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KB 1970-2-34 / The Superexcellent Power of Krsna
34 / The Superexcellent Power of Krsna
Long, long ago, there was an assembly of great sages on the
bank of the river Sarasvati, and they performed a great
sacrifice of the name Satrayajna. In such assemblies, the great
sages present usually discuss Vedic subject matters and
philosophical topics, and in this particular meeting the
following question was raised: The three predominating deities
of this material world, namely, Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu and
Lord Siva, are directing all the affairs of the this cosmos,
but who among them is the Supreme? After much discussion on
this question, the great sage named Bhrgu, who is the son of
Lord Brahma, was deputed to test all three predominating
deities and report to the assembly as to who is the greatest.
Being thus deputed, the great sage Bhrgumuni first of all
went to his father's residence in Brahmaloka. The three deities
are the controllers of the three material qualities, namely the
qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance. The plan decided
upon by the sages was for Bhrgu to test which of the
predominating deities possesses the quality of goodness in full.
Therefore, when Bhrgumuni reached his father, Lord Brahma,
because he wanted to test whether he had the quality of
goodness, he purposely did not offer his respects to his
father either by offering obeisances or by offering prayers.
It is the duty of a son or a disciple to offer respects and
recite suitable prayers when he approaches his father or
spiritual master. But Bhrgumuni purposely failed to offer
respects, just to see Lord Brahma's reaction to this negligence.
Lord Brahma was very angry at his son's impudency, and he
showed signs which definitely proved this to be so. He was even
prepared to condemn Bhrgu by cursing him, but because Bhrgu was
his son, Lord Brahma controlled his anger with his great
intelligence. This means that although the quality of passion
was prominent in Lord Brahma, he had the power to control it.
Lord Brahma's anger and his controlling his anger are likened
to fire and water. Water is produced from fire
, but fire can be extinguished with water. Similarly,
although Lord Brahma was very angry due to his quality of
passion, he could still control his passion because Bhrgumuni
was his son.
After testing Lord Brahma, Bhrgumuni went directly to the
planet Kailasa, where Lord Siva resides. Bhrgumuni
happened to be Lord Siva's brother. Therefore, as soon as
Bhrgumuni approached, Lord Siva was very glad and
personally rose to embrace him. But when Lord Siva approached,
Bhrgumuni refused to embrace him. "My dear brother," he
said, "you are always very impure. Because you smear your body
with ashes, you are not very clean. Please do not touch me."
When Bhrgumuni refused to embrace his brother, saying that
Lord Siva was very impure, the latter became very angry with
him. It is said that an offense can be committed either with
the body, with the mind or by speech. Bhrgumuni's first
offense, committed towards Lord Brahma, was an offense with the
mind. His second offense, committed towards Lord Siva by
insulting him, criticizing him for unclean habits, was an
offense by speech. Because the quality of ignorance is
prominent in Lord Siva, when he heard Bhrgu's insult, his eyes
immediately became red with anger. With uncontrollable rage, he
took up his trident and prepared to kill Bhrgumuni. At
that time, Lord Siva's wife, Parvati, was present. Her
personality is a mixture of the three
qualities, and therefore she is called Trigunamayi. In this
case, she saved the situation by evoking Lord Siva's quality of
goodness. She fell down at the feet of her husband, and with
her sweet words she talked him out of killing Bhrgumuni.
After being saved from the anger of Lord Siva, Bhrgumuni
went directly to the planet Svetadvipa, where Lord Visnu was
lying on a bed of flowers, accompanied by His wife,
the goddess of fortune, who was engaged in massaging His lotus
feet. There Bhrgumuni purposely committed the greatest sin
by offending Lord Visnu by his bodily activities. The first
offense committed by Bhrgumuni was mental, the second
offense was vocal, and the third offense was corporal. These
different offenses are progressively greater in degree. An
offense committed within the mind is a positive offense, the
same offense, committed verbally is comparatively more grave,
and when committed by bodily action it is superlative in
offensiveness. So Bhrgumuni committed the greatest offense
by touching the chest of the Lord with his foot in the presence
of the goddess of fortune. Of course, Lord Visnu is all-
merciful. He did not become angry at the activities of
Bhrgumuni because Bhrgumuni was a great brahmana. A
brahmana is to be excused even if he sometimes commits an
offense, and Lord Visnu set the example. Yet it is said that
from the time of this incident, the goddess of fortune, Laksmi,
has not been very favorably disposed towards the brahmanas, and
therefore, because the goddess of fortune withholds her
benedictions from them, the brahmanas are generally very poor.
Bhrgumuni's touching the chest of Lord Visnu with his foot
was certainly a great offense, but Lord Visnu is so great that
He did not care. The so-called brahmanas of the Kali-yuga are
sometimes very proud that they can
touch the chest of Lord Visnu with their feet. But
when Bhrgumuni touched the chest of Lord Visnu with
his feet, it was different because although it was the greatest
offense, Lord Visnu, being greatly magnanimous, did
not take it very seriously.
Instead of being angry or cursing Bhrgumuni, Lord Visnu
immediately got up from His bed along with His wife, the
goddess of fortune, and offered respectful obeisances to the
brahmana. He addressed Bhrgumuni as follows: "My dear
brahmana, it is a great blessing for Me that you
have come here. Please, therefore, sit down on this cushion for
a few minutes. My dear brahmana, I am very sorry that when you
first entered I could not receive you properly. It was
a great offense on My part, and I beg you to pardon Me. You are
so pure and great that the water which washes your feet can
purify even the places of pilgrimage. Therefore, I request you
to purify the Vaikuntha planet where I live with My associates.
My dear father, O great sage, I know that your feet are very
soft, like a lotus flower, and that My chest is as hard as a
thunderbolt. I am therefore afraid that you may have felt some
pain by touching My chest with your feet. Let Me therefore
touch your feet to relieve the pain you have suffered." Lord
Visnu then began to massage the feet of Bhrgumuni.
The Lord continued to address Bhrgumuni. "My dear lord,"
He said, "My chest has now become sanctified because of the
touch of your feet, and I am now assured that the goddess of
fortune, Laksmi, will be very glad to live there perpetually."
Another name for Laksmi is Cancala. She does
not stay in one place for a long time. Therefore, we see that a
rich man's family sometimes becomes poor after a few
generations, and sometimes we see that a poor man's family
becomes very rich. Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, is Cancala
in this material world, whereas in the Vaikuntha planets she
eternally lives at the lotus feet of the Lord. Because Laksmi
is famous as Cancala, Lord Narayana indicated that she might
not have been living perpetually by His chest, but because His
chest had been touched by the feet of Bhrgumuni, it was
now sanctified, and there was no chance that the goddess of
fortune would leave. Bhrgumuni, however, could understand
his position and that of the Lord, and he was struck with
wonder at the behavior of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Because of his gratitude, his voice choked up, and he was
unable to reply to the words of the Lord. Tears glided from his
eyes, and he could not say anything. He simply stood silently
before the Lord.
After testing Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and Lord Visnu, Bhrgumuni
returned to the assembly of great sages on the bank of the
river Sarasvati and described his experience. After hearing him
with great attention, the sages concluded that of all the
predominating deities, certainly Visnu is situated in the mode
of goodness in the highest degree. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam,
these great sages are described as brahma-vadinam. Brahma-
vadinam means those who talk about the Absolute Truth but have
not yet come to a conclusion. Generally brahma-vadi refers to
the impersonalists or to those who are students of the Vedas.
It is to be understood, therefore, that all the gathered sages
were serious students of Vedic literature, but had not come
to definite conclusions as to who is the Supreme Absolute
Personality of Godhead.
After hearing Bhrgununi's experience in meeting all three
predominating deities, Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, and Lord Visnu,
the sages concluded that Lord Visnu is the Supreme Truth, the
Personality of Godhead. It is said in the Srimad-Bhagavatam
that after hearing the details from Bhrgumuni, the sages were
astonished because although Lord Brahma and Lord Siva were
immediately agitated, Lord Visnu, in spite of being kicked by
Bhrgumuni, was not agitated in the least. The example is given
that small lamps may become agitated by a little breeze, but
the greatest lamp or the greatest illuminating source, the sun,
is never moved, even by the greatest hurricane. One's greatness
has to be estimated by one's ability to tolerate provoking
situations. The sages gathered on the bank of the River
Sarasvati concluded that if anyone wants actual peace and
freedom from all fearfulness, he should take shelter of the
lotus feet of Visnu. If Lord Brahma and Lord Siva lost their
peaceful attitude upon a slight provocation, how could they
maintain the peace and tranquility of their devotees? As for
Lord Visnu, however, it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that
anyone who accepts Lord Visnu or Krsna as the supreme friend
attains the highest perfection of peaceful life.
The sages thus concluded that by following the principles of
vaisnava-dharma, one becomes actually perfect. But if one
follows all the religious principles of a particular sect and
does not become advanced in understanding the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Visnu, all such labor of love is
fruitless. To execute religious principles means to come to the
platform of perfect knowledge. If one comes to the platform of
perfect knowledge, then he will be disinterested in material
affairs. Perfect knowledge means to know one's own self
and to know the Supreme Self. The Supreme Self and the
individual self, although one in quality, are different in
quantity. This analytical understanding of knowledge is perfect.
Simply to understand, "I am not matter; I am spirit," is not
perfect knowledge. The real religious principle is devotional
service, or bhakti. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita.
Lord Krsna says, "Give up all other religious principles
and simply surrender unto Me." Therefore, the term dharma
applies only to the vaisnava-dharma or bhagavad-dharma,
following which all other good qualities
and advancements in life are automatically achieved.
The highest perfectional knowledge is to know the
Supreme Lord. He cannot be understood by any process of
religion other than devotional service; therefore, the
immediate result of perfect knowledge is achieved by executing
devotional service. After attainment of knowledge, one becomes
disinterested in the material world. This is not because of dry
philosophical speculation. The devotees become disinterested in
the material world, not simply because of theoretical
understanding, but practical experience. When a
devotee realizes the effect of association with the Supreme
Lord, he naturally hates the association of so-called society,
friendship and love. This detachment is not dry, but is due to
achieving a higher status of life by relishing transcendental
mellows. It is further stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that
after attainment of such knowledge and detachment from
material sense gratification, one's advancement in the eight
opulences attained by mystic yoga practice, namely the
anima, laghima and prapti siddhis, etc., are also achieved
without separate effort. The perfect example is Maharaja
Ambarisa. He was not a mystic yogi but he was a great devotee,
yet in a disagreement with Maharaja Ambarisa, the great mystic
Durvasa was defeated in the presence of his devotional
attitude. In other words, a devotee does not need to practice
the mystic yoga system to achieve power. The power is behind
him by the grace of the Lord, just as when a small child is
surrendered to a powerful father, all the powers of the father
are behind him.
When a person becomes famous as a devotee of the Lord, his
reputation is never to be extinguished. Lord Caitanya, when
discoursing with Ramananda Raya, questioned, "What is the
greatest fame?" Ramananda Raya replied that to be known as a
pure devotee of Lord Krsna is the perfect fame. The conclusion,
therefore, is that Visnu-dharma, or the religion of devotional
service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is meant for
persons who are thoughtful. By proper utilization of
thoughtfulness, one comes to the stage of thinking of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. By thinking of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, one becomes free from the contamination
of the faulty association of the material world, and thus one
becomes peaceful. The world is in a disturbed condition because
of a scarcity of such peaceful devotees in human society.
Unless one is a devotee, one cannot be equal to all living
entities. A devotee is equally disposed towards the animals,
the human beings and all living entities because he sees every
living entity as a part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. In the
Isopanisad it is clearly stated that one who has come to the
stage of seeing all living beings equally does not hate anyone
or favor anyone. The devotee does not hanker to possess more
than he requires. Devotees are therefore akincana; in any
condition of life a devotee is satisfied. It is said that a
devotee is evenminded whether he is in hell or in heaven.
A devotee is callous to all subjects other than his engagement
in devotional service. This mode of life is the highest
perfectional stage, from which one can be elevated to the
spiritual world, back home, back to Godhead. The devotees of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead are especially attracted by
the highest material quality, goodness, and the qualified
brahmana is the symbolic representation of this goodness.
Therefore, a devotee is attached to the brahminical stage of
life. He is not very much interested in passion or ignorance,
although these qualities also emanate from the Supreme Lord,
Visnu. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam the devotees are described as
nipuna-buddhayah, which means that they are the most
intelligent class of men. Uninfluenced by attachment or hatred,
the devotee lives very peacefully and is not agitated by the
influence of passion and ignorance.
It may be questioned here why a devotee should be attached to
the quality of goodness in the material world if he is
transcendental to all material qualities. The answer is that
there are different kinds of people existing in the modes of
material nature. Those who are in the mode of ignorance are
called raksasas, those in the mode of passion are called asuras,
and those in the mode of goodness are called suras, or
demigods. Under the direction of the Supreme Lord, these three
classes of men are created by material nature, but those who
are in the mode of goodness have a greater chance to be
elevated to the spiritual world, back home, back to Godhead.
Thus all the sages who assembled on the bank of the river
Sarasvati to try to determine who is the supreme predominating
Deity became freed from all doubts about Visnu worship. All of
them thereafter engaged in devotional service, and thus they
achieved the desired result and went back to Godhead.
Those who are actually anxious to be liberated from material
entanglement would do better to accept at once the conclusion
given by Sri Sukadeva Gosvami in the beginning of the Srimad-
Bhagavatam. It is said there
that hearing the Srimad-Bhagavatam is extremely conducive to
liberation because it is spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami. The same
fact is again confirmed by Suta Gosvami: if anyone who is
traveling aimlessly within this material world cares to hear
the nectarean words spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami, certainly he
will come to the right conclusion; simply by
discharging devotional service to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead he will be able to stop the fatigue of
migrating from one material body to another perpetually. In
other words, by proper hearing one will become fixed in loving
devotional service to Visnu. He will certainly be able to get
relief from this material journey of life, and the
process is very simple. One has to give aural reception to the
sweet words spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami in the form of Srimad-
Bhagavatam.
Another conclusion is that we should never consider the
demigods, even Lord Siva and Lord Brahma, to be on an equal
level with Lord Visnu. If we do this, then according to
Padma Purana, we immediately become atheists. In
the Vedic literature known as Harivamsa it is also
stated that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, is
to be worshiped. The Hare Krsna mahamantra, or
any such Visnu mantra, is always to be chanted. In the Second
Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Lord Brahma says, "Both Lord Siva
and myself are engaged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to
act in different capacities under His direction." In the
Caitanya-caritamrta it is also stated that the only master is
Krsna, and everyone in all categories of life are
servants of Krsna only.
In the Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed by the Lord that there is
no truth superior to Krsna. Sukadeva Gosvami also, in order to
draw attention to the fact that among all Visnu-tattva forms,
Lord Krsna is one hundred percent the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, narrated the story of an incident which took place
when Lord Krsna was present.
Once upon a time, a brahmana's wife gave birth to a
child. Unfortunately, however, just after being born and
touching the ground, the child immediately died. The brahmana
father took the dead child and went directly to Dvaraka to the
palace of the king. The brahmana was very upset because of the
untimely death of the child in the presence of his young father
and mother. Thus his mind became very disturbed. Formerly,
when there were responsible kings, up to the time of Dvapara-
yuga, when Lord Krsna was present, the king was liable to be
blamed for the untimely death of a child in the presence of his
parents. Similarly, such responsibility was there during the
time of Lord Ramacandra. As we have explained in the First
Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the king was so responsible for the
comforts of the citizens that he was to see that there was not
even excessive heat or cold. Although there was no fault
on the part of the king, the brahmana whose child
had died immediately went to the palace door and began to
accuse the king as follows.
"The present king, Ugrasena, is envious of the brahmanas!" The
exact word used in this connection is brahma-dvisah. One who is
envious of the Vedas or one who is envious of a qualified
brahmana or the brahmana caste is called brahma-dvit. So the
King was accused of being brahma-dvit. He was also accused of
being satha-dhi, falsely intelligent. The executive head of a
state must be very intelligent to see to the comforts of the
citizens, but, according to the brahmana the king was not at
all intelligent, although he was occupying the royal throne.
Therefore he also called him lubdha, which means
greedy. In other words, a king or an executive head of state
should not occupy the exalted post of presidency or kingship if
he is greedy and self-interested. But it is natural that an
executive head becomes self-interested when he is attached to
material enjoyment. Therefore, another word used here is
visayatmanah.
The brahmana also accused the king of being ksatra-bandhu,
which refers to a person born in the family of ksatriyas or
the royal order who is without the qualifications of a royal
personality. A king should protect brahminical culture and
should be very alert to the welfare of his citizens; he should
not be greedy due to attachment to material enjoyment. If a
person with no qualifications represents himself as a ksatriya
of the royal order, he is not called a ksatriya, but a ksatra-
bandhu. Similarly, if a person is born of a brahmana father but
has no brahminical qualification, he is called brahma-bandhu or
dvija-bandhu. This means that a brahmana or a ksatriya is not
accepted simply by birth. One has to qualify himself for the
particular position; only then is he accepted as a brahmana or
a ksatriya.
Thus the brahmana accused the king that his newly born baby was
dead due to the disqualifications of the king. The brahmana
took it most unnaturally, and therefore he held the king
to be responsible. We also find in Vedic history that if a
ksatriya king was irresponsible, sometimes a consulting board
of brahmanas maintained by the monarchy would dethrone him.
Considering all these points, it appears that the post of
monarch in the Vedic civilization is a very responsible one.
The brahmana therefore said, "No one should offer respects or
worship to a king whose only business is envy. Such a king
spends his time either hunting and killing animals in the
forest or killing citizens for criminal acts. He has no self-
control and possesses bad character. If such a king is
worshiped or honored by the citizens, the citizens will never
be happy. They will always remain poor, full of anxieties and
aggrievement, and always unhappy." Although in modern politics
the post of monarch is abolished, the president is
not held responsible for the comforts of the citizens. In this
age of Kali, the executive head of a state somehow or other
gets votes and is elected to an exalted post, but the condition
of the citizens continues to be full of anxiety, distress,
unhappiness, and dissatisfaction.
The brahmana's second child was also born dead, and the
third also. He had nine children, and each of them was born
dead, and each time he came to the gate of the palace to
accuse the King. When the brahmana came to accuse the King of
Dvaraka for the ninth time, Arjuna happened to be present with
Krsna. On hearing that a brahmana was accusing the King of not
properly protecting him, Arjuna became inquisitive and
approached the brahmana. He said, "My dear brahmana, why do you
say that there are no proper ksatriyas to protect the citizens
of your country? Is there not even someone who can pretend to
be a ksatriya, who can carry a bow and arrow at least to make a
show of protection? Do you think that all the royal
personalities in this country simply engage in performing
sacrifices with the brahmanas but have no chivalrous power?"
Thus Arjuna indicated that ksatriyas should not sit back
comfortably and engage only in performing Vedic rituals.
Rather, they must be very chivalrous in protecting the
citizens. Brahmanas, being engaged in spiritual activities, are
not expected to do anything which requires physical endeavor.
Therefore, they need to be protected by the ksatriyas so that
they will not be disturbed in the execution of their higher
occupational duties.
"If the brahmanas feel unwanted separation from their wives and
children," Arjuna continued, "and the ksatriya kings do not
take care of them, then such ksatriyas are to be considered no
more than stage players. In dramatic performances in the
theater, an actor may play the part of a king, but no one
expects any benefits from such a make-believe king. Similarly,
if the king or the executive head of a state cannot give
protection to the head of the social structure, he is
considered merely a bluffer. Such executive heads simply live
for their own livelihood while occupying exalted posts as
chiefs of state. My lord, I promise that I shall give
protection to your children, and if I am unable to do so, then
I shall enter into blazing fire so that the sinful
contamination which has infected me will be counteracted."
Upon hearing Arjuna speak in this way, the brahmana replied, "
My dear Arjuna, Lord Balarama is present, but He could not give
protection to my children. Lord Krsna is also present, but He
also could not give them protection. There are also many other
heroes, such as Pradyumna and Aniruddha, carrying bows and
arrows, but they could not protect my children." The brahmana
directly hinted that Arjuna could not do that which was
impossible for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He felt that
Arjuna was promising something beyond his power. The brahmana
said, "I consider your promise to be like that of an
inexperienced child. I cannot put my faith in your promise."
Arjuna then understood that the brahmana had lost all faith in
the ksatriya kings. Therefore, to encourage him, Arjuna spoke
as if criticizing even his friend, Lord Krsna. While Lord Krsna
and others were listening, he specifically attacked Krsna by
saying, "My dear brahmana, I am neither Sankarsana nor Krsna
nor one of Krsna's sons like Pradyumna or Aniruddha. My name is
Arjuna, and I carry the bow known as Gandiva. You cannot insult
me because I have satisfied even Lord Siva by my prowess when
we were both hunting in the forest. I had a fight with Lord
Siva, who appeared before me as a hunter, and when I satisfied
him by my prowess, he gave me the weapon known as pasupatastra.
Do not doubt my chivalry. I shall bring back your sons even if
I have to fight with death personified." When the brahmana was
assured by Arjuna in such exalted words, he somehow or
other was convinced, and thus he returned home.
When the brahmana's wife was to give birth to another child,
the brahmana began to chant, "My dear Arjuna please come now
and save my child." After hearing him, Arjuna immediately
prepared himself by touching sanctified water and uttering holy
mantras to protect his bows and arrows from danger. He
specifically took the arrow which was presented to him by Lord
Siva, and while going out, he began to remember Lord Siva
and his great favor. In this way, he appeared in front of the
maternity home, equipped with his bow, known as Gandiva, and
with various other weapons.
It appears that Arjuna did not leave Dvaraka because he
had to fulfill his promise to the brahmana. He was called at
night when the brahmana's wife was to give birth to the child.
While going to the maternity home to attend to the delivery
case of the brahmana's wife, Arjuna remembered Lord Siva, and
not his friend Krsna; he thought that since Krsna could not
give protection to the brahmana, it was better to take shelter
of Lord Siva. This is another instance of how a person takes
shelter of the demigods. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gita:
kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah: a
person who loses his intelligence because of
greediness and lust forgets the Supreme Personality of Godhead
and takes shelter of the demigods. Of course, Arjuna was not
an ordinary living entity, but because of his friendly dealings
with Krsna, he thought that Krsna was unable to give protection
to the brahmana and that he would do better to remember Lord
Siva. Later on it was proved that Arjuna's taking shelter of
Lord Siva instead of Krsna was not at all successful. Arjuna,
however, did his best by chanting different mantras, and he
took up his bow to guard the maternity home from all
directions.
The brahmana's wife delivered a male child, and as usual the
child began to cry. But suddenly, within a few minutes, both
the child and Arjuna's arrows disappeared in the sky. It
appeared that the brahmana's house was near Krsna's residence
and that Lord Krsna was enjoying everything that was taking
place apparently in defiance of His authority. It was He who
played the trick of taking away the brahmana's baby as well as
the arrows, including the one given by Lord Siva, of which
Arjuna was so proud. Tad bhavati
alpamedhasam: less intelligent men take
shelter of the demigods due to bewilderment and are satisfied
with the benefits they award.
In the presence of Lord Krsna and others, the brahmana began to
accuse Arjuna: "Everyone see my foolishness! I put my faith in
the words of Arjuna, who is impotent and who is expert only in
false promises. How foolish I was to believe Arjuna. He
promised to protect my child when even Pradyumna, Aniruddha,
Lord Balarama and Lord Krsna failed. If such great
personalities could not protect my child, then who can do so? I
therefore condemn Arjuna for his false promise, and I also
condemn his celebrated bow Gandiva and his impudency in
declaring himself greater than Lord Balarama, Lord Krsna,
Pradyumna and Aniruddha. No one can save my child, for
he has already been transferred to another planet. Due to sheer
foolishness only, Arjuna thought that he could bring back my
child from another planet."
Thus condemned by the brahmana, Arjuna empowered himself with a
mystic yoga perfection so that he could travel to any planet to
find the brahmana's baby. It seems that Arjuna had mastered the
mystic yogic power by which yogis can travel to any planet they
desire. He first of all went to the planet known as Yamaloka,
where the superintendent of death, Yamaraja, lives. There he
searched for the brahmana's baby, but he was unable to find him.
He then immediately went to the planet where the King of
heaven, Indra, lives. When he was unable to find the baby there,
he went to the planets of the fire demigods, Nairrti
, and then to the moon planet. Then
he went to Vayu and to Varunaloka. When he was unable to
find the baby in those planets, he went down to the Rasatala
planet, the lowest of the planetary systems. After traveling to
all these different planets, he finally went to Brahmaloka,
where even the mystic yogis cannot go. By the grace of Lord
Krsna, Arjuna had that power, and he went above the heavenly
planets to Brahmaloka. When he was unable to find the baby even
after searching all possible planets, he then attempted to
throw himself into a fire, as he had promised the brahmana
if unable to bring back his baby. Lord Krsna,
however, was very kind toward Arjuna because Arjuna happened to
be the most intimate friend of the Lord. Lord Krsna persuaded
Arjuna not to enter the fire in disgrace. Krsna indicated that
since Arjuna was His friend, if he were to enter the fire in
hopelessness, indirectly it would be a blemish on Him. Lord
Krsna therefore checked Arjuna, assuring him that He would find
the baby. He told Arjuna, "Do not foolishly commit suicide."
After addressing Arjuna in this way, Lord Krsna called for His
transcendental chariot. He mounted it along with Arjuna and
began to proceed north. Lord Krsna, the all-powerful
Personality of Godhead, could have brought the child back
without effort, but we should always remember that He was
playing the part of a human being. As a human being has to
endeavor to achieve certain results, so Lord Krsna, like an
ordinary human being, or like His friend Arjuna, left Dvaraka
to bring back the brahmana's baby. By appearing in human
society and exhibiting His pastimes as a human being, Krsna
definitely showed that there was not a single personality
greater than He. "God is great." That is the definition of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. So at least within this
material world, while He was present, Krsna proved that there
was no greater personality within the universe.
Seated on His chariot with Arjuna, Krsna began to proceed
north, crossing over many planetary systems. These are
described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam as sapta-dvipa. Dvipa means
island. All these planets are sometimes described in the Vedic
literature as dvipas. The planet on which we are living is
called Jambudvipa. Outer space is taken as a great ocean of air,
and within that great ocean of air there are many islands,
which are the different planets. In each and every planet there
are oceans also. In some of the planets, the oceans are of salt
water, and in some of them there are oceans of milk. In others
there are oceans of liquor, and in others there are oceans of
ghee or oil. There are different kinds of mountains also. Each
and every planet has a different type of atmosphere.
Krsna passed over all these planets and reached the covering of
the universe. This covering is described in the Srimad-
Bhagavatam as great darkness. This material world as a whole is
described as dark. In the open space there is sunlight, and
therefore it is illuminated, but in the covering, because of
the absence of sunlight, it is naturally dark. When Krsna
approached the covering layer of this universe, the four horses
which were drawing His chariot -- Saibya, Sugriva, Meghapuspa
and Balahaka -- all appeared to hesitate to enter the darkness.
This hesitation is also a part of the pastimes of Lord Krsna
because the horses of Krsna are not ordinary. It is not
possible for ordinary horses to go all over the universe and
then enter into its outer covering layers. As Krsna is
transcendental, similarly His chariot and His horses and
everything about Him are also transcendental, beyond the
qualities of this material world. We should always remember
that Krsna was playing the part of an ordinary human being, and
His horses also, by the will of Krsna, played the parts of
ordinary horses in hesitating to enter the darkness.
Krsna is known as Yogesvara, as is stated in the last portion
of Bhagavad-gita. Yogesvara harih: all mystic powers are
under His control. In our experience, we can see many human
beings who have yogic mystic power. Sometimes they
perform very wonderful acts, but Krsna is understood to be the
master of all mystic power. Therefore, when He saw that His
horses were hesitant to proceed into the darkness, He
immediately released His disc, known as the Sudarsana cakra,
which illuminated the sky a thousand times brighter than
sunlight. The darkness of the covering of the universe is also
a creation of Krsna's, and the Sudarsana cakra is Krsna's
constant companion. Thus the darkness was penetrated by His
keeping the Sudarsana cakra in front. The Srimad-Bhagavatam
states that the Sudarsana cakra penetrated the darkness just as
an arrow released from the Sarnga bow of Lord Ramacandra
penetrated the army of Ravana. Su means very nice, and
darsana means observation; by the grace of Lord Krsna's disc,
Sudarsana, everything can be seen very nicely, and nothing can
remain in darkness. Thus Lord Krsna and Arjuna crossed over the
great region of darkness covering the material universes.
Arjuna then saw the effulgence of light known as the
brahmajyoti. The brahmajyoti is situated outside
the covering of the material universes, and because it cannot
be seen with our present eyes, this brahmajyoti is
sometimes called avyakta. This spiritual effulgence is the
ultimate destination of the impersonalists known as Vedantists.
The brahmajyoti is also described as anantaparam,
unlimited and unfathomed. When Lord Krsna and Arjuna reached
this region of the brahmajyoti, Arjuna could not tolerate
the glaring effulgence, and he closed his eyes. Lord Krsna's
and Arjuna's reaching the brahmajyoti region is described
in Harivamsa. In that portion of the Vedic
literature, Krsna informed Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, the glaring
effulgence, the transcendental light which you are seeing, is
My bodily rays. O chief of the descendants of Bharata, this
brahmajyoti is Myself." As the sun disc and the
sunshine cannot be separated, similarly Krsna and His bodily
rays, the brahmajyoti, cannot be separated. Thus Krsna
claimed that the brahmajyoti is He Himself. This is
clearly stated in the Harivamsa, when Krsna says, "aham
sah." The brahmajyoti is a combination of the minute
particles known as spiritual sparks, or the living entities
known as citkana. The Vedic word so'ham, or "I am the
brahmajyoti," can also be applied to the living entities,
who can also claim to belong to the brahmajyoti. In the
Harivamsa, Krsna further explains, "This
brahmajyoti is an expansion of My spiritual energy."
Krsna told Arjuna, "The brahmajyoti is beyond the region
of My external energy, known as maya-sakti." When one is
situated within this material world, it is not possible for him
to experience this Brahman effulgence. Therefore,
in the material world this effulgence is not manifested,
whereas in the spiritual world, it is manifested. That is the
purport of the words vyakta-avyakta. In the
Bhagavad-gita it is said avyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah: both
these energies are eternally manifested.
After this, Lord Krsna and Arjuna entered a vast extensive
spiritual water. This spiritual water is called the Karanarnava
Ocean or Viraja which means that this ocean is the origin of
the creation of the material world
. In the Mrtyunjaya Tantra, a
Vedic literature, there is a vivid description of this Karana
Ocean, or Viraja. It is stated there that the highest planetary
system within the material world is Satyaloka, or Brahmaloka.
Beyond that there are Rudraloka and Maha-Visnuloka. Regarding
this Maha-Visnuloka, it is stated in the Brahma-samhita, yah
karanarnava-jale bhajati sma yoga
: "Lord Maha-Visnu is
lying in the Karana Ocean. When He exhales, innumerable
universes come into existence, and when He inhales, innumerable
universes enter within Him." In this way, the material creation
is generated and again withdrawn. When Lord Krsna and Arjuna
entered the water, it appeared that there was a strong
hurricane of transcendental effulgence brewing, and the water
of the Karana Ocean was greatly agitated. By the grace of Lord
Krsna, Arjuna had the unique experience of being able to see
the very beautiful Karana Ocean.
Accompanied by Krsna, Arjuna saw a large palace within the
water. There were many thousands of pillars and columns made of
valuable jewels, and the glaring effulgence of those columns
was so beautiful that Arjuna became charmed by it. Within that
palace, Arjuna and Krsna saw the gigantic form of Anantadeva,
who is also known as Sesa. Lord Anantadeva or Sesanaga
was in the form of a great serpent with thousands of hoods, and
each one of them was decorated with valuable, effulgent jewels,
which were beautifully dazzling. Each of Anantadeva's hoods had
two eyes which appeared very fearful. His body was as white as
the mountaintop of Kailasa, which is always covered by snow.
His neck was bluish, as were His tongues. Thus Arjuna saw the
Sesanaga form, and he also saw that on the very soft,
white body of Sesanaga, Lord Maha-Visnu was lying very
comfortably. He appeared to be all-pervading and very powerful,
and Arjuna could understand that the Supreme Personality of
Godhead in that form is known as Purusottama. He is known as
Purusottama, the best, or the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, because from this form emanates
another form of Visnu, which is known as Garbhodakasayi
Visnu within the material world. The Maha-Visnu form of the
Lord, Purusottama, is beyond the material world.
He is also known as Uttama. Tama
means darkness, and ut means above, transcendental;
therefore, Uttama means above the darkest region of the
material world. Arjuna saw that the bodily color of
Purusottama, Maha-Visnu, was as dark as a new cloud in the
rainy season; He was dressed in very nice yellow clothing, His
face was always beautifully smiling, and His eyes, which were
like lotus petals, were very attractive. Lord Maha-Visnu's
helmet was bedecked with valuable jewels, and His beautiful
earrings enhanced the beauty of the curling hair on His head.
Lord Maha-Visnu had eight arms, all very long, reaching to His
knees. His neck was decorated with the Kaustubha jewel, and His
chest was marked with the symbol of srivatsa, which means the
resting place of the goddess of fortune. The Lord wore a
garland of lotus flowers down to His knees. This long garland
is known as a vaijayanti garland.
The Lord was surrounded by His personal associates Nanda and
Sunanda, and the personified Sudarsana disc was also standing
by Him. As is stated in the Vedas, the Lord has innumerable
energies, and they were also standing there
personified. The most important among them were as
follows: pusti, the energy for nourishment, sri, the energy of
beauty, kirti, the energy of reputation, and aja, the energy of
material creation. All these energies are invested in the
administrators of the material world, namely Lord Brahma, Lord
Siva and Lord Visnu, and in the kings of the
heavenly planets, Indra, Candra, Varuna and the sun-god. In
other words, all these demigods, being empowered by the Lord
with certain energies, engage in the transcendental loving
service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Maha-Visnu
feature is an expansion of Krsna's body. It is also confirmed
in the Brahma-samhita that Maha-Visnu is a portion of
a plenary expansion of Krsna. All such expansions are
nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead, but since Krsna
appeared within this material world to manifest His pastimes as
a human being, He and Arjuna immediately offered their respects
to Lord Maha-Visnu by bowing down before Him. It is stated in
the Srimad-Bhagavatam that Lord Krsna offered respect to Maha-
Visnu; this means that He offered obeisances unto Him only
because Lord Maha-Visnu is nondifferent from
He Himself. This offering of obeisances by Krsna to Maha-
Visnu is not, however, the form of worship known as
ahangraha-upasana, which is sometimes recommended for
persons who are trying to elevate themselves to the spiritual
world by performing the sacrifice of knowledge. This is
also stated in the Bhagavad-gita: jnana-yajnena capy
ante yajanto mam upasate.
Although there was no necessity for Krsna to offer obeisances,
because He is the master teacher, He taught Arjuna just how
respect should be offered to Lord Maha-Visnu. Arjuna, however,
became very much afraid upon seeing the gigantic form of
everything, distinct from the material experience. Seeing Krsna
offering obeisances to Lord Maha-Visnu, he immediately followed
Him and stood before the Lord with folded hands. After
this, the gigantic form of Maha-Visnu, greatly pleased, smiled
pleasingly and spoke as follows.
"My dear Krsna and Arjuna, I was very anxious to see you both,
and therefore I arranged to take away the babies of the
brahmana and keep them here. I have been expecting to see you
both at this palace. You have appeared in the material world as
My incarnations in order to minimize the force of the demoniac
persons who burden the world. Now after killing all these
unwanted demons, you will please again come back to Me. Both
of you are incarnations of the great sage Nara-Narayana.
Although you are both complete in yourselves, to protect the
devotees and to annihilate the demons and especially to
establish religious principles in the world so that peace and
tranquility may continue, you are teaching the basic
principles of factual religion so that the people of the world
may follow you and thereby be peaceful and prosperous."
Both Lord Krsna and Arjuna then offered their obeisances to
Lord Maha-Visnu, and taking back the brahmana's children, they
returned to Dvaraka via the same route by which they had
entered the spiritual world. All the children of the brahmana
had duly grown up. After returning to Dvaraka, Lord Krsna and
Arjuna delivered to the brahmana all of his sons.
Arjuna, however, was struck with great wonder after visiting
the transcendental world by the grace of Lord Krsna. And by the
grace of Krsna he could understand that whatever opulence there
may be within this material world is an emanation from Him. Any
opulent position a person may have within this material world
is due to Krsna's mercy. One should therefore always be in
Krsna consciousness, in complete gratefulness to Lord Krsna,
because whatever one may possess is all His mercy.
Arjuna's wonderful experience due to the mercy of Krsna is one
of the many thousands of pastimes performed by Lord Krsna
during His stay in this material world. They were all unique
and have no parallel in the history of the world. All these
pastimes prove fully that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, yet while He was present within this material world,
He played just like an ordinary man possessing many worldly
duties. He played the part of an ideal householder, and
although He possessed 16,000 wives, 16,000 palaces and 160,
000 children, He also performed many sacrifices,
just to teach the royal order how to live in the material world
for the welfare of humanity. As the ideal Supreme Personality,
He fulfilled the desires of everyone, from the brahmanas, the
highest persons in human society, down to the ordinary living
entities, including the lowest of men. Just as King Indra is in
charge of distributing rain all over the world to satisfy
everyone in due course, so Lord Krsna satisfies everyone by
pouring down His causeless mercy. His mission was to give
protection to the devotees and to kill the demoniac kings;
therefore, He killed many hundreds and thousands of demons.
Some of them He killed personally, and some of them were killed
by Arjuna, who was deputed by Krsna. In this way He established
many pious kings such as Yudhisthira at the helm of world
affairs. Thus, by His divine arrangement He created the good
government of King Yudhisthira, and there ensued peace and
tranquility.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Volume,
Thirty-fourth Chapter, of Krsna, "The Superexcellent Power of
Krsna."
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KB 89: The Superexcellent Power of Krsna
CHAPTER EIGHTY–NINE
The Superexcellent Power of Krsna
Long, long ago, there was an assembly of great sages on the
bank of the river Sarasvati who performed a great
sacrifice of the name Satra. In such assemblies, the great
sages present usually discuss Vedic subject matters and
philosophical topics, and in this particular meeting the
following question was raised: The three predominating deities
of this material world, namely Lord Brahma, Lord Visnu and
Lord Siva, are directing all the affairs of this cosmos,
but who among them is the Supreme? After much discussion on
this question, the great sage named Bhrgu, the son of
Lord Brahma, was deputed to test all three predominating
deities and report to the assembly as to who is the greatest.
Being thus deputed, the great sage Bhrgu Muni first of all
went to his father's residence in Brahmaloka. The three deities
are the controllers of the three material qualities, namely the
qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance. The plan decided
upon by the sages was for Bhrgu to test which one of the
predominating deities possesses the quality of goodness in full.
Therefore, when Bhrgu Muni reached his father, Lord Brahma,
because Bhrgu wanted to test whether Brahma had the quality of
goodness, he purposely did not offer his respects to his father,
either by offering obeisances or by offering prayers. It is
the duty of a son or a disciple to offer respects and recite
suitable prayers when he approaches his father or spiritual
master. But Bhrgu Muni purposely failed to offer respects,
just to see Lord Brahma's reaction to this negligence. Lord
Brahma was very angry at his son's impudence, and he showed
signs which definitely proved this to be so. He was even
prepared to condemn Bhrgu by cursing him, but because Bhrgu was
his son, Lord Brahma controlled his anger with his great
intelligence. This means that although the quality of passion
was prominent in Lord Brahma, he had the power to control it.
Lord Brahma's anger and his controlling his anger are likened
to fire and water. Water is produced from fire at the beginning
of creation, but fire can be extinguished with water. Similarly,
although Lord Brahma was very angry due to his quality of
passion, he could still control his passion because Bhrgu
Muni was his son.
After testing Lord Brahma, Bhrgu Muni went directly to the
Mount Kailasa, where Lord Siva resides. Bhrgu Muni
happened to be Lord Siva's brother. Therefore, as soon as
Bhrgu Muni approached, Lord Siva was very glad and
personally rose to embrace him. But when Lord Siva approached,
Bhrgu Muni refused to embrace him. "My dear brother," he
said, "you are always very impure. Because you smear your body
with ashes, you are not very clean. Please do not touch me."
When Bhrgu Muni refused to embrace his brother, saying that
Lord Siva was impure, the latter became very angry with
him. It is said that an offense can be committed either with
the body, with the mind or by speech. Bhrgu Muni's first
offense, committed toward Lord Brahma, was an offense with the
mind. His second offense, committed toward Lord Siva by
insulting him, criticizing him for unclean habits, was an
offense by speech. Because the quality of ignorance is
prominent in Lord Siva, when he heard Bhrgu's insult his eyes
immediately became red with anger. With uncontrollable rage, he
took up his trident and prepared to kill Bhrgu Muni. At
that time Lord Siva's wife, Parvati, was present. Her
personality, like Lord Siva's, is a mixture of the three
qualities, and therefore she is called Trigunamayi. In this
case, she saved the situation by evoking Lord Siva's quality of
goodness. She fell down at the feet of her husband, and with
her sweet words she talked him out of killing Bhrgu Muni.
After being saved from the anger of Lord Siva, Bhrgu Muni
went directly to the planet Svetadvipa, where Lord Visnu was
lying on a bed of flowers in the company of His wife,
the goddess of fortune, who was engaged in massaging His lotus
feet. There Bhrgu Muni purposely committed the greatest sin
by offending Lord Visnu by his bodily activities. The first
offense committed by Bhrgu Muni was mental, the second
offense was vocal, and the third offense was corporal. These
different offenses are progressively greater in degree. An
offense committed within the mind is a positive offense, the
same offense committed verbally is comparatively more grave,
and when committed by bodily action it is superlative in
offensiveness. So Bhrgu Muni committed the greatest offense
by kicking the chest of the Lord in the presence
of the goddess of fortune. Of course, Lord Visnu is all-
merciful. He did not become angry at the activities of
Bhrgu Muni, for Bhrgu Muni was a great brahmana. A
brahmana is to be excused even if he sometimes commits an
offense, and Lord Visnu set the example. Yet it is said that
from the time of this incident the goddess of fortune, Laksmi,
has not been very favorably disposed toward the brahmanas, and
therefore, because the goddess of fortune withholds her
benedictions from them, the brahmanas are generally very poor.
Bhrgu Muni's kicking the chest of Lord Visnu
was certainly a great offense, but Lord Visnu is so great that
He did not care. The so-called brahmanas of the Kali-yuga are
sometimes very proud that a great brahmana like Bhrgu Muni
could touch the chest of Lord Visnu with his foot. But in
fact when Bhrgu Muni kicked the chest of Lord Visnu
it was the greatest
offense, although Lord Visnu, being greatly magnanimous, did
not take it very seriously.
Instead of being angry or cursing Bhrgu Muni, Lord Visnu
immediately got up from His bed along with His wife, the
goddess of fortune, and offered respectful obeisances to the
brahmana. He addressed Bhrgu Muni as follows: "My dear
brahmana, it is My greatest fortune that you
have come here. Please, therefore, sit down on this cushion for
a few minutes. My dear brahmana, I am very sorry that when you
first entered My home I could not receive you properly. It was
a great offense on My part, and I beg you to pardon Me. You are
so pure and great that the water which washes your feet can
purify even the places of pilgrimage. Therefore, I request you
to purify the Vaikuntha planet where I live with My associates.
My dear Father, O great sage, I know that your feet are very
soft, like a lotus flower, and that My chest is as hard as a
thunderbolt. I am therefore afraid that you may have felt some
pain by kicking My chest. Let Me
touch your feet to relieve the pain you have suffered." Lord
Visnu then began to massage the feet of Bhrgu Muni.
The Lord continued to address Bhrgu Muni. "My dear lord,"
He said, "My chest has now become sanctified because of the
touch of your feet, and I am now assured that the goddess of
fortune, Laksmi, will be very glad to live there perpetually."
Another name for Laksmi is Cancala, indicating that she does
not stay in one place for a long time. Therefore, we see that a
rich man's family sometimes becomes poor after a few
generations, and sometimes we see that a poor man's family
becomes very rich. Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, is Cancala
in this material world, whereas in the Vaikuntha planets she
eternally lives at the lotus feet of the Lord. Because Laksmi
is famous as Cancala, Lord Narayana indicated that she might
not have been living perpetually by His chest, but because His
chest had been touched by the feet of Bhrgu Muni, it was
now sanctified, and there was no chance that the goddess of
fortune would leave. Bhrgu Muni, however, could understand
his position and that of the Lord, and he was struck with
wonder at the behavior of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Because of his gratitude, his voice choked up, and he was
unable to reply to the words of the Lord. Tears glided from his
eyes, and he could not say anything. He simply stood silently
before the Lord.
After testing Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and Lord Visnu, Bhrgu
Muni returned to the assembly of great sages on the bank of the
river Sarasvati and described his experience. After hearing him
with great attention, the sages concluded that of all the
predominating deities, Lord Visnu is certainly
the greatest. In Srimad-Bhagavatam
these great sages are described as brahma-vadinam. Brahma-
vadinam means those who talk about the Absolute Truth but have
not yet come to a conclusion. Generally brahma-vadi refers to
the impersonalists or to those who are students of the Vedas.
It is to be understood, therefore, that all the gathered sages
were serious students of the Vedic literature but had not come
to a definite conclusion as to who is the Supreme Absolute
Personality of Godhead. But after hearing of Bhrgu Muni's
experience in meeting all three predominating deities -- Lord
Siva, Lord Brahma and Lord Visnu -- the sages concluded that
Lord Visnu is the Supreme Truth, the Personality of Godhead. It
is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam that after hearing the details
from Bhrgu Muni the sages were astonished because although Lord
Brahma and Lord Siva were immediately agitated, Lord Visnu, in
spite of being kicked by Bhrgu Muni, was not agitated in the
least. The example is given that small lamps may be agitated by
a slight breeze, but the greatest lamp or the greatest
illuminating source, the sun, is never moved, even by the
greatest hurricane. One's greatness has to be estimated by one'
s ability to tolerate provoking situations. The sages gathered
on the bank of the river Sarasvati concluded that one who wants
actual peace and freedom from all fear should take shelter of
the lotus feet of Visnu. Since Lord Brahma and Lord Siva lost
their peaceful attitude upon a slight provocation, how can they
maintain the peace and tranquillity of their devotees? As for
Lord Visnu, however, it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that
anyone who accepts Lord Visnu or Krsna as the supreme friend
attains the highest perfection of peaceful life.
The sages thus concluded that by following the principles of
vaisnava-dharma one becomes actually perfect, but that if one
follows all the religious principles of a particular sect and
does not become advanced in understanding the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Visnu, all such labor of love is
fruitless. To execute religious principles means to come to the
platform of perfect knowledge. If one comes to the platform of
perfect knowledge, then he will be uninterested in material
affairs. Perfect knowledge means knowledge of one's own self
and the Supreme Self. The Supreme Self and the
individual self, although one in quality, are different in
quantity. This analytical understanding of knowledge is perfect.
Simply to understand "I am not matter; I am spirit" is not
perfect knowledge. The real religious principle is devotional
service, or bhakti. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita,
where Lord Krsna says, "Give up all other religious principles
and simply surrender unto Me." Therefore, the term dharma
applies only to vaisnava-dharma, or bhagavad-dharma, by
following which one automatically achieves all good qualities
and advancements in life.
The highest perfectional knowledge is knowledge of the
Supreme Lord. He cannot be understood by any process of
religion other than devotional service; therefore, the
immediate result of perfect knowledge is achieved by executing
devotional service. After attainment of knowledge, one becomes
uninterested in the material world. This is not because of dry
philosophical speculation. The devotees become uninterested in
the material world not simply because of theoretical
understanding but because of practical experience. When a
devotee realizes the effect of association with the Supreme
Lord, he naturally hates the association of so-called society,
friendship and love. This detachment is not dry but is due to
achieving a higher status of life by relishing transcendental
mellows. It is further stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam that
after attainment of such knowledge and such detachment from
material sense gratification, one's advancement in the eight
opulences attained through mystic yoga practice, such as the
anima, laghima and prapti siddhis, is also achieved
without separate effort. The perfect example is Maharaja
Ambarisa. He was not a mystic yogi but a great devotee,
yet in a disagreement with Maharaja Ambarisa the great mystic
Durvasa was defeated in the presence of the King's devotional
attitude. In other words, a devotee does not need to practice
the mystic yoga system to achieve power. The power is behind
him by the grace of the Lord, just as when a small child is
surrendered to a powerful father, all the powers of the father
are behind him.
When a person becomes famous as a devotee of the Lord, his
reputation is never to be extinguished. Lord Caitanya, when
discoursing with Ramananda Raya, questioned, "What is the
greatest fame?" Ramananda Raya replied that to be known as a
pure devotee of Lord Krsna is the perfect fame. The conclusion,
therefore, is that visnu-dharma, or the religion of devotional
service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is meant for
persons who are thoughtful. By proper utilization of
thoughtfulness, one comes to the stage of thinking of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. By thinking of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, one becomes free from the contamination
of the faulty association of the material world, and thus one
becomes peaceful. The world is in a disturbed condition because
of a scarcity of such peaceful devotees in human society.
Unless one is a devotee, one cannot be equal to all living
entities. A devotee is equally disposed toward the animals,
the human beings and all living entities because he sees every
living entity as a part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. In the
Isopanisad it is clearly stated that one who has come to the
stage of seeing all living beings equally does not hate anyone
or favor anyone. The devotee does not hanker to possess more
than he requires. Devotees are therefore akincana: in any
condition of life a devotee is satisfied. It is said that a
devotee is even-minded whether he is in hell or in heaven.
A devotee is callous to all subjects other than his engagement
in devotional service. This mode of life is the highest
perfectional stage, from which one can be elevated to the
spiritual world, back home, back to Godhead. The devotees of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead are especially attracted by
the highest material quality, goodness, and the qualified
brahmana is the symbolic representation of this goodness.
Therefore, a devotee is attached to the brahminical stage of
life. He is not very much interested in passion or ignorance,
although these qualities also emanate from the Supreme Lord,
Visnu. In Srimad-Bhagavatam the devotees are described as
nipuna-buddhayah, which means that they are the most
intelligent class of men. Uninfluenced by attachment or hatred,
the devotee lives very peacefully and is not agitated by the
influence of passion and ignorance.
It may be questioned here why a devotee should be attached to
the quality of goodness in the material world if he is
transcendental to all material qualities. The answer is that
there are different kinds of people existing in the modes of
material nature. Those in the mode of ignorance are
called Raksasas, those in the mode of passion are called asuras,
and those in the mode of goodness are called suras, or
demigods. Under the direction of the Supreme Lord, these three
classes of men are created by material nature, but those
in the mode of goodness have a greater chance to be
elevated to the spiritual world, back home, back to Godhead.
Thus all the sages who assembled on the bank of the river
Sarasvati to try to determine who is the supreme predominating
deity became freed from all doubts about Visnu worship. All of
them thereafter engaged in devotional service, and thus they
achieved the desired result and went back to Godhead.
Those who are actually eager to be liberated from material
entanglement would do well to accept at once the conclusion
given by Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. In the beginning of Srimad-
Bhagavatam, which is spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami, it is said
that hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam is extremely conducive to
liberation. The same
fact is now confirmed by Suta Gosvami: if anyone who is
traveling aimlessly within this material world cares to hear
the nectarean words spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami, certainly he
will come to the right conclusion, which is that simply by
discharging devotional service to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead one will be able to stop the fatigue of perpetually
migrating from one material body to another. In
other words, one who becomes fixed in loving
devotional service to Visnu will certainly be able to get
relief from this journey of material life, and the
process is very simple: one has to give aural reception to the
sweet words spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami in the form of Srimad-
Bhagavatam.
Another conclusion is that we should never consider the
demigods, even Lord Siva and Lord Brahma, to be on an equal
level with Lord Visnu. If we do this, then according to the
Padma Purana we are immediately categorized as atheists. Also,
in the Vedic scripture known as Hari-vamsa it is
stated that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, is
to be worshiped and that the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, or
any such visnu-mantra, is always to be chanted. In the Second
Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Lord Brahma says, "Both Lord Siva
and I are engaged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to
act in different capacities under His direction." In the
Caitanya-caritamrta it is also stated that the only master is
Krsna and that all others in all categories of life are
servants of Krsna only.
In the Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed by the Lord that there is
no truth superior to Krsna. Sukadeva Gosvami also, in order to
draw attention to the fact that among all visnu-tattva forms
Lord Krsna is one hundred percent the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, narrated the story of an incident which took place
when Lord Krsna was present.
Once upon a time in Dvaraka, a brahmana's wife gave birth to a
child. Unfortunately, however, just after being born and
touching the ground, the child immediately died. The brahmana
father took the child and went directly to the
palace of the King. The brahmana was very upset because of the
untimely death of the child in the presence of his young father
and mother. Thus his mind became very much disturbed. Formerly,
when there were responsible kings, up to the time of Dvapara-
yuga, when Lord Krsna was present, the king was liable to be
blamed for the untimely death of a child in the presence of his
parents. Similarly, such responsibility was there during the
time of Lord Ramacandra. As we have explained in the First
Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the king was so responsible for the
comforts of the citizens that he was to see that there was not
even excessive heat or cold. Now the brahmana whose
child had died, thinking there was no fault on his
own part, immediately went to the palace door with the dead
child in his arms and accused the King as follows.
"The present King, Ugrasena, is envious of the brahmanas!" The
exact word used in this connection is brahma-dvisah. One who is
envious of the Vedas, of a qualified
brahmana or of the brahmana caste is called brahma-dvis. So the
King was accused of being brahma-dvis. He was also accused of
being satha-dhi, falsely intelligent. The executive head of a
state must be very intelligent to see to the comforts of the
citizens, but according to the brahmana the King was not at
all intelligent, although he was occupying the royal throne.
Therefore the brahmana also called him lubdha, which means "
greedy." In other words, a king or an executive head of state
should not occupy the exalted post of president or king if
he is greedy and self-interested. But it is natural that an
executive head becomes self-interested when he is attached to
material enjoyment. Therefore, another word used here is
visayatmanah.
The brahmana also accused the King of being ksatra-bandhu,
which refers to a person born in the family of ksatriyas, or
the royal order, but lacking the qualifications of a royal
personality. A king should protect brahminical culture and
should be very alert to the welfare of his citizens; he should
not be greedy due to attachment to material enjoyment. If a
person with no qualifications represents himself as a ksatriya
of the royal order, he is not called a ksatriya but a ksatra-
bandhu. Similarly, if a person is born of a brahmana father but
has no brahminical qualification, he is called brahma-bandhu or
dvija-bandhu. This means that a brahmana or a ksatriya is not
accepted simply by birth. One has to qualify himself for the
particular position; only then is he accepted as a brahmana or
a ksatriya.
Thus the brahmana charged that his newly born baby was
dead due to the disqualifications of the King. The brahmana
took it to be most unnatural, and therefore he held the King
responsible. We also find in Vedic history that if a
ksatriya king was irresponsible, sometimes a consulting board
of brahmanas maintained by the monarchy would dethrone him.
Considering all these points, it appears that the post of
monarch in the Vedic civilization is a very responsible one.
The brahmana therefore said, "No one should offer respects or
worship to a king whose only business is envy. Such a king
spends his time either hunting and killing animals in the
forest or killing citizens for criminal acts. He has no self-
control and possesses bad character. If such a king is
worshiped or honored by the citizens, the citizens will never
be happy. They will always remain poor, full of anxieties and
aggrievement, and always unhappy." In modern politics
the post of monarch has been abolished, and the president is
not held responsible for the comforts of the citizens. In this
Age of Kali, the executive head of a state somehow or other
gets votes and is elected to an exalted post, but the condition
of the citizens continues to be full of anxiety, distress,
unhappiness and dissatisfaction.
The brahmana's second child also died at birth, and the
third also. He had nine children, who all died at
birth, and each time he came to the gate of the palace to
accuse the King. When the brahmana came to accuse the King of
Dvaraka for the ninth time, Arjuna happened to be present with
Krsna. On hearing that a brahmana was accusing the King of not
properly protecting him, Arjuna became inquisitive and
approached the brahmana. He said, "My dear brahmana, why do you
say that there are no proper ksatriyas to protect the citizens
of your country? Is there not even someone who can pretend to
be a ksatriya, who can carry a bow and arrow at least to make a
show of protection? Do you think that all the royal
personalities in this country simply engage in performing
sacrifices with the brahmanas but have no chivalrous power?"
Thus Arjuna indicated that ksatriyas should not sit back
comfortably on the pretext of performing Vedic rituals
but must rather be very chivalrous in protecting the
citizens. Brahmanas, being engaged in spiritual activities, are
not expected to do anything which requires physical endeavor.
Therefore, they need to be protected by the ksatriyas so that
they will not be disturbed in the execution of their higher
occupational duties.
"If the brahmanas feel unwanted separation from their wives and
children," Arjuna continued, "and the ksatriya kings do not
take care of them, then such ksatriyas are to be considered no
more than stage players. In dramatic performances in the
theater, an actor may play the part of a king, but no one
expects any benefits from such a make-believe king. Similarly,
if the king or the executive head of a state cannot give
protection to the head of the social structure, he is
considered merely a bluffer. Such executive heads simply live
for their own livelihood while occupying exalted posts as
chiefs of state. My lord, I promise that I shall give
protection to your children, and if I am unable to do so, then
I shall enter into blazing fire so that the sinful
contamination which has infected me will be counteracted."
Upon hearing Arjuna speak in this way, the brahmana replied, "
My dear Arjuna, Lord Balarama is present, but He could not give
protection to my children. Lord Krsna is also present, but He
also could not give them protection. There are also many other
heroes, such as Pradyumna and Aniruddha, carrying bows and
arrows, but they could not protect my children." The brahmana
directly hinted that Arjuna could not do that which was
impossible for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He felt that
Arjuna was promising something beyond his power. The brahmana
said, "I consider your promise to be like that of an
inexperienced child. I cannot put my faith in your promise."
Arjuna then understood that the brahmana had lost all faith in
the ksatriya kings. Therefore, to encourage him, Arjuna spoke
as if criticizing even his friend Lord Krsna. While Lord Krsna
and others were listening, he specifically attacked Krsna by
saying, "My dear brahmana, I am neither Sankarsana nor Krsna
nor one of Krsna's sons like Pradyumna or Aniruddha. My name is
Arjuna, and I carry the bow known as Gandiva. You cannot insult
me, for I have satisfied even Lord Siva by my prowess when
we were both hunting in the forest. I had a fight with Lord
Siva, who appeared before me as a hunter, and when I satisfied
him by my prowess he gave me the weapon known as Pasupata.
Do not doubt my chivalry. I shall bring back your sons even if
I have to fight with death personified." When the brahmana was
assured by Arjuna in such exalted words, he was somehow or
other convinced, and thus he returned home.
When the brahmana's wife was to give birth to another child,
the brahmana began to chant, "My dear Arjuna, please come now
and save my child." After hearing him, Arjuna immediately
prepared himself by touching sanctified water and uttering holy
mantras to protect his bows and arrows from danger. He
specifically took the arrow presented to him by Lord
Siva, and while going out he remembered Lord Siva
and his great favor. In this way, he appeared in front of the
maternity home, equipped with his bow, known as Gandiva, and
with various other weapons.
Arjuna, who apparently had not left Dvaraka because he
had to fulfill his promise to the brahmana, was called at
night when the brahmana's wife was to give birth to the child.
While going to the maternity home to attend to the delivery
case of the brahmana's wife, Arjuna remembered Lord Siva, and
not his friend Krsna; he thought that since Krsna could not
give protection to the brahmana, it was better to take shelter
of Lord Siva. This is another instance of how a person takes
shelter of the demigods. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gita:
kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah prapadyante 'nya-devatah [Bg. 7.
20]. "A person who loses his intelligence because of greed
and lust forgets the Supreme Personality of Godhead and takes
shelter of the demigods." Of course, Arjuna was not an ordinary
living entity, but because of his friendly dealings with Krsna
he thought that Krsna was unable to give protection to the
brahmana and that he would do better to remember Lord Siva.
Later it was proved that Arjuna's taking shelter of Lord
Siva instead of Krsna was not at all successful. Arjuna,
however, did his best by chanting different mantras, and he
shot arrows up and down to guard the maternity home from all
directions. The brahmana's wife delivered a male child, and as
usual the child began to cry. But suddenly, within a few
minutes, both the child and Arjuna's arrows disappeared into
the sky.
It
appears that the brahmana's house was near Krsna's residence
and that Lord Krsna was enjoying everything that was taking
place, apparently in defiance of His authority. It was He who
played the trick of taking away the brahmana's baby as well as
the arrows, including the one given by Lord Siva, of which
Arjuna was so proud. Anta-vat tu phalam tesam tad
bhavaty alpa-medhasam: "Less intelligent men take
shelter of the demigods due to bewilderment and are satisfied
with the temporary benefits they award."
In the presence of Lord Krsna and others, the brahmana began to
accuse Arjuna: "Everyone see my foolishness! I put my faith in
the words of Arjuna, who is impotent and who is expert only in
false promises. How foolish I was to believe Arjuna. He
promised to protect my child when even Pradyumna, Aniruddha,
Lord Balarama and Lord Krsna had failed. If such great
personalities could not protect my child, then who can do so? I
therefore condemn Arjuna for his false promise, and I also
condemn his celebrated bow Gandiva and his impudence in
declaring himself greater than Lord Balarama, Lord Krsna,
Pradyumna and Aniruddha. How can anyone save my child, who
has already been transferred to another planet? Due to sheer
foolishness only, Arjuna thought he could bring back my
child from another planet."
Thus condemned by the brahmana, Arjuna empowered himself with a
mystic yoga perfection so that he could travel to any planet to
find the brahmana's baby. It seems that Arjuna had mastered the
mystic yoga power by which yogis can travel to any planet they
desire. He first of all went to the planet known as Yamaloka,
where the superintendent of death, Yamaraja, lives. There he
searched for the brahmana's baby, but was unable to find him.
He then immediately went to the planet where the King of
heaven, Indra, lives. When unable to find the baby there,
he went to the planet of the fire demigod, then to the
planet of the Nirrti demigod, and then to the moon planet. Then
he went to Vayuloka and Varunaloka. When unable to
find the baby on those planets, he went down to the Rasatala
planet, the lowest of the planetary systems. After traveling to
all these different planets, he finally went to Brahmaloka,
where even mystic yogis cannot go. By the grace of Lord
Krsna, Arjuna had that power, and he went above the heavenly
planets to Brahmaloka. When he was unable to find the baby even
after searching all possible planets, he then attempted to
throw himself into a fire, since he had promised the brahmana
he would do so if unable to bring back his baby. Lord Krsna,
however, was very kind toward Arjuna because Arjuna was
the most intimate friend of the Lord. Lord Krsna persuaded
Arjuna not to enter the fire in disgrace. Krsna indicated that
since Arjuna was His friend, if he were to enter the fire in
hopelessness, indirectly it would be a blemish on Him. Lord
Krsna therefore checked Arjuna, assuring him that He would find
the baby. He told Arjuna, "Do not foolishly commit suicide."
After addressing Arjuna in this way, Lord Krsna called for His
transcendental chariot. He mounted it along with Arjuna and
proceeded north. Lord Krsna, the all-powerful
Personality of Godhead, could have brought the child back
without effort, but we should always remember that He was
playing the part of a human being. As a human being has to
endeavor to achieve certain results, so Lord Krsna, like an
ordinary human being, or like His friend Arjuna, left Dvaraka
to bring back the brahmana's baby. By appearing in human
society and exhibiting His pastimes as a human being, Krsna
definitely showed that there was not a single personality
greater than He. "God is great." That is the definition of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. So at least within this
material world, while He was present, Krsna proved that there
was no greater personality within the universe.
Seated on His chariot with Arjuna, Krsna proceeded
north, crossing over many planetary systems. These are
described in Srimad-Bhagavatam as sapta-dvipa. Dvipa means "
island." These planets are sometimes described in the Vedic
literature as dvipas. The planet on which we are living is
called Jambudvipa. Outer space is taken as a great ocean of air,
and within that great ocean of air there are many islands,
which are the different planets. On each and every planet there
are oceans also. On some of the planets the oceans are of salt
water, and on some of them there are oceans of milk. On others
there are oceans of liquor, and on others there are oceans of
ghee or oil. There are different kinds of mountains also. Each
and every planet has a different type of atmosphere.
Krsna passed over all these planets and reached the covering of
the universe. This covering is described in Srimad-
Bhagavatam as great darkness. The material world as a whole is
described as dark. In the open space there is sunlight, and
therefore it is illuminated, but in the covering, because of
the absence of sunlight, it is naturally dark. When Krsna
approached the covering layer of this universe, the four horses
which were drawing His chariot -- Saibya, Sugriva, Meghapuspa
and Balahaka -- all hesitated to enter the darkness.
This hesitation is also a part of the pastimes of Lord Krsna
because the horses of Krsna are not ordinary; it is not
possible for ordinary horses to go all over the universe and
then enter into its outer covering layers. As Krsna is
transcendental, His chariot and His horses and
everything about Him are also transcendental, beyond the
qualities of this material world. We should always remember
that Krsna was playing the part of an ordinary human being, and
His horses also, by the will of Krsna, played the parts of
ordinary horses in hesitating to enter the darkness.
Krsna is known as Yogesvara, as stated in the last portion
of the Bhagavad-gita. Yogesvaro harih: all mystic powers are
under His control. In our experience we can see many human
beings who have yogic mystic power and who sometimes
perform very wonderful acts, but Krsna is understood to be the
master of all mystic power. Therefore, when He saw that His
horses were hesitant to proceed into the darkness, He
immediately released His disc, known as the Sudarsana cakra,
which illuminated the sky a thousand times brighter than
sunlight. The darkness of the covering of the universe is also
a creation of Krsna's, and the Sudarsana cakra is Krsna's
constant companion. Thus He penetrated the darkness by
keeping the Sudarsana cakra before Him. Srimad-Bhagavatam
states that the Sudarsana cakra penetrated the darkness just as
an arrow released from the Sarnga bow of Lord Ramacandra
penetrated the army of Ravana. Su means "very nice," and
darsana means "observation"; by the grace of Lord Krsna's disc,
Sudarsana, everything can be seen very nicely, and nothing can
remain in darkness. Thus Lord Krsna and Arjuna crossed over the
great region of darkness covering the material universes.
Arjuna then saw the effulgence of light known as the
brahma-jyoti. The brahma-jyoti is situated outside
the covering of the material universes, and because it cannot
be seen with our present eyes, this brahma-jyoti is
sometimes called avyakta. This spiritual effulgence is the
ultimate destination of the impersonalists known as Vedantists.
The brahma-jyoti is also described as ananta-param,
unlimited and unfathomed. When Lord Krsna and Arjuna reached
this region of the brahma-jyoti, Arjuna could not tolerate
the glaring effulgence, and he closed his eyes. Lord Krsna's
and Arjuna's reaching the brahma-jyoti region is described
in the Hari-vamsa. In that portion of the Vedic
literature, Krsna informs Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, the glaring
effulgence, the transcendental light you are seeing, is
My bodily rays. O chief of the descendants of Bharata, this
brahma-jyoti is I Myself." As the sun disc and the
sunshine cannot be separated, Krsna and His bodily
rays, the brahma-jyoti, cannot be separated. Thus Krsna
claims that the brahma-jyoti is He Himself. This is
clearly stated in the Hari-vamsa, when Krsna says aham
sah. The brahma-jyoti is a combination of the minute
particles known as spiritual sparks, or the living entities,
known as cit-kana. The Vedic words so 'ham, or "I am the
brahma-jyoti," can also be applied to the living entities,
who can also claim to belong to the brahma-jyoti. In the
Hari-vamsa, Krsna further explains, "This brahma-
jyoti is an expansion of My spiritual energy."
Krsna told Arjuna, "The brahma-jyoti is beyond the region
of My external energy, known as maya-sakti." When one is
situated within the material world, it is not possible
to experience this Brahman effulgence. In other words,
in the material world this effulgence is not manifested,
whereas in the spiritual world it is manifested. That is the
purport of the words vyakta-avyakta in the Hari-vamsa. In the
Bhagavad-gita it is said, avyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah: both
these energies are eternally manifested.
After this, Lord Krsna and Arjuna entered a vast
spiritual water. This spiritual water is called the Karana
Ocean, which means that this ocean is the origin of
the creation of the material world; this place is also known as
Viraja, because it is free from the influence of the three
qualities of the material world. In the Mrtyunjaya-tantra, a
Vedic scripture, there is a vivid description of this Karana
Ocean, or Viraja. It is stated there that the highest planetary
system within the material world is Satyaloka, or Brahmaloka,
beyond which are Rudraloka and Maha-Visnuloka. Regarding
this Maha-Visnuloka, it is stated in the Brahma-samhita, yah
karanarnava-jale bhajati sma yoga-nidram ananta-jagad-anda-sa-
roma-kupah: [Bs. 5.47] "Lord Maha-Visnu is lying in the Karana
Ocean. When He exhales, innumerable universes come into
existence, and when He inhales, innumerable universes enter
within Him." In this way, the material creation is generated
and again withdrawn. When Lord Krsna and Arjuna entered the
water, it appeared that there was a strong hurricane of
transcendental effulgence blowing, and the water of the Karana
Ocean was greatly agitated. By the grace of Lord Krsna, Arjuna
had the unique experience of being able to see the very
beautiful Karana Ocean.
Accompanied by Krsna, Arjuna saw a large palace within the
water. There were many thousands of pillars and columns made of
valuable jewels, and the glaring effulgence of those columns
was so beautiful that Arjuna was charmed by it. Within that
palace, Arjuna and Krsna saw the gigantic form of Anantadeva,
who is also known as Sesa. Lord Anantadeva, or Sesa Naga,
was in the form of a great serpent with thousands of hoods,
each one decorated with valuable, effulgent jewels,
beautifully dazzling. Each of Anantadeva's hoods had
two eyes, which appeared very fearful. His body was as white as
the mountaintop of Kailasa, which is always covered with snow.
His necks were bluish, as were His tongues. Thus Arjuna saw the
Sesa Naga form, and he also saw that on the very soft,
white body of Sesa Naga, Lord Maha-Visnu was lying very
comfortably. He appeared all-pervading and very powerful,
and Arjuna could understand that the Supreme Personality of
Godhead in that form is known as Purusottama. He is known as
Purusottama, the supreme or best Personality of
Godhead, because from this form emanates within the material
world another form of Visnu, known as Garbhodakasayi
Visnu. The Maha-Visnu form of the
Lord is also called Purusottama (Purusa-
uttama) because He is beyond the material world. Tama means "
darkness," and ut means "above, transcendental"; therefore,
uttama means "above the darkest region of the material world."
Arjuna saw that the bodily color of Purusottama, Maha-Visnu,
was as dark as a new cloud in the rainy season. He was dressed
in very nice yellow clothing, His face was beautifully
smiling, and His eyes, which were like lotus petals, were very
attractive. Lord Maha-Visnu's helmet was bedecked with valuable
jewels, and His beautiful earrings enhanced the beauty of the
curling hair on His head. Lord Maha-Visnu had eight arms, all
very long, reaching to His knees. His neck was decorated with
the Kaustubha jewel, and His chest was marked with the symbol
of Srivatsa, which means "the resting place of the goddess of
fortune." The Lord wore a garland of lotus flowers down to His
knees. This long garland is known as a Vaijayanti garland.
The Lord was attended by His personal associates Nanda and
Sunanda, and the personified Sudarsana disc was also standing
by Him. As stated in the Vedas, the Lord has innumerable
energies, and they also stood there in their
personified forms. The most important among them were as
follows: Pusti, the energy for nourishment; Sri, the energy of
beauty; Kirti, the energy of reputation; and Aja, the energy of
material creation. All these energies are invested in the
administrators of the material world, namely Lord Brahma, Lord
Siva and Lord Visnu, and also in Indra (the King of the
heavenly planets), Candra, Varuna and the sun-god. In
other words, all these demigods, being empowered by the Lord
with certain energies, engage in the transcendental loving
service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Maha-Visnu
feature is an expansion of Krsna's body. The
Brahma-samhita confirms that Maha-Visnu is a portion of
a plenary expansion of Krsna. All such expansions are
nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead, but since Krsna
appeared within this material world to manifest His pastimes as
a human being, He and Arjuna immediately offered their respects
to Lord Maha-Visnu by bowing down before Him. It is stated in
Srimad-Bhagavatam that Lord Krsna offered respect to Maha-
Visnu; this means that Krsna offered obeisances unto none other
than Himself, because Lord Maha-Visnu is nondifferent from
Krsna Himself. This offering of obeisances by Krsna to Maha-
Visnu is not, however, the form of worship known as
ahangrahopasana, which is sometimes recommended for
persons trying to elevate themselves to the spiritual
world by performing the sacrifice of knowledge. Such persons
are also mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita: jnana-yajnena capy
anye yajanto mam upasate.
Although there was no necessity for Krsna to offer obeisances,
because He is the master teacher He taught Arjuna just how
respect should be offered to Lord Maha-Visnu. Arjuna, however,
became very much afraid upon seeing the gigantic form of
everything, distinct from the material experience. Seeing Krsna
offering obeisances to Lord Maha-Visnu, he immediately followed
Him and then stood before the Lord with folded hands. After
this, the gigantic form of Maha-Visnu, greatly pleased, smiled
pleasingly and spoke as follows.
"My dear Krsna and Arjuna, I was very eager to see you both,
and therefore I arranged to take away the babies of the
brahmana and keep them here. I have been expecting to see you
both at this palace. You have appeared in the material world as
My incarnations in order to minimize the force of the demoniac
persons who burden the world. Now, after killing all these
unwanted demons, you will please come back to Me. The
two of you are incarnations of the great sage Nara-Narayana.
Although you are both complete in yourselves, to protect the
devotees and to annihilate the demons, and especially to
establish religious principles in the world so that peace and
tranquillity may continue, you are teaching the basic
principles of factual religion so that the people of the world
may follow you and thereby be peaceful and prosperous."
Lord Krsna and Arjuna then offered their obeisances to
Lord Maha-Visnu, and, taking back the brahmana's children, they
returned to Dvaraka via the same route by which they had
entered the spiritual world. All the children of the brahmana
had duly grown up. After returning to Dvaraka, Lord Krsna and
Arjuna delivered to the brahmana all of his sons.
Arjuna, however, was struck with great wonder after visiting
the transcendental world by the grace of Lord Krsna. And by the
grace of Krsna he could understand that whatever opulence there
may be within this material world is an emanation from Him. Any
opulent position a person may have within this material world
is due to Krsna's mercy. One should therefore always be in
Krsna consciousness, in complete gratefulness to Lord Krsna,
because whatever one may possess is all bestowed by Him.
Arjuna's wonderful experience due to the mercy of Krsna is one
of the many thousands of pastimes performed by Lord Krsna
during His stay in this material world. They were all unique
and have no parallel in the history of the world. All these
pastimes prove fully that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Yet while present within this material world
He played just like an ordinary man with many worldly
duties. He played the part of an ideal householder possessing
more than 16,000 wives, 16,000 palaces and 160,
000 children, and in that role He performed many sacrifices
just to teach the royal order how to live in the material world
for the welfare of humanity. As the ideal Supreme Personality,
He fulfilled the desires of everyone, from the brahmanas, the
highest persons in human society, down to the ordinary living
entities, including the lowest of men. Just as King Indra is in
charge of distributing rain all over the world to satisfy
everyone in due course, so Lord Krsna satisfies everyone by
pouring down His causeless mercy. His mission was to give
protection to the devotees and to kill the demoniac kings.
Therefore He killed many hundreds and thousands of demons.
Some of them He killed personally, and some were killed
by Arjuna, who was deputed by Krsna. In this way He established
many pious kings such as Yudhisthira at the helm of world
affairs. Thus, by His divine arrangement, He created the good
government of King Yudhisthira, and there ensued peace and
tranquillity.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighty
-ninth Chapter of Krsna, "The Superexcellent Power of
Krsna."
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