi. This is all foolishness. "Zero, impersonal" is all foolishness. Behind this impersonal feature and so-called zero, there is the supreme form. That is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. That nature is not controlling. The real controller is Kṛṣṇa. Icchānurūpam api yasya ca ceṣṭate sā. Brahma-saṁhitā says prakṛti. Prakṛti is..., the Deity is Durgā. So it is said that she is working under the direction of Govinda. How she's working? Just like shadow.

Lecture on SB 1.8.46 -- Mayapura, October 26, 1974:

Not only Vyāsa, vyāsādyair īśvara. And Kṛṣṇa was there. He's īśvara, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ, not only ordinary īśvara but the supreme īśvara. Īśvara means controller. So there are many different types of controller, but the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). So he also tried to convince Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira that it was duty. For a kṣatriya, in dutiful war, dharma-yuddha... Dharma-yuddha... Therefore the battlefield of Kurukṣetra is called dharma-kṣetra.

Lecture on SB 2.1.5 -- Paris, June 13, 1974:

So if you have got the energy to search out such person, that is Bhagavān. It is not difficult. The definition is there. Here there is competition. Not only Bhagavān, but īśvara. Īśvara means controller. Everyone is īśvara. I also am controlling this institution. Or somebody is controlling his office, his factory, his kingdom. Just like President Nixon, he is controlling the United States. So all of us, more or less, we are īśvara, controller. Everyone. Just like this mother, she is controlling the small child. So she is also īśvara, means she is controlling. So anyone who has controlling power... So God has given everyone a little controlling power. In that sense every one of us, īśvara. But here it is said, bhagavān īśvaraḥ: "the supreme controller." Supreme controller means we are controllers, but we are controlled by somebody else. But the Bhagavān Īśvara means He is no more controlled by anyone. That is Kṛṣṇa. That is described. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ: "The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa." Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1).

Lecture on SB 2.9.9 -- Tokyo, April 25, 1972, Informal Class in Room:

Param. Param. You can say "It is a very nice apartment. Why shall I (go) after Vaikuṇṭha?" But he has no idea. He thinks that "If I go to Europe I get a better standard of living, better woman and better salary." But he has no idea what is param. Therefore, paraṁ na yat-param. There is no more superior. All superior finished. This is Bhāgavata. Paraṁ na yat-param. Final. Final beauty, Kṛṣṇa. Final opulence, final strength, final wisdom. Everything final in Kṛṣṇa, ultimate. No more. Na yat-param. Therefore He is called Parameśvara. Īśvara means commander. There are many commander, controller, but Kṛṣṇa is called Parameśvara. "No more." And Kṛṣṇa says mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). Para means superior. "There is no more superior than Me." Paraṁ na yat-param. This is meaning of.

Lecture on SB 3.25.17 -- Bombay, November 17, 1974:

Kṛṣṇa says that mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: (BG 7.7) "My dear Dhanañjaya, Arjuna, there is no more superior authority than Me." And in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara. Īśvara means controller. So we small living entities, very minute, still, we are controller. We control. At least, we control our family members, my wife, my children. Or if I am bigger, I control my office, or I control my factory, I control the country, I become president. In this way, controller, controller, bigger controller, bigger controller, you go to the Brahmā, the controller of the universe. But he is also not Supreme Controller. It is said, tene... Brahmā is meditating. Although he is the greatest creature, living creature, within this universe, he's also meditating to learn controlling. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. He learned first of all how to control over the universe. Then he became Brahmā. Of course, he was born Brahmā, but still, he was to be educated. Just like we require to be educated. So Brahmā was educated. So who educated him? Kṛṣṇa. Aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). Kṛṣṇa says. Aham ādir hi devānām. Deva, the original deva, is Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara. So Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa is Viṣṇu, but He is the instructor of Brahmā and Śiva also. This is the shastric conclusion. That is greatness.

Lecture on SB 3.26.15 -- Bombay, December 24, 1974:

So we should always remember, when we speak of saguṇa, saguṇa means saguṇa Brahman. Saguṇa Brahman means we, the living entities, not Kṛṣṇa or Bhagavān. He is not saguṇa. He is always nirguṇa. Etat īśasya īśanam. This is the supremacy of the Supreme Person, that although He comes within this material world, incarnates as incarnation, He is not affected by the material qualities. That is īśanam. Otherwise how He is īśvara? Īśvara means controller. If, when He comes in the material world, if He becomes controlled by the material nature, then how He is controller? He is not controller. Then He becomes controlled. We are controlled. Kṛṣṇa is never controlled. He is always the controller. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. So He is the supreme controller. He is the controller of these energies also, māyā. So how He can be under māyā? This is mistaken theory. Kṛṣṇa is always supreme, Adhokṣaja. Kṛṣṇa's another name is Adhokṣaja.

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1970:

There are so many countries, and there are so many cities. And each and every city, there are so many courts and magistrates. Just think that this planet is only a spot in comparison to the universal construction. So how we can think that there is no control, there is no government, everything has come out of its own course? This theory is foolish theory. There is controller. There is controller, and He is called Īśvara. Īśvara means God. There is management of God. It is very commonsense understanding.

Lecture on SB 6.1.45 -- Laguna Beach, July 26, 1975:

The supreme master is Kṛṣṇa. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka maheśvaram (BG 5.29). Kṛṣṇa says, "I am the master of the whole creation. I am the enjoyer." He is the master. Caitanya-caritāmṛta also said, ekala īśvara kṛṣṇa. Īśvara means controller or master. Ekala īśvara kṛṣṇa āra saba bhṛtya: "Except Kṛṣṇa, they are, any big or small living entity, they are all servants, except Kṛṣṇa." You will therefore see: Kṛṣṇa is not serving anybody. He is simply enjoying. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka... Others like us, they first of all work very hard, and then enjoys. Kṛṣṇa never works. Na tasya kāryaṁ kāranaṁ ca vidyate. Still, He enjoys. That is Kṛṣṇa. Na tasya... This is the Vedic information.

Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Calcutta, March 5, 1972:

So brahmādayaḥ, everyone, everyone is servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa. Īśvara means controller, order giver, that is one. Ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa āra saba bhṛtya (CC Adi 5.142). All others, they are... (break) ...it is said, śiva-viriñci-nutaṁ śaraṇyam bhṛtyārti-ham, vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam (SB 11.5.33). Śiva-viriñci-nutaṁ. Brahma, viriñci means Brahma and śivaḥ means Lord Siva. They also offer obeisances unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu. Oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam. That is Ṛg Veda mantra, that Viṣṇu is paraṁ padam, supreme. And Viṣṇu is partial expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Mahā-Viṣṇu, not ordinary Viṣṇu. There are different types of Viṣṇu also.

Lecture on SB 7.9.31 -- Mayapur, March 9, 1976:

So this is creation. This is Kṛṣṇa's creation, how things are going on. But original seed is Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sat-cit-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, anādiḥ (Bs. 5.1). He has no kāraṇa. He is not coming out of any seed. Anādi. Anādi means there is no beginning. He is eternal. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Sat-cit-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. So there is no creator of Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa is the creator of everything. That is called īśvaraḥ paramaḥ, the Supreme. Everyone may be īśvara-partially. Īśvara means controller. So every one of us, we are more or less little controller. We sometimes control some little children or some disciples or some kingdom. So everyone may be controller. They are very much fond of becoming God. God means controller. So everyone can become... He is. Kṛṣṇa has given. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, so the quality of controlling must be there. Although very insignificant part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, still, the power of controlling is there, very minute quantity. This is understanding. Svāṁśa vibhināṁśa. Everyone... Viṣṇu-tattva is also Kṛṣṇa's aṁśa, part and parcel. Yasya kalā-viśeṣaḥ. Kalā-viśeṣaḥ means part, part of the part. Kalā, aṁśa, and aṁśa's aṁśa, that's called kalā-viśeṣo. So that kalā-viśeṣa, Kṛṣṇa, Mahā-Viṣṇu, He's creating millions and millions of universes. So just imagine what is the creative power of Kṛṣṇa.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 17, 1972:

Those who are actually budhās... Budhās means learned. So they know Kṛṣṇa is the original person. And it is confirmed by Brahmā in the Brahma-saṁhitā, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. So everyone can become īśvara. Here, our minister Saheb is present. He's īśvara. Īśvara means controller. He is controller of a department. Similarly, there are many ministers in our country and other countries. Many presidents. They are īśvaras. And a common man, he is also īśvara. He's controlling his family. At least he's controlling his dog, cat. So everyone is īśvara. Just like the modern theory is going on. "Everyone is God." That's all right. God means īśvara, controller. But there are different qualities of controller. I may be controller of my disciples, a few dozen or few hundred.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 21, 1972:

Īśvara means controller, governor. So there are governors, many governors in your country, but there are not supreme governor. Everyone is governor. You are also governor, or īśvara, controller. But not the supreme controller. Our message is that here in this material world, there are many controllers, many governors, many īśvaras, but nobody is the supreme īśvara. Supreme īśvara means He has no controller over Him. He has no controller over Him. He's the supreme controller. Here, everyone is controller, but he has got another controller over him. But even big, big demigods... Just like Indra, Candra, Sūrya, Vāyu, Varuṇa, they have also controller. Even Lord Brahmā. He's also controlled. Only Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa-tattva, Viṣṇu-tattva, He's not controlled. He's the supreme controller.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 7, 1973:

If there are so many rascal Gods, but if you take vote, still in this age, the vote for Kṛṣṇa will be greater. Still. Although we are so fallen. So how we can escape Kṛṣṇa? And śāstra says, confirm, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). If you want the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. So everyone is controller, but nobody's supreme controller. That is not possible. Even the so-called Gods, they also, when there is some toothache, they go to the doctor. They cannot control even toothache. So these kind of Gods will not help you. Take to Kṛṣṇa. Take to Kṛṣṇa as Kṛṣṇa says, the method: man-manā bhava mad-bhakto, mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). These things are there in the Bhagavad-gītā. You take it, practice it, and see how your life becomes successful and how you become happy. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.12 -- Mayapur, April 5, 1975:

So there are three principles—the īśvara principle and the māyā principle and the jīva principle—these three principles. So Advaita Ācārya is īśvara principle. He belongs to the īśvara group. Even in communistic country, they call "classless society," but they are also creating a managerial class. They cannot do without that. They could not avoid it, managers. Why manager? Make classless society, all worker. That is not possible. There must be īśvara. Īśvara means controller. That is the beginning, from the creation, īśvara. So īśvara, there are innumerable īśvara forms, as it is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33).

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.12 -- Mayapur, April 5, 1975:

So Advaita, Advaitācārya, is Īśvara, but there are many īśvaras. Even in this material world there are īśvaras, innumerable. But the śāstra has analyzed that the supreme īśvara is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1): "There is no more higher īśvara than Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa also says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "There is no more. This is the end." You go on finding out īśvaras that... In material world, every one of us, īśvara. Īśvara means controller. So anyone controls, he can be called īśvara. But there are īśvaras over īśvaras. You go on searching, īśvara over īśvara over īśvara. When you come to the point there is no more other īśvara, then He's God. That is definition. That is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.2 -- Mayapur, March 2, 1974:

Someway or other we are prabhus. Suppose I am a family man. I am managing my family, my wife, my children, my servants, my subordinates, so I may be prabhu. In that sense I am a small prabhu. Similarly, everyone is prabhu, he has got some subordinates. But there is the supreme prabhu, the prabhu of all prabhus. So Mahāprabhu is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. He's Kṛṣṇa. As it is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means ruler or controller. So all of us more or less a little controller or ruler, but not the absolute ruler. The absolute ruler is Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, the absolute prabhu, master, is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So, tāṅhāra caraṇāśrita: The prabhu... Everyone is prabhu—that's all right—but if that prabhu takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Mahāprabhu, sei baḍa dhanya, he becomes glorified.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.7 -- Mayapur, March 9, 1974:

So as it is stated in all Vedic literature and spoken by Kṛṣṇa, we are all individual, all individual. Svayaṁ bhagavān ekale īśvara. But the difference is that He is the supreme ruler, īśvara. Īśvara. Īśvara means ruler. Actually He is ruler, and we are also ruler, but we are subordinate ruler . Therefore He is ekale īśvara, one ruler. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇa, in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Ekale īśvara. Īśvara cannot be many. That is not īśvara.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.7 -- Mayapur, March 9, 1974:

One who does not submit to the supreme īśvara, the Supreme Lord, you should know it perfectly well that "Here is a mūḍha, rascal," because it is not that everyone, we can become īśvara. That is not possible. There is then no meaning of īśvara. Īśvara means the ruler. Suppose we are in a group, this, our International Society. If everyone becomes ruler or ācārya, then how it can be managed? No. There must be some head. That is the principle in our practical life. We follow our political leaders. We cannot say that "I belong to this party" unless I follow a leader. That is natural.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.8 -- Vrndavana, March 15, 1974:

We are also expansion of Kṛṣṇa, but we are not equal to the Viṣṇu-tattva. We are fragment fires. The example is given, just like the big fire and the spark fire. So we living entities, we are spark fire. We are also fire, because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, vibhinnāṁśa... Aṁśa means part and parcel. So Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Spirit, and we are part and parcel. We are also spirit, but we are not supreme. That is the difference. Svayaṁ bhagavān kṛṣṇa ekale īśvara. So actually, īśvara means the controller. The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.106-107 -- San Francisco, February 13, 1967:

Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu presents Himself before His spiritual master... Not He presented—His spiritual master found Him, that "You are fool number one." So we should be always prepared to admit our imperfection. But such imperfection is not in, on the īśvara. Īśvara means "controller." If the controller is imperfect... Suppose a man is in charge, director of such and such a department, education department, and if he's a fool, then what is the use of keeping such man? Therefore īśvara, those who are controllers, they have no such flaw. That is to be admitted first. They are flawless. And what to speak of the Parameśvara. There are two kinds of īśvara. Īśvara, you can, you are also īśvara, but you are now in imperfect stage. When you become perfect, you become īśvara, controller.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.98-99 -- Washington, D.C., July 4, 1976:

So the śāstra says that controller or ruler is the same, and the Sanskrit synonym is īśvara. Īśvara means controller or ruler. So there are different kinds of controllers according to time, sphere. Just like in your country, the President is the controller. In other country somebody is controller. So there are many hundreds and thousands of planets within this universe, and each and every planet there is a controller. The sun planet, there is a controller. His name is Vivasvān. That we find. Similarly, the moon planet, there is a controller. Every planet, there is controller. And above all of them there is another supreme controller of the universe, the Brahma, and there are many millions of brahmāṇḍas, or universes. So there are controllers. But so far Kṛṣṇa is concerned, He is described in the śāstras, Brahma-saṁhitā, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). There are controllers, but the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Īśvaraḥ means controller. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1).

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.98-99 -- Washington, D.C., July 4, 1976:

So the śāstra says that controller or ruler is the same, and the Sanskrit synonym is īśvara. Īśvara means controller or ruler. So there are different kinds of controllers according to time, sphere. Just like in your country, the President is the controller. In other country somebody is controller. So there are many hundreds and thousands of planets within this universe, and each and every planet there is a controller. The sun planet, there is a controller. His name is Vivasvān. That we find. Similarly, the moon planet, there is a controller. Every planet, there is controller. And above all of them there is another supreme controller of the universe, the Brahma, and there are many millions of brahmāṇḍas, or universes. So there are controllers. But so far Kṛṣṇa is concerned, He is described in the śāstras, Brahma-saṁhitā, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). There are controllers, but the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Īśvaraḥ means controller. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). His form... He has form. Bhagavān means with form. You see the form here, vigrahaḥ. Vigrahaḥ means form. But His form is different from our. He's sac-cid-ānanda. His form is eternal. Our, this form is not eternal. We have to give it up. We have to accept another form according to our karma. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). But Kṛṣṇa hasn't got to do that. He is in His original form. He has got many forms, expansions, but His original form is Kṛṣṇa with two hands and flutes.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Los Angeles, July 20, 1971:

Just like Vyāsadeva. He's the author of all Vedic literature, the treasure-house of knowledge, Vedas. He accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His spiritual master, Nārada, he accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His spiritual master, Brahmā, he accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Person. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1), Brahmā says. "The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa." Īśvara. Īśvara means controller. We are controller, everyone. Nobody can say that "I am without controller." No, that is not possible. Everyone has got a controller. However big officer you may be, you have a controller over your head. But Kṛṣṇa has no controller; therefore He is God. He is controller of everyone, but He has no controller; therefore He's God.

Lecture Excerpt -- Los Angeles, June 7, 1972:

We see in the, in our experience, that some of the objectives are living and some of them are not living. Animate or inanimate—these two things we see in our experience. But above this animate and inanimate there is supreme animate. That supreme animate is called īśa. Īśa or īśvara means controller. So there are many īśvaras, or controllers, but the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). There are many controllers. Some of you are also controller, in charge of some department. Similarly, controller over controller, controller over controller—there are many. And go up to Brahma. The first creature within this universe is supposed to be the controller of this universe. But above him, there is another controller. That is Kṛṣṇa. Yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro.

Lecture -- Laguna Beach, September 30, 1972:

Just like you are American, but the supreme American is your president, Mr. Nixon. But you cannot say that "Because I am American, therefore I am Mr. Nixon." That you cannot say. Similarly, you, me, every one of us, Brahman, but that does not mean we are Parabrahman. Parabrahman is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ. Īśvara means controller. So every one of us is controller to some extent. Somebody is controlling his family, controlling his office, business, controlling his disciples. At last, he is controlling a dog. If he hasn't got to control anything, he keeps a dog to control, a pet dog, a pet cat. So everyone wants to be controller. That's a fact. But the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Here the so-called controller is controlled by somebody else. I may control my disciples, but I am controlled by somebody else, by my spiritual master. So nobody can say that "I am the absolute controller." No.

Rotary Club Lecture -- Hyderabad, November 29, 1972:

The Supreme Person, or Īśvara... The word īśvara means controller. So everyone is controller. All of you are present here, to some extent, every one of us is a controller to a limited extent. But here it is mentioned, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ. Parama means ultimate. We are controller, every one of us, but we are controlled also. That is our position. Nobody can say... All the gentlemen, ladies present here, nobody can say that "I am controller absolute." That is not possible. Everyone is relative controller. But if you try to find out who is the absolute controller, then He's Kṛṣṇa. This has been analyzed by great scholars in the Vedic śāstras, by the Gosvāmīs, and this is the statement of Lord Brahmā, who's supposed to be the first creature within this universe. So he says, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1): "Īśvara, the supreme ultimate controller, is Kṛṣṇa. And He's vigraha." Vigraha means person, with body. Just like we have got body, similarly, the Absolute Supreme Person has also body. But His body is different from ours. Sac-cit-ānanda-vigraha. His body is eternal.

Lecture -- Jakarta, February 26, 1973:

Brahman means eternal. But Kṛṣṇa is Parabrahman. Param means the supreme, the chief. Therefore there are two terms in the Vedic language: ātmā, paramātmā; brahman, parabrahman; īśvara, parameśvara. There are two terms. We are not parameśvara, not paramātmā, not parabrahman. We are ātmā, īśvara... We can say, "I am īśvara." What does it mean, īśvara? Īśvara means controller. So, although we are servant, at the same time we are controller. That we can experience. I am now working in the office. I am servant of the establishment, but I'm given some power to control over certain departments. So simultaneously, I am servant and controller. As controller, I can be called īśvara, īśvara, god, as controller. But I am not controller, Supreme Controller. That I cannot say. Nobody can say that "I am the Supreme Controller." That you cannot say. You can control, say, a dozen of men. Another can control a hundred men. Another can control a thousand, or millions. But nobody can say that "I am the controller of the whole universe." That is not possible. That controller is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture at Upsala University Faculty -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:

It is not that God is attractive for the Hindus or God is attractive for the Muslims or the Christians. No. If He is God at all, then He must be attractive for all. That is the meaning of the word Kṛṣṇa, "all-attractive." So that is very nice word. Actually, God has no name, but we call Him by different holy names according to His activity. Just like we believe that God is great. So this is fact. The Vedic instruction is also there, na tasya samaś cābhkyadhikaś ca dṛśyate: "Nobody is equal, nobody is greater than Him." Therefore God is great. Now who is that great? That is decided: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Being. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Īśvaraḥ means controller. That is the exact equivalent for the word God. God means controller, supreme controller. So that supreme controller means He has nobody else to control Him.

Lecture -- Vrndavana, March 14, 1974:

One who knows Kṛṣṇa. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. Yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei guru haya (CC Madhya 8.128). One who must know who is Kṛṣṇa. This morning I met one gentleman. So in his house I saw that "Prabhu." So I asked him, "Who is that prabhu?" So he says, "He has no name." Just see the fun. He's living in Vṛndāvana. He does not know the name of prabhu. Just see his position. Prabhu is Kṛṣṇa. Prabhu means īśvara. Īśvara means controller. A prabhu means proprietor.

Evening Lecture -- Bhuvanesvara, January 19, 1977:

Āṁśi. So just like this finger is the part of my body, but it does not mean the finger is the whole body. Therefore there is distinction between Brahman and Parambrahman, īśvara and Parameśvara, ātmā and Paramātmā. So īśvara means controller, one who controls, but Parameśvara means the controller of the controller. That is explained in the Brahma-saṁhitā, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara... All of us may be īśvara. I am īśvara amongst my disciples. You may be īśvara amongst your family members. But none of us is Parameśvara. So this mistaken knowledge is very much spread at the present moment. So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is specially meant for removing this misconception of understanding God and the jīvas. So our first principle is that we have to discard or disregard the persons who are very much anxious to establish that īśvara and Parameśvara, or the living entity and the Supreme Person, they are equal.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Rene Descartes:

Prabhupāda: Therefore we have to accept God's instruction. He definitely gives the information, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Īśvaraḥ means the controller. So the soul is the controller of this body. So He is within the heart; it is already there. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). There are two kinds of īśvaraḥ, controller. One is the ordinary controller, that means the individual living being, and the other is the supreme living being. We get from Vedic information both of them sitting together on this body tree. So both cases, the Supersoul and the individual soul, they are living within the heart. That is the right conclusion.

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: What is the etymology of God? Do you know?

Hayagrīva: I don't know.

Prabhupāda: God is the equivalent of īśvara. Īśvara means controller.

Allen Ginsberg: Then the Jews, which were my background, had a prohibition...

Prabhupāda: Jehovah.

Meeting with Devotees -- June 9, 1969, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said, ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa ara saba bhṛtya (CC Adi 5.142). (baby making noises) (aside:) He will disturb. Īśvara. Īśvara means master or the controller. Actually only Kṛṣṇa is master. Even Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā, or incarnation of Viṣṇu, all of them are, in one sense, even Rādhārāṇī, all are servants. Ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa ara saba bhṛtya. So in that sense, in this New Vrindaban the master is Kṛṣṇa, and we are all servants. But there are division of duties of the servants, and they should discharge. Just like in our propagation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement there are certain duties entrusted to certain devotee, and if he faithfully carries out that duty, that is his perfection. The spiritual master is the representative of Kṛṣṇa, and the duty allotted by him to a certain person, that should be his execution of spiritual duties. So this New Vrindaban, master is Kṛṣṇa.

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:

Prabhupāda: Our conception of God is that He is a transcendental person. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means Lord. The Supreme Lord is a person. As you are person, He is also person, but He is the chief person. Nityo nityānāṁ. He is the leader, and we are all led. Or He is the master; we are the servitors. That is our self-realization, to understand that "I am eternal servant of God." In Bhagavad-gītā it is said, mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ jīva-loke sanātanaḥ: (BG 15.7) "Eternally all the living entities are My part and parcels." So as the part and parcel of anything is to serve the cause of the whole, similarly, all living entities, their only business is to serve the Supreme. That is all.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is God, (indistinct). That is accepted. We accept Kṛṣṇa, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara. Īśvara means the controller. Just like here there are controllers. But here any controller is controlled by another controller. But param īśvara, God means Who has no other controller. He's the supreme controller. That is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). He's the supreme controller. Here any controller, he's controlling, just like this physician. He has learned his medical science from another physician, another physician, another physician. So we are not the supreme physician or supreme controller.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 1, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They take it as a material object.

Prabhupāda: Then accept you are under its control. God means controller. Īśvara. Īśvara means controller. God means controller. So He is controlling you. It is material but it is not under your control. You are under its control. So if anything is controlling you, that is God. God means controller. If you cannot see Kṛṣṇa, you can see the sun.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 27, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, this is defect. They do not understand their incapability, and still, they claim, "I am the same, one, So 'ham." This is their deficiency. Here is the de... īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe... (BG 18.61). Do you stay... Can you stay, can you say what I am thinking now? Then why you are claiming that īśvara? You are a rascal. Why you are claiming. Namaskāra. And īśvara, īśvara means he knows... That is also described in Bhagavad-gītā.

Room Conversation -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:

Prabhupāda: Then the whole cosmic manifestation, this material nature, there must be also the moving force. That is God. Now, just like within this body I am the person and under my command the body is going, working. I am asking the hand, "Please come here." Immediately... So I am also īśvara, means controller. So far this body is concerned, I am the controller. Similarly, the supreme controller, He is called parameśvara, "the supreme controller." That is God.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Īśvaram means controller, anīśvaram means without any controller.

Room Conversation -- January 27, 1975, Tokyo:

Nitāi: "They say that this world is unreal, that there is no foundation and there is no God in control. It is produced of sex desire, and has no cause other than lust."

Prabhupāda: They think, the asura, that is the distinction between asura and sura. The asura will say, "There is no control." Anīśvaram. Īśvaram means controller, anīśvaram means without any controller. Then how it has come into existence, how it is working so nicely? So they answer it: kāma-haitukam. Kāma-haitukam means just like a man and woman mix together, then there is sex desire and there is a production of child. There is no question of controlling. It is timely interaction of different elements. This is called kāma-haitukam. So what is that other? Asatyam...

Nitāi: Asatyam apratiṣṭham.

Prabhupāda: And others, other atheist in the dress of very good sannyāsī, they say jagad mithyā, mithyā. But they say also, brahma satya, they accept Brahmān. They are not so atheist, at least they accept.

Room Conversation with Canadian Ambassador to Iran -- March 13, 1975, Iran:

Ambassador: The process of change of consciousness which is actually taking place in the world under many influences, I think...

Prabhupāda: No. The influence should be only Kṛṣṇa, or God. Kṛṣṇa, when we speak of "Kṛṣṇa"—God. But they have no clear idea what is God. How does He speak, how does He act, where does He live, what is His form, what is His qualities—nobody knows. Ask any religious people, "Do you know about all this, about God?" They do not know. What do you think, Atreya? Have they any clear conception of God? They imagine something. If they think of God at all... First of all, generally they think of impersonal or void. Just like the Buddhists. They think God is zero. And others, they think that God has no form. The two classes. The Hindus they think, "Yes, God has no particular form, but He has got many forms. And you can imagine any one of them." That is Śaṅkara, the pañcopāsana. But still, Śaṅkara is very careful. He has given five particular forms. The Goddess Durgā, Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva, the sun, then... Therefore there are a section who are the sun worshiper, or fire worshiper. Original Iranians were like that. So that is Vedic culture. There... Vedic culture means there are many demigods, but the original God is accepted-Viṣṇu. And original to Viṣṇu is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). And Kṛṣṇa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "There is no more superior form or superior authority than Me." And that is confirmed by Lord Brahmā. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ means controller. There are different grades of controller, but the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa says, mām ekam: "Unto Me alone."

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation at House of Ksirodakasayi dasa -- July 25, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: When Arjuna understood Bhagavad-gītā, he addressed Kṛṣṇa, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). Paraṁ brahma. They are anxious to realize Brahman, that I... ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi does not mean that "I am Paraṁ Brahman." "I am individual part and parcel of Brahman." Similarly, ātmā, Paramātmā; īśvara, Parameśvara. We should understand this distinction between ātmā, Paramātmā: Brahman, Parabrahman; īśvara, Parameśvara. So in the Vedic literature it is said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara. Īśvara means controller. Every one of us, we are controller, either I control over my family or in my office or in my country. In this way everyone is a controller. I may be a controller. Not may be. In my limited jurisdiction I am also controller. You are also controller. So I may be a little greater controller, you may be a smaller controller and somebody may be greater than me. So in this way, if you study controllers, different types of controllers, you'll find there is junior and senior. The same person is senior controller in the family, but in the office he's a junior controller. The same person is junior and senior at the same time. Somewhere he is junior, somewhere he is senior. In this way, if you study all different types of controller, you'll see there is duality of controls, but when you approach somebody that He's simply controller—He's not controlled by others—that is Kṛṣṇa. This is analytical study of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So they have studied all these Vedic scholars, especially Lord Brahmā. This is the statement of Lord Brahmā. Not only Lord Brahmā, Vyāsadeva, Nārada and recently big, big ācāryas, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Nimbārka, Viṣṇu Svāmī, even Śaṅkarācārya and latest, five hundred years ago, Lord Caitanya—everyone has accepted Kṛṣṇa as the supreme controller.