View source for When He (Krsna) is death personified to the thieves, it is not that He is without moral principles or that He is cruel; He is still kind, because to punish thieves with death is to exhibit the highest quality of moral principles

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{{terms|"When He is death personified to the thieves, it is not that He is without moral principles or that He is cruel; He is still kind, because to punish thieves with death is to exhibit the highest quality of moral principles"}}
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{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
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[[Category:Krsna Is]]
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[[Category:Krsna's Morality]]
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[[Category:Krsna's Cruelty]]
[[Category:Krsna Is So Kind]]
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[[Category:Krsna's Exhibiting]]
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[[Category:Quality]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 21 - Qualities of Sri Krsna]]
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<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<h3>Nectar of Devotion</h3>
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When He is death personified to the thieves, it is not that He is without moral principles or that He is cruel; He is still kind, because to punish thieves with death is to exhibit the highest quality of moral principles. In the Bhagavad-gītā, also, Kṛṣṇa says that He deals with different kinds of persons according to their dealings with Him. Kṛṣṇa's dealings with devotees and with nondevotees, although different, are both equally good. Because Kṛṣṇa is all good, His dealings with everyone are always good.
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[[Vanisource:NOD 21 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 21]]
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Kṛṣṇa's receiving education from Sāndīpani Muni is described by Śrī Nārada Muni as follows: "In the beginning, Lord Brahmā and others are as clouds of evaporated water from the great ocean of Kṛṣṇa. In other words, Brahmā first received the Vedic education from Kṛṣṇa, as the clouds receive water from the ocean. That Vedic education or instruction which was spoken by Brahmā to the world was then reposed upon the mountain of Sāndīpani Muni. Sāndīpani Muni's instructions to Kṛṣṇa are like a reservoir of water on the mountain, which flows as a river and goes again to mix with the source, the ocean of Kṛṣṇa." To be more clear, the idea is that Kṛṣṇa actually cannot be instructed by anyone, just as the ocean does not receive water from any source but itself. It only appears that the rivers are pouring water into the ocean. So it is clear that Brahmā received his education from Kṛṣṇa, and from Brahmā, via the disciplic succession, this Vedic instruction was distributed. Sāndīpani Muni is likened to the river which is flowing down again to that same original ocean of Kṛṣṇa.

The Siddhas, the inhabitants of Siddha-loka (where all are born with fully developed mystic powers), and the Cāraṇas, the inhabitants of a similar planet, pray to Kṛṣṇa as follows: "My Lord Govinda, the goddess of learning, who is decorated with fourteen kinds of educational ornaments, whose intelligence is all-pervading within the four departments of the Vedas, whose attention is always on the lawbooks given by great sages like Manu, and who is appareled in six kinds of expert knowledge—namely Vedic evidence, grammar, astrology, rhetoric, vocabulary, and logic, and whose constant friends are the supplements of the Vedas and Purāṇas, decorated with the final conclusion of all education—has now acquired an opportunity to sit with You as a class friend in school, and she is now engaged in Your service."

Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, does not require any education, but He gives a chance to the goddess of learning to serve Him. Being self-sufficient, Kṛṣṇa does not require the service of any living entity, although He has many devotees. It is because Kṛṣṇa is so kind and merciful that He gives the opportunity to everyone to serve Him, as though He requires the service of His devotees.

Regarding His moral principles, it is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that Kṛṣṇa is ruling over Vṛndāvana as death personified to the thieves, as pleasing bliss to the pious, as the most beautiful Cupid to the young girls and as the most munificent personality to the poor men. He is as refreshing as the full moon to His friends, and to His opponents He is the annihilating fire generated from Lord Śiva. Kṛṣṇa is therefore the most perfect moralist in His reciprocal dealings with different kinds of persons. When He is death personified to the thieves, it is not that He is without moral principles or that He is cruel; He is still kind, because to punish thieves with death is to exhibit the highest quality of moral principles. In the Bhagavad-gītā, also, Kṛṣṇa says that He deals with different kinds of persons according to their dealings with Him. Kṛṣṇa's dealings with devotees and with nondevotees, although different, are both equally good. Because Kṛṣṇa is all good, His dealings with everyone are always good.
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