Kshirokadashai Visnu

Subala · July 10, 2003

Did I spelled it right?

Oh Krishna this one is tough one to spell.

I heard, can't recall where from - that Visnu penetrates this universe as paramatma, but when it enters into the soul of Jiva as paramamtma it is expansion of Kshirokadashai Visnu and then it enters atoms it is expansion of Garbhodakashai Visnu...

Anyone can confirm it or heard/read abotu it?

Govindaram · July 10, 2003

Hk

Theres a nice example on the cover of the first canto of the SB, I don't know how to post pictures so you'll have to look it up yourself, prabhu. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

gHari · July 11, 2003

Bhagavad-gita 7.4:<blockquote><center>bhUmir Apo 'nalo vAyuH

khaM mano buddhir eva ca

ahaGkAra itIyaM me

bhinnA prakRtir aSTadhA

</center>

bhUmiH--earth; ApaH--water; analaH--fire; vAyuH--air; kham--ether; manaH--mind; buddhiH--intelligence; eva--certainly; ca--and; ahaGkAraH--false ego; iti--thus; iyam--all these; me--My; bhinnA--separated; prakRtiH--energies; aSTadhA--eightfold.

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego--all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.

PURPORT

The science of God analyzes the constitutional position of God and His diverse energies. Material nature is called prakRti, or the energy of the Lord in His different puruSa incarnations (expansions) as described in the SAtvata-tantra:

viSNos tu trINi rUpANi

puruSAkhyAny atho viduH

ekaM tu mahataH sraSTR

dvitIyaM tv aNDa-saMsthitam

tRtIyaM sarva-bhUta-sthaM

tAni jJAtvA vimucyate

</center>

"For material creation, Lord KRSNa's plenary expansion assumes three ViSNus. The first one, MahA-ViSNu, creates the total material energy, known as the mahat-tattva. The second, GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu, enters into all the universes to create diversities in each of them. The third, KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu, is diffused as the all-pervading Supersoul in all the universes and is known as ParamAtmA. He is present even within the atoms. Anyone who knows these three ViSNus can be liberated from material entanglement."

This material world is a temporary manifestation of one of the energies of the Lord. All the activities of the material world are directed by these three ViSNu expansions of Lord KRSNa. These puruSas are called incarnations. Generally one who does not know the science of God (KRSNa) assumes that this material world is for the enjoyment of the living entities and that the living entities are the puruSas--the causes, controllers and enjoyers of the material energy. According to Bhagavad-gItA this atheistic conclusion is false. In the verse under discussion it is stated that KRSNa is the original cause of the material manifestation. SrImad-BhAgavatam also confirms this. The ingredients of the material manifestation are separated energies of the Lord. Even the brahmajyoti, which is the ultimate goal of the impersonalists, is a spiritual energy manifested in the spiritual sky. There are no spiritual diversities in the brahmajyoti as there are in the VaikuNThalokas, and the impersonalist accepts this brahmajyoti as the ultimate eternal goal. The ParamAtmA manifestation is also a temporary all-pervasive aspect of the KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu. The ParamAtmA manifestation is not eternal in the spiritual world. Therefore the factual Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead KRSNa. He is the complete energetic person, and He possesses different separated and internal energies.</blockquote>

Bhagavad-gita 10.20:<blockquote><center>aham AtmA guDAkeza

sarva-bhUtAzaya-sthitaH

aham Adiz ca madhyaM ca

bhUtAnAm anta eva ca

</center>

aham--I; AtmA--the soul; guDAkeza--O Arjuna; sarva-bhUta--of all living entities; Azaya-sthitaH--situated within the heart; aham--I am; AdiH--the origin; ca--also; madhyam--middle; ca--also; bhUtAnAm--of all living entities; antaH--end; eva--certainly; ca--and.

I am the Supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.

PURPORT

In this verse Arjuna is addressed as GuDAkeza, which means "one who has conquered the darkness of sleep." For those who are sleeping in the darkness of ignorance, it is not possible to understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself in various ways in the material and spiritual worlds. Thus this address by KRSNa to Arjuna is significant. Because Arjuna is above such darkness, the Personality of Godhead agrees to describe His various opulences.

KRSNa first informs Arjuna that He is the soul of the entire cosmic manifestation by dint of His primary expansion. Before the material creation, the Supreme Lord, by His plenary expansion, accepts the puruSa incarnations, and from Him everything begins. Therefore He is AtmA, the soul of the mahat-tattva, the universal elements. The total material energy is not the cause of the creation; actually the MahA-ViSNu enters into the mahat-tattva, the total material energy. He is the soul. When MahA-ViSNu enters into the manifested universes, He again manifests Himself as the Supersoul in each and every entity. We have experience that the personal body of the living entity exists due to the presence of the spiritual spark. Without the existence of the spiritual spark, the body cannot develop. Similarly, the material manifestation cannot develop unless the Supreme Soul, KRSNa, enters. As stated in the Subala UpaniSad, prakRty-Adi-sarva-bhUtAntar-yAmI sarva-zeSI ca nArAyaNaH: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is existing as the Supersoul in all manifested universes."

The three puruSa-avatAras are described in SrImad-BhAgavatam. They are also described in the SAtvata-tantra. ViSNos tu trINi rUpANi puruSAkhyAny atho viduH: the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests three features--as KAraNodakazAyI ViSNu, GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu and KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu--in this material manifestation. The MahA-ViSNu, or KAraNodakazAyI ViSNu, is described in the Brahma-saMhitA (5.47). YaH kAraNArNava-jale bhajati sma yoga-nidrAm: the Supreme Lord, KRSNa, the cause of all causes, lies down in the cosmic ocean as MahA-ViSNu. Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the beginning of this universe, the maintainer of the universal manifestations, and the end of all energy.</blockquote>

Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.16.18-19:<blockquote><center>oM namas tubhyaM bhagavate

vAsudevAya dhImahi

pradyumnAyAniruddhAya

namaH saGkarSaNAya ca

namo vijJAna-mAtrAya

paramAnanda-mUrtaye

AtmArAmAya zAntAya

nivRtta-dvaita-dRSTaye

</center>

oM--O my Lord; namaH--obeisances; tubhyam--unto You; bhagavate--the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vAsudevAya--KRSNa, the son of Vasudeva; dhImahi--let me meditate upon; pradyumnAya--unto Pradyumna; aniruddhAya--unto Aniruddha; namaH--respectful obeisances; saGkarSaNAya--unto Lord SaGkarSaNa; ca--also; namaH--all obeisances; vijJAna-mAtrAya--unto the form full of knowledge; parama-Ananda-mUrtaye--full of transcendental bliss; Atma-ArAmAya--unto the Lord, who is self-sufficient; zAntAya--and free from disturbances; nivRtta-dvaita-dRSTaye--whose vision turns away from duality, or who is one without a second.

[NArada gave Citraketu the following mantra.] O Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, who are addressed by the oMkAra [praNava], I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. O Lord VAsudeva, I meditate upon You. O Lord Pradyumna, Lord Aniruddha and Lord SaGkarSaNa, I offer You my respectful obeisances. O reservoir of spiritual potency, O supreme bliss, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are self-sufficient and most peaceful. O ultimate truth, one without a second, You are realized as Brahman, ParamAtmA and BhagavAn and are therefore the reservoir of all knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gItA KRSNa says that He is praNavaH sama-vedeSu, the syllable oM in the Vedic mantras. In transcendental knowledge, the Lord is addressed as praNava, oMkAra, which is a symbolic representation of the Lord in sound. OM namo bhagavate vAsudevAya. VAsudeva, who is an expansion of NArAyaNa, expands Himself as Pradyumna, Aniruddha and SaGkarSaNa. From SaGkarSaNa comes a second NArAyaNa expansion, and from this NArAyaNa come further expansions of VAsudeva, Pradyumna, SaGkarSaNa and Aniruddha. The SaGkarSaNa in this group is the original cause of the three puruSas, namely KAraNodakazAyI ViSNu, GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu and KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu. KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu is situated in every universe in a special planet called SvetadvIpa. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saMhitA: aNDAntara-stha. The word aNDa means this universe. Within this universe is a planet called SvetadvIpa, where KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu is situated. From Him come all the incarnations within this universe.</blockquote>

Srimad-Bhagacatam 10.3.14 Purport:<blockquote>[...] "I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, the original Personality of Godhead. By His partial plenary expansion as MahA-ViSNu, He enters into material nature. Then He enters every universe as GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu, and He enters all the elements, including every atom of matter, as KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu. Such manifestations of cosmic creation are innumerable, both in the universes and in the individual atoms." Govinda is partially exhibited as antaryAmI, the Supersoul, who enters this material world (aNDAntara-stha) and who is also within the atom. [...]</blockquote>

Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.3.17:<blockquote><center>mAdRk prapanna-pazu-pAza-vimokSaNAya

muktAya bhUri-karuNAya namo 'layAya

svAMzena sarva-tanu-bhRn-manasi pratIta-

pratyag-dRze bhagavate bRhate namas te

</center>

mAdRk--like me; prapanna--surrendered; pazu--an animal; pAza--from entanglement; vimokSaNAya--unto He who releases; muktAya--unto the Supreme, who is untouched by the contamination of material nature; bhUri-karuNAya--who are unlimitedly merciful; namaH--I offer my respectful obeisances; alayAya--who are never inattentive or idle (for the purpose of my deliverance); sva-aMzena--by Your partial feature as ParamAtmA; sarva--of all; tanu-bhRt--the living entities embodied in material nature; manasi--in the mind; pratIta--who are acknowledged; pratyak-dRze--as the direct observer (of all activities); bhagavate--unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bRhate--who are unlimited; namaH--I offer my respectful obeisances; te--unto You.

Since an animal such as I has surrendered unto You, who are supremely liberated, certainly You will release me from this dangerous position. Indeed, being extremely merciful, You incessantly try to deliver me. By your partial feature as ParamAtmA, You are situated in the hearts of all embodied beings. You are celebrated as direct transcendental knowledge, and You are unlimited. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

The words bRhate namas te have been explained by SrIla VizvanAtha CakravartI ThAkura: bRhate zrI-kRSNAya. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is KRSNa. There are many tattvas, such as viSNu-tattva, jIva-tattva and zakti-tattva, but above everything is the viSNu-tattva, which is all-pervading. This all-pervading feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is explained in Bhagavad-gItA (10.42), wherein the Lord says:

athavA bahunaitena

kiM jJAtena tavArjuna

viSTabhyAham idaM kRtsnam

ekAMzena sthito jagat

</center>

"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe." Thus KRSNa says that the entire material world is maintained by His partial representation as ParamAtmA. The Lord enters every universe as GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu and then expands Himself as KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu to enter the hearts of all living entities and even enter the atoms. ANDAntara-stha-paramANu-cayAntara-stham. Every universe is full of atoms, and the Lord is not only within the universe but also within the atoms. Thus within every atom the Supreme Lord exists in His ViSNu feature as ParamAtmA, but all the viSNu-tattvas emanate from KRSNa. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gItA (10.2), aham Adir hi devAnAm: KRSNa is the Adi, or beginning, of the devas of this material world--BrahmA, ViSNu and Mahezvara. Therefore He is described here as bhagavate bRhate. Everyone is bhagavAn--everyone possesses opulence--but KRSNa is bRhAn bhagavAn, the possessor of unlimited opulence. IzvaraH paramaH kRSNaH [bs. 5.1]. KRSNa is the origin of everyone. AhaM sarvasya prabhavaH. Even BrahmA, ViSNu and Mahezvara come from KRSNa. MattaH parataraM nAnyat kiJcid asti dhanaJjaya: [bg. 7.7] there is no personality superior to KRSNa. Therefore VizvanAtha CakravartI ThAkura says that bhagavate bRhate means "unto SrI KRSNa."

In this material world, everyone is a pazu, an animal, because of the bodily conception of life.

yasyAtma-buddhiH kuNape tri-dhAtuke

sva-dhIH kalatrAdiSu bhauma ijya-dhIH

yat tIrtha-buddhiH salile na karhicij

janeSv abhijJeSu sa eva go-kharaH

</center>

"A human being who identifies the body made of three elements as the self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of his birth to be worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to bathe rather than to meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like a cow or an ass." (BhAg. 10.84.13) Practically everyone, therefore, is a pazu, an animal, and everyone is attacked by the crocodile of material existence. Not only the King of the elephants but every one of us is being attacked by the crocodile and is suffering the consequences.

Only KRSNa can deliver us from this material existence. Indeed, He is always trying to deliver us. IzvaraH sarva-bhUtAnAM hRd-deze 'rjuna tiSThati [bg. 18.61]. He is within our hearts and is not at all inattentive. His only aim is to deliver us from material life. It is not that He becomes attentive to us only when we offer prayers to Him. Even before we offer our prayers, He incessantly tries to deliver us. He is never lazy in regard to our deliverance. Therefore this verse says, bhUri-karuNAya namo 'layAya. It is the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord that He always tries to bring us back home, back to Godhead. God is liberated, and He tries to make us liberated, but although He is constantly trying, we refuse to accept His instructions (sarva-dharmAn parityajya mAm ekaM zaraNaM vraja [bg. 18.66]). Nonetheless, He has not become angry. Therefore He is described here as bhUri-karuNAya, unlimitedly merciful in delivering us from this miserable material condition of life and taking us back home, back to Godhead.</blockquote>

gHari · July 11, 2003

From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Madhya-lila 20.233-347:<blockquote>"I have already described the pastime and prakAza forms. Now please hear about the different personal expansions.

"The first personal expansion is SaGkarSaNa, and the others are incarnations like the fish incarnation. SaGkarSaNa is an expansion of the PuruSa, or ViSNu. The incarnations such as Matsya, the fish incarnation, appear in different yugas for specific pastimes.

<blockquote>PURPORT

The puruSa-avatAras are the Lords of the universal creation. These are KAraNodakazAyI ViSNu, GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu and KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu. There are also lIlA-avatAras, and these include (1) CatuHsana, or the four KumAras, (2) NArada, (3) VarAha, (4) Matsya, (5) YajJa, (6) Nara-NArAyaNa, (7) KArdami Kapila, (8) DattAtreya, (9) HayazIrSA, (10) HaMsa, (11) Dhruvapriya, or PRznigarbha, (12) RSabha, (13) PRthu, (14) NRsiMha, (15) KUrma, (16) Dhanvantari, (17) MohinI, (18) VAmana, (19) BhArgava ParazurAma, (20) RAghavendra, (21) VyAsa, (22) PralambAri BalarAma, (23) KRSNa, (24) Buddha and (25) Kalki.

These twenty-five Personalities of Godhead are known as lIlA-avatAras. Because they appear in each day of BrahmA, or in each kalpa (millennium), they are sometimes known as kalpa-avatAras. Of these incarnations, HaMsa and MohinI are neither permanent nor very well known, but They are listed among the prAbhava-avatAras. Kapila, DattAtreya, RSabha, Dhanvantari and VyAsa are eternally situated and very widely known. They are also counted among the prAbhava incarnations. KUrma, Matsya, NArAyaNa, VarAha, HayagrIva, PRznigarbha and Baladeva, the killer of PralambAsura, are counted among the vaibhava-avatAras.</blockquote>

"There are six types of incarnations [avatAras] of KRSNa. One includes the incarnations of ViSNu [puruSa-avatAras], and another includes the incarnations meant for the performance of pastimes [lIlA-avatAras].

"There are incarnations that control the material qualities [guNa-avatAras], incarnations who appear during the reign of each Manu [manvantara-avatAras], incarnations in different millenniums [yuga-avatAras] and incarnations of empowered living entities [zaktyAveza-avatAras].

<blockquote>PURPORT

The guNa-avatAras are three--Lord BrahmA, Lord Siva and Lord ViSNu (BhAg. 10.88.3). The avatAras who appear during the reign of each Manu, known as manvantara-avatAras, are listed as follows in SrImad-BhAgavatam (Eighth Canto, chapters 1, 5 and 13): (1) YajJa, (2) Vibhu, (3) Satyasena, (4) Hari, (5) VaikuNTha, (6) Ajita, (7) VAmana, (8) SArvabhauma, (9) RSabha, (10) ViSvaksena, (11) Dharmasetu, (12) SudhAmA, (13) Yogezvara and (14) BRhadbhAnu. All together these are fourteen in number, and of these, YajJa and VAmana are also counted among the lIlA-avatAras. All these manvantara incarnations are sometimes called vaibhava-avatAras.

The four yuga-avatAras are (1) zukla (white) in Satya-yuga (BhAg. 11.5.21), (2) rakta (red) in TretA-yuga (BhAg. 11.5.24), (3) zyAma (dark blue) in DvApara-yuga (BhAg. 11.5.27) and (4) generally kRSNa (black) but in special cases pIta (yellow) as Caitanya MahAprabhu in Kali-yuga (BhAg. 11.5.32 and 10.8.13).

The zaktyAveza-avatAras are categorized into (1) forms of divine absorption (bhagavad-Aveza), such as Kapiladeva or RSabhadeva, and (2) divinely empowered forms (zaktyAveza), of whom seven are foremost: (1) SeSa NAga in the VaikuNTha world, empowered for the personal service of the Supreme Lord (sva-sevana-zakti), (2) Anantadeva, empowered to bear all the planets within the universe (bhU-dhAraNa-zakti), (3) Lord BrahmA, empowered with the energy to create the cosmic manifestation (sRSTi-zakti), (4) CatuHsana, or the KumAras, specifically empowered to distribute transcendental knowledge (jJAna-zakti), (5) NArada Muni, empowered to distribute devotional service (bhakti-zakti), (6) MahArAja PRthu, specifically empowered to rule and maintain the living entities (pAlana-zakti) and (7) ParazurAma, specifically empowered to cut down rogues and demons (duSTa-damana-zakti).</blockquote>

"Childhood and boyhood are the typical ages of the Deity. KRSNa, the son of MahArAja Nanda, performed His pastimes as a child and as a boy.

"There are innumerable incarnations of KRSNa, and there is no possibility of counting them. We can simply indicate them by giving the example of the moon and the branches of a tree.

"‘O learned brAhmaNas, just as hundreds and thousands of small rivulets issue from great reservoirs of water, innumerable incarnations flow from SrI Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the reservoir of all power.'

"In the beginning, KRSNa incarnates Himself as the puruSa-avatAras, or ViSNu incarnations. These are of three types.

"‘ViSNu has three forms called puruSas. The first, MahA-ViSNu, is the creator of the total material energy [mahat], the second is GarbhodazAyI, who is situated within each universe, and the third is KSIrodazAyI, who lives in the heart of every living being. He who knows these three becomes liberated from the clutches of mAyA.'

"KRSNa has unlimited potencies, out of which three are chief--willpower, the power of knowledge and the creative energy.

"The predominator of the willing potency is Lord KRSNa, for by His supreme will everything comes into existence. In willing, there is a need for knowledge, and that knowledge is expressed through VAsudeva.

"There is no possibility of creation without thinking, feeling, willing, knowledge and activity. The combination of the supreme will, knowledge and action brings about the cosmic manifestation.

"Lord SaGkarSaNa is Lord BalarAma. Being the predominator of the creative energy, He creates both the material and the spiritual world.

"That original SaGkarSaNa [Lord BalarAma] is the cause of both the material and the spiritual creation. He is the predominating deity of egotism, and by the will of KRSNa and the power of the spiritual energy, He creates the spiritual world, which consists of the planet Goloka VRndAvana and the VaikuNTha planets.

"Although there is no question of creation as far as the spiritual world is concerned, the spiritual world is nonetheless manifested by the supreme will of SaGkarSaNa. The spiritual world is the abode of the pastimes of the eternal spiritual energy.

"‘Gokula, the supreme abode and planet, appears like a lotus flower that has a thousand petals. The whorl of that lotus is the abode of the Supreme Lord, KRSNa. This lotus-shaped supreme abode is created by the will of Lord Ananta.'

"By the agency of the material energy, this same Lord SaGkarSaNa creates all the universes. The dull material energy--known in modern language as nature--is not the cause of the material universe.

"Without the Supreme Personality of Godhead's energy, dull matter cannot create the cosmic manifestation. Its power does not arise from the material energy itself but is endowed by SaGkarSaNa.

"Dull matter alone cannot create anything. The material energy produces the creation by the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Iron itself has no power to burn, but when iron is placed in fire, it is empowered to burn.

"‘BalarAma and KRSNa are the original efficient and material causes of the material world. As MahA-ViSNu and the material energy, They enter into the material elements and create the diversities by multi-energies. Thus They are the cause of all causes.'

"The form of the Lord that descends into the material world to create is called an avatAra, or incarnation.

"All the expansions of Lord KRSNa are actually residents of the spiritual world. But when they descend into the material world, they are called incarnations [avatAras].

"To glance over that material energy and empower her, Lord SaGkarSaNa first incarnates as Lord MahA-ViSNu.

"‘In the beginning of the creation, the Lord expanded Himself in the form of the puruSa incarnation, accompanied by all the ingredients of material creation. First He created the sixteen principal energies suitable for creation. This was for the purpose of manifesting the material universes.'

"‘KAraNAbdhizAyI ViSNu [MahA-ViSNu] is the first incarnation of the Supreme Lord, and He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, the mind, the elements, the material ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form of the Lord, GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.'

"That original Personality of Godhead, named SaGkarSaNa, first lies down in the river VirajA, which serves as a border between the material and the spiritual world. As KAraNAbdhizAyI ViSNu, He is the original cause of the material creation.

"The VirajA, or Causal Ocean, is the border between the spiritual and the material world. The material energy is situated on one shore of that ocean, and it cannot enter onto the other shore, which is the spiritual sky.

"‘In the spiritual world, there is neither the mode of passion, the mode of ignorance nor a mixture of both, nor is there adulterated goodness, the influence of time or mAyA herself. Only the pure devotees of the Lord, who are worshiped both by demigods and by demons, reside in the spiritual world as the Lord's associates.'

"MAyA has two functions. One is called mAyA, and the other is called pradhAna. MAyA refers to the efficient cause, and pradhAna refers to the ingredients that create the cosmic manifestation.

"When the Supreme Personality of Godhead glances over the material energy, she becomes agitated. At that time, the Lord injects the original semen of the living entities.

"To impregnate with the seeds of the living entities, the Lord Himself does not directly touch the material energy, but by His specific functional expansion He touches the material energy, and thus the living entities, who are His parts and parcels, are impregnated into material nature.

"‘At a time beyond memory, after agitating the material nature into three qualities, the Supreme Personality of Godhead placed the semen of innumerable living entities within the womb of that material nature. Thus material nature gave birth to the total material energy, known as the hiraNmaya-mahat-tattva, the original symbolic representation of the cosmic manifestation.'

"‘In due course of time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead [MahA-VaikuNThanAtha], by the agency of a further expansion of His personal self [MahA-ViSNu], placed the seed of the living entities within the womb of material nature.'

"First the total material energy is manifested, and from this arise the three types of egotism, which are the original sources from which all demigods [controlling deities], senses and material elements expand.

"Combining all the different elements, the Supreme Lord created all the universes. Those universes are unlimited in number; there is no possibility of counting them.

"The first form of Lord ViSNu is called MahA-ViSNu. He is the original creator of the total material energy. The innumerable universes emanate from the pores of His body.

"These universes are understood to be floating in the air that MahA-ViSNu exhales. They are like atomic particles that float in sunshine and pass through the holes of a screen. All these universes are thus created by the exhalation of MahA-ViSNu, and when MahA-ViSNu inhales, they re-enter His body. The unlimited opulences of MahA-ViSNu are completely beyond material conception.

"‘The BrahmAs and other lords of the mundane worlds appear from the pores of MahA-ViSNu and remain alive for the duration of His one exhalation. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, of whom MahA-ViSNu is a portion of a plenary portion.'

"MahA-ViSNu is the Supersoul of all the universes. Lying on the Causal Ocean, He is the master of all material worlds.

"I have thus explained the truth of the first Personality of Godhead, MahA-ViSNu. I shall now explain the glories of the second Personality of Godhead.

"After creating the total number of universes, which are unlimited, MahA-ViSNu expanded Himself into unlimited forms and entered into each of them.

"When MahA-ViSNu entered each of the limitless universes, He saw that there was darkness all around and that there was no place to stay. He therefore began to consider the situation.

"With the perspiration produced from His own body, the Lord filled half the universe with water. He then lay down on that water, on the bed of Lord SeSa.

"A lotus flower then sprouted from the lotus navel of that GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu. That lotus flower became Lord BrahmA's birthplace.

"In the stem of that lotus flower, the fourteen worlds were generated. Then He became Lord BrahmA and manifested the entire universe.

"In this way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of ViSNu maintains the entire material world. Since He is always beyond the material qualities, the material nature cannot touch Him.

"The Supreme Lord in His form of Rudra [Lord Siva] brings about the dissolution of this material creation. In other words, only by His will are there creation, maintenance and dissolution of the whole cosmic manifestation.

"BrahmA, ViSNu and Siva are His three incarnations of the material qualities. Creation, maintenance and destruction respectively are under the charge of these three personalities.

"GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu, known within the universe as HiraNyagarbha and the antaryAmI, or Supersoul, is glorified in the Vedic hymns, beginning with the hymn that starts with the word ‘sahasra-zIrSA.'

"This second Personality of Godhead, known as GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu, is the master of each and every universe and the shelter of the external energy. Nonetheless, He remains beyond the touch of the external energy.

"The third expansion of ViSNu is KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu, who is the incarnation of the quality of goodness. He is to be counted within both types of incarnations [puruSa-avatAras and guNa-avatAras].

"KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu is the universal form of the Lord and is the Supersoul within every living entity. He is known as KSIrodakazAyI because He is the Lord who lies on the ocean of milk. He is the maintainer and master of the universe.

"O SanAtana, I have definitively described the three puruSa-avatAras of ViSNu. Now please hear from Me about the pastime incarnations.

"No one can count the innumerable pastime incarnations of Lord KRSNa, but I shall describe the principal ones.

"Some of the pastime incarnations are the fish incarnation, the tortoise incarnation, Lord RAmacandra, Lord NRsiMha, Lord VAmana and Lord VarAha. There is no end to them.

"‘O Lord of the universe, best of the Yadu dynasty, we are offering our prayers unto You mainly to diminish the heavy burden of the universe. Indeed, You diminished this burden formerly by incarnating in the form of a fish, a horse [HayagrIva], a tortoise, a lion [Lord NRsiMha], a boar [Lord VarAha] and a swan. You also incarnated as Lord RAmacandra, ParazurAma and VAmana, the dwarf. You have always protected us demigods and the universe in this way. Now please continue.'

"I have given a few examples of pastime incarnations. Now I will describe the guNa-avatAras, the incarnations of the material qualities. Please listen.

"There are three functions within this material world. Everything here is created, everything is maintained for some time, and everything is finally dissolved. The Lord therefore incarnates Himself as the controllers of the three qualities--sattva-guNa, rajo-guNa and tamo-guNa [goodness, passion and ignorance]. Thus the transactions of the material world take place.

"Because of his past pious activities mixed with devotional service, the first-class living entity is influenced by the mode of passion within his mind.

"Such a devotee is empowered by GarbhodakazAyI ViSNu. In this way, an incarnation of KRSNa in the form of BrahmA engineers the total creation of the universe.

"‘The sun manifests his brilliance in a gem, although it is stone. Similarly, the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, manifests His special power in a pious living entity. Thus the living entity becomes BrahmA and manages the affairs of the universe. Let me worship Govinda, the original Personality of Godhead.'

"If in a kalpa a suitable living entity is not available to take charge of BrahmA's post, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself personally expands and becomes Lord BrahmA.

"‘What is the value of a throne to Lord KRSNa? The masters of the various planetary systems accept the dust of His lotus feet on their crowned heads. That dust makes the holy places sacred, and even Lord BrahmA, Lord Siva, LakSmI and I Myself, who are all portions of His plenary portion, eternally carry that dust on our heads.'

"Lord KRSNa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, expands a portion of His plenary portion and, accepting the association of the material mode of ignorance, assumes the form of Rudra to dissolve the cosmic manifestation.

"Rudra, Lord Siva, has various forms, which are transformations brought about by association with mAyA. Although Rudra is not on a level with the jIva-tattvas, he still cannot be considered a personal expansion of Lord KRSNa.

"Milk is transformed into yogurt when it associates with a yogurt culture. Thus yogurt is nothing but milk, but still it is not milk.

"‘Milk changes into yogurt when mixed with a yogurt culture, but actually it is constitutionally nothing but milk. Similarly, Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, assumes the form of Lord Siva [sambhu] for the special purpose of material transactions. I offer my obeisances at His lotus feet.'

"Lord Siva is an associate of the external energy; therefore he is absorbed in the material quality of darkness. Lord ViSNu is transcendental to mAyA and the qualities of mAyA. Therefore He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

"‘The truth about Lord Siva is that he is always covered with three material coverings--vaikArika, taijasa and tAmasa. Because of these three modes of material nature, he always associates with the external energy and egotism itself.'

"‘SrI Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated beyond the range of material nature; therefore He is the supreme transcendental person. He can see everything inside and outside; therefore He is the supreme overseer of all living entities. If someone takes shelter at His lotus feet and worships Him, he also attains a transcendental position.'

"For the maintenance of the universe, Lord KRSNa descends as His personal plenary expansion in the form of ViSNu. He is the director of the mode of goodness; therefore He is transcendental to the material energy.

"Lord ViSNu is in the category of svAMza because He has opulences almost equal to KRSNa's. KRSNa is the original person, and Lord ViSNu is His personal expansion. This is the verdict of all Vedic literatures.

"‘When the flame of one candle is expanded to another candle and placed in a different position, it burns separately, and its illumination is as powerful as the original candle's. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, expands Himself in different forms as ViSNu, who is equally luminous, powerful and opulent. Let me worship that Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda.'

"The conclusion is that Lord BrahmA and Lord Siva are simply devotee incarnations who carry out orders. However, Lord ViSNu, the maintainer, is the personal feature of Lord KRSNa.

"[Lord BrahmA said:] ‘I am engaged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to create. Following His orders, Lord Siva dissolves everything. The Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of KSIrodakazAyI ViSNu maintains all the affairs of material nature. Thus the supreme controller of the three modes of material nature is Lord ViSNu.'

"O SanAtana, now just hear about the incarnations who appear during the reign of each Manu [manvantara-avatAras]. They are unlimited, and no one can count them. Just hear of their source.

"In one day of BrahmA, there are fourteen changes of the Manus, and during the reign of each of those fourteen Manus, an incarnation is manifested by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

"There are 14 manvantara-avatAras in one day of BrahmA, 420 in one month, and 5,040 in one year.

"During the hundred years of BrahmA's life, there are 504,000 manvantara-avatAras.

"The number of manvantara-avatAras for only one universe has been given. One can only imagine how many manvantara-avatAras exist in the innumerable universes. And all these universes and BrahmAs exist only during one exhalation of MahA-ViSNu.

"There is no limit to the exhalations of MahA-ViSNu. Just see how impossible it is to speak or write of only the manvantara-avatAras!

"In the SvAyambhuva-manvantara, the avatAra is named YajJa. In the SvArociSa-manvantara, he is named Vibhu. In the Auttama-manvantara, He is named Satyasena, and in the TAmasa-manvantara, He is named Hari.

"In the Raivata-manvantara, the avatAra is named VaikuNTha, and in the CAkSuSa-manvantara, He is named Ajita. In the Vaivasvata-manvantara, He is named VAmana, and in the SAvarNya-manvantara, He is named SArvabhauma. In the DakSa-sAvarNya-manvantara, he is named RSabha.

"In the Brahma-sAvarNya-manvantara, the avatAra is named ViSvaksena, and in the Dharma-sAvarNya, he is named Dharmasetu. In the Rudra-sAvarNya he is named SudhAmA, and in the Deva-sAvarNya, he is named Yogezvara.

"In the Indra-sAvarNya-manvantara, the avatAra is named BRhadbhAnu. These are the names of the fourteen avatAras in the fourteen manvantaras.

"O SanAtana, now hear from Me about the yuga-avatAras, the incarnations for the millenniums. First of all, there are four yugas--Satya-yuga, TretA-yuga, DvApara-yuga and Kali-yuga.

"In the four yugas--Satya, TretA, DvApara and Kali--the Lord incarnates in four colors: white, red, black and yellow respectively. These are the colors of the incarnations in different millenniums.

"‘This child formerly had three colors according to the prescribed color for different millenniums. Formerly He was white, red and yellow, and now He has assumed a blackish color.'

"‘In Satya-yuga the Lord appeared in a body colored white, with four arms and matted hair. He wore tree bark and bore a black antelope skin. He wore a sacred thread and a garland of rudrAkSa beads. He carried a rod and a waterpot, and He was a brahmacArI.'

"‘In TretA-yuga, the Lord appeared in a body that had a reddish hue and four arms. There were three distinctive lines on His abdomen, and His hair was golden. His form manifested the Vedic knowledge, and He bore the symbols of a sacrificial spoon, ladle and so on.'

"As the white incarnation, the Lord taught religion and meditation. He offered benedictions to Kardama Muni, and in this way He showed His causeless mercy.

"In Satya-yuga the people were generally advanced in spiritual knowledge and could meditate upon KRSNa very easily. The people's occupational duty in TretA-yuga was to perform great sacrifices. This was induced by the Personality of Godhead in His reddish incarnation.

"In DvApara-yuga the people's occupational duty was to worship the lotus feet of KRSNa. Therefore Lord KRSNa, appearing in a blackish body, personally induced people to worship Him.

"‘In DvApara-yuga the Personality of Godhead appears in a blackish hue. He is dressed in yellow, He holds His own weapons, and He is decorated with the Kaustubha jewel and the mark of SrIvatsa. That is how His symptoms are described.'

"‘I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, expanded as VAsudeva, SaGkarSaNa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.'

"By this mantra, the people worship Lord KRSNa in DvApara-yuga. In Kali-yuga the occupational duty of the people is to chant congregationally the holy name of KRSNa.

"In the Age of Kali, Lord KRSNa assumes a golden color and, accompanied by His personal devotees, introduces hari-nAma-saGkIrtana, the chanting of the Hare KRSNa mantra. By this process He delivers love for KRSNa to the general populace.

"Lord KRSNa, the son of Nanda MahArAja, personally introduces the occupational duty of the Age of Kali. He personally chants and dances in ecstatic love, and thus the entire world chants congregationally.

"‘In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the name of KRSNa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is KRSNa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.'

"In the other three yugas--Satya, TretA and DvApara--people perform different types of spiritual activities. Whatever results they achieve in that way, they can achieve in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra.

"‘My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.'

"‘Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on ViSNu, in TretA-yuga by performing sacrifices and in DvApara-yuga by serving the Lord's lotus feet can also be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra.'

"‘Whatever is achieved by meditation in Satya-yuga, by the performance of yajJa in TretA-yuga or by the worship of KRSNa's lotus feet in DvApara-yuga is also obtained in the Age of Kali simply by chanting the glories of Lord Kezava.'

<center>kaliM sabhAjayanty AryA

guNa-jJAH sAra-bhAginaH

yatra saGkIrtanenaiva

sarva-svArtho 'bhilabhyate

</center>

kalim--Kali-yuga; sabhAjayanti--worship; AryAH--advanced people; guNa-jJAH--appreciating this good quality of Kali-yuga; sAra-bhAginaH--persons who accept the essence of life; yatra--in which age; saGkIrtanena--simply by performing the saGkIrtana-yajJa, the chanting of the Hare KRSNa mantra; eva--certainly; sarva-sva-arthaH--all interests of life; abhilabhyate--are achieved.

"‘Those who are advanced and highly qualified and are interested in the essence of life know the good qualities of Kali-yuga. Such people worship the Age of Kali because in this age one can advance in spiritual knowledge and attain life's goal simply by chanting the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra.'

<blockquote>PURPORT

This is a quotation from SrImad-BhAgavatam (11.5.36) spoken by the great sage KarabhAjana RSi, one of the nine Yogendras. The sage was informing MahArAja Nimi about the people's duty to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to different processes in different yugas.</blockquote>

Subala · July 11, 2003

THANK YOU!

gHari · July 12, 2003

Subala,

It is sincere inquiries like yours that drive my 'sadhana'. I gain so much from responding to these questions.

As well, I know how difficult it is to remember Krsna in the workplace. I admire your attachment to such topics. Such karma yoga leads to great advancement, for when the environment gets more hospitable for devotion, your love with gush like a volcano.

With your mind so active, I knew that passage about the various incarnations and creation of innumerable universes would be gobbled up with relish, and perhaps a little nectar.

gHari