VEDABASE,
28 Books by ISKCON Devotees
LAL Publications
Sivarana Swami,
Kṛṣṇa-saṅgati,
Introduction,
The Many Forms of Kṛṣṇa’s Associates
Kṛṣṇa’s associates, bound to Kṛṣṇa by the strong ropes of loving service, can never leave him. Therefore, since he never leaves the aprakaṭa-dhāma, neither do they. They are eternal residents of Goloka.
There is, however, another way Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associates firmly adhere to their loving services to Kṛṣṇa. In as many forms as Kṛṣṇa expands to enact his innumerable pastimes in the mundane and transcendental realms, Kṛṣṇa’s associates also expand themselves to accompany him wherever he goes. [Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.6.205-209]
This revelation, that Kṛṣṇa’s associates possess the ability to expand themselves, may be startling to some readers. From where do they get this power and how do they employ it?
The answer is that by Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable potencies anything is possible for devotees fully connected to Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says:
evaṁ prabhoḥ priyāṇāṁ ca
dhāmnaś ca samayasya ca
avicintya-prabhāvatvād
atra kiñcin na durghaṭam
“Nothing is impossible for the Lord, his dear devotees, his transcendental abode, or his pastimes, for all these entities are inconceivably powerful.” [Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta 1.5.515]
Kṛṣṇa desires to display his pastimes with members of his transcendental entourage. Accordingly, by his will, his associates expand themselves to accompany him wherever he appears. Each one of them assumes many forms in many places, yet stays the same person, as does Kṛṣṇa. [This paragraph is based on Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.5.52-55]
Generally, the expansions of the associates of Goloka first descend to Vaikuṇṭha as eternal associates of Lord Nārāyaṇa. From the Vaikuṇṭha planets, they expand again to become demigods in the material world. And from the heavenly planets those demigods then appear in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes on earth to serve according to his order. In addition to descending in the sequence just described, the Goloka-vāsīs from time to time directly appear in their original forms, whenever Kṛṣṇa manifests his pastimes on earth. In short, whenever and wherever there is a need for full or partial incarnations of particular devotees, those same devotees reveal either their whole selves or partial expansions of themselves. [Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.6.202-203, 205, commentary]
It is interesting to note that although Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī calls the Vaikuṇṭha expansions avatāras, he prefers to call the demigods “counterparts” because they are materially conditioned beings.
Examples of the above-mentioned Vaikuṇṭha expansions are Kṛṣṇa’s parents in Goloka, Śrī Vasudeva and Devakī. They appear as Sutapā and Pṛṣni in Vaikuṇṭha, as Kaśyapa and Aditi in Svarga, and sometimes they appear in their original forms as Vasudeva and Devakī on earth. [In Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (2.6.202-203), some other examples are given: “Śrī Balarāma, who originally resides in Goloka, manifests himself in Vaikuṇṭha as the eternal pārṣada named Śeṣa. Yet he appears among the demigods as the bearer of the earth in the seventh Pātāla region, and he sometimes comes to earth as the selfsame Balarāma. Kṛṣṇa’s friend Śrīdāmā in Goloka appears as Garuḍa in two different forms, one an eternal associate of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha and the other a son of Vinatā among the demigods; and occasionally he appears on earth as the original Śrīdāmā.]
The avatāras of countless other devotees follow the same pattern. Sometimes they appear in their partial expansions amongst the demigods, sometimes as their complete expansions in Vaikuṇṭha, and sometimes in their original forms in the prakaṭa-dhāma on earth.
This raises the question: “Do these expansions of the parikaras look the same, and do they have the same external personalities wherever they are?” The answer is, “No.”
Like Kṛṣṇa, his parikaras vary in names and appearances according to time, place, and pastime. Still, they remain the same persons. For example, when Varāhadeva descended from the Śaukara-purī of Vaikuṇṭha to raise the earth from the ocean, he was Kṛṣṇa, but with the name and form of a boar. Similarly, when Vasudeva descended from Goloka to Vaikuṇṭha, he was the same person, although his name was Sutapā and he looked different from Vasudeva. In this way, Kṛṣṇa’s personal associates expand unlimitedly, in Vaikuṇṭha and Svarga.
There is no end to the activities of Kṛṣṇa’s associates in both manifest and unmanifest realms—past, present, and future. But Kṛṣṇa-saṅgati is specifically concerned with Kṛṣṇa’s prakaṭa-līlā, five thousand years ago, on earth. Therefore, I have limited the discussion of this section to that subject.
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VEDABASE,
16 Writings of Past Ācāryas
Writings of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī
Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta,
Volume 3, Chapter 5, Prema, Love of God.
BB 3.5.52
Just as the one Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa exists in many forms and many places, so also do we, His servants.
BB 3.5.53
So it is with all of us—Śrī Garuḍa and other attendants, devotees like Śrīmān Hanumān, and our friend Uddhava, and others too, like these Yādavas.
COMMENTARY
Devotees like Garuḍa and Śeṣa are associates of the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, whereas Hanumān, Jāmbavān, and others are servants of Lord Rāmacandra. Hanumān sings the glories of Lord Rāma in the Kimpuruṣa-loka of the Bhūloka region and simultaneously in the Ayodhyā of Vaikuṇṭha. And Uddhava, whom Gopa-kumāra can see right before him, is simultaneously one of the principal companions of Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā on earth, along with the Yādavas, the Pāṇḍavas, and others. Considering the topic too confidential to bring up just now, Nārada chooses not to mention Kṛṣṇa’s devotees in Śrī Goloka.
BB 3.5.54
All the Lord’s personal associates are at His hand like playthings. They are always fully dedicated to His service. Each assumes a variety of forms yet stays essentially one, just like the Lord Himself.
COMMENTARY
As Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra, the original Supreme Person, expands Himself into innumerable forms of Godhead, when required for service to the Lord His eternal associates can also expand themselves into many forms. Perpetually dedicated to worshiping Him, they are willing instruments in the enactment of His pleasure pastimes. Whatever gives the Lord happiness is also their satisfaction. So when He expands Himself and His abode into all sorts of forms, they accompany Him in suitably corresponding forms. Gopa-kumāra should therefore not be amazed that Nārada appears in more than one place at once for the service of the Lord.
BB 3.5.55
The Lord’s names, His pastimes, and His favorite abodes and everything that has to do with His service can assume various forms. And you should know that just as all these are eternally real, each of them is simultaneously one and many.
COMMENTARY
While still on the topic of multiple expansions, Nārada takes the opportunity to mention that the Personality of Godhead’s pastimes, His dear abodes such as Śrī Mathurā, and His paraphernalia like the Kaustubha gem and Sudarśana weapon display the same power of expansion. Here the word bhūmi refers not only to the earth but to any location, and so indicates other spiritual realms, such as Vaikuṇṭha. The Supreme Lord’s personal property, His names, His pastimes, and the places of His appearance are all by nature pure sac-cid-ānanda, just as He is.
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VEDABASE,
16 Writings of Past Ācāryas
Writings of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī
Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta,
Volume 3, Chapter 6, Abhīṣṭa-lābha: The Attainment of All Desires
BB 3.6.202-203
Just as the demigods who have entered the material creation are counterparts of the Lord’s Vaikuṇṭha associates, those eternal associates from Vaikuṇṭha are incarnations of the Goloka devotees. Yet like the demigods themselves, those very devotees appear on earth now and again for the pleasure of Lord Viṣṇu when He wants to enjoy various pastimes.
COMMENTARY
Some say that many of the Vraja-vāsīs who appeared on earth during Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes five thousand years ago were incarnations of demigods. Nanda Mahārāja, for example, is said to be an avatāra of the Vasu named Droṇa. If taken literally, this idea would rule out the possibility that the earthly Vraja-vāsīs are eternal associates of the Supreme Lord. But the truth is just the opposite: As confirmed in scriptures such as the Padma Purāṇa (Uttara-khaṇḍa), demigods like Droṇa are partial expansions of the original Vraja-vāsīs, and those original Vraja-vāsīs accompany Kṛṣṇa when He descends to earth.
Goparāja Nanda and other devotees in Goloka expand as avatāras in Vaikuṇṭha to become Śrī Nanda and other associates of Lord Nārāyaṇa. The same devotees thus enjoy pastimes in two worlds simultaneously, Goloka and Vaikuṇṭha. And so it would be incorrect to assert that because the Vaikuṇṭha associates of Nārāyaṇa are avatāras they are not eternal.
The same associates of Lord Nārāyaṇa expand again into the material world to become demigods. This verse calls those demigods pratirūpāḥ (“counterparts”), rather than avatāras, because the demigods are materially conditioned living beings. Still, those demigods are empowered representatives of the Supreme Lord’s personal associates.
In the next few verses, Śrī Sarūpa will describe the incarnations of the Goloka-vāsīs as parallel to Kṛṣṇa’s incarnations; that is, just as Kṛṣṇa’s avatāras are nondifferent from Him, the earthly associates of Kṛṣṇa are nondifferent from the original Goloka-vāsīs.
Alternatively, the word pratirūpa (“counterpart” or “representative”) can be taken as synonymous with the word avatāra. Then the idea implied is that the associates of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha who expand from the original Goloka-vāsīs are like direct reflections (pratibimba) of those Goloka-vāsīs, and the further expansions as demigods are like shadows (pratichāyā). Both a reflection and a shadow follow a person as expansions, but the shadow represents him less fully than does his mirror image. Thus if Nanda Mahārāja on earth is called an avatāra of Droṇa, it is only because both of them are avatāras of Nanda Mahārāja in Goloka. In fact, Nanda on earth is identical with Nanda in Goloka, and Droṇa is only a partial expansion; but by worldly calculations demigods are considered relatively superior to humans, so Nanda on earth is considered Droṇa’s incarnation. Thus it is said that demigods like Vasu Droṇa descend to earth to assist Lord Viṣṇu, the younger brother of Indra, in His enjoyment.
Just as Lord Viṣṇu’s incarnations appear only briefly in the material world but periodically reappear, the Lord’s associates who manifest themselves as demigods also incarnate as earthly avatāras whenever there is a need. For example, Śrī Nanda Goparāja, the eternal beloved father of Kṛṣṇa in Goloka, appears in Vaikuṇṭha as the eternal associate of Nārāyaṇa called Nanda, and he also occasionally descends to earth in his original identity. So too, Śrī Balarāma, who originally resides in Goloka, manifests Himself in Vaikuṇṭha as the eternal associate named Śeṣa. Yet He appears among the demigods as the bearer of the earth in the seventh Pātāla region, and He sometimes comes to earth as the selfsame Balarāma. Kṛṣṇa’s friend Śrīdāmā in Goloka appears as Garuḍa in two different forms, one an eternal associate of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha and the other a son of Vinatā among the demigods; and occasionally he appears on earth as the original Śrīdāmā. Kṛṣṇa’s parents in Goloka, Śrī Vasudeva and Devakī, appear as Sutapā and Pṛśni in Vaikuṇṭha, Kaśyapa and Aditi in Svarga, and sometimes in their original forms as Vasudeva and Devakī on earth. The avatāras of other devotees follow the same pattern.
BB 3.6.204
And just as the incarnations of Kṛṣṇa, the source of all incarnations, are nondifferent from Him, the incarnations of the Goloka-vāsīs, the residents of Goloka, are nondifferent from them.
COMMENTARY
The devotees from Goloka may change their names and appearance when they descend, but still they are the same persons. As the expanded forms of Godhead are all nondifferent from the original Kṛṣṇa, the single fountainhead of existence, so when devotees like Nanda and Yaśodā appear in expanded forms in Vaikuṇṭha, those forms are in essence nondifferent from the original forms in Goloka. Kaśyapa and Aditi in heaven, however, being incomplete portions of Vasudeva and his wife Devakī, are partially different from the Vasudeva and Devakī on earth and partially the same.
BB 3.6.205
The Goloka-vāsīs are born sometimes as partial expansions and sometimes as their full selves. Like Kṛṣṇa, they vary their appearance for the time, place, and need.
COMMENTARY
In this verse the verb jāyante (“they are born”) is equivalent to prādurbhavanti (“they become visible”) and avataranti (“they descend”). Whenever and wherever there is a need for a full or partial incarnation of a particular devotee, that same devotee reveals either his whole self or a partial expansion of himself. The example of Kṛṣṇa and His expansions is cited to clarify this point. In previous ages Kṛṣṇa manifested various partial forms of Himself in this world. In Satya-yuga, for example, Lord Varāha descended from the Śaukara-purī of Vaikuṇṭha for such purposes as lifting the earth from the lower regions. And at the end of Dvāpara-yuga the same Kṛṣṇa descended to Śrī Mathurā-maṇḍala in His full form to display special blissful pastimes that would broadcast His loving devotional service all over the universe.
BB 3.6.206
Thus Kṛṣṇa’s companions, impelled by their own moods of loving exchange, from time to time want to descend somewhere with their Lord.
BB 3.6.207-208
When devotees who live with Kṛṣṇa in Goloka appear to merge, on some pretext, into their own expanded incarnations, this is just like the merging of Kṛṣṇa’s expansions with Him. When sages tell us, therefore, that expansions of Kṛṣṇa’s associates descend to become the original associates, what they mean is that the expansions merge into the originals.
COMMENTARY
In Goloka, Nanda Mahārāja eternally serves Kṛṣṇa in the role of father. So when Kṛṣṇa plans to descend to earth to display childhood pastimes, Nanda is naturally attracted to come with Him. By Kṛṣṇa’s arrangement Lord Brahmā then blesses Nanda’s partial expansion Vasu Droṇa to attain perfect devotion for Viṣṇu. Of course, this blessing is only a pretext because Droṇa is already an expansion of Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associate. Yet on the strength of that blessing, Droṇa merges into the original Nanda Mahārāja and joins the entourage of Kṛṣṇa’s avatāra. It is in this sense that the Purāṇas tell us “Droṇa became Nanda.” This explanation also reconciles the account in the Padma Purāṇa (Kārtika-māhātmya) of Śrī Rādhā’s previous lives. Attracted to descend from Goloka for the service of Her worshipable Lord, who is more attractive than millions of Cupids, She incarnated in those various births, in various forms and places.
BB 3.6.209
All this and everything else about Goloka please try to understand in this way, without doubt or confusion. Comprehend it according to the philosophical conclusions taught by Nārada, as spoken of before.
COMMENTARY
Śrī Sarūpa’s disciple may still have doubts about Goloka. He may question, for example, how demons can be present in a place superior to Vaikuṇṭha or how the Goloka-vāsīs could even have an impression of having seen demons there before. Moreover, if Goloka is purely spiritual, sac-cid-ānanda, how can inanimate things like logs, stones, carts, and dust from cow’s hooves exist there? And Goloka is not generally accepted to be greater and higher than Vaikuṇṭha. So how can the dear associates of Kṛṣṇa descend from Goloka to become Vaikuṇṭha pārṣadas?
Sarūpa already answered these doubts in his description of the glories of Goloka. He briefly recounted the teachings Nārada had given him earlier, in Vaikuṇṭha, about Goloka’s unique stature and elucidated those teachings with his own comments. If the Mathurā brāhmaṇa wants more scriptural support, he can refer to various statements of the Padma Purāṇa (Uttara-khaṇḍa) and the Pañcarātras.
In upcoming verses of Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, Śrī Sarūpa will tell more about the pastimes the transcendental Personality of Godhead enjoys with His personal associates and paraphernalia in Goloka. The brāhmaṇa will then be informed how it is that Kaṁsa and other demons reside in Kṛṣṇa’s abode. In brief, Kaṁsa and the other enemies of Kṛṣṇa join Kṛṣṇa’s eternal pastimes for the same reason Kṛṣṇa’s Vaikuṇṭha associates join Him in their spiritual identities, namely to enhance Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment. The carts and other apparently lifeless objects in Kṛṣṇa’s abode are all in fact alive and completely spiritual sac-cid-ānanda beings. According to the descriptions of Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, everything in Kṛṣṇa’s abode Goloka is transcendental the same way as in Vaikuṇṭha. Scriptural evidence to support this conclusion will be cited later on.
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