Krishna

Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is personally the original Godhead, the source of all incarnations and the cause of all causes.

When Kṛṣṇa left the rāsa-līlā dance, the gopīs became very morose, and when they were grieving, Kṛṣṇa reappeared dressed in yellow garments. Wearing a flower garland and smiling, He was attractive even to Cupid. In this way Kṛṣṇa appeared among the gopīs.

The transcendental body of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is eternal and full of bliss and knowledge. He is full of all opulences and potencies, as well as all spiritual mellows.

All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras. But Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In every age He protects the world through His different features when the world is disturbed by the enemies of Indra. The Bhāgavatam describes the symptoms and deeds of the incarnations in general and counts Śrī Kṛṣṇa among them.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the fountainhead of all incarnations.

"All the worlds exist because You oversee them. None can live, move or have their being without Your supervision".

The essential part of love of Godhead is called mahābhāva, transcendental ecstasy, and that ecstasy is represented by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Among the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and another gopī are considered chief. But when we compare the gopīs, it appears that Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is most important because Her real feature expresses the highest ecstasy of love. The ecstasy of love experienced by the other gopīs cannot be compared to that of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is a veritable transformation of love of Godhead; She is the dearmost friend of Kṛṣṇa, and this is known throughout the world.

He is the most attractive lover of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and is the reservoir of pleasure for devotees in all transcendental mellows.

‘Upon seeing His own reflection in a bejeweled pillar of His Dvārakā palace, Kṛṣṇa desired to embrace it, saying, “Alas, I have never seen such a person before. Who is He? Just by seeing Him I have become eager to embrace Him, exactly like Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī”’.

"My dear friend, where is Kṛṣṇa, who is like the moon rising from the ocean of Mahārāja Nanda’s dynasty? Where is Kṛṣṇa, His head decorated with a peacock feather? Where is He? Where is Kṛṣṇa, whose flute produces such a deep sound? Oh, where is Kṛṣṇa, whose bodily luster is like the luster of the blue indranīla jewel? Where is Kṛṣṇa, who is so expert in rāsa dancing? Oh, where is He, who can save My life? Kindly tell Me where to find Kṛṣṇa, the treasure of My life and best of My friends. Feeling separation from Him, I hereby condemn Providence, the shaper of My destiny".

"My dear friend, where is that beautiful helmet with a peacock feather upon it like a rainbow upon a new cloud? Where are those yellow garments, shining like lightning? And where is that necklace of pearls that resemble flocks of herons flying in the sky? The blackish body of Kṛṣṇa triumphs over the new blackish rain cloud".

"The deep vibration of Kṛṣṇa’s flute surpasses the thundering of new clouds and attracts the aural reception of the entire world. Thus the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana rise and pursue that sound, drinking the showering nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s bodily luster like thirsty cātaka birds".

"Kṛṣṇa’s bodily luster shines like the indranīla gem and surpasses the luster of the tamāla tree. The luster of His body drives the entire world mad".

"My dear friend, the scent of Kṛṣṇa’s body enchants the entire world. It especially enters the nostrils of women and remains seated there. Thus it captures them and forcibly brings them to Kṛṣṇa".

My dear Kṛṣṇa, formerly, when You were staying in Mathurā, You sent Uddhava to teach Me speculative knowledge and mystic yoga. Now You Yourself are speaking the same thing, but My mind doesn’t accept it. There is no place in My mind for jñāna-yoga or dhyāna-yoga. Although You know Me very well, You are still instructing Me in jñāna-yoga and dhyāna-yoga. It is not right for You to do so. I would like to withdraw My consciousness from You and engage it in material activities, but even though I try, I cannot do so. I am naturally inclined to You only. Your instructions for Me to meditate on You are therefore simply ludicrous. In this way, You are killing Me. It is not very good for You to think of Me as a candidate for Your instructions.

"The gopīs are not like the mystic yogīs. They will never be satisfied simply by meditating on Your lotus feet and imitating the so-called yogīs. Teaching the gopīs about meditation is another kind of duplicity. When they are instructed to undergo mystic yoga practice, they are not at all satisfied. On the contrary, they become more and more angry with You".

After hearing Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s statements, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s love for the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana was evoked, and His body and mind became very much perturbed. After hearing of their love for Him, He immediately thought Himself to be always indebted to the residents of Vṛndāvana. Then Kṛṣṇa began to pacify Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī as follows.

"My dearest Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, please hear Me. I am speaking the truth. I cry day and night simply upon remembering all you inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. No one knows how unhappy this makes Me".

Śrī Kṛṣṇa continued: “All the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana-dhāma — My mother, father, cowherd boyfriends and everything else — are like My life and soul. And among all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, the gopīs are My very life and soul. And among the gopīs, You, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, are the chief. Therefore You are the very life of My life. My dear Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, I am always subservient to the loving affairs of all of You. I am under Your control only. My separation from You and residence in distant places have occurred due to My strong misfortune.

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Vrajendra-kumāra, is the supreme sweetness. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin of all incarnations and the source of everything. He is pure transcendental love itself, and He is the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all transcendental qualities. He is like a mine of gems. He is expert at everything, very intelligent and sober, and He is the summit of all transcendental humors. His character is very sweet, and His pastimes are melodious. He is expert in intelligence, and thus He enjoys all His pastimes and mellows. Worship Kṛṣṇa and take shelter of Him. But for His service, nothing appeals to the mind.

"The sweet, attractive transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa is so nice. Just try to understand it. Even a fractional understanding of Kṛṣṇa’s beauty can merge all three worlds in the ocean of love. He attracts all living entities within the three worlds".

"Ornaments caress that body, but the transcendental body of Kṛṣṇa is so beautiful that it beautifies the ornaments He wears. Therefore Kṛṣṇa’s body is said to be the ornament of ornaments. Enhancing the wonderful beauty of Kṛṣṇa is His three-curved style of standing. Above all these beautiful features, Kṛṣṇa’s eyes dance and move obliquely, acting like arrows to pierce the minds of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the gopīs. When the arrow succeeds in hitting its target, their minds become agitated".

"The beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s body is so attractive that it attracts not only the demigods and other living entities within this material world but the personalities of the spiritual sky as well, including the Nārāyaṇas, who are expansions of Kṛṣṇa’s personality. The minds of the Nārāyaṇas are thus attracted by the beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s body. In addition, the goddesses of fortune [Lakṣmīs], who are the wives of the Nārāyaṇas and are the women described in the Vedas as most chaste, are also attracted by the wonderful beauty of Kṛṣṇa".

"When Lord Kṛṣṇa wanders in the forest of Vṛndāvana with His friends on an equal level, there are innumerable cows grazing. This is another of the Lord’s blissful enjoyments. When He plays on His flute, all living entities — including trees, plants, animals and human beings — tremble and are saturated with jubilation. Tears flow constantly from their eyes".

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is full in all six opulences, including His attractive beauty, which engages Him in conjugal love with the gopīs. Such sweetness is the quintessence of His qualities. Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vyāsadeva, has described these pastimes of Kṛṣṇa throughout Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Hearing the descriptions, the devotees become mad with love of God".

"What austerities must the gopīs have performed? With their eyes they always drink the nectar of the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is the essence of loveliness and is not to be equaled or surpassed. That loveliness is the only abode of beauty, fame and opulence. It is self-perfect, ever fresh and unique".

"The quintessence of Kṛṣṇa’s sweet bodily luster is so perfect that there is no perfection above it. He is the immutable mine of all transcendental qualities. In His other manifestations and personal expansions, there is only a partial exhibition of such qualities".

"Both the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa are complete. The gopīs’ ecstatic love is like a mirror that becomes newer and newer at every moment and reflects Kṛṣṇa’s bodily luster and sweetness. Thus competition increases. Since neither give up, their pastimes become newer and newer, and both sides constantly increase".

"The transcendental mellows generated from the dealings between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa cannot be tasted by means of fruitive activity, yogic austerities, speculative knowledge, regulative devotional service, mantra-yoga or meditation. This sweetness can be tasted only through the spontaneous love of liberated persons who chant the holy names with great ecstatic love".

"Such ecstatic transactions between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs are possible only in Vṛndāvana, which is full of the opulences of transcendental love. The form of Kṛṣṇa is the original source of all transcendental qualities. It is like a mine of gems. The opulences belonging to all the personal expansions of Kṛṣṇa are to be understood to be bestowed by Kṛṣṇa; therefore Kṛṣṇa is the original source and shelter of everyone. Beauty, humility, mercy, merit, patience and expert intelligence are all manifested in Kṛṣṇa. But besides these, Kṛṣṇa has other qualities like good behavior, mildness and magnanimity. He also performs welfare activities for the whole world. All these qualities are not visible in expansions like Nārāyaṇa."

"‘O Kṛṣṇa, when You go to the forest during the day and we do not see Your sweet face, which is surrounded by beautiful curly hair, half a second becomes as long as an entire age for us. And we consider the creator, who has put eyelids on the eyes we use for seeing You, to be simply a fool.’"

"The beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s smile is the sweetest feature of all. His smile is like a full moon that spreads its rays throughout the three worlds — Goloka Vṛndāvana, the spiritual sky of the Vaikuṇṭhas, and Devī-dhāma, the material world. Thus Kṛṣṇa’s shining beauty spreads in all ten directions".

"His slight smiling and fragrant illumination are compared to camphor, which enters the sweetness of His lips. That sweetness is transformed and enters into space as vibrations from the holes of His flute".

"The sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute spreads in the four directions. Even though Kṛṣṇa vibrates His flute within this universe, its sound pierces the universal covering and goes to the spiritual sky. Thus the vibration enters the ears of all inhabitants. It especially enters Goloka Vṛndāvana-dhāma and attracts the minds of the young damsels of Vrajabhūmi, bringing them forcibly to where Kṛṣṇa is present".

Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoys by manifesting Himself as the spiritual masters, the devotees, the diverse energies, the incarnations and the plenary portions. They are all six in one. I therefore worship the lotus feet of these six diversities of the one truth by invoking their benedictions.

The personal associates of the primeval Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, are His devotees, who are identical with Him. He is complete with His entourage of devotees.