Inquiries Into the Absolute: Digest 184, Why does Krishna havemultiple senses?

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Digest 184, September 6th, 2006. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami

Maharaja

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Why does Krishna have multiple senses?

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Q: If Krishna can perform His hearing with His eyes, for example, then what is

the purpose of His having eyes and also ears? Do jivas have the same

capabilities?

 

Answer: The ability that Krishna can perform the function of any sense through

any other sense organ is an indication that He is Absolute, that His body is

not compartmentalized like ours but Absolute, Omnipotent and Independent. If we

lose our eyesight, for instance, we would become dependent and cannot see

anymore. But Krishna is not dependent like that, He does not need a particular

bodily part to perform a particular action - every limb of His body is

absolutely potent and complete as His Original Self -- purna. Another way of

saying the same thing is that Krishna is not different from His body and His

different bodily limbs are non-different from His Self.

 

Although Absolute and undifferentiated, yet simultaneously Krishna's spiritual

body is full of variegatedness. He has variegated senses simply for His

enjoyment, not because He is dependent on them for different functionalities.

The common mistake that students of transcendental science often make in trying

to understand the Absolute Realm with the help of their limited intelligence is

that when they hear descriptions such as this of Omnipotence and

all-pervasiveness, they imagine that the Absolute Truth to be some form of

homogenized, uniform Energy without any form or features and without any

variegated senses. These are the impersonalists whom Krishna declares in

Bhagavad-Gita to be mistaken in their understanding. Krishna is the Supreme

Enjoyer and as the saying goes, "Variety is the mother of enjoyment". The

inconceivable potencies of His spiritual body are meant for His enjoyment, and

His Spiritual abode is full of variety for the same reason.

 

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura points out that although the Lord can

perform any function with any one of His senses, in His transcendental pastimes

as Sri Krishna He generally sees with His eyes, touches with His hands, hears

with His ears and so on. Thus He behaves like the most beautiful and charming

young cowherd boy. (Cf. SB 10.14.2 p) And whenever He uses His limbs in

extraordinary ways, that is also to enhance His enjoyment and thus He enjoys in

many unlimited ways. At the same time, He is exhibiting his supremacy by these

acts; e.g. entering Mathura, Krsna straightened Kubja's hunchback with his

fingertips and toes, AND with the same fingertips he separated the the head of

the washerman from his torso!

 

The living entities do not possess such omnipotence constitutionally - this is

the distinction between the Supreme Lord and the minute living entity; but

Krishna may choose to invest such capability upon some living entity who can

attain such mystic powers by His grace.

 

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accessed temporarily at http://www.romapadaswami.com/IITA.pdf

 

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