Section 40 
All Forms Exist in the Body of Kåñëa

          Akrüra also prayed with the same concept (10.40.7.), "Although you have various forms you are situated in this one form."

          And the Vedas also state, "Although He is one, He is seen as many." Hence depending on one's situation based on the maturation of one's  worship then one sees the Lord accordingly. The Vedänta Sütra states (3.3.52), "Because worshipers have differences in knowledge, their perception of the Lord differs accordingly." Çré Madhväcärya comments on this, "There is difference in realization of the Lord due to difference in worship."

          An example in this regard is that of a multi-colored cloth with one color predominant, like in a peacock feather depending on the portion viewed from a particular angle, the cloth appears of a different color. Lord Kåñëa, who contains many other forms in His prime effulgence, likened to the multi-colors in the cloth, is like the complete cloth. 

          As Çré Närada-Païcarätra states, "Just as a gem endowed with many colors such as blue and yellow appears differently when viewed from different angles, similarly the Lord appears in different forms depending on the meditation of the devotee." The gem referred to is the lapis lazuli and the colors like blue and yellow represent its characteristics. In this way the interrogative pronoun kva "where" is answered.

          Referring to the incarnation of Vämanadeva, Çré Çuka makes a similar statement (8.18.12):

          The Lord appeared in His original form, with ornaments and weapons in His hands. Although this ever-existing form is not visible in the material world, He nonetheless appeared in this form. Then, in the presence of His father and mother, with divine movements like a theatrical actor, He assumed the form of Vämana, a celibate dwarf brähmaëa. 

          The meaning is as follwos: The Lord's form which is not manifested by anything which is conscious and full of bliss which is always decorated with beautiful ornaments. The same form, Lord Hari manifested in such a way that it became visible in the material world also. Again with the same form Lord Hari became a celibate dwarf, Vämana. The indeclinable, eva, "only" denies any change in His form or dress putting on a new dress (like an actor). When did he do that? While His parents were witnessing and with the same body. The reason for this is His supremely inconceivable potency divyä. The Vedas state: "all forms of the present, and future are eternally present in His form." "The Lord has divine movements" means that He can manifest or unmanifest any one of the forms which always exist in Him.

          "Like an actor" is a partial example of an actor which hints at the fraction of the delight the Lord experiences by concealing His qualities. Just as an actor in some wonderful moves his hands and arms in most amazing way similarly Lord also by the same form without undergoing any incoherent movement manifest various forms. Or the meaning of divyä gati is like an heavenly actor. Therefore, the imitation of a particular form is actually accepting that particular form. Except for the Lord no one can imitate a role completely in all respects. One should not disregard this example as incomplete. The Çrémad Bhagavatam states (11.9.21), "Just as from within himself the spider produces the web, so the Lord creates the universe all by Himself." Although the spider produces its thread from the saliva which it produces by eating insects yet the spider is given an example to illustrate the Lord as the only cause behind the creation of the universe.

          Similarly Lord Brahmä also with the intention that all forms are contained within Lord Kåñëa, said (S.B.3.9.11.):

          O My Lord, Your devotees see You through the ears by the process of bonafide hearing and thus their hearts become cleansed and You take Your seat there. You are so merciful to Your devotees that You manifest Yourself in the particular eternal transcendental form in which they always think of You.

 

          Pranyase  (lit. led to) means manifests. Çruta-ikñita-patha "the path of seeing through hearing" denies these forms to be imaginary.

          Kardama Muni's statement also proves that (S.B.3.24.31): Although the Supreme Lord has innumerable forms, He does not manifest the form which is not appealing to His devotee.

          My dear Lord, although You have no material form only those of Your forms which are pleasing to Your devotees are Your suitable forms.

          The meaning is that only those forms that appease the mind of Your devotees are Your suitable forms, not others. The other forms are like the abominable forms shown to Rantideva.The illusory nature of such a form is described in the Çrémad Bhagavatam (9.21.15):

          Demigods like Brahmä and Siva, who can satisfy all materially ambitious men by giving them the rewards they desire, then manifested their own identities before King Rantideva, for it was they who had presented themselves as the Brähmaëa, Çüdra, Caëòala and so on by the illusory energy of Viñëu.

         

          Çrédhara Swämé comments: Tribhuvanadhiça "the controller of three worlds" means Brahmä, Viñëu and Maheça. The word Mäyä signifies that to test Rantideva's fortitude, they first manifested an illusory form of an outcast and so on. This is his comment.

The cause  behind these forms being unsuitable is stated in the word arupiëaù (3.24.31). Swämépäda also comments on this--devoid of material form.

          The import is that: Because the Lord's forms are transcendental, they cannot be abominable.

          To answer the other three interrogative pronouns beginning with "now" in the verse under discussion (S.B. 10.14.21), Lord Brahmä's remaining three addresses are explained. "Hey Bhagavan!" means, "O Lord possessor of inconceivable power." The sense is that the inconceivable appearance of the Lord's form and so on is not possible by any other means. The only cause is His inconceivable internal potency. This is the answer to the question katham, or how? The next address is Hey, Parätman, which means The Lord who is the source of incarnations, like the puruña avataras each possessing unlimited power. Then certainly you have unlimited opulence. The import is that it is impossible for the mind or speech to ascertain the extant of His opulence's which manifest. This is the logic behind kati, or how many?

          The next address is Hey Yogeçvara, "the controller of the internal energy called Yogamäyä," who is responsible for accommodating the various forms in the one original form; or one who controls through her. The import is this:  Just as various forms exist within His original form, various plenary portions also exist in Him. When the Lord desires to manifest a particular form, owing to the maturity of the devotee's worship, then He manifests that particular form. This is the response to the interogative kadä when.

  

PURPORT

           Çréla Jéva Gosvämé continues to explain the four names Brahmä used to address Lord Kåñëa and relates them to the four questions asked in the same verse.  He says that there are four schemes behind these four rhetorical questions and addresses.

          Bhüman literally means "abundance" or "great".  In the present context it refers to the Lord, who contains unlimited forms within His one form.  Akrüra, Lord Kåñëa's uncle, also addressed Him as bahumürttyaika-mürttikam, or one whose form contains various forms.  Akrüra was ordered by Kaàsa to bring Kåñëa and Balaräma to Mathurä to participate in the Dhanuña-yajïa, which was really a plot to kill Kåñëa.  While Akrüra was driving Kåñëa and Balaräma to Mathurä by chariot, he stopped at the Yamunä to take bath and perform his noon worship.  After bathing he dipped his head into the water, to chant gäyatré and was surprised to see Kåñëa and Balaräma within the water.  He wondered how this was possible as he had left Them on the chariot.  Out of wonder he came out of the water and saw that Kåñëa and Balaräma were sitting on the chariot just as he had left them.  Thus he thought that what he had seen in the water must have been an illusion and again dipped his head under the water. This time he saw an even more amazing sight.  Kåñëa was relaxing on the body of the thousand-hooded Ananta while being eulogized by Siddhas, Cäraëas, Gandharvas, Asuras, and so on.  He was surrounded by associates like Nanda and Sunanda and was being served by the various personified opulence's.  Seeing this Akrüra's heart overflowed with ecstasy and tears flowed from his eyes out of joy.  He began reciting beautiful prayers in praise of Lord Kåñëa. One of the verses includes the phrase bahumürttyaikamürttikam (S.B. 10.40.7): 

          "And yet others--those with pure intelligence--follow the injuctions of Vaiñëava scriptures promulgated by You.  Absorbing their minds in thought of You, they worship You as the one Supreme Lord manifesting in multiple forms."

          Although the Lord has various forms such as Väsudeva, Saìkarñaëa, Pradhumyna, Aniruddha, Matsya, Kürma and so on, yet He is one.  The Gopälatäpani Upaniñad states (Pürva 3.2):

          "Lord Kåñëa is all-pervading, the supreme controller, and the supreme object of worship.  Although He is one, He appears as many."

          Akrüra also mentions that the Lord manifests various forms on the earth and gives a partial list of such forms.  According to the desire of His devotees the Lord manifests a particular form. Bhagavat Gétä states (4.11):

          "As they surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. 

          Çréla Jéva Gosvämé cites the Vedänta Sütra (3.3.52) to substantiate this point .  In Govinda Bhäñya, Çréla Baladeva Vidyäbhüñaëa gives the following explanation:  Prior to this the question was posed,  "Do all worshipers realize Brahmän in the same way, or do they have different experiences?"  The opponent claims that the various grades of liberated devotees all realize Brahmän in the same way.  Although they may have followed different sädhanä, their perception of Brahmän is uniform, just like different travellers entering a town see the same city though they approached by different roads.  The Çruti confirms this uniformity. The Muëòaka Upaniñad (3.1.3) states that upon gaining liberation, all living beings attain similarity:

          "When the living entity sees the Lord, who is the golden colored Creator and the source of Brahmä, such a learned person, being free from sin, piety, and material upädhis, attains the Supreme similarity."

          The conclusion is that on the liberated platform, we are all equal.  In response to this Çréla Vyäsa writes Sütra 3.3.52 which concludes that different devotees have different realizations according to their bhävas, or attitudes and corresponding practices they undertake.  This is supported by the Chändogya Upaniñad (3.14.1):

          "Because man is a creature of faith, after death each gets a result according to his faith and sentiments.  So let him have full faith in the Lord."

          This is popularly called tat-kratu-nyäya, or the principle of faith.  The similarity referred to in the Muëòaka Upaniñad (3.1.3) means that all see the same Lord yet their vision differs, according to their bhäva.

          Although the different travellers entering a city from different paths see the same city but they see its different parts and thus their vision is different. Similarly different devotees see the same Lord but their realizations differ. To explain further Çréla Jéva Gosvämé gives the example of a multi-colored cloth which reflects different colors when seen from different angles.  Another example is that of certain gems. The lapis-lazuli, for example, appears different in color when seen from various angles.  A modern example is the hologram, which shows different images when viewed from different angles.  This explains the scheme behind qua, or where does Lord manifest a particular form. Depending on the mood of devotion a particular form of the Lord appears to the devotee.

          To further explain how various forms exist in one form of the Lord, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé relates the appearance of Vämana Deva.  Aditi, the wife of Kaçyapa, performed the payovrata ceremony for twelve days to please Lord Viñëu.  At the end of the ceremony the Lord appeared and agreed to bless Aditi by becoming her son.  In due course Lord Viñëu appeared in His four-handed form and in front of Aditi and Kaçyapa transformed Himself into Vämana, the dwarf Brahmacäré.  This change of form is described in Çrémad Bhägavatam (8.18.12).  The Lord is compared to an expert theatrical actor, who puts on various costumes and plays different roles.  An actor's expertise lies in concealing his identity and in perfectly imitating a particular character.  As an actor is one person but plays various roles and thus appears differently, so the Lord is one, but appears in different forms.  The actor is limited, because he can only change his costume, not his body, but the Lord actually has different forms, yet He is one person.  The analogy fails because the Lord does not need to put on costumes to look different.  But this is not a defect in the example as its purpose is to elevate the reader by alluding to some common points between the Lord and the dramatic actor so we can better grasp the position of the Lord.  yatra laukika-parékñakänäm buddhisämyaù sa dåñöäntaù (Nyäya Sütra 1.1.25) "An example is that which is equally understood both by a common man and a scholar. Just as the Çrémad Bhägavatam gives the example of a spider to illustrate that the Lord is both the efficient and material cause of the universe.  The spider weaves the web and thus is the efficient cause of the web.  He is also the material cause because he uses his own saliva to manufacture the thread for the web and does not use any external ingredients.  This example has some dissimilarities, but it serves its purpose.  A spider needs to eat insects to survive and to produce saliva which he uses to produce the web, whereas the Lord does not need anything external for His survival.  The spider builds a web to trap insects for his sustenance, but the Lord has no such purpose in creating the universe.  Still the comparison of the Lord with a spider serves its purpose.  In the same way, the example of the actor used to explain how various forms of the Lord exist in one form is perfectly suitable.

          Çréla Jéva Gosvämé then cites a verse Lord Brahmä spoke (S.B. 3.9.11) to show that while the Lord has many forms in one, He reveals the one that His devotee desires to see.  Or the meaning is that He has only one form but appears different to different devotees. This does not mean however, that one can meditate on any concocted form.  This is the meaning of çruta-ékñita-patha.  Çruta means heard about the Lord from an authorized source, the Vedas, specifically about His forms.  The significance of the word iksita (seen) is that one should see the form of the Lord through the ears.  This will purify the heart and give the qualification to see Lord's form. As stated by Suta Gosvämé (S.B. 1.2.17): 

          "Çré Kåñëa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramätmä [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted."

          Kathä, or pastimes, are always related to form.  Hearing makes the devotee qualified and attracts the Lord to take His seat on the pure lotus-like heart of His devotee.  The Lord appears in whatever form the devotee meditates on (vibhävyanti).

          This verse (3.9.11) does not promote anthropomorphism, which is to attribute a human form like one's own to the Lord. It also does not promote zoomorphism, the attribution of animal forms to God. Because some of the forms of the Lord have an animal shape like Varähävatära and others like Räma and Kåñëa are humans and appear like Indian in their dress and behaviour, some modern scholars propose the above two isms.The verse directs one to meditate on a particular form described in the Vedas. 

          But if the Lord is independent, why does He appear in such a form?  The verse says sadanugrahäya--to bless His devotees.  The Lord is controlled by the love of His devotees.  The word nätha (master or husband) is important in this verse.  The devotees control the Lord just as a chaste wife controls her husband (S.B. 9.4.66):

          "As chaste women bring their gentle husbands under control by service, the pure devotees, who are equal to everyone and completely attached to Me in the core of their heart, bring Me under their full control."

          Kardama Muni says that only those forms pleasing to the devotees are suitable forms of the Lord.  Other forms have no purpose as the Lord is never alone.  This means He manifests only those forms that are pleasing to His devotees.  In fact the relative importance of a particular avatära is determined by the greatness of His associates--parikara vaiçiñtyädävirbhäva-vaiçiñtyam.  One of the super-excellent characteristics of Lord Kåñëa, which distinguishes Him from all other forms of God‚ is that He has unsurpassed loving relationships with His devotees prema-mädhuré.

          This implies that the Lord's form is not material because no devotee wants to worship a material form.  Thus He is called arüpiëaù, without form, meaning He who has no material form.  While commenting on Çrémad Bhägavatam 3.24.31 Çréla Visvanätha Cakravartipäda makes this important point.  He says that although the neophytes on the path of spiritual life meditate on the universal form,--viräö-rüpa, it is not the Lord's own form, because it is material and not the ultimate goal of attainment even for those who meditate upon it.  This type of meditation is only recommended for beginners for the purpose of purifying the mind of material contamination.

          Some forms of the Lord are not His real forms, like those shown to King Rantideva.  Rantideva was very generous by nature and was even free from the desire to collect items for daily maintenance.  Once he did not take food or water for forty-eight days and his family members were famished.  By the divine will they received food on the forty-ninth day, but just as they were about to eat, a brähmaëa guest arrived.  Rantideva saw Lord Hari in everyone thus he treated the guest as if he were god and offered him food.  He then divided the remnants among his family members.  Suddenly a çüdra guest appeared and Rantideva also offered him some food.  Yet another guest came accompanied by dogs.  They were given all that remained.  The little water that was left, Rantideva divided among his family members.  Before they could drink it, however, an outcast approached them begging for water.  Seeing the outcast suffering from thirst the compassionate King offered the water to him. 

          In reality all these guests were created by the Lord's Mäyä to test Rantideva's fortitude.  They were in a sense forms of the Lord; but these forms, the çüdra, caëòäla, dogs, and so on, are not His own forms and thus are not the worshipable forms of the Lord.

          This is the answer to the word qua, or where does the Lord manifest a particular form?.  The answer is that it depends on His devotees.  Bhagavän means the Lord who has inconceivable powers by which He manifests a particular form.  This is the answer to katham or how does He manifest these forms. Parätman means that the Lord has unlimited forms and thus unlimited incarnations.  This is answer to kati or how  many forms and incarnations He has. Yogeçvara means the master of internal potency called Yogamäyä. By this potency all forms  of the Lord exist in His one prime form as Kåñëa. Mäyä also means mercy. By Lord's mercy, depending on the maturity of a devotee's sädhanä, the Lord manifests a particular form.  This is the answer to kadä or when does Lord manifest a form.

          In this way by raising four queries Lord Brahmä himself has supplied answers in the four addresses. The essence is that all forms exist simultaneously in one form. Brahmä gives his conclusion in the next verse which is discussed in the following Text.