Who is Krsna?
by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
(from the Preface of "Krsna") |
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nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad
bhavausadhac chrotra-mano-'bhiramat
ka uttamasloka-gunanuvadat
puman virajyeta vina pasu-ghnat
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.4)
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In these Western countries,
when someone sees the cover of a book like Krsna, he immediately asks,
"Who is Krsna? Who is the girl with Krsna?" etc. The immediate answer
is that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How is that?
Because He conforms in exact detail to descriptions of the Supreme
Being, the Godhead. In other words, Krsna is the Godhead because He
is all-attractive. Outside the principle of all-attraction, there
is no meaning to the word Godhead. How is it one can be all-attractive?
First of all, if one is very wealthy, if he has great riches, he becomes
attractive to the people in general. Similarly, if someone is very
powerful, he also becomes attractive, and if someone is very famous,
he also becomes attractive, and if someone is very beautiful or wise
or unattached to all kinds of possessions, he also becomes attractive.
So from practical experience we can observe that one is attractive
due to 1) wealth, 2) power, 3) fame, 4) beauty, 5) wisdom, and 6)
renunciation. One who is in possession of all six of these opulences
at the same time, who possesses them to an unlimited degree, is understood
to be the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. These opulences of the Godhead are delineated by Parasara
Muni, a great Vedic authority.
We have seen many rich persons, many powerful persons, many famous
persons, many beautiful persons, many learned and scholarly persons,
and persons in the renounced order of life unattached to material
possessions. But we have never seen any one person who is unlimitedly
and simultaneously wealthy, powerful, famous, beautiful, wise and
unattached, like Krsna, in the history of humanity. Krsna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, is an historical person who appeared on this
earth 5,000 years ago. He stayed on this earth for 125 years and played
exactly like a human being, but His activities were unparalleled.
From the very moment of His appearance to the moment of His disappearance,
every one of His activities is unparalleled in the history of the
world, and therefore anyone who knows what we mean by Godhead will
accept Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one is equal
to the Godhead, and no one is greater than Him. That is the import
of the familiar saying, "God is great."
There are various classes of men in the world who speak of God in
different ways, but according to Vedic literatures and according to
the great acaryas, the authorized persons versed in the knowledge
of God, in all ages, like acaryas Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Visnusvami,
Lord Caitanya and all their followers by disciplic succession, all
unanimously agree that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
As far as we, the followers of Vedic civilization, are concerned,
we accept the Vedic history of the whole universe, which consists
of different planetary systems called Svargalokas, or the higher planetary
system, Martyalokas, or the intermediary planetary system, and Patalalokas,
or the lower planetary system. The modern historians of this earth
cannot supply historical evidences of events that occurred before
5,000 years ago, and the anthropologists say that 40,000 years ago
Homo sapiens had not appeared on this planet because evolution had
not reached that point. But the Vedic histories, the Puranas and Mahabharata,
relate human histories which extend millions and billions of years
into the past.
For example, from these literatures we are given the histories of
Krsna's appearances and disappearances millions and billions of years
ago. In the Fourth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita Krsna tells Arjuna
that both He and Arjuna had had many births before and that He (Krsna)
could remember all of them and that Arjuna could not. This illustrates
the difference between the knowledge of Krsna and that of Arjuna.
Arjuna might have been a very great warrior, a well-cultured member
of the Kuru dynasty, but after all, he was an ordinary human being,
whereas Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the possessor
of unlimited knowledge. Because He possesses unlimited knowledge,
Krsna has a memory that is boundless.
Krsna's knowledge is so perfect that He remembers all the incidents
of His appearances some millions and billions of years in the past,
but Arjuna's memory and knowledge are limited by time and space, for
he is an ordinary human being. In the Fourth Chapter Krsna states
that He can remember instructing the lessons of the Bhagavad-gita
some millions of years ago to the sun-god, Vivasvan.
Nowadays it is the fashion of the atheistic class of men to try to
become God by following some mystic process. Generally the atheists
claim to be God by dint of their imagination or their meditational
prowess. Krsna is not that kind of God. He does not become God by
manufacturing some mystic process of meditation, nor does He become
God by undergoing the severe austerities of the mystic yogic exercises.
Properly speaking, He never becomes God because He is the Godhead
in all circumstances.
Within the prison of His maternal uncle Kamsa, where His father and
mother were confined, Krsna appeared outside His mother's body as
the four-handed Visnu-Narayana. Then He turned Himself into a baby
and told His father to carry Him to the house of Nanda Maharaja and
his wife Yasoda. When Krsna was just a small baby the gigantic demoness
Putana attempted to kill Him, but when He sucked her breast He pulled
out her life. That is the difference between the real Godhead and
a God manufactured in the mystic factory. Krsna had no chance to practice
the mystic yoga process, yet He manifested Himself as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead at every step, from infancy to childhood, from
childhood
to boyhood, and from boyhood to young manhood. In this book Krsna,
all of His activities as a human being are described. Although Krsna
plays like a human being, He always maintains His identity as the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Since Krsna is all-attractive, one should know that all his desires
should be focused on Krsna. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that the
individual person is the proprietor or master of the body but Krsna,
who is the Supersoul present in everyone's heart, is the supreme proprietor
and supreme master of each and every individual body. As such, if
we concentrate our loving propensities upon Krsna only, then immediately
universal love, unity and tranquillity will be automatically realized.
When one waters the root of a tree, he automatically waters the branches,
twigs, leaves and flowers; when one supplies food to the stomach through
the mouth, he satisfies all the various parts of the body.
The art of focusing one's attention on the Supreme and giving one's
love to Him is called Krsna consciousness. We have inaugurated the
Krsna consciousness movement so that everyone can satisfy his propensity
for loving others simply by directing his love towards Krsna. The
whole world is very much anxious to satisfy the dormant propensity
of love for others, but the inventions of various methods like socialism,
communism, altruism, humanitarianism, nationalism, and whatever else
may be manufactured for the peace and prosperity of the world, are
all useless and frustrating because of our gross ignorance of the
art of loving Krsna. Generally people think that by advancing the
cause of moral principles and religious rites, they will be happy.
Others may think that happiness can be achieved by economic development,
and yet others think that simply by sense gratification they will
be happy. But the real fact is that people can only be happy by loving
Krsna.
Krsna can perfectly reciprocate one's loving propensities in different
relationships called mellows or rasas. Basically there are twelve
loving relationships. One can love Krsna as the supreme unknown, as
the supreme master, the supreme friend, the supreme child, the supreme
lover. These are the five basic love rasas. One can also love Krsna
indirectly in seven different relationships, which are apparently
different from the five primary relationships. All in all, however,
if one simply reposes his dormant loving propensity in Krsna, then
his life becomes successful. This is not a fiction but is a fact that
can be realized by practical application. One can directly perceive
the effects that love for Krsna has on his life.
In the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita this science of Krsna consciousness
is called the king of all knowledge, the king of all confidential
things, and the supreme science of transcendental realization. Yet
we can directly experience the results of this science of Krsna consciousness
because it is very easy to practice and is very pleasurable. Whatever
percentage of Krsna consciousness we can perform will become an eternal
asset to our life, for it is imperishable in all circumstances. It
has now been actually proved that today's confused and frustrated
younger generation in the Western countries can directly perceive
the results of channeling the loving propensity toward Krsna alone.
It is said that although one executes severe austerities, penances
and sacrifices in his life, if he fails to awaken his dormant love
for Krsna, then all his penances are to be considered useless. On
the other hand, if one has awakened his dormant love for Krsna, then
what is the use in executing austerities and penances unnecessarily?
The Krsna consciousness movement is the unique gift of Lord Caitanya
to the fallen souls of this age. It is a very simple method which
has actually been carried out during the last four years in the Western
countries, and there is no doubt that this movement can satisfy the
dormant loving propensities of humanity. This book Krsna is another
presentation to help the Krsna consciousness movement in the Western
world. This transcendental literature is published in two parts with
profuse illustrations. People love to read various kinds of fiction
to spend their time and energy. Now this tendency can be directed
to Krsna. The result will be the imperishable satisfaction of the
soul, both individually and collectively.
It is said in the Bhagavad-gita that even a little effort expended
on the path of Krsna consciousness can save one from the greatest
danger. Hundreds of thousands of examples can be cited of people who
have escaped the greatest dangers of life due to a slight advancement
in Krsna consciousness. We therefore request everyone to take advantage
of this great
transcendental literature. One will find that by reading one page
after another, an immense treasure of knowledge in art,
science, literature, philosophy and religion will be revealed, and
ultimately, by reading this one book, Krsna, love of Godhead will
fructify.
My grateful acknowledgment is due to Sriman George Harrison, now chanting
Hare Krsna, for his liberal contribution of $19,000 to meet the entire
cost of printing this volume. May Krsna bestow upon this nice boy
further advancement in Krsna consciousness.
And at last my ever-willing blessings are bestowed upon Sriman Syamasundara
dasa Adhikari, Sriman Brahmananda dasa Brahmacari, Sriman Hayagriva
dasa Adhikari, Sriman Satsvarupa Adhikari, Srimati Devahuti-devi,
Srimati Jadurani dasi, Sriman Muralidhara dasa Brahmacari, Sriman
Bharadvaja dasa Adhikari and Sriman Pradyumna dasa Adhikari, etc.,
for their hard labor in different ways to make this publication a
great success.
Hare Krsna.
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Advent Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
February 26th, 1970
ISKCON Headquarters
3764 Watseka Avenue
Los Angeles,
California |
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