Two Situations To Help Understand Krishna’s Potencies

“While Vasudeva was carrying his son Krishna in the falling rain, Lord Shesha in the shape of a serpent spread His hood over the head of Vasudeva so that he would not be hampered by the rainfall. Vasudeva came onto the bank of the Yamuna and saw that the water of the Yamuna was roaring with waves and that the whole span was full of foam. Still, in that furious feature, the river gave passage to Vasudeva to cross, just as the great Indian Ocean gave a path to Lord Rama when He was bridging over the gulf.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 3)

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His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada juxtaposes these two extreme situations in order to highlight the greatness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shri Krishna. In order to conduct a proper assessment, every side of ability needs to be considered.

1. He is carrying the whole planetary system as Sankarshana

This is the explanation for gravity. Kudos to the scientific community for discovering this law of nature. Though Newton thoughtfully came upon the idea through studying the effect of an apple falling from a tree, that aspect of nature has been around since before anyone can remember. In other words, more amazing than the scientist making the discovery is the person or force responsible for the law of science to begin with.

यथा फलानां पक्वानां नान्यत्र पतनाद्भयम्।
एवं नरस्य जातस्य नान्यत्र मरणाद्भयम्।।

yathā phalānāṃ pakvānāṃ nānyatra patanādbhayam।
evaṃ narasya jātasya nānyatra maraṇādbhayam।।

“As a ripe fruit has no other fear than to fall, so a man who is born has no other fear than death.” (Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 105.17)

Sankarshana is an expansion of the Supreme Lord, who is singular. It is the same God for everyone, though He may not be known to the same degree of certainty within each region. Sankarshana holds the entire universe up. Nothing could be more amazing than this.

There is no fatigue. The planets have been there since before anyone can remember and they will remain so into the foreseeable future. Man can try their best to give a different attribution, to say that someone or something else is responsible, but they will never supplant the actual truth.

2. He agrees to be carried by His devotees, as small as a devotee can carry Him

Though He is larger than the largest, Krishna can also become smaller than the smallest. He sometimes does this to facilitate the desire of the devotee, the person who wants to serve Him with love. It is not possible for me to find enough cloth to properly dress Krishna. All the fabric in the world would not be sufficient.

Yet I can accomplish the same through the deity in the temple. The saguna form, the replica crafted for the purpose of worship - I can get an idea of Krishna’s features through this statue. It will hear my prayers, accept my food offerings and wear the clothes I put on it. The experience is actually no different than connecting with Sankarshana directly, except I fail to make the equivalence.

There is the incident of baby Krishna being carried across the raging Yamuna River in the middle of the night by the father, Vasudeva. This can only be possible if Krishna agrees to become small. He retains full potency in that diminutive stature, and simultaneously Vasudeva has the chance to offer service in His preferred mood, that of a protective father.

This means that no one is prohibited from devotional service. Appreciate in awe and reverence through the greatness of material nature or come close to Him through the loving exchanges available with the two-handed, all-attractive Krishna feature, which is the original. Use the conduit of sound and be forever benefitted: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

Higher consciousness found,
Through conduit of sound.

Sacred mantra repeating,
Ignorance and despair defeating.

Despite entire universe upholding,
As small child to father unfolding.

Amazing journey against nature’s fight,
Vasudeva success through stormy night.