Yogamāyā the Internal Potency Reveals Kṛṣṇa’s Transcendental Pastimes
The Lord's divine activities are never produced by material energy, nor are they limited by ordinary laws of nature. In these teachings, Śrīla Prabhupāda shows that yoga-māyā arranges Kṛṣṇa's appearance, protects His confidential pastimes, and allows His devotees to love Him in intimate ways. By this spiritual potency, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears within the world while remaining fully transcendental.
Kṛṣṇa Appears by His Own Internal Potency
The descent of the Supreme Lord is not forced by material nature. When Kṛṣṇa appears, He does so by His own spiritual energy, remaining unborn, infallible, and fully independent. Through yoga-māyā, His appearance becomes accessible within the world while His unlimited divinity remains beyond the grasp of the foolish and unintelligent.
- In Bhagavad-gita (BG 4.6) Lord Krsna says, sambhavamy atma-mayaya: "I appear by My internal potency." The word atma-maya refers to the Lord's personal potency, yogamaya.
- In the Bhagavad-gita (BG 7.25) Lord Krsna states: I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency (yogamaya), and so they do not know Me, who am unborn and infallible.
- You (The Supreme Lord) have descended to this earth by the use of Your own internal potency, yogamaya, and to reestablish the Vedic principles of life You have appeared just like an ordinary human being.
- Yudhisthira said, "Out of Your (Krsna's) independent will only, You have descended to this earth by the use of Your own internal potency, yogamaya, and to reestablish the Vedic principles of life You have appeared just like an ordinary human being."
Yogamāyā Arranges the Lord's Earthly Pastimes
The Lord's activities in this world are carefully arranged by His own spiritual potency. When Kṛṣṇa appeared, yogamāyā worked under His direction to protect Him and to prepare the circumstances for His divine pastimes. In explaining these events, Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that even apparently ordinary movements, births, doors, guards, and palaces were being directed by the Lord's internal energy.
- Being ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva prepared to take his son (Krsna) from the delivery room, and exactly at that time, a daughter was born to Nanda and Yasoda. She was Yogamaya, the internal potency of the Lord.
- By the influence of this internal potency, Yogamaya, all the residents of Kamsa’s palace, especially the doorkeepers, were overwhelmed with deep sleep, and all the palace doors opened, although they were barred and shackled with iron chains.
- Krsna, being compassionate upon the Yadus, who were fearful due to the atrocities committed by Kamsa, ordered the appearance of Yogamaya, His internal potency. Krsna is the Lord of the universe, but He is especially the Lord of the Yadus.
- After departing from the palace of Rukmini, Naradaji wanted to see further activities of Lord Krsna's internal potency, yogamaya; thus he entered the palace of another queen.
Yogamāyā Conceals and Reveals the Lord's Unlimited Glory
The Supreme Lord's position is unlimited, yet He may conceal His opulence for the sake of His pastimes. yoga-māyā allows devotees to behold His glory according to their qualification and relationship with Him. At the same time, she keeps materialistic persons from understanding Kṛṣṇa's true position through ordinary intelligence or speculative measurement.
- Being covered by the spell of Your (Krsna's) internal potency, yogamaya, You are now temporarily concealing Your unlimited potencies, but still we can understand Your exalted position, and therefore all of us (sages) offer You our respectful obeisances."
- The four brahmana sages were nevertheless extremely delighted to behold Him, and they experienced a thrill throughout their bodies. They then spoke as follows to the Lord, who had revealed the multiglories of the Supreme Personality through His internal potency, yogamaya.
- The froggish philosophers may go on with their mental speculations on the subject matter of the virat, the gigantic form exhibited by the yogamaya internal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead but no one can measure such a vast exhibition.
- Rsabhadeva, the master of all mystic power, understood King Indra's purpose and smiled a little. Then, by His own prowess, through yogamaya (His internal potency), He profusely poured water upon His own place, which was known as Ajanabha.
Yogamāyā Deepens the Devotees' Loving Relationships
The Lord's pure devotees do not approach Him only in awe and reverence. By the influence of yoga-māyā, they may love Him as son, friend, master, proprietor, or beloved, according to their eternal relationship. In this way, Śrīla Prabhupāda shows that the Lord's intimate exchanges are protected from material vision and are fully spiritual.
- Because of her (mother Yasoda's) deep affection for Krsna, she could never think that her very son was Narayana, the Personality of Godhead Himself. That is the action of yogamaya, the internal potency of the Supreme Lord.
- Mother Yasoda, by the grace of the Lord, could understand the real truth. But then again, the supreme master, by the influence of the internal potency, yogamaya, inspired her to become absorbed in intense maternal affection for her son Krsna - SB 10.8.43.
- The Lord exchanges transcendental relations in five ways, as proprietor, master, friend, son and lover, and in each of these pastimes He plays fully by the potency of yogamaya, the internal potency.
- Yogamaya is the name of the internal potency that makes the Lord forget Himself and become an object of love for His pure devotee in different transcendental mellows.
The Rāsa Dance and Vraja Love Are Beyond Material Comparison
The confidential pastimes of Kṛṣṇa cannot be judged by material standards. The rāsa dance and the love of the damsels of Vraja are arranged by yoga-māyā, not by the external energy that binds conditioned souls. Therefore, these exchanges must be understood as pure spiritual sentiments, never as mundane attraction or illicit love.
- The rasa dance is arranged by Krsna’s internal potency yogamaya, and it is beyond the grasp of the materially affected person.
- This yogamaya potency (the internal potency) creates a spiritual sentiment in the minds of the damsels of Vraja by which they think of Lord Krsna as their paramour. This sentiment is never to be compared to mundane illicit sexual love.
- Yogamaya is the internal potency of the Supreme Lord; she also works under the Lord's direction, but she works in the spiritual world.
- The Divinity and His (Krsna's) associates are on the same transcendental plane, and their glories are always sanctified by the action of yogamaya, or the internal potency of the Lord.
Conclusion
The teachings gathered here reveal that yoga-māyā works only for the Lord's transcendental purposes. By arranging Kṛṣṇa's appearance, concealing and revealing His opulences, and deepening the love of His devotees, Śrīla Prabhupāda shows that the internal potency protects the divine nature of every confidential pastime. Through yoga-māyā, Kṛṣṇa remains the Supreme Personality of Godhead while becoming the intimate object of love for His pure devotees.
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 Yogamaya the Internal Potency. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.