Who is Krishna?
Written by Cetanarahita dasa
Some say, "God has no name," but God has so many names that any one
name is not God's only name. We cannot limit the Unlimited.
All-attractive
God has unlimited names according to His activities. He is called
Devaki-nandana because He accepted Devaki as His mother. He is called
Nanda-nandana and Yashoda-nandana in relationship with Nanda Maharaja
and Yashoda, His foster father and mother. He is called Partha-
sarathi because He was the chariot driver of Arjuna. He is Bhakta-
vatsala, affectionate to His devotees. He is Gopinatha, the Lord of
the gopis. He is Gopijana-vallabha, beloved of the inhabitants of
Vrindavana. He is Bhava-grahi Janardana, who understands one's mental
attitude. He is Varadaraja, the best of the givers of benedictions.
He is Avatari, the source of all incarnations. He is Radha-ramana,
the lover of Radharani. He is Govinda, who gives pleasure to the cows
and to everyone's senses.
He is Krishna. If any transcendental name belongs to the Absolute
Personality of Godhead, it must be the name indicated by the word
Krishna, which means all-attractive. One is attractive if he is
wealthy, powerful, famous, beautiful, wise, or renounced. The Supreme
Person possesses in fullness all wealth, all power, all fame, all
beauty, all wisdom, and all renunciation. Therefore He is Bhagavan.
Bhaga means "opulence" and van means "one who possesses."
Lord Sri Krishna is mentioned on every page of the Bhagavad-gita as
Bhagavan. The word Bhagavan denotes a great person or demigod, but
all authorities of Vedic knowledge confirm that Krishna is the
Supreme Person. The Lord Himself establishes this in the Bhagavad-
gita, and He is accepted as such in the Brahma-samhita and all the
Puranas, especially Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Krishna's Unparalleled Activities
The Vedic history of the universe extends billions of years into the
past. Throughout those years, it gives the histories of Krishna's
appearances and disappearances. In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna tells
Arjuna that both He and Arjuna had had many births before. Krishna
could remember all of them but Arjuna could not. This is the
difference between Krishna, God, and Arjuna, man. Krishna's knowledge
and memory are boundless, but Arjuna's knowledge and memory are
limited by time and space.
Krishna incarnates on one planet after another in infinite universes.
He appeared on this earth in His original form as Krishna five
thousand years ago. He stayed here for 125 years and played exactly
like a human being, but His activities were unparalleled in the
history of the world. Within the prison of His maternal uncle, Kamsa,
where His father and mother were confined, Krishna appeared outside
His mother's body as the four-handed Vishnu-Narayana. Then He turned
Himself into a baby and told His father to carry Him to the house of
Nanda Maharaja and his wife Yashoda. When Krishna was just a small
baby the gigantic demoness Putana attempted to kill Him, but when He
sucked her breast He pulled out her life.
God Is Always God
Krishna did not practice meditation to become God. He manifested
Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead at every step, from
infancy to childhood, from childhood to boyhood, and from boyhood to
young manhood. Although Krishna plays like a human being, He always
maintains His identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Krishna is the original person among all persons. Krishna expands
Himself into innumerable forms, such as Baladeva, Rama, Nrisimha, and
Varaha. All these forms are one and the same Personality of Godhead.
They are not like our forms, which are fallible. His form is
infallible. My form has a beginning, but His multiforms have no
beginning or end. Krishna can be everywhere at once. He is in Goloka
Vrindavana, and at the same time He is everywhere, all-pervading. He
is original, the oldest, but whenever you look at a picture of
Krishna you'll find a young boy fifteen or twenty years old. Krishna,
God, never becomes old.
The Supreme Engineer
Krishna is the origin of all creations. Everything emanates from Him.
In the beginning there was no Brahma, no Shiva, no Indra, no sun, no
moon, no stars, no electricity. There was only Krishna. By the will
of the Lord, everything emanates from Him, is maintained by Him, and
enters into Him at the end. And yet He is so perfect that He doesn't
manage everything personally. His inconceivable energies do all the
work by His will. The chief engineer of a complicated construction
does not personally take part in the construction, but he knows every
nook and corner because everything is done under his direction. He
knows everything about the construction, both directly and
indirectly. Similarly, the Personality of Godhead, the supreme
engineer of this cosmic creation, knows every nook and corner,
although affairs are being carried out by His plenary expansions and
demigods.
Krishna Is the Enjoyer
Krishna is compared to the root of a tree or the stomach in the body.
When one waters the root of a tree, he automatically waters the
branches, twigs, leaves and flowers; when one supplies food to the
stomach through the mouth, he satisfies all the parts of the body. If
we love Krishna, we will automatically realize universal love, unity,
and tranquility.
When Krishna Plays His Flute
Krishna is the primeval Lord, Govinda, who has pastimes with the cows
and the cowherd boys and girls in the spiritual earthly village of
Gokula. When Krishna plays beautiful dancing notes on His flute, it
attracts the hearts of all living beings. As the petal of the lotus
flower is a pleasant sight, Krishna's eyes, the revelation of
spiritual vision, expand the unlimited splendor of His moonlike face.
His beauty is set off by the charming peacock feather that adorns His
head. The hue of Krishna's body resembles a tranquil blue rain cloud.
The loveliness of Krishna is far more enchanting than Cupid's
multiplied billions of times.
For more reading:
Srimad-Bhagavatam: 1.1.1, 1.3.28, 2.9.33
Brahma-samhita: 5.1, 5.39, 5.46
Chaitanya-charitamrita: Adi-lila, 5.142
Bhagavad-gita: 7.7, 10.8, 10.12, 10.41, 14.4
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