SB 10.14.41 – When Krishna Forgets That He Is God

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Fourteen: “Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa,” Text Forty-One.

TEXT 41

śrī-śuka uvāca

ity abhiṣṭūya bhūmānaṁ

triḥ parikramya pādayoḥ

natvābhīṣṭaṁ jagad-dhātā

sva-dhāma pratyapadyata

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami said: Having thus offered his prayers, Brahmā circumambulated his worshipable Lord, the unlimited Personality of Godhead, three times and then bowed down at His lotus feet. The appointed creator of the universe then returned to his own residence.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Although Lord Brahmā had prayed to take birth as a blade of grass in Vṛndāvana or even in the area surrounding Vṛndāvana, Lord Kṛṣṇa, by His silent response to Brahmā’s prayers, indicated that Brahmā should return to his own abode. First Brahmā had to complete his personal devotional service of universal creation; then he could come to Vṛndāvana and get the mercy of the inhabitants there. In other words, a devotee should always be attentive to executing his personal devotional service properly. This is more important than trying to live in the Lord’s abode.

COMMENT

So, this is a very important point. I had my own little experience with the same principle. And definitely, at the time, Srila Prabhupada wanted me in Bombay and not in Vrindavan. On one occasion, he referred to Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and said, “Raghunatha dasa Gosvami managed his father’s estate like an expert businessman, and then he went to Vrindavan and became a Gosvami. So, in the same way, you should also manage your spiritual father’s estate, the Juhu project expertly, and then go to Vrindavan and become a Goswami.

So, now we will proceed to Text forty-two.

TEXT 42

tato ‘nujñāpya bhagavān

sva-bhuvaṁ prāg avasthitān

vatsān pulinam āninye

yathā-pūrva-sakhaṁ svakam

TRANSLATION

After granting His son Brahmā permission to leave, the Supreme Personality of Godhead took the calves, who were still where they had been a year earlier, and brought them to the riverbank, where He had been taking His meal and where His cowherd boyfriends remained just as before.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The word sva-bhuvam, “to His own son,” indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa forgave the offense Brahmā had committed and treated him with affection, as His son. It is stated in this verse that the original cowherd boyfriends and calves were situated just as before: near the bank of the Yamunā River and in the forest, respectively. Previously the calves had disappeared within the forest and Lord Kṛṣṇa had gone to search for them. Not finding them, the Lord had returned to the riverbank to discuss the situation with His cowherd boyfriends, but they had also disappeared. Now the cows were once again in the forest and the boyfriends once again on the bank of the river, ready to take their lunch. According to Śrīla Sanātana Gosvami, the calves and boys remained in the forest and on the riverbank, respectively, for one full year. Lord Brahmā did not actually take them away to another place. By the Lord’s omnipotent illusory energy, the gopīs and other residents of Vṛndāvana did not notice the calves and boys, nor did the calves and boys notice the passing of a year’s time or feel any hunger, cold or thirst. This was part of the pastime arranged by the Lord’s illusory energy. Lord Brahmā thought, “I have kept all the boys and calves of Gokula sleeping on the bed of my mystic potency, and to this very day they have not risen. A similar number of boys and calves have been playing with Kṛṣṇa for one whole year, yet they are different from the ones illusioned by my mystic potency. Who are they? Where did they come from?”

Nothing is invisible to the Supreme Lord. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared to be searching for the calves and boys only to enact the dramatic pastime of bewildering Lord Brahmā. After Brahmā surrendered and offered prayers, Lord Kṛṣṇa returned to the original boys and calves, who appeared exactly as before, although their size had somewhat increased because of one year’s growth.

According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, since Lord Kṛṣṇa was playing exactly like an innocent young cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana, after four-headed Brahmā offered his prayers the Lord maintained His role as a young cowherd boy and thus remained silent before Brahmā. Kṛṣṇa’s silence indicates the following thoughts: “Where did this four-headed Brahmā come from? What is he doing? What are these words he keeps on speaking? I am busy looking for My calves. I am just a cowherd boy and do not understand all this.” Lord Brahmā had considered Lord Kṛṣṇa an ordinary cowherd boy and had treated Him as such. After accepting Brahmā’s prayers, Kṛṣṇa continued to play as a cowherd boy and thus did not answer the four-headed Brahmā. Rather, Kṛṣṇa was more interested in rejoining His cowherd boyfriends for the picnic lunch on the bank of the Yamunā River.

COMMENT

So, this phrase, sva-bhuvam, His own son, indicates, as we just read, that Lord Krishna had forgiven Lord Brahma for his offense and had accepted him with affection as His son. We all, like Lord Brahma, have the tendency to make mistakes, to be illusioned, to have imperfect senses, and to cheat, the reconditioned soul does. And as aspiring devotees, we can also become bewildered in the discharge of devotional service and commit offenses against the Lord and His devotees. But Lord Brahma has also shown us the example of recognizing one’s mistake, repenting for one’s offense, glorifying the person who one has offended, and begging forgiveness. And Lord Krishna, as the affectionate father and friend of all living entities, and in particular of Lord Brahma, He forgave him and treated him affectionately.

That is one level of the pastime. On another level of the pastime, Lord Krishna really didn’t want to be too bothered with Lord Brahma. He wanted to enjoy His pastimes with His cowherd boyfriends and calves.

One year earlier, they had been enjoying a picnic lunch by the banks of the Yamuna. It is described that Krishna was sitting in the center of the cowherd boys like the whorl of a lotus flower, and the cowherd boys were sitting around Him like the petals of a lotus flower. And Lord Krishna was dealing so perfectly and affectionately with each boy, that each boy felt as if Krishna is looking only at him and thinking only of him. And the calves wandered away, looking for new grasses. And when the boys noticed that the calves were missing, they became concerned because although they were just young boys, still, they had been given the charge of the calves to protect them, gopal. Go means cow, and pal means one who gives protection.

So, they became concerned, “Oh, we have to find the calves and bring them back.” But Krishna said, “No, you enjoy your lunch, and I will go and find them and bring them back.” So, Krishna went following the path left by the calves’ hoof prints, and He could not find them. So, He came back to the original spot, think that He’ll discuss with the other cowherd boys what to do, and He discovered that the cowherd boys themselves were missing. And then, as we discussed, He expanded Himself into an exact duplicate set of cowherd boys and calves. So, after one year of the Earth’s time, which was one moment for Lord Brahma, Lord Brahma realized that he had made a mistake. And so, he came to Lord Krishna and offered these humble, beautiful prayers. And Lord Krishna forgave him. But for the cowherd boys, this year also seemed like a moment. And so, when Lord Krishna returned to them, the cowherd boys thought, Oh, our friend, Lord Krishna, is so attached to us, He couldn’t bear to be away from us for even two moments and so He came back after only one moment. So, that is Krishna’s affectionate dealing with His friends in Vrindavan.

Now, a question arises, because Krishna has these two aspects, which Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura discusses in one of his books; mugdha and sarvajña. Sarvajña means He knows everything. And we see that here, that Krishna understood that Lord Brahma had stolen the cowherd boys and calves. And so, He expanded Himself into a duplicate set so that the residents of Vrindavan would not be in anxiety about the whereabouts of their children. But at the same time, when Lord Brahma returned after a moment of his time and offered prayers and apologies, Lord Krishna accepted his apologies and forgave him, as an affectionate father forgives an errant son.

But at the same time, in the mood of a cowherd boy, He was thinking, Who is this person with four heads? What is he saying? I want to enjoy with my friends. What is he doing here? And that is the mood of mugdha where He is completely immersed in the mood of being a simple cowherd boy and appears to be bewildered by things that happened. So, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura analyses this question. And he says, “Well, one explanation could be that the Vishnu within Krishna is sarvajña, all knowing, that it’s the Vishnu within Krishna who heard the prayers of Lord Brahma and forgave him. And it’s the original Krishna, the cowherd boy, who was bewildered, ‘Who is this person with four heads? What is he doing here? What are all these things he is saying? I just want to find my cowherd boyfriends and calves.’”

But Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura raises a further question, “If we want to serve Krishna in Vrindavan, and we pray, hoping that our prayer will reach Krishna in Vrindavan, will our prayer actually reach Krishna in Vrindavan? Or will Krishna be so absorbed in His playing with His friends that He will not hear our prayers and the Vishnu within Krishna will hear our prayers?” Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that that proposition is not very appealing or satisfying to a devotee who wants to serve Krishna in Vrindavan. He doesn’t want his prayers to be heard by Vishnu, he wants his prayers to be heard by the original Krishna. But the original Krishna is fully absorbed in the mood of being a simple cowherd boy and playing with His friends. So, how will He hear the prayers of so many devotees throughout the universe? Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura gives the answer that yoga-māyā arranges for Krishna to forget that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but also, on occasion, to remember that He is the Supreme Lord.

There are so many examples, but let us say when there was a forest fire in Vrindavan. So, the cowherd boys were threatened by the flames of the fire, the cows were threatened by the flames of the fire, and they were in a very precarious position. So, if Krishna remained in the mood of a simple cowherd boy, just like the others, they all would have been burned in the fire. They would have been consumed by the flames. So, yoga-māyā arranged, at that time, for Krishna to remember that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that He is full in all opulences, that He has all mystic powers. And thus, He was able to swallow the forest fire. And then, when His purpose was fulfilled, yoga-māyā again arranged for Him to forget that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and for Him to play with His cowherd boyfriends, just like one of them.

So, yoga-māyā understands the Lord’s purpose. And the Lord’s purpose, first and foremost, is always to please His devotees. So, when it is favorable for His pastimes with His devotees to forget that He is the Supreme Lord, then yoga-māyā arranges for Him to forget, just as she arranges for them, for His friends, to see Him just as a cowherd boy. But when it’s favorable or necessary for His pastimes with His friends for Him to remember that He is the Supreme Lord, she reminds Him. And thus, He is able to take extraordinary actions, such as swallowing the forest fire or lifting Govardhana Hill, killing so many demons. So, it is all for the pleasure of His devotees and for the welfare of His devotees.

So, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that when a devotee in the material world, who is aspiring specifically to serve Krishna in Vrindavan, not Narayana in Vaikuntha, prays to Krishna, yoga-māyā arranges for Krishna to be aware of that devotee’s earnest prayers and aspirations, and for Krishna, the original Krishna in Vrindavan, to reciprocate. And at the same time, when it’s not necessary for Krishna to be aware of His devotee’s prayers to Him, she arranges for Him to forget that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and to be fully absorbed in His nara-līlā, His human-like pastimes.

So, this is a very intricate topic, very mysterious. And we find in the purport here that Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura is presenting one angle of vision, and Srila Sanatana Gosvami is presenting another angle of vision, and both could be true. And in fact, I would say both are true. But this is acintya shakti, these are Krishna’s inconceivable potencies at work. And acintya, by definition, inconceivable, means it’s beyond the ability of our limited mind and senses to comprehend. And therefore, we need not be disturbed by apparent contradictions or differences in the statements of the scriptures or the previous acharyas.

Once, Prabhupada’s disciple, Revatinandana Swami, who was very intelligent and analytical, asked Srila Prabhupada, “In some places, we read that Lord Brahma was sitting on the lotus that sprouted from the navel of Lord Vishnu, and from his position on the lotus, he created the planets in the universe. And in other places, we read that all the planetary systems are within the stem of the lotus. So, how do we reconcile these two apparently contradictory statements?” And Srila Prabhupada replied that these topics are inconceivable. They are beyond the power of our teeny brains to comprehend. And our business is to love Krishna, and that is our business.

Recently, I’ve had some talks with Brahma Tirtha Prabhu, who was quite close to Sadaputa Prabhu, who was a super genius scientist devotee. And Sadaputa had amazing insights into the truth of the Bhāgavatam statements about the universe. I don’t remember all the details, and even when I heard them, I didn’t understand them all exactly, but Sadaputa calculated that based on the information in the Bhāgavatam, one could calculate the relative distances between the planets and predict the movements of the planets. And Sadaputa Prabhu wrote a paper on the subject, there is probably more to it that I haven’t mentioned, and he presented it to the leading astronomer or astrologer of India. He explained what is in it. And the astronomer refused to read it. He said it is not possible. This knowledge of the relative position of the planets and the distance between the planets has existed only 800 years according to their version of history, and it is not possible.

You just see, the Bhāgavatam is so far beyond what these mundane. . . He wouldn’t even read that. I mean, this is a whole other topic, which Sadaputa Prabhu and Drutakarma discussed, and especially Drutakarma now, the ‘knowledge filter,’ that the scientific community systematically filters out evidence that contradicts their established accepted views. And if someone in a field insists on bringing out information that contradicts their views, they can really try to ruin the person’s career.

There was a very big television program on NBC called, I think, ‘The Mysterious Origins of Man,’ and the host was Charlton Heston. And they interviewed different scholars and archaeologists, including Sadaputa and Drutakarma, and presented all sorts of evidence for the existence of human beings at an early period, when according to the prevailing view, there were no human beings and only lower species. But they had very strong archaeological evidence that human beings existed simultaneously along with all the other species, which is what the Bhāgavatam tells us; it’s not that lower species evolve into higher species and then after a long period of evolution, human beings exist. But just as now, human beings and aquatics and birds and beasts, they all exist simultaneously. So, basically, from the dawn of creation, they’ve all existed simultaneously.

So, the scientific community, when they heard about the television program, became very upset and they did everything they could to stop it from being aired, but the network decided they would go ahead and air it. And it was so popular that the public wanted it to be broadcast again. So then, the scientific establishment, they tried to stop it. They legally tried to stop it from being aired. And then the network advertised it, ‘The program that the scientists don’t want you to see,’ which made it even more interesting. So, the ‘knowledge filter’ is a very prominent feature of scientific and academic communities.

There was one case of a very well-respected professor at Harvard University who had done interviews of people who claimed to have had encounters with beings from other planets. Now, there has been a lot of testimony from people who claim that they’ve seen UFOs, unidentified flying objects, and who even claimed to have had interactions with beings who descended on UFOs, and so on. And of course, the scientific establishment has tried their best to discredit the testimony of the people. So, this Harvard professor, perhaps he was in the Department of Psychology, he did very extensive interviews with the people who testified that they had had encounters, and he found that they are normal, emotionally stable, credible people. The other side was saying, “They’re the lunatic fringe, they’re crazy. It’s the power of suggestion,” so many explanations they had.

So, the other members of the department of psychology gathered together, and there was a proceeding by which the colleagues of a professor can have their colleague expelled from the department. So, they all gathered together, and they inaugurated the procedure to have him expelled from the department. And fortunately in this case, the attempt failed, they couldn’t kick him out. But it just shows how strong the knowledge filter operates.

And that was another thing in the ‘Mysterious Origins of Man.’ They showed examples of scientists, researchers, archaeologists, who had discovered data that was contrary to the prevailing view and made the scientific establishment feel uncomfortable, and who had the courage to go ahead and publish their findings. And the television program showed how the scientific establishment ruined these people’s careers. I mean, it’s very heavy. It’s very, very heavy.

But anyway, I mean, we don’t have to worry about all that because we have knowledge from the scripture. Drutakarma also always says the same thing. He doesn’t really need to do this archaeological research to find out the truth because he already knows the truth from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But the reason he does it is so that people who don’t have the same faith in the Vedic scriptures will see that what’s stated in the Vedic scriptures is corroborated by archaeological evidence, and so on, in the case of the universe and the planets, that it’s corroborated by physics and mathematics. So, it’s a fight. As Srila Prabhupada always said, “They have their tactics, and we have our tactics. It’s a fight.” But now that the Temple of Vedic Planetarium is actually being built in Mayapur, it will definitely call attention to the Vedic view of the universe, and it will certainly spark lively debate. Hare Krishna. So, are there any questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, when you were speaking about yoga-māyā, it almost seems as if yoga-māyā is the gatekeeper of Krishna’s affection. If she wants to recognize the prayers of the devotees, then she will let it known, and if she doesn’t, then she won’t.  

Giriraj Swami: Yoga-māyā is a faithful servant of Lord Krishna, and she knows that Krishna wants to encourage every devotee. So, it’s not that she is going to be like a secretary to a big man who has His own agenda and he will only let the information reach the big man that he wants and not other. She doesn’t have any separate interest. She is Krishna’s energy, she can’t have any separate interest. And she knows His purpose, and she very expertly and perfectly fulfills His intention.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:50:20]

Giriraj Swami: They all get through, the question is whether it reaches Krishna in Vrindavan. We are praying here, Radha-Kalachandji hears all our prayers. But is it the Kalachandji who is trembling and swooning because of Radharani’s beauty, or is it the Kalachandji who is sitting and smiling and looking at all of us? So, yes, that’s it. In a way, it’s not a matter of, “I want to be the best,” it’s not a matter of false prestige, “Your prayers are only going to Vishnu, my prayers are going to Krishna.” Vishnu is Krishna. And for probably, whatever, but not some large proportion of what we are praying for Vishnu is sufficient, more than sufficient.

Anyway, the Deity form also is simultaneously one indifferent. I’m thinking of the story of Sakshi Gopal. It’s Gopal, it’s Krishna the cowboy boy, but He gave up His pastimes in Vrindavan to follow the young brahman to Orissa to give testimony about the marriage. So, the Deity is Krishna, the original Krishna. And again, of course, like Prabhupada said, “We are worshiping the forms of Radha and Krishna, but our worship is in the mood of Lakshmi-Narayana.” But on top of that mood, there can be another mood of serving Radha and Krishna in Vrindavan. Ultimately, They are the same.

Like Brahma, he thought, I should leave now. I don’t want to disturb Krishna in His pastimes. So, he was demanding like a small child demanding attention and the father and mother have some more important work. Just to give an example of how this interplay between Krishna and Vishnu takes place. Every year in Jagannatha Puri, since the beginning, there is Snana-yatra in which Lord Jagannatha is taken from His personal quarters onto a public pavilion and bathed. And then, after the bathing ceremony, He catches a cold and He is taken into His private quarters, and for two weeks, He remains in seclusion while He is given medicine to help Him recover. And during that period, repairs are made on the Lord’s body, Deity form.

So, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would feel such intense separation from Lord Jagannatha during that period called Anavasara, He could not remain in Puri. It was just too painful for Him. So, He would walk by foot about fourteen miles to Brahmagiri where there is the Deity of Alanath or Alalanath in Bengali. And so, at the Alanath temple, there is a stone slab where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu offered flat obeisances, and the stone is melted, and you can see the imprint of Mahaprabhu’s body.

Now, this is extraordinary. I mean, yes, there is a place in the Jagannatha temple where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would stand by the Garuda Stambha and have darshan of Lord Jagannatha, and you can see where the stone is worn away from repeated visits. So, that’s a very intense ecstasy, to melt the stone. And that Deity is a four-handed Vishnu form. The Deity was actually installed by Lord Brahma. It’s a four-handed Vishnu form.

So, the question is, why, of all places, would Mahaprabhu go there, feeling separation from Jagannatha who He saw as Shyamasundara directly, to Alanath, which is a four-handed Vishnu Deity? And then too, why would He feel such extraordinary ecstasy there? So, the answer is given that the mood of this place corresponds to a place called Paita at Govardhana, which is the place, I’m sure many of you are familiar with this story, it’s mentioned in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, that during the rāsa dance, Krishna left the gopīs and hid Himself in the bushes of Govardhana. And, when the gopīs realized that Krishna had left, they began marching as a group, determined to find Him.

And when they came near to the bushes where He was hiding, He came out of the bushes and assumed a four-handed Vishnu form. And the gopīs, they thought it was Krishna from a distance, so they were very enlivened. But, “That’s not Krishna, it’s Vishnu. It’s Lord Narayana. Lord Narayana, have You seen Krishna? We are looking for Krishna.” They offered respect and when He didn’t help them find Krishna, they just left Him and went looking for Krishna. But then, when Srimati Radharani came, He did the same thing, He appeared in His four-handed Vishnu form. But in front of Radharani’s supreme love for Him, He was unable to maintain His extra two arms, and He had to resume His original two-handed form as Shyamasundara.

So, the explanation of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with Alanath is that that Deity is Lord Narayana, but it’s not actually Lord Narayana. It’s Lord Krishna pretending to be Lord Narayana, or manifesting the form of Lord Narayana, but it’s actually Krishna. And certainly, in the presence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is fully endowed with the mood of Radharani, that so-called Lord Narayana would definitely manifest Himself as Krishna. So, Lord Narayana is Krishna. He is always Krishna in the sense that He is an expansion of Krishna, and in Vrindavan, He is really Krishna but just manifested in the form of Narayana. But it’s achintya-bheda-abheda tattva, simultaneously one and different. Yes?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:02:26]

Giriraj Swami: So, it’s not that everything they say is not true. Prabhupada said that on the very smallest level, they don’t know what’s going on, and on the very biggest level, they don’t know what’s going on. But there is a section in between where they do have a sense of what’s going on, but they don’t have the background, or they don’t see it in the proper perspective of Krishna within the atom or Krishna is the Origin of the whole cosmic manifestation. Yes, continue.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:03:38]

Giriraj Swami: Well, that’s a good question. Well, I would say the main thing is sadhana. So, chanting, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ, the chanting cleanses the dust from the mirror of the mind. And when the dust is removed, you see the reality of Krishna consciousness and the illusory nature of the material modes, which are conducting the scientists and academics. But Prabhupada wanted Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami and Sadaputa Prabhu and others to present the same philosophy of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in scientific language, so that people conditioned to accept scientific evidence will take it more seriously. But there is a huge volume of evidence in the archaeological record that man has existed from as far back as we can trace. So, you can read these books, Forbidden Archaeology, then there is the sort of condensed version of Forbidden Archaeology called the Hidden History of the Human Race. And then, Durtakarma Prabhu had a regular column in some alternative scientific or archaeological journal. And so, his columns have been collected in a book called The Forbidden Archaeologist. So, you can read those things, there is plenty of evidence.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 1:07:16]

Giriraj Swami: We, the minute living entities, we were never God. I mean, what the Mayavadis say that we were God but we’ve forgotten, I mean, that’s just not true that we were God but we’ve forgotten, it’s absurd. Krishna is God, and to enjoy pastimes with His devotees in Vrindavan, this is not in other places, this is only in Vrindavan that He forgets that He is God so that He can enjoy those intimate relationships. And it’s the same thing. I mean, we are talking of yoga-māyā as if she was a separate personality, which in a way she is, but ultimately, she is Krishna, she is a part of Krishna who Krishna has delegated this assignment to, but she is ultimately Krishna, it’s Krishna reminding Himself when He wants to be reminded, and Krishna allowing Himself to forget when He wants to forget.

Alright, thank you very much. Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!