Within Kṛṣṇa - The Entire Cosmic Manifestation
Śrīla Prabhupāda emphatically establishes that Lord Kṛṣṇa is not an ordinary human being, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead who contains the entirety of existence. Everything—from the unlimited material universes to all spiritual expansions and incarnations—rests eternally within Kṛṣṇa, proving that He is the supreme source of all that be.
The Cosmic Manifestation
During His childhood pastimes in Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa revealed His inconceivable mystic opulence to His mother. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how, by opening His mouth, Kṛṣṇa proved His absolute supremacy by showing that the entire cosmic manifestation, including all planetary systems and elements, exists within Him.
- By the grace of the Lord the devotees are able to see everything in the universe within the mouth of the Lord.
- Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura cites the example of mother Yasoda's seeing the whole cosmic manifestation within the mouth of Lord Krsna. By the grace of Lord Krsna, mother Yasoda saw all the universes and planets within the mouth of Krsna.
- When Krsna opened His mouth wide by the order of mother Yasoda, she saw within His mouth all moving and nonmoving entities, outer space, and all directions, along with mountains, islands.
- She saw the time allotted for the living entities, she saw natural instinct and the reactions of karma, and she saw desires and different varieties of bodies, moving and nonmoving.
Refuting Impersonalist Speculation
Mundane scholars often misinterpret the Bhagavad-gītā by separating Kṛṣṇa's personal form from the Absolute Truth. Śrīla Prabhupāda strongly condemns this foolish idea, clarifying that there is no impersonal Brahman hiding within Kṛṣṇa; rather, Kṛṣṇa Himself is the complete, undivided Supreme Person.
- Foolish mundane scholars explain that one need not submit to Krsna as a person, but to the unborn within Krsna.
- One famous scholar wrote in his commentary on the Bhagavad-gita that one does not have to surrender to Lord Krsna or even accept Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but that one should rather surrender to the Supreme within Krsna.
- The so-called learned commentator says, "It is not to the Krsna person, but it is the Absolute Truth which is within Krsna." That means he is dividing Krsna from the Absolute Truth. He does not know what is Krsna.
- One who thinks that Krsna is an ordinary person and misguides the reader by claiming that it is the impersonal Brahman within Krsna speaking, is doing the greatest injustice.
The Source of All Incarnations
As the original Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of all viṣṇu-tattva expansions. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that when Kṛṣṇa descends to the material world, He is fully complete, carrying all other incarnations and majestic opulences perfectly within Himself.
- When Krsna appears, He appears in full, including within Himself all His expansions, such as Narayana, Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Aniruddha and Pradyumna.
- When Krsna incarnates, all the features of other incarnations are already present within Him. Other incarnations are partial representations of Krsna, who is the full-fledged incarnation of the Supreme Being.
- When the complete Supreme Personality of Godhead descends, all other incarnations of the Lord meet together within Him.
- Visnu Himself is included within Krsna. All the opulences of Visnu are already present in Krsna, and consequently for Krsna to demonstrate so many Visnu forms was actually not very astonishing.
The Devotee's Transcendental Vision
The relationship between Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees is founded on eternal, reciprocal love. Śrīla Prabhupāda beautifully notes that just as pure devotees constantly keep Kṛṣṇa within the core of their hearts, the Lord intimately keeps His devotees within Himself.
- A pure devotee of the Lord constantly sees the presence of the Lord within himself because of being transcendentally related by loving service. Such a pure devotee cannot forget the Lord for a moment. This is called trance.
- Krsna always tries to please His devotees as much as the devotees try to please Krsna. As the devotees always think of Krsna within their hearts, Krsna also thinks of His devotees within Himself.
- Immediately forgetting yogamaya's illusion that Krsna had shown the universal form within His mouth, mother Yasoda took her son on her lap as before, feeling increased affection in her heart for her transcendental child.
- Akrura continued, "No one can estimate how many forms and incarnations You have, nor can anyone estimate the number of universes that are existing within You."
Conclusion
To accurately comprehend the identity of the Absolute Truth, one must abandon all mundane speculation and accept the complete supremacy of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda firmly concludes that Kṛṣṇa is not a manifestation of an impersonal Brahman, nor is He an ordinary individual; rather, the entire cosmic creation, the Paramātma, and all unlimited viṣṇu-tattva expansions rest eternally within Him. By understanding that everything is situated within Kṛṣṇa, a sincere soul ceases to be bewildered by the illusions of the material energy and instead fully absorbs their heart in the unalloyed loving service of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Within Krsna. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.