This chapter explains that Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore, the Brahman effulgence is the bodily luster of Lord Caitanya, and the localized Supersoul situated in the heart of every living entity is His partial representation. The puruṣa-avatāras are also explained in this connection. Mahā-Viṣṇu is the reservoir of all conditioned souls, but, as confirmed in the authoritative scriptures, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate fountainhead, the source of numerous plenary expansions, including Nārāyaṇa, who is generally accepted by Māyāvādī philosophers to be the Absolute Truth. The Lord's manifestation of prābhava and vaibhava expansions, as well as partial incarnations and incarnations with delegated powers, are also explained. Lord Kṛṣṇa's ages of boyhood and youth are discussed, and it is explained that His age at the beginning of youth is His eternal form.
Power (CC)
Expressions researched:
"power"
|"power's"
|"powered"
|"powerhouse"
|"powers"
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
There are different grades and standards of prosperity. The standard of comfort and happiness conceived by a common man engaged in material labor is the lowest grade of happiness, for it is in relationship with the body. The highest standard of such bodily comfort is achieved by a fruitive worker who by pious activities reaches the plane of heaven, or the kingdom of the creative gods with their delegated powers. But the conception of comfortable life in heaven is insignificant in comparison to the happiness enjoyed in the impersonal Brahman, and this brahmānanda, the spiritual bliss derived from impersonal Brahman, is like the water in the hoofprint of a calf compared to the ocean of love of Godhead. When one develops pure love for the Lord, he derives an ocean of transcendental happiness from the association of the Personality of Godhead. To qualify oneself to reach this stage of life is the highest perfection.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His various personal expansions are nondifferent in potential power. These expansions are associated with further, secondary expansions, or servitor expansions, who are called devotees.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained the word bhagavān in his Bhagavat-sandarbha. The Personality of Godhead, being full of all conceivable and inconceivable potencies, is the absolute Supreme Whole. Impersonal Brahman is a partial manifestation of the Absolute Truth realized in the absence of such complete potencies. The first syllable of the word bhagavān is bha, which means "sustainer" and "protector." The next letter, ga, means "leader," "pusher" and "creator." Va means "dwelling" (all living beings dwell in the Supreme Lord, and the Supreme Lord dwells within the heart of every living being). Combining all these concepts, the word bhagavān carries the import of inconceivable potency in knowledge, energy, strength, opulence, power and influence, devoid of all varieties of inferiority. Without such inconceivable potencies, one cannot fully sustain or protect. Our modern civilization is sustained by scientific arrangements devised by many great scientific brains. We can just imagine, therefore, the gigantic brain whose arrangements sustain the gravity of the unlimited number of planets and satellites and who creates the unlimited space in which they float. If one considers the intelligence needed to orbit man-made satellites, one cannot be fooled into thinking that there is not a gigantic intelligence responsible for the arrangements of the various planetary systems. There is no reason to believe that all the gigantic planets float in space without the superior arrangement of a superior intelligence. This subject is clearly dealt with in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.13), where the Personality of Godhead says, "I enter into each planet, and by My energy they stay in orbit." Were the planets not held in the grip of the Personality of Godhead, they would all scatter like dust in the air. Modern scientists can only impractically explain this inconceivable strength of the Personality of Godhead.
The Lord is not directly attached to the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world, for He is eternally busy in the enjoyment of transcendental bliss with paraphernalia composed of His internal potencies. Yet as the initiator of the material energy as well as the marginal potency (the living beings), He expands Himself as the puruṣa-avatāras, who are invested with potencies similar to His. The puruṣa-avatāras are also in the category of bhagavat-tattva because each and every one of them is identical with the original form of the Personality of Godhead. The living entities are His infinitesimal particles and are qualitatively one with Him. They are sent into this material world for material enjoyment, to fulfill their desires to be independent individuals, but still they are subject to the supreme will of the Lord. The Lord deputes Himself in the state of Supersoul to supervise the arrangements for such material enjoyment. The example of a temporary fair is quite appropriate in this connection. If the citizens of a state assemble in a fair to enjoy for a short period, the government deputes a special officer to supervise it. Such an officer is invested with all governmental power, and therefore he is identical with the government. When the fair is over, there is no need for such an officer, and he returns home. The Paramātmā is compared to such an officer.
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes."
“The direct Lords of the living beings are the puruṣa incarnations. But Your opulence and power are more exalted than Theirs.
“Therefore You are the primeval Lord, the original father of everyone. They (the puruṣas) are protectors of the universes by Your power.
“"Here (in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam) ten subjects are described: (1) the creation of the ingredients of the cosmos, (2) the creations of Brahmā, (3) the maintenance of the creation, (4) special favor given to the faithful, (5) impetuses for activity, (6) prescribed duties for law-abiding men, (7) a description of the incarnations of the Lord, (8) the winding up of the creation, (9) liberation from gross and subtle material existence, and (10) the ultimate shelter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The tenth item is the shelter of all the others. To distinguish this ultimate shelter from the other nine subjects, the mahājanas have described these nine, directly or indirectly, through prayers or direct explanations."
These verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.10.1–2) list the ten subject matters dealt with in the text of the Bhāgavatam. Of these, the tenth is the substance, and the other nine are categories derived from the substance. These ten subjects are listed as follows:
(1) Sarga: the first creation by Viṣṇu, the bringing forth of the five gross material elements, the five objects of sense perception, the ten senses, the mind, the intelligence, the false ego and the total material energy, or universal form.
(2) Visarga: the secondary creation, or the work of Brahmā in producing the moving and unmoving bodies in the universe (brahmāṇḍa).
(3) Sthāna: the maintenance of the universe by the Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu's function is more important and His glory greater than Brahmā’s and Lord Śiva's, for although Brahmā is the creator and Lord Śiva the destroyer, Viṣṇu is the maintainer.
(4) Poṣaṇa: special care and protection for devotees by the Lord. As a king maintains his kingdom and subjects but nevertheless gives special attention to the members of his family, so the Personality of Godhead gives special care to His devotees who are souls completely surrendered to Him.
(5) Ūti: the urge for creation, or initiative power, that is the cause of all inventions, according to the necessities of time, space and objects.
(6) Manv-antara: the periods controlled by the Manus, who teach regulative principles for living beings who desire to achieve perfection in human life. The rules of Manu, as described in the Manu-saṁhitā, guide the way to such perfection.
(7) Īśānukathā: scriptural information regarding the Personality of Godhead, His incarnations on earth and the activities of His devotees. Scriptures dealing with these subjects are essential for progressive human life.
(8) Nirodha: the winding up of all energies employed in creation. Such potencies are emanations from the Personality of Godhead who eternally lies in the Kāraṇa Ocean. The cosmic creations, manifested with His breath, are again dissolved in due course.
(9) Mukti: liberation of the conditioned souls encaged by the gross and subtle coverings of body and mind. When freed from all material affection, the soul, giving up the gross and subtle material bodies, can attain the spiritual sky in his original spiritual body and engage in transcendental loving service to the Lord in Vaikuṇṭhaloka or Kṛṣṇaloka. When the soul is situated in his original constitutional position of existence, he is said to be liberated. It is possible to engage in transcendental loving service to the Lord and become jīvan-mukta, a liberated soul, even while in the material body.
(10) Āśraya: the Transcendence, the summum bonum, from whom everything emanates, upon whom everything rests, and in whom everything merges after annihilation. He is the source and support of all. The āśraya is also called the Supreme Brahman, as in the Vedānta-sūtra (athāto brahma jijñāsā, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1)). Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam especially describes this Supreme Brahman as the āśraya. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is this āśraya, and therefore the greatest necessity of life is to study the science of Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam accepts Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the shelter of all manifestations because Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the ultimate source of everything, the supreme goal of all.
The Supreme Whole is compared to the sun, which also exists in four features, namely the personality of the sun-god, the glare of his glowing sphere, the sun rays inside the sun planet, and the sun's reflections in many other objects. The ambition to corroborate the existence of the transcendental Absolute Truth by limited conjectural endeavors cannot be fulfilled, because He is beyond the scope of our limited speculative minds. In an honest search for truth, we must admit that His powers are inconceivable to our tiny brains. The exploration of space has demanded the work of the greatest scientists of the world, yet there are countless problems regarding even fundamental knowledge of the material creation that bewilder scientists who confront them. Such material knowledge is far removed from the spiritual nature, and therefore the acts and arrangements of the Absolute Truth are, beyond all doubts, inconceivable.
"The Supreme Lord is one without a second. He has nothing to do personally, nor does He have material senses. No one is equal to Him or greater than Him. He has unlimited, variegated potencies of different names, which exist within Him as autonomous attributes and provide Him full knowledge, power and pastimes."
In the category of viṣṇu-tattva there is no loss of power from one expansion to the next, any more than there is a loss of illumination as one candle kindles another. Thousands of candles may be kindled by an original candle, and all will have the same candle power. In this way it is to be understood that although all the viṣṇu-tattvas, from Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya to Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha and so on, appear with different features in different ages, all are equally invested with supreme potency.
Demigods such as Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva come in contact with the material energy, and their power and potency are therefore of different gradations. All the incarnations of Viṣṇu, however, are equal in potency, for the influence of māyā cannot even approach Them.
"O my Lord, those influenced by demoniac principles cannot realize You, although You are clearly the Supreme by dint of Your exalted activities, forms, character and uncommon power, which are confirmed by all the revealed scriptures in the quality of goodness and the celebrated transcendentalists in the divine nature."
Śrī Rādhā is the full power, and Lord Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of full power. The two are not different, as evidenced by the revealed scriptures.
There is another wonderful feature of the emotion of the gopīs. Its power is beyond the comprehension of the intelligence.
Even if a materialist wants to enjoy developed material facilities, he can transfer himself to planets where he can experience material pleasures much more advanced than those available on earth. The best plan is to prepare oneself to return to the spiritual sky after leaving the body. However, if one is intent on enjoying material facilities, one can transfer himself to other planets in the material sky by utilizing yogic powers. The playful spaceships of the astronauts are but childish entertainments and are of no use for this purpose. The aṣṭāṅga-yoga system is a materialistic art of controlling air by transferring it from the stomach to the navel, from the navel to the heart, from the heart to the collarbone, from there to the eyeballs, from there to the cerebellum and from there to any desired planet. The velocities of air and light are taken into consideration by the material scientist, but he has no information of the velocity of the mind and intelligence.
In the Pauṣkara-saṁhitā it is said, "If one fully worships according to the regulative principles, one can attain the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva." It is to be accepted that Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are as good as Lord Vāsudeva, for They all have inconceivable power and can accept transcendental forms like Vāsudeva. Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are never born, but They can manifest Themselves in various incarnations before the eyes of pure devotees. This is the conclusion of all Vedic literature. That the Lord can manifest Himself before His devotees by His inconceivable power is not against the teaching of the Pañcarātras. Since Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are, respectively, the predominating Deities of all living entities, the total mind and the total ego, the designation of Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha as "jīva," "mind" and "ego" is never contradictory to the statements of the scriptures. These terms identify these Deities, just as the terms "sky" and "light" sometimes identify the Absolute Brahman.
"Although smoke, flaming wood, and sparks are all considered together as ingredients of a fire, the flaming wood is nevertheless different from the fire, and the smoke is different from the flaming wood." The material elements (earth, water, fire, etc.) are like smoke, the living entities are like sparks, and material nature as pradhāna is like the flaming wood. But all of them together are recipients of power from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are thus able to manifest their individual capacities. In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of all manifestations. Material nature can supply only when it is activated by the glance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
When covered by the cloud of material energy, the living entity, who is also a spiritual energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, forgets about the activities of the spiritual energy and considers all that happens in the material manifestation to be wonderful. But a person who is engaged in devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness and who is therefore already situated in the spiritual energy can understand that the material energy has no independent powers: whatever actions are going on are due to the help of the spiritual energy. The material energy, which is a perverted form of the spiritual energy, presents everything pervertedly, thus causing misconceptions and duality. Material scientists and philosophers conditioned by the spell of material nature suppose that material energy acts automatically, and therefore they are frustrated, like an illusioned person who tries to get milk from the nipplelike bunches of skin on the neck of a goat. As there is no possibility of getting milk from these bunches of skin, there is similarly no possibility that anyone will be successful in understanding the original cause of creation by putting forward theories produced by the material energy. Such an attempt is a manifestation of ignorance.
When Lord Brahmā, after having stolen all Kṛṣṇa's calves and cowherd boys, returned and saw that the calves and boys were still roaming with Kṛṣṇa, he offered this prayer (SB 10.14.11) in his defeat. A conditioned soul, even one so great as Brahmā, who manages the affairs of the entire universe, cannot compare to the Personality of Godhead, for He can produce numberless universes simply by the spiritual rays emanating from the pores of His body. Material scientists should take lessons from the utterances of Śrī Brahmā regarding our insignificance in comparison to God. In these prayers of Brahmā there is much to learn for those who are falsely puffed up by the accumulation of power.
Thus the Bhagavad-gītā also states again and again that the Absolute Truth always possesses inconceivable power.
“Sometimes material scientists give the example that milk turns into curd automatically and that distilled water pouring from the clouds falls down to earth, produces different kinds of trees, and enters different kinds of flowers and fruits with different fragrances and tastes. Therefore, they say, matter produces varieties of material things on its own. In reply to this argument, the same proposition of the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad—that different kinds of living creatures are put into different kinds of bodies by the management of a superior power—is repeated. Under superior superintendence, various souls, according to their past activities, are given the chance to take a particular type of body, such as that of a tree, animal, bird or beast, and thus their different tendencies develop under these circumstances.
The argument of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu described in this verse can be very easily understood even by a common man if he simply thinks of the activities of the sun, which has been giving off unlimited amounts of heat and light since time immemorial and yet has not even slightly decreased in power. Modern science believes that it is by sunshine that the entire cosmic manifestation is maintained, and actually one can see how the actions and reactions of sunshine maintain order throughout the universe. The growth of vegetables and even the rotation of the planets take place due to the heat and light of the sun. Sometimes, therefore, modern scientists consider the sun to be the original cause of creation, not knowing that the sun is only a medium, for it is also created by the supreme energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Aside from the sun and the touchstone, there are many other material things that transform their energy in different ways and yet remain as they are. It is not necessary, therefore, for the original cause, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to change due to the changes or transformations of His different energies.
"To prove their philosophy, the members of the Māyāvāda school have given up the real, easily understood meaning of the Vedic literature and introduced indirect meanings based on their imaginative powers."
"I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, from whom the separated subjective portion Brahmā receives his power for the regulation of the mundane world, just as the sun manifests a portion of his own light in all the effulgent gems that bear such names as sūrya-kānta." (Bs. 5.49)
- yat-pāda-pallava-yugaṁ vinidhāya kumbha-
- dvandve praṇāma-samaye sa gaṇādhirājaḥ
- vighnān vihantum alam asya jagat-trayasya
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda. Gaṇeśa always holds His lotus feet upon the pair of tumuli protruding from his elephant head in order to obtain power for his function of destroying all obstacles on the path of progress in the three worlds." (Bs. 5.50)
Sometimes it is to be seen that a dog can swim in the water for a few yards and then come back to the shore. Here, however, it is stated that if a dog is blessed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he can swim across an ocean. Similarly, the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, placing himself in a helpless condition, states that he has no personal power, but by the desire of Lord Caitanya, expressed through the Vaiṣṇavas and the Madana-mohana vigraha, it is possible for him to cross a transcendental ocean to present Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
By His inconceivable powers, the Lord became the gardener, the trunk and the branches simultaneously.
The sākṣāt feature of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is His personal presence. Āveśa refers to invested power, like that invested in Nakula Brahmacārī. Āvirbhāva is a manifestation of the Lord that appears even though He is personally not present. For example, Śrī Śacīmātā offered food at home to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu although He was far away in Jagannātha Purī, and when she opened her eyes after offering the food, she saw that it had actually been eaten by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Similarly, when Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura performed saṅkīrtana, everyone felt the presence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, even in His absence. This is another example of āvirbhāva.
Each and every branch of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's devotees has unlimited spiritual power and glory. Even if one had thousands of mouths, it would be impossible to describe the limits of their activities.
To describe Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one needs supernatural power, which is the grace and mercy of the Lord. Without this grace and mercy, one cannot compose transcendental literature. By dint of the grace of the Lord, however, even one who is unfit for a literary career can describe wonderful transcendental topics. Description of Kṛṣṇa is possible for one who is empowered. Kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana (CC Antya 7.11). Unless endowed with the mercy of the Lord, one cannot preach of the Lord's name, fame, qualities, form, entourage and so on. It should be concluded, therefore, that the writing of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī manifests specific mercy bestowed upon the author, although he thought of himself as the most fallen. We should not consider him fallen because he describes himself as such. Rather, anyone who is able to compose such transcendental literature is our esteemed master.
Unfortunately, atheistic science will not accept that matter comes from life. Scientists insist upon their most illogical and foolish theory that life comes from matter, although this is quite impossible. They cannot prove in their laboratories that matter can produce life, yet there are thousands and thousands of examples illustrating that matter comes from life. Therefore in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says that as soon as one accepts the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no great philosopher or scientist can put forward any thesis to contradict the Lord's power. This is expressed in the following Sanskrit verse.
Such mistakes should be considered negligible. One should see only how such poets have displayed their poetic power.
When He was then informed about the death of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura's son, He expressed His regret, saying, "Why was this news not given to Me before?" He went to the place where the son was lying dead and asked him, "My dear boy, why are you leaving the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura?" The dead son immediately replied, "I was living in this house as long as I was destined to live here. Now that the time is over, I am going elsewhere, according to Your direction. I am Your eternal servant, a dependent living being. I must act only according to Your desire. Beyond Your desire, I cannot do anything. I have no such power." Hearing these words of the dead son, all the members of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura's family received transcendental knowledge. Thus there was no cause for lamentation. This transcendental knowledge is described in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.13): tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati. When someone dies, he accepts another body; therefore sober persons do not lament.
CC Madhya-lila
There is also a description of twenty-five līlā-avatāras, namely Catuḥsana (the Kumāras), Nārada, Varāha, Matsya, Yajña, Nara-nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, Kapila, Dattātreya, Hayagrīva, Haṁsa, Pṛśnigarbha, Ṛṣabha, Pṛthu, Nṛsiṁha, Kūrma, Dhanvantari, Mohinī, Vāmana, Paraśurāma, Dāśarathi, Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana, Balarāma, Vāsudeva, Buddha and Kalki. There are also fourteen manvantara incarnations: Yajña, Vibhu, Satyasena, Hari, Vaikuṇṭha, Ajita, Vāmana, Sārvabhauma, Ṛṣabha, Viṣvaksena, Dharmasetu, Sudhāmā, Yogeśvara and Bṛhadbhānu. There are also four incarnations for the four yugas, and their colors are described as white, red, blackish and black (sometimes yellow, as in the case of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu). There are different types of millenniums and incarnations for those millenniums. The categories called āveśa, prābhava, vaibhava and para constitute different situations for the different incarnations. According to specific pastimes, the names are spiritually empowered. There are also descriptions of the difference between the powerful and the power, and the inconceivable activities of the Supreme Lord.
Unfortunately, such mlecchas and yavanas are in executive power. How, then, can there be peace and prosperity in the state? The king or the president must be the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira accepted the rule of Bhārata-varṣa (formerly this entire planet, including all the seas and land), he took sanction from authorities like Bhīṣmadeva and Lord Kṛṣṇa. He thus ruled the entire world according to religious principles. At the present moment, however, heads of state do not care for religious principles. If irreligious people vote on an issue, even though it be against the principles of the śāstras, the bills will be passed. The president and heads of state become sinful by agreeing to such abominable activities. Sanātana and Rūpa Gosvāmīs pleaded guilty to such activities; they therefore classified themselves among the mlecchas, although they had been born in a brāhmaṇa family.
At Jagannātha Purī Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī met the Lord again, and the Lord invested his heart with all transcendental power.
Therefore I very humbly submit that since these incidents have already been nicely described by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, I would be very proud to repeat the same thing, and this would not be very good. I do not have such powers.
"Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power and morality. That is my opinion." (BG 18.78)
If the preachers in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are sincere devotees of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will always be with them because He is very kind and favorable to all His devotees. Just as Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa were victorious in the Battle of Kurukṣetra, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will surely emerge victorious if we but remain sincere devotees of the Lord and serve the Lord according to the advice of the predecessors (the Six Gosvāmīs and other devotees of the Lord). As Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has stated: tāṅdera caraṇa sevi bhakta-sane vāsa, janame janame haya ei abhilāṣa. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness devotees must always desire to remain in the society of devotees. Bhakta-sane vāsa: they cannot go outside the Kṛṣṇa consciousness society or movement. Within the society we must try to serve the predecessors by preaching Caitanya Mahāprabhu's cult and spreading His name and fame all over the world. If we attempt this seriously within the society, it will be successfully done. There is no question of estimating how this will happen in the mundane sense. But without a doubt, it happens by the grace of Kṛṣṇa.
The conversation between Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the brāhmaṇa is proof that the Lord in His arcā-mūrti, or form made of material elements, is not material, for those elements, although separated from the Lord, are also a part of the Lord's energy, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Because the elements are the Lord's own energy and because there is no difference between the energy and the energetic, the Lord can appear through any element. Just as the sun can act through the sunshine and thus distribute its heat and light, so Kṛṣṇa, by His inconceivable power, can appear in His original spiritual form in any material element, including stone, wood, paint, gold, silver and jewels, because the material elements are all His energy. The śāstras warn, arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīḥ . . . nārakī saḥ: one should never think of the arcā-mūrti, the Deity within the temple, as stone, wood or any other material element. Because of his advanced devotional position, the younger brāhmaṇa knew that although the Deity of Gopāla appeared to be stone, He was not stone. He was the son of Nanda Mahārāja, Vrajendra-nandana Himself. As such, the Deity could act exactly as the Lord does in His original form as Kṛṣṇa.
One cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by exhibiting some mundane magic. Foolish people are enchanted by magical demonstrations, and when they see a few wonderful things done by mystical power, they accept a magician as the Personality of Godhead or an incarnation. This is not the way of realization. Nor should one guess or speculate about an incarnation of God or the Personality of Godhead. One has to learn from the bona fide person or from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, as Arjuna did, by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa Himself also gives many hints about His potencies as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead only through the evidence presented by the śāstras and the mahājanas. In any case, one must have the mercy of the Lord in order to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotional service.
Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya said, “My dear Sir, You have delivered the entire world, but that is not a very great task. However, You have also delivered me, and that is certainly the work of very wonderful powers.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains those inscriptions as follows: (1) Śrī Puruṣottama Yati appeared as the instructor of many learned men. He was a very favorite devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. (2) His preaching was accepted throughout the world with great respect, and by his power he liberated many nondevotees with strong reason and logic. (3) He initiated Ānanda Tīrtha (Madhvācārya), who, after accepting sannyāsa, punished many foolish men with his rod and converted them. (4) All of Madhvācārya's writings and words are very potent. He gave people devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu so they could be elevated to liberation in the spiritual world. (5) His instructions in devotional service were able to elevate any man to the lotus feet of the Lord. (6) Narahari Tīrtha was initiated by him and became the ruler of Kaliṅga Province. (7) Narahari Tīrtha fought with the Śabaras, who were caṇḍālas, or hunters, and thus saved the temple of Kūrma. (8) Narahari Tīrtha was a very religious and powerful king. (9) In Śaka Era 1203, in the month of Vaiśākha, in the fortnight of the moon's waxing period, on the day of Ekādaśī, Narahari Tīrtha dedicated to the holy name of Yogānanda Nṛsiṁhadeva the temple he had constructed on His order. (The tablet is dated that very day, corresponding to Saturday, March 29, 1281 A.D.)
This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.5.16) and is an admission by the great sage Durvāsā Muni. Durvāsā Muni, a caste brāhmaṇa and great yogī, used to hate Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. When he decided to chastise Mahārāja Ambarīṣa through his yogic powers, he was chased by the Sudarśana cakra of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When things were settled, he said, "When the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is heard by any person, that person is immediately sanctified. The Supreme Lord is master of the devotees, and the devotees, under His shelter, naturally come to own His opulences."
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “Sītādevī, the dearmost wife of the Supreme Lord Rāmacandra, certainly has a spiritual form full of bliss. No one can see her with material eyes, for no materialist has such power.
Śaṅkarācārya had four principal disciples, and he established four centers under their management. In North India at Badarikāśrama, the monastery named Jyotir-maṭha was established. At Puruṣottama, the Bhogavardhana or Govardhana monastery was established. In Dvārakā, the Sāradā monastery was established. And the fourth monastery, established in South India, is known as Śṛṅgeri-maṭha. In the Śṛṅgeri-maṭha, the sannyāsīs assume the designations Sarasvatī, Bhāratī and Purī. They are all ekadaṇḍi-sannyāsīs, distinguished from the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs, who are known as tridaṇḍi-sannyāsīs. The Śṛṅgeri-maṭha is situated in South India, in a portion of the country comprising Āndhra, Draviḍa, Karṇāṭa and Kerala. The community is called Bhūrivāra, and the dynasty is called Bhūr-bhuvaḥ. The place is called Rāmeśvara, and the slogan is ahaṁ brahmāsmi. The Deity is Lord Varāha, and the energetic power is Kāmākṣī. The ācārya is Hastāmalaka, and the brahmacārī assistants of the sannyāsīs are known as Caitanya. The place of pilgrimage is called Tuṅgabhadrā, and the subject for Vedic study is the Yajur Veda.
Madhvācārya's devotion to the Lord and his erudite scholarship became known throughout India. Consequently the owners of the Śṛṅgeri-maṭha, established by Śaṅkarācārya, became a little perturbed. At that time the followers of Śaṅkarācārya were afraid of Madhvācārya's rising power, and they began to tease Madhvācārya's disciples in many ways. There was even an attempt to prove that the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya was not in line with Vedic principles. A person named Puṇḍarīka Purī, a follower of the Māyāvāda philosophy of Śaṅkarācārya, came before Madhvācārya to discuss the śāstras. It is said that all of Madhvācārya's books were taken away, but later they were found with the help of King Jayasiṁha, ruler of Kumla. In discussion, Puṇḍarīka Purī was defeated by Madhvācārya. A great personality named Trivikramācārya, who was a resident of Viṣṇumaṅgala, became Madhvācārya's disciple, and his son later became Nārāyaṇācārya, the composer of Śrī Madhva-vijaya. After the death of Trivikramācārya, the younger brother of Nārāyaṇācārya took sannyāsa and later became known as Viṣṇu Tīrtha.
The same principles can be applied to demoniac persons, even though they be in the sampradāya of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Without receiving the Lord's special power, one cannot preach His glories all over the world. Even though one may celebrate himself as a learned follower of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and even though one may attempt to preach the holy name of the Lord all over the world, if he is not favored by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu he will find fault with the pure devotee and will not be able to understand how a preacher is empowered by Lord Caitanya. One must be considered bereft of the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu when he criticizes the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement now spreading all over the world or finds fault with this movement or the leader of the movement.
All glories to the devotees of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, headed by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura! I beg their power so that I can properly describe Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
I am merely an insignificant jīva, so what power do I have to give directions to You? By Your own personal choice You will meet with the King. I shall see it.
He is the original substance because every category emanates from Him. Thus He is simultaneously one with and different from all other categories. The Lord is always engaged in a variety of spiritual activities, but the monist cannot understand spiritual variety. The conclusion is that although the powerful and the power are one and the same, within the energy of the powerful there are varieties. In those varieties there is a distinction between the different parts of one's personal self, between types of the same category, and between types of different categories. In other words, there is always variety in the categories, which are understood as knowledge, the knower and the knowable. Due to the eternal existence of knowledge, the knower and the knowable, devotees everywhere know about the eternal existence of the form, name, qualities, pastimes and entourage of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Devotees never agree with the monists' preaching of oneness. Unless one adheres to the conceptions of the knower, the knowable and knowledge, there is no possibility of understanding spiritual variety, nor can one taste the transcendental bliss of spiritual variety.
""My Lord, the nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those who are always aggrieved in this material world. These narrations are transmitted by exalted personalities, and they eradicate all sinful reactions. Whoever hears these narrations attains all good fortune. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Those who spread the message of Godhead are certainly the most munificent welfare workers.""
The almighty Personality of Godhead has three potencies—internal, external and marginal. The conditioned souls, who are condemned due to their forgetfulness of the Lord, are put under the control of the external potency when she creates the material world. The three modes of material nature keep the living entity in a constant state of fear (bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ). The conditioned soul is always fearful due to being controlled by the external potency; therefore the conditioned soul should always pray to the almighty Lord to conquer the external potency (māyā) so that she will no longer manifest her powers, which bind all living entities, moving and inert. By praying in this way one will become eligible to remain constantly in the association of the Lord, thus fulfilling the mission of going back home, back to Godhead.
My wife and I did not especially exert ourselves in the cooking. He by whose power the food has been prepared knows everything.
As far as Ṣāṭhī, the daughter of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, was concerned, she was advised to give up her relationship with her husband. Concerning this, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.18) states, na patiś ca sa syān na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum: "One cannot be a husband if he cannot liberate his dependents from inevitable death." If a person is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is bereft of spiritual power, he cannot protect his wife from the path of repeated birth and death. Consequently such a person cannot be accepted as a husband. A wife should dedicate her life and everything to Kṛṣṇa for further advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If her husband abandons Kṛṣṇa consciousness and she gives up her connection with him, she follows in the footsteps of the dvija-patnīs, the wives of the brāhmaṇas who were engaged in performing sacrifices.
Such are the qualifications of a pure devotee. Materially one may be very opulent, experienced, influential and educated, but if one still thinks himself lower than straw in the street, one attracts the attention of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or Lord Kṛṣṇa. Although Mahārāja Pratāparudra was a king, he took up a broom to cleanse the road for Lord Jagannātha's ratha (chariot). Because of this humble service, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with the King, and for that reason the Lord embraced him. According to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instructions, a devotee should never be puffed up by material power. He should know that material power is the result of one's past good activities (karma) and is consequently transient. At any moment all one's material opulence can be finished; therefore a devotee is never proud of such opulence. He is always humble and meek, considering himself lower than a piece of straw. Because of this, the devotees are eligible to return home, back to Godhead.
Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). The Supreme Lord has multipotencies, which the Lord bestows on His fortunate devotees. The Lord has a special potency by which He spreads the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This is explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Antya 7.11): kali-kālera dharma—kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana/ kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana. "One cannot spread the holy name of Kṛṣṇa without being specifically empowered by Lord Kṛṣṇa." A devotee who receives this power from the Lord must be considered very fortunate. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is spreading to enlighten people about their real position, their original relationship with Kṛṣṇa. One requires Kṛṣṇa's special power in order to be able to do this. People forget their relationship with Kṛṣṇa and work under the spell of māyā life after life, transmigrating from one body to another. This is the process of material existence. The Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa personally descends to teach people that their position in the material world is a mistaken one. The Lord again comes as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to induce people to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Lord also empowers a special devotee to teach people their constitutional position.
"A person acting in the service of Kṛṣṇa with his body, mind and words is a liberated person even in the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities."
To keep oneself free from material contamination and attain the Lord's favor, one must be sincerely eager to render service to the Lord. This is the only qualification necessary. As soon as one is favored by the mercy of the spiritual master and the Lord, one is immediately given all the power necessary to write books and propagate the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement without being hampered by material considerations.
The unwanted creepers have been described by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. He states that if one hears and chants without trying to give up offenses, one becomes materially attached to sense gratification. One may also desire freedom from material bondage like the Māyāvādīs, or one may become attached to the yoga-siddhis and desire wonderful yogic powers. If one is attached to wonderful material activities, one is called siddhi-lobhī, greedy for material perfection. One may also be victimized by diplomatic or crooked behavior, or one may associate with women for illicit sex. One may make a show of devotional service like the prākṛta-sahajiyās, or one may try to support his philosophy by joining some caste or identifying himself with a certain dynasty, claiming a monopoly on spiritual advancement. Thus with the support of family tradition, one may become a pseudo guru, or so-called spiritual master.
There are innumerable conditioned souls rotting in the material world, imprisoned by māyā under the spell of sense gratification. The living entity is so entranced by the spell of māyā that in conditioned life even a pig feels satisfied. There are two kinds of covering powers exhibited by māyā. One is called prakṣepātmikā, and the other is called āvaraṇātmikā. When one is determined to get out of material bondage, the prakṣepātmikā-śakti, the spell of diversion, impels one to remain in conditioned life fully satisfied by sense gratification. Due to the other power (āvaraṇātmikā), a conditioned soul feels satisfied even if he is rotting in the body of a pig or a worm in stool. To release a conditioned soul from material bondage is very difficult because the spell of māyā is so strong. Even when the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself descends to deliver conditioned souls, asking them to surrender unto Him, the conditioned souls do not agree to the Lord's proposal. Therefore Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī said, "Somehow or other, if one helps another gain release from the bondage of māyā, he is certainly recognized immediately by the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes."
"O learned brāhmaṇas, just as hundreds and thousands of small rivulets issue from great reservoirs of water, innumerable incarnations flow from Śrī Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the reservoir of all power."
Without the Supreme Personality of Godhead's energy, dull matter cannot create the cosmic manifestation. Its power does not arise from the material energy itself but is endowed by Saṅkarṣaṇa.
"The sun manifests his brilliance in a gem, although it is stone. Similarly, the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, manifests His special power in a pious living entity. Thus the living entity becomes Brahmā and manages the affairs of the universe. Let me worship Govinda, the original Personality of Godhead."
Although an incarnation of the material energy, Lord Brahmā is nonetheless the director of the material mode of passion. Similarly, Lord Śiva, although simultaneously one with and different from Lord Kṛṣṇa, is still the incarnation of the mode of darkness. However, Lord Viṣṇu is Kṛṣṇa's personal expansion; therefore He is the director of the mode of goodness and is always transcendentally situated, beyond the jurisdiction of the modes of material nature. Lord Viṣṇu is the original personal expansion of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the original source of all incarnations. As far as power is concerned, Lord Viṣṇu is as powerful as Lord Kṛṣṇa because He possesses all the opulences.
"Whenever the Lord is present in someone by portions of His various potencies, the living entity representing the Lord is called a śaktyāveśa-avatāra—that is, an incarnation invested with special power."
“As explained in the Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa has spread Himself all over the universe in many personalities through specific powers, known as vibhūti.
The expansion of specific māyā powers is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.7.39).
The three-fourths part of Lord Kṛṣṇa's energy is beyond our speaking power. Let us therefore hear elaborately about the remaining one fourth of His energy.
Due to bad association, the living entity desires material happiness, liberation or merging into the impersonal aspect of the Lord, or he engages in mystic yoga for material power. If such a person actually becomes intelligent, he takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness by engaging himself in intense devotional service to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
"Krama" also means "power," "trembling," "a systematic method," "argument" and "a forcible attack by stepping forward." Thus Vāmana caused the three worlds to tremble.
Pure devotional service is so sublime that one can very easily forget the happiness derived from material enjoyment, material liberation and mystic or yogic perfection. Thus the devotee is bound by Kṛṣṇa's mercy and His uncommon power and qualities.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “You are a great, spiritually advanced personality, and therefore you cannot worship a person like Me. I am far inferior. If you do so, My spiritual power will be diminished, for you are as good as the impersonal Brahman.
CC Antya-lila
Without Your mercy such poetic expressions would be impossible for an ordinary living being to write. My guess is that You have given him the power.
Nāmācārya Haridāsa Ṭhākura, the authority on the chanting of the holy name, said, “The chanting of the Lord's holy name to indicate something other than the Lord is an instance of nāmābhāsa. Even when the holy name is chanted in this way, its transcendental power is not destroyed.
Formerly, when the Muslim government was in power, the person appointed tax collector would collect the taxes of the local zamindars, or landholders. He would keep one fourth of the collection for himself as a profit, and the balance he would deliver to the treasury of the government.
Indra, the King of heaven, was very proud of his position. Therefore when the residents of Vṛndāvana decided not to perform the Indra-yajña but instead to perform the Govardhana-yajña in accordance with the instructions of Kṛṣṇa, Indra, because of his false pride, wanted to chastise the residents of Vṛndāvana. Thinking himself extremely powerful, Indra poured incessant rain upon Vṛndāvana, but Lord Kṛṣṇa immediately cut down his pride by lifting Govardhana Hill as an umbrella to save the residents of Vṛndāvana. In this way Kṛṣṇa proved Indra's power most insignificant in the presence of His own omnipotence.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave this benediction: “Anyone who has seen the festival of Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura's passing away, anyone who has chanted and danced here, anyone who has offered sand on the body of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and anyone who has joined this festival to partake of the prasādam will achieve the favor of Kṛṣṇa very soon. There is such wonderful power in seeing Haridāsa Ṭhākura.
"Such a position may befit others, but I do not possess such spiritual power. I belong to a lower class and have not even a pinch of devotion to Kṛṣṇa."
| Page Title: | Power (CC) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, MadhuGopaldas, Mayapur |
| Created: | 15 of Dec, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=77, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 77 |