Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Krsna Book 1970 - 02 - Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare,

Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare,

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare,

And now, Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb.

King Kaṁsa not only occupied the kingdoms of the Yadu, Bhoja, and Andhaka dynasties

and the kingdom of Śūrasena, but he also made alliances with all the other demoniac kings,

as follows: the demon Pralamba, demon Baka, demon Cāṇūra, demon Tṛṇāvarta, demon Aghāsura,

demon Muṣṭika, demon Ariṣṭa, demon Dvivida, demon Pūtanā, demon Keśī and demon Dhenuka.

At that time, Jarāsandha was the king of Magadha province (known at present as Behar state).

Thus by his diplomatic policy, Kaṁsa consolidated the most powerful kingdom of his time, under

the protection of Jarāsandha. He made further alliances with such kings as Bāṇāsura and

Bhaumāsura, until he was the strongest. Then he began to behave most inimically towards

the Yadu dynasty into which Kṛṣṇa was to take His birth.

Being harassed by Kaṁsa, the kings of the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties began to

take shelter in different states such as the state of the Kurus, the state of the Pañcālas

and the states known as Kekaya, Śālva, Vidarbha, Niṣadha, Videha and Kośala. Kaṁsa broke the

solidarity of the Yadu Kingdom, as well as the Bhoja and Andhaka. He made his position

the most solid within the vast tract of land known at that time as Bhāratavarṣa.

When Kaṁsa killed the six babies of Devakī and Vāsudeva one after another, many friends

and relatives of Kaṁsa approached him and requested him to discontinue these heinous

activities. But all of them became worshipers of Kaṁsa.

When Devakī became pregnant for the seventh time, a plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa known as

Ananta appeared within her womb. Devakī was overwhelmed both with jubilation and lamentation.

She was joyful, for she could understand that Lord Viṣṇu had taken shelter within her womb,

but at the same time she was sorry that as soon as her child would come out, Kaṁsa would

kill Him. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, being compassionate upon

the fearful condition of the Yadus, due to atrocities committed by Kaṁsa, ordered the

appearance of His Yogamāyā, or His internal potency. Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of the universe,

but He is especially the Lord of the Yadu dynasty.

This Yogamāyā is the principal potency of the Personality of Godhead. In the Vedas it

is stated that the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has multipotencies. Parāsya śaktir

vividhaiva śrūyate. All the different potencies are acting externally and internally, and

Yogamāyā is the chief of all potencies. He ordered the appearance of Yogamāyā in the

land of Vrajabhūmi, in Vṛndāvana, which is always decorated and full with beautiful cows.

In Vṛndāvana, Rohiṇī, one of the wives of Vāsudeva, was residing at the house of King

Nanda and Queen Yaśodā. Not only Rohiṇī, but many others in the Yadu dynasty were scattered

all over the country due to their fear of the atrocities of Kaṁsa. Some of them were

even living in the caves of the mountains. The Lord thus informed Yogamāyā: "Under the

imprisonment of Kaṁsa are Devakī and Vāsudeva, and at the present moment, My plenary expansion,

Śeṣa, is within the womb of Devakī. You can arrange the transfer of Śeṣa from the womb

of Devakī to the womb of Rohiṇī. After this arrangement, I am personally going to appear

in the womb of Devakī with My full potencies. Then I shall appear as the son of Devakī and

Vāsudeva. And you shall appear as the daughter of Nanda and Yaśodā in Vṛndāvana.

"Since you will appear as My contemporary sister, people within the world will worship

you with all kinds of valuable presentations: incense, candles, flowers and offerings of

sacrifice. You shall quickly satisfy their desires for sense gratificiation. People who

are after materialistic affection will worship you under the different forms of your expansions,

which will be named Durgā, Bhadrakālī, Vijaya, Vaiṣṇavī, Kumuda, Caṇḍikā, Kṛṣṇa, Mādhavī,

Kanyakā, Māyā, Nārāyaṇī, Īśānī, Śārada and Ambikā."

Kṛṣṇa and Yogamāyā appeared as brother and sisteróthe Supreme Powerful and the supreme

power. Although there is no clear distinction between the Powerful and the power, power

is always subordinate to the Powerful. Those who are materialistic are worshipers of the

power, but those who are transcendentalists are worshipers of the Powerful. Kṛṣṇa is the

Supreme Powerful, and Durgā is the supreme power within the material world. Actually

people in the Vedic culture worship both the Powerful and the power. There are many hundreds

of thousands of temples of Viṣṇu and Devī, and sometimes they are worshiped simultaneously.

The worshiper of the power, Durgā, or the external energy of Kṛṣṇa, may achieve all

kinds of material success very easily, but anyone who wants to be elevated transcendentally

must engage in worshiping the Powerful in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The Lord also declared to Yogamāyā that His plenary expansion, Ananta Śeṣa, was within

the womb of Devakī. On account of being forcibly attracted to the womb of Rohiṇī, He will be

known as Saṅkarṣaṇa and would be the source of all spiritual power or bala, by which one

could be able to attain the highest bliss of life which is called ramaṇa. Therefore

the plenary portion Ananta would be known after His appearance either as Saṅkarṣaṇa

or Balarāma. In the Upaniṣads it is stated, Nāyaṁ ātmā

bala hinena labhya. The purport is that one cannot attain the Supreme or any form of self-realization

without being sufficiently favored by Balarāma. Bala does not mean physical strength. No one

can attain spiritual perfection by physical strength. One must have the spiritual strength

which is infused by Balarāma or Saṅkarṣaṇa. Ananta or Śeṣa is the power which sustains

all the planets in their different positions. Materially this sustaining power is known

as the law of gravitation, but actually it is the display of the potency of Saṅkarṣaṇa.

Balarāma or Saṅkarṣaṇa is spiritual power, or the original spiritual master. Therefore

Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, who is also the incarnation of Balarāma, is the original spiritual master.

And the spiritual master is the representative of Balarāma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

who supplies spiritual strength. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is confirmed that the spiritual master

is the manifestation of the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. When Yogamāyā was thus ordered by the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, she circumambulated the Lord and then appeared within this material

world according to His order. When the Supreme Powerful Personality of Godhead transferred

Lord Śeṣa from the womb of Devakī to the womb of Rohiṇī, both of them were under the spell

of Yogamāyā, which is also called yoga-nidrā. When this was done, people understood that

Devakī's seventh pregnancy was a miscarriage. Thus although Balarāma appeared as the son

of Devakī, He was transferred to the womb of Rohiṇī to appear as her son. After this

arrangement, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is always ready to place His full

potencies in His unalloyed devotees, entered as the Lord of the whole creation within the

mind of Vāsudeva. It is understood in this connection that Lord Kṛṣṇa first of all situated

Himself in the unalloyed heart of Devakī. He was not put into the womb of Devakī by

seminal discharge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His inconceivable potency,

can appear in any way. It is not necessary for Him to appear in the ordinary way by seminal

injection within the womb of a woman. When Vāsudeva was sustaining the form of the

Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun

whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the

Lord situated in the pure unalloyed heart of Vāsudeva is not different from the original

form of Kṛṣṇa. The appearance of the form of Kṛṣṇa anywhere, and specifically within

the heart, is called dhāma. Dhāma does not only refer to Kṛṣṇa's form, but His name,

His form, His quality and His paraphernalia. Everything becomes manifest simultaneously.

Thus the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full potencies was transferred

from the mind of Vāsudeva to the mind of Devakī, exactly as the setting sun's rays are transferred

to the full moon rising in the east. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

entered the body of Devakī from the body of Vāsudeva. He was beyond the conditions of

the ordinary living entity. When Kṛṣṇa is there, it is to be understood that all His

plenary expansions, such as Nārāyaṇa, and incarnations like Lord Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, etc.,

are with Him, and they are not subject to the conditions of material existence. In this

way, Devakī became the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is one without

a second and the cause of all creation. Devakī became the residence of the Absolute Truth,

but because she was within the house of Kaṁsa, she looked just like a suppressed fire, or

like misused education. When fire is covered by the walls of a pot or is kept in a jug,

the illuminating rays of the fire cannot be very much appreciated. Similarly, misused

knowledge, which does not benefit the people in general, is not very much appreciated.

So Devakī was kept within the prison walls of Kaṁsa's palace, and no one could see her

transcendental beauty which resulted from her conceiving the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. Kaṁsa, however, saw the transcendental beauty

of his sister Devakī, and he at once concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had

taken shelter in her womb. She had never before looked so wonderfully beautiful. He could

distinctly understand that there was something wonderful within the womb of Devakī. In this

way, Kaṁsa became perturbed. He was sure that the Supreme Personality of Godhead would kill

him in the future and that He had now come. Kaṁsa began to think: "What is to be done

with Devakī? Surely she has Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa within her womb, so it is certain that Kṛṣṇa

has come to execute the mission of the demigods. And even if I immediately kill Devakī, His

mission cannot be frustrated." Kaṁsa knew very well that no one can frustrate the purpose

of Viṣṇu. Any intelligent man can understand that the laws of God cannot be violated. His

purpose will be served in spite of all impediments offered by the demons. Kaṁsa thought: "If

I kill Devakī at the present moment, Viṣṇu will enforce His supreme will more vehemently.

To kill Devakī just now would be a most abominable act. No one desires to kill his reputation,

even in an awkward situation; if I kill Devakī now, my reputation will be spoiled. Devakī

is a woman, and she is under my shelter; she is pregnant, and if I kill her, immediately

all my reputation, the result of pious activities and duration of life, will be finished."

He also further deliberated: "A person who is too cruel, even in this lifetime is as

good as dead. No one likes a cruel person during his lifetime, and after his death,

people curse him. On account of his self-identification with the body, he must be degraded and pushed

into the darkest region of hell." Kaṁsa thus meditated on all the pros and cons of killing

Devakī at that time. Kaṁsa finally decided not to kill Devakī right

away but to wait for the inevitable future. But his mind became absorbed in animosity

against the Personality of Godhead. He patiently waited for the deliverance of the child, expecting

to kill Him, as he had done previously with the other babies of Devakī. Thus being merged

in the ocean of animosity against the Personality of Godhead, he began to think of Kṛṣṇa and

Viṣṇu while sitting, while sleeping, while walking, while eating, while workingóin all

the situations of his life. His mind became so much absorbed with the thought of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead that indirectly he could see only Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu around him.

Unfortunately, although his mind was so absorbed in the thought of Viṣṇu, he is not recognized

as a devotee because he was thinking of Kṛṣṇa as an enemy. The state of mind of a great

devotee is also to be always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, but a devotee thinks of Him favorably, not

unfavorably. To think of Kṛṣṇa favorably is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but to think of Kṛṣṇa

unfavorably is not Kṛṣṇa consciousness. At this time Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, accompanied

by great sages like Nārada and followed by many other demigods, invisibly appeared in

the house of Kaṁsa. They began to pray for the Supreme Personality of Godhead in select

prayers which are very pleasing to the devotees and which award fulfillment of their desires.

The first words they spoke acclaimed that the Lord is true to His vow. As stated in

the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa descends in this material world just to protect the pious and

destroy the impious. That is His vow. The demigods could understand that the Lord had

taken His residence within the womb of Devakī in order to fulfill this vow. The demigods

were very glad that the Lord was appearing to fulfill His mission, and they addressed

Him as satyaṁ param, or the Supreme Absolute Truth.

Everyone is searching after the truth. That is the philosophical way of life. The demigods

give information that the Supreme Absolute Truth is Kṛṣṇa. One who becomes fully Kṛṣṇa

conscious can attain the Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth. Relative truth is not

truth in all the three phases of eternal time. Time is divided into past, present and future.

Kṛṣṇa is Truth always, past, present and future. In the material world everything is being

controlled by supreme time, in the course of past, present and future. But before the

creation, Kṛṣṇa was existing, and when there is creation, everything is resting in Kṛṣṇa,

and when this creation is finished, Kṛṣṇa will remain. Therefore, He is Absolute Truth

in all circumstances. If there is any truth within this material world, it emanates from

the Supreme Truth, Kṛṣṇa. If there is any opulence within this material world, the cause

of the opulence is Kṛṣṇa. If there is any reputation within this material world, the

cause of the reputation is Kṛṣṇa. If there is any strength within this material world,

the cause of such strength is Kṛṣṇa. If there is any wisdom and education within this material

world, the cause of such wisdom and education is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the source of

all relative truths. This material world is composed of five principal

elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether, and all such elements are emanations from

Kṛṣṇa. The material scientists accept these primary five elements as the cause of the

material manifestation, but the elements in their gross and subtle states are produced

by Kṛṣṇa. The living entities who are working within this material world are also products

of His marginal potency. In the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, it is clearly stated

that the whole manifestation is a combination of two kinds of energies of Kṛṣṇa, the superior

energy and the inferior energy. The living entities are the superior energy, and the

dead material elements are His inferior energy. In its dormant stage, everything remains in

Kṛṣṇa. The demigods continued to offer their respectful

prayers unto the supreme form of the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, by analytical study of

the material manifestation. What is this material manifestation? It is just like a tree. A tree

stands on the ground. Similarly, the tree of the material manifestation is standing

on the ground of material nature. This material manifestation is compared with a tree because

a tree is ultimately cut off in due course of time. A tree is called vṛkṣa. Vṛkṣa means

that thing which will be ultimately cut off. Therefore, this tree of the material manifestation

cannot be accepted as the Ultimate Truth. The influence of time is on the material manifestation,

but Kṛṣṇa's body is eternal. He existed before the material manifestation, He is existing

while the material manifestation is continuing, and when it will be dissolved, He will continue

to exist. The Kathā Upaniṣad also cites this example

of the tree of material manifestation standing on the ground of material nature. This tree

has two kinds of fruits, distress and happiness. Those who are living on the tree of the body

are just like two birds. One bird is the localized aspect of Kṛṣṇa known as the Paramātmā, and

the other bird is the living entity. The living entity is eating the fruits of this material

manifestation. Sometimes he eats the fruit of happiness, and sometimes he eats the fruit

of distress. But the other bird is not interested in eating the fruit of distress or happiness

because he is self-satisfied. The Kathā Upaniṣad states that one bird on the tree of the body

is eating the fruits, and the other bird is simply witnessing. The roots of this tree

extend in three directions. That means the root of the tree is the three modes of material

nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Just as the tree's root expands, so, by association

of the modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), one expands his duration

of material existence. The taste of the fruits are of four kinds: religiosity, economic development,

sense gratification and ultimately, liberation. According to the different associations in

the three modes of material nature, the living entities are tasting different kinds of religiosity,

different kinds of economic development, different kinds of sense gratification and different

kinds of liberation. Practically all material work is performed in ignorance, but because

there are three qualities, sometimes the quality of ignorance is covered with goodness or passion.

The taste of these material fruits is accepted through five senses. The five sense organs

through which knowledge is acquired are subjected to six kinds of whips: lamentation, illusion,

infirmity, death, hunger and thirst. This material body, or the material manifestation,

is covered by seven layers: skin, muscle, flesh, marrow, bone, fat and semina. The branches

of the tree are eight: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego. There

are nine gates in this body: the two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, one genital,

one rectum. And there are ten kinds of internal air passing within the body: prāṇa, āpana,

udāna, vyāna, samāna, etc. The two birds seated in this tree, as explained above, are the

living entity and the localized Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The root cause of the material manifestation described here is the Supreme Personality

of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself and takes charge of the three

qualities of the material world. Viṣṇu takes charge of the modes of goodness, Brahmā takes

charge of the modes of passion, and Lord Śiva takes charge of the modes of ignorance. Brahmā,

by the modes of passion, creates this manifestation, Lord Viṣṇu maintains this manifestation by

the modes of goodness, and Lord Śiva annihilates it by the modes of ignorance. The whole creation

ultimately rests in the Supreme Lord. He is the cause of creation, maintenance and dissolution.

And when the whole manifestation is dissolved, in its subtle form as the energy of the Lord,

it rests within the body of the Supreme Lord. "At the present," the demigods prayed, "the

Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is appearing just for the maintenance of this manifestation." Actually

the Supreme Cause is one, but, being deluded by the three modes of material nature, less

intelligent persons see that the material world is manifested through different causes.

Those who are intelligent can see that the cause is one, Kṛṣṇa. As it is stated in the

Brahma-saṁhitā: sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the

cause of all causes. Brahmā is the deputed agent for creation, Viṣṇu is the expansion

of Kṛṣṇa for maintenance, and Lord Śiva is the expansion of Kṛṣṇa for dissolution.

"Our dear Lord," the demigods prayed, "it is very difficult to understand Your eternal

form of personality. People in general are unable to understand Your actual form; therefore

You are personally descending to exhibit Your original eternal form. Somehow people can

understand the different incarnations of Your Lordship, but they are puzzled to understand

the eternal form of Kṛṣṇa with two hands, moving among human beings exactly like one

of them. This eternal form of Your Lordship is ever increasing in transcendental pleasure

for the devotees. But for the nondevotees, this form is very dangerous." As stated in

the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa is very pleasing to the sādhu. It is said, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ.

But this form is very dangerous for the demons because Kṛṣṇa also descends to kill the demons.

He is, therefore, simultaneously pleasing to the devotees and dangerous to the demons.

"Our dear lotus-eyed Lord, You are the source of pure goodness. There are many great sages

who simply by samādhi, or transcendentally meditating upon Your lotus feet and thus being

absorbed in Your thought, have easily transformed the great ocean of nescience created by the

material nature to no more than water in a calf's hoofprint." The purpose of meditation

is to focus the mind upon the Personality of Godhead, beginning from His lotus feet.

Simply by meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord, great sages cross over this vast

ocean of material existence without difficulty. "O self-illuminated one, the great saintly

persons who have crossed over the ocean of nescience, by the help of the transcendental

boat of Your lotus feet, have not taken away that boat. It is still lying on this side."

The demigods are using a nice simile. If one takes a boat to cross over a river, the boat

also goes with one to the other side of the river. And so when one reaches the destination,

how can the same boat be available to those who are still on the other side? To answer

this difficulty, the demigods say in their prayer that the boat is not taken away. The

devotees still remaining on the other side are able to pass over the ocean of material

nature because the pure devotees do not take the boat with them when they cross over. When

one simply approaches the boat, the whole ocean of material nescience is reduced to

the size of water in a calf's hoofprint. Therefore, the devotees do not need to take a boat to

the other side; they simply cross the ocean immediately. Because the great saintly persons

are compassionate toward all conditioned souls, the boat is still lying at the lotus feet

of the Lord. One can meditate upon His feet at any time, and by so doing, one can cross

over the great ocean of material existence. Meditation means concentration upon the lotus

feet of the Lord. Lotus feet indicate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who

are impersonalists do not recognize the lotus feet of the Lord, and therefore their object

of meditation is something impersonal. The demigods express their mature verdict that

persons who are interested in meditating on something void or impersonal cannot cross

over the ocean of nescience. Such persons are simply imagining that they have become

liberated. "O lotus-eyed Lord! Their intelligence is contaminated because they fail to meditate

upon the lotus feet of Your Lordship." As a result of this neglectful activity, the

impersonalists fall down again into the material way of conditioned life, although they may

temporarily rise up to the point of impersonal realization. Impersonalists, after undergoing

severe austerities and penances, merge themselves into the Brahman effulgence or impersonal

Brahman existence. But their minds are not free from material contamination; they have

simply tried to negate the material ways of thinking. That does not mean that they have

become liberated. Thus they fall down. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that the impersonalist

has to undergo great tribulation in realizing the ultimate goal. At the beginning of the

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is also stated that without devotional service to the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, one cannot achieve liberation from the bondage of fruitive activities.

The statement of Lord Kṛṣṇa is there in the Bhagavad-gītā, and in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

the statement of the great sage Nārada is there, and here also the demigods confirm

it. "Persons who have not taken to devotional service are understood to have come short

of the ultimate purpose of knowledge and are not favored by Your grace." The impersonalists

simply think that they are liberated, but actually they have no feeling for the Personality

of Godhead. They think that when Kṛṣṇa comes into the material world, he accepts a material

body. They therefore overlook the transcendental body of Kṛṣṇa. This is also confirmed in the

Bhagavad-gītā: Avajānanti mām mūḍhāḥ. In spite of conquering material lust and rising up

to the point of liberation, the impersonalists fall down. If they are engaged just in knowing

things for the sake of knowledge and do not take to the devotional service of the Lord,

they cannot achieve the desired result. Their achievement is the trouble they take, and

that is all. It is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that to realize Brahman identification is

not all. Brahman identification may help one become joyful without material attachment

or detachment and to achieve the platform of equanimity, but after this stage, one has

to take to devotional service. When one takes to devotional service after being elevated

to the platform of Brahman realization, he is then admitted into the spiritual kingdom

for permanent residence in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is

the result of devotional service. Those who are devotees of the Supreme Personality of

Godhead never fall down like the impersonalists. Even if the devotees fall down, they remain

affectionately attached to their Lordship. They can meet all kinds of obstacles on the

path of devotional service, and freely, without any fear, they can surmount such obstacles.

Because of their surrender, they are certain that Kṛṣṇa will always protect them. As it

is promised by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā: "My devotees are never vanquished."

"Our dear Lord, You have appeared in Your original unalloyed form, the eternal form

of goodness, for the welfare of all living entities within this material world. Taking

advantage of Your appearance, all of them can now very easily understand the nature

and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Persons who belong to the four divisions of

the social order (the brahmacārīs, the gṛhasthas, the vānaprasthas and the sannyāsīs) can all

take advantage of Your appearance. "Dear Lord, husband of the goddess of fortune,

devotees who are dovetailed in Your service do not fall down from their high position

like the impersonalists. Being protected by You, the devotees are able to traverse over

the heads of many of māyā's commanders-in-chief, who can always put stumbling blocks on the

path of liberation. My dear Lord, You appear in Your transcendental form for the benefit

of the living entities so that they can see You face to face and offer their worshipful

sacrifices by ritualistic performance of the Vedas, mystic meditation and devotional service

as recommended in the scriptures. Dear Lord, if You did not appear in Your eternal transcendental

form, full of bliss and knowledgeówhich can eradicate all kinds of speculative ignorance

about Your positionóthen all people would simply speculate about You according to their

respective modes of material nature." The appearance of Kṛṣṇa is the answer to all

imaginative iconography of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone imagines the form of

the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to his mode of material nature. In the Brahma-saṁhitā

it is said that the Lord is the oldest person. Therefore a section of religionists imagine

that God must be very old, and therefore they depict a form of the Lord like a very old

man. But in the same Brahma-saṁhitā, that is contradicted; although He is the oldest

of all living entities, He has His eternal form as a fresh youth. The exact words used

in this connection in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are vijñānam ajñānabhid āpamārjanam. Vijñānam

means transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Personality. Vijñānam is also experienced

knowledge. Transcendental knowledge has to be accepted by the descending process of disciplic

succession as Brahmā presents the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Brahma-saṁhitā

is vijñānam as realized by Brahmā's transcendental experience, and in that way he presented the

form and the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in the transcendental abode. Ajñānabhid means that which can match

all kinds of speculation. In ignorance, people are imagining the form of the Lord; sometimes

He has no form and sometimes He has form, according to their different imaginations.

But the presentation of Kṛṣṇa in the Brahma-saṁhitā is vijnanamóscientific, experienced knowledge

given by Lord Brahmā and accepted by Lord Caitanya. There is no doubt about it. Śrī

Kṛṣṇa's form, Śrī Kṛṣṇa's flute, Kṛṣṇa's coloróeverything is reality. Here it is said that this vijñānam

is always defeating all kinds of speculative knowledge. "Therefore, without Your appearing

as Kṛṣṇa, as You are, neither ajñānabhid (nescience of speculative knowledge) nor vijñānam would

be realized. Ajñānabhid apamarjanamóby Your appearance the speculative knowledge of ignorance

will be vanquished and the real experienced knowledge of authorities like Lord Brahmā

will be established. Men influenced by the three modes of material nature imagine their

own God according to the modes of material nature. In this way God is presented in various

ways, but Your appearance will establish what the real form of God is."

The highest blunder committed by the impersonalist is to think that when the incarnation of God

comes, He accepts the form of matter in the modes of goodness. Actually the form of Kṛṣṇa

or Nārāyaṇa is transcendental to any material idea. Even the greatest impersonalist, Śaṅkarācārya,

has admitted that nārāyaṇaḥ paro ívyaktat: the material creation is caused by the avyakta

impersonal manifestation of matter or the nonphenomenal total reservation of matter,

and Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to that material conception. That is expressed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

as śuddha-sattva, or transcendental. He does not belong to the material mode of goodness,

and He is above the position of material goodness. He belongs to the transcendental eternal status

of bliss and knowledge. "Dear Lord, when You appear in Your different

incarnations, You take different names and forms according to different situations. Lord

Kṛṣṇa is Your name because You are all attractive; You are called Śyāmasundara because of Your

transcendental beauty. Śyāma means blackish, yet they say that You are more beautiful than

thousands of Cupids. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya. Although You appear in a color which is compared

to the blackish cloud, because You are transcendental Absolute, Your beauty is many many times more

attractive than the delicate body of Cupid. Sometimes You are called Giridhārī because

You lifted the hill known as Govardhana. You are sometimes called Nandanandana or Vāsudeva

or Devakīnandana because You appear as the son of Mahārāja Nanda or Devakī or Vāsudeva.

Impersonalists think that Your many names or forms are according to a particular type

of work and quality because they accept You from the position of a material observer.

"Our dear Lord, the way of understanding is not to study Your absolute nature, form and

activities by mental speculation. One must engage himself in devotional service; then

one can understand Your absolute nature, transcendental form, name and quality. Actually only a person

who has a little taste for the service of Your lotus feet can understand Your transcendental

nature or form and quality. Others may go on speculating for millions of years, but

it is not possible for them to understand even a single part of Your actual position."

In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, cannot be understood by the

nondevotees because there is a curtain of Yogamāyā which covers Kṛṣṇa's actual features.

As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya. The Lord says, "I am not exposed

to anyone and everyone." When Kṛṣṇa came, He was actually present on the battlefield

of Kurukṣetra, and everyone saw Him. But not everyone could understand that He was the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. Still, everyone who died in His presence attained complete

liberation from material bondage and was transferred to the spiritual world.

"O Lord, the impersonalists or nondevotees cannot understand that Your name is identical

with Your form." Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His name and

His actual form. In the material world there is a difference between form and name. The

mango fruit is different from the name of the mango. One cannot taste the mango fruit

simply by chanting, "Mango, mango, mango." But the devotee who knows that there is no

difference between the name and the form of the Lord chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa

Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare and realizes that he is always

in Kṛṣṇa's company. For persons who are not very advanced in absolute

knowledge of the Supreme, Lord Kṛṣṇa exhibits His transcendental pastimes. They can simply

think of the pastimes of the Lord and get the full benefit. Since there is no difference

between the transcendental name and form of the Lord, there is no difference between the

transcendental pastimes and the form of the Lord. For those who are less intelligent (like

women, laborers or the mercantile class), the great sage Vyāsadeva wrote Mahābhārata.

In the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa is present in His different activities. Mahābhārata is history,

and simply by studying, hearing and memorizing the transcendental activities of Kṛṣṇa, the

less intelligent can also gradually rise to the standard of pure devotees.

The pure devotees, who are always absorbed in the thought of the transcendental lotus

feet of Kṛṣṇa and who are always engaged in devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness,

are never to be considered to be in the material world. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī has explained that

those who are always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by body, mind and activities, are to be considered

liberated even within this body. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: those who

are engaged in the devotional service of the Lord have already transcended the material

position. Kṛṣṇa appears to give a chance both to the

devotees and nondevotees for realization of the ultimate goal of life. The devotees get

the direct chance to see Him and worship Him. Those who are not on that platform get the

chance to become acquainted with His activities and thus become elevated to the same position.

"O dear Lord," the demigods continued, "You are unborn; therefore we do not find any reason

for Your appearance other than for Your pleasurable pastimes." Although the reason for the appearance

of the Lord is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (He descends just to give protection to the

devotee and vanquish the nondevotee), actually He descends for His pleasure-meeting with

the devotees, not really to vanquish the nondevotees. The nondevotees can be vanquished simply by

material nature. "The action and reaction of the external enregy of material nature

(creation, maintenance and annihilation) are being carried on automatically. But simply

by taking shelter of Your holy nameóbecause Your holy name and Your personality are nondifferentóthe

devotees are sufficiently protected." The protection of the devotees and the annihilation

of the nondevotees are actually not the business of the Supreme Personality of Godhead when

He descends. They are just for His transcendental pleasure. There cannot be any other reason

for His appearance. "Our dear Lord, You are appearing as the best

of the Yadu dynasty, and we are offering our respectful humble obeisances unto Your lotus

feet. Before this appearance, You also appeared as the fish incarnation, the horse incarnation,

the tortoise incarnation, the swan incarnation, as King Rāmacandra, as Paraśurāma, and as

many other incarnations. You appeared just to protect the devotees, and we request You

in Your present appearance as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself to give us

similar protection all over the three worlds and remove all obstacles for the peaceful

execution of our lives. "Dear mother Devakī, within your womb is the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, appearing along with all His plenary extensions. He

is the original Personality of Godhead appearing for our welfare. Therefore you should not

be afraid of your brother, the King of Bhoja. Your son Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the original Personality

of Godhead, will appear for the protection of the pious Yadu dynasty. The Lord is appearing

not only alone but accompanied by His immediate plenary portion, Balarāma."

Devakī was very much afraid of her brother Kaṁsa because he had already killed so many

of her children. She used to remain very anxious about Kṛṣṇa. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is stated

that in order to pacify Devakī, all the demigods, along with their wives, used to always visit

her to encourage her not to be afraid that her son would be killed by Kaṁsa. Kṛṣṇa, who

was within her womb, was to appear not only to diminish the burden of the world but specifically

to protect the interest of the Yadu dynasty, and certainly to protect Devakī and Vāsudeva.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, "Prayers by the Demigods

for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb."