JD 4 Segment 030: Chapter 4, “Bhagavan Has a Form. Since Form is Limited by Spatial Considerations, How can Bhagavan be the Resting Place of the Limitless and All-pervading Brahman? How Can Sri Krishna’s Form be Eternal, Since He Takes Birth, Performs Activities, and Gives up His Body?”

Bhagavan Has a Form. Since Form is Limited by Spatial Considerations, How can Bhagavan be the Resting Place of the Limitless and All-pervading Brahman? How Can Sri Krishna’s Form be Eternal, Since He Takes Birth, Performs Activities, and Gives up His Body?

In the material world, the entity known as the cosmos is also limitless; why should Brahman be considered more important, merely because it is limitless? Bhagavan is also limitless, by virtue of the potency manifested from the effulgence of His limbs. At the same time, He possesses His own transcendental form. Can any other entity compare with this?

It is because of this unparalleled nature that Bhagavan is superior to the principle of brahma. His transcendental form is supremely attractive, and that selfsame form is fully and completely all-pervasive, omniscient, omnipotent, unlimitedly merciful, and supremely blissful. Which is superior—a form such as this, which is endowed with all qualities, or an obscure, all-pervading existence, which is devoid of qualities and potencies. In reality, brahma is only a partial, impersonal manifestation of Bhagavan. The impersonal and personal features both exist simultaneously and in perfect harmony in Bhagavan.

Brahman is only one aspect of Bhagavan. Those whose spiritual intelligence is limited, are attracted to the feature of the Supreme that is devoid of qualities, and is formless, immutable, unknowable, and immeasurable.

However, those who are all seeing have no attraction for anything other than the complete Absolute Truth.

Vaisnavas have no significant faith in Sri Hari’s formless, impersonal feature, for it is opposed to their eternal function and unalloyed prema. Bhagavan Sri Krishna-candra is the basis of both the personal and impersonal features. He is an ocean of supreme transcendental bliss and He attracts all pure jivas.

Sri Krishna’s form is sac-cid-ananda—ever existing, full of knowledge, and completely blissful. His birth, activities, and leaving the body have no connection with mundane matter. Then why have such descriptions been given in Mahabharata and other scriptures? The eternal truth defies description, for it is beyond words. The pure soul in his spiritual aspect sees the transcendental form and pastimes of Sri Krishna, but when he describes that supreme reality in words, it appears just like worldly mundane history. Those who are eligible to extract the essence from scriptures such as the Mahabharata experience Krishna’s pastimes as they are. However, when people of mundane intelligence hear these descriptions, they interpret them in different ways.