Sharanagati

Collected words from talks of Swami Tirtha




visnu2

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 10.01.2014, morning, Sofia)
 
Question of Pavitra: What is the connection between Krishna and Vishnu, and what makes Krishna more special?
Swami Tirtha: Whatever Lord Vishnu has, our Krishna also has that. But Krishna has some extras reserved only for Him. What does it mean: ‘Vishnu’? All-pervading, present everywhere. This is a divine function. So, Vishnu resides in the heart of all living entities in a very special feature. Meanwhile He pervades the whole creation. And He also preserves His original position like a Divine Person. So we can say that all the divine qualities can be found in Lord Vishnu. He is like protector of life, like the divine Sun resplendent in this universe, Surya-Narayan. Light, power of life – everything, all these functions are connected to Him. He is called Bhagavan also – the personality full of divine features like fame, power, knowledge…
Then what is the difference between Vishnu and Krishna? This is blue, that is blue. But there is a difference. Vishnu is usually described with four hands and Krishna – with two hands. Four hands – to show, to remind us that He is divine. Although looks like human – with two legs only – but He’s got four hands, which is beyond human capacities. In the symbolic way four hands mean that He is omnipotent. He is not limited by material body, because He is spiritual all the time. 
Yet Krishna has “only” two hands. Why? Because He wants to mingle with the humans. In His original form Krishna wants to come very close to human beings. He doesn’t want to frighten them with some divine revelations. And actually His original form is very much like that of the humans. Or we can say that the humans are very much according to the divine. “God has created human beings according to His image.”[1] So it is not that humans have an anthropomorphic vision of God, but actually we can say that God has deomorphic vision of humans. He is the starting point. 
But what are the special features of Krishna? One is His flute, venu-madhurya. What is Krishna’s flute? This is the source of sound energy. And usually different gods give certain sounds – like Zeus with his thunders. But our Krishna plays the flute. This is the control that He exercises over the universe. With His flute He is inviting all to His divine embrace. 
Another feature of Krishna is His divine, ultimate beauty – His rupa-madhurya, the beauty of His form. We should understand that Krishna is the most beautiful person. 
And then He has His entourage, His devotees – guna-madhurya. This is another special feature of Krishna – that all the time loving servants are around Him. Lakshmi-sahasra-shata-sambhrama-sevyamanam/ govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami[2] – in His realm hundreds and thousands of lakshmis and gopis serve around Him. So, the beauty of His personal environment is another special feature of Krishna. 
And the fourth special feature of Krishna is His lila-madhurya – His pastimes. These are the special things that no other aspect of the Supreme possesses. This makes the picture complete. Therefore Shrila Shridhara Maharaj says that in the worship of God in general, we have to come to the Krishna concept of God – the all-attractive feature of the Supreme. Because this is the most complete comprehension that we may ever have about this supreme reality. He is purnottama avatar – absolutely, fully complete. Other features of the Supreme have fewer splendors, less divine glory, we can say. And these special features of Krishna attract us very much. Especially the fifth note of His flute. 
 
1. Genesis 5:1-3
2. Brahma Samhita 5.29

 



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