aham evāsam evāgre
nānyad yat sad-asat-param
paścād ahaḿ yad etac ca
yo 'vaśiṣyeta so 'smy aha
 
TRANSLATION

Prior to the cosmic creation, only I exist, and no phenomena exist, either gross, subtle or primordial. After creation, only I exist in everything, and after annihilation only I remain eternally.
 

PURPORT
 

"The word yat refers to Brahman, the impersonal effulgence of the Lord. In the Brahma-samhitā (5.40) it is said, tad brahma niskalam anantam aśesa-bhūtam: the Brahman effulgence expands unlimitedly. Just as the sun is a localized planet with the sunshine expanding unlimitedly from that source, so the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead with His effulgence of energy, Brahman, expanding unlimitedly. From that Brahman energy the creation appears, just as a cloud appears in sunshine. From the cloud comes rain, from the rain comes vegetation, and from the vegetation come fruits and flowers, which are the basis of subsistence for many other forms of life. Similarly, the effulgent bodily luster of the Supreme Lord is the cause of the creation of infinite universes. The Brahman effulgence is impersonal, but the cause of that energy is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. From Him, in His abode, the Vaikunthas, this brahmajyoti emanates. He is never impersonal. Since they cannot understand the source of the Brahman energy, they mistakenly choose to think this impersonal Brahman the ultimate or absolute goal. But as stated in the Upanisads, one has to penetrate the impersonal effulgence to see the face of the Supreme Lord. If one desires to reach the source of the sunshine, he has to travel through the sunshine to reach the sun and then meet the predominating deity there. The Absolute Truth is the Supreme Person, Bhagavān, as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains.
 

Lecture -
 

In Caitanya Caritāmrita by Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami and with the most merciful purports by the previous acharyas which have been synthesized and illuminated upon by His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Srila Prabhupada, we are given entrance into the divine lila of Sri Gauranga Maharprabhu. We find that Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami begins Caitanya Caritāmrita by describing in essence the most important philosophical principles which are a preliminary pre-requisite to understanding in truth the lila of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu.
 

Many people are very fond of hearing the beautiful pastimes of Krishna and beautiful pastimes of Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But we do not really understand, what is the deep significance of these pastimes and also when they hear, their hearts are plagued with misconceptions in regards to what is the Absolute Truth and how to understand the Absolute Truth? Therefore these very very basic principles of Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy are being quite lucidly explained before we enter into the actual lila of Sri Caitanya. In this way, we will have a prepared heart and a prepared mind to hear with the proper state of consciousness. First of all Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami is describing the importance of guru, the nature of guru. Unless we hear from the lips of a bonafide spiritual master, understand who is a bonafide spiritual master, understand what our relationship with him is, how possibly can we understand the Truth which can only be revealed through such a bonafide guru to this world and to our lives.
 
 
Here also it is being described the actual position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His three primary aspects as realized by liberated souls.
vadanti tat tattva-vidas: tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate
 

This non-dual Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, is understood in three features as Brahman, as Paramatma and as Bhagavan. Now how to understand how these principles relate to one another is the full knowledge of the Absolute Truth.
 

Especially in this land of India, because of the very very prominent rise of impersonalism, people are under the condition that you are God, I’m God and everything is God, that ultimately God is formless, that ultimately God is Brahman, everything is coming from that Brahman and all differentiation, all variety are only a temporary manifestation of maya and that liberation means to cease activities, to cease thoughts, to cease the misconception of Personality and variegatedness and enter into that brilliant effulgence of the Brahmajyothi. This is the path of the jnanis. They are striving to understand what is Brahman. Now off course we accept according to sastra that this realization of Brahman, is the understanding of the eternal aspect of the Absolute Truth.
 
 
Sat, Cit, Ananda. Sat is represented by Brahman realization. Cit by Paramatma realization and Ananda by Bhagavan realization. Sat means eternality. Brahman, is that feature of the Lord beyond the temporary material existence. Why is there suffering in this world? Dukhalayam Ashasvatam. Because, everything in this world is temporary. Therefore liberation or mukthi means to come beyond the temporary condition of this world. Why do we suffer? Because, everything has a beginning and an end.
ye hi samsparsha-ja bhoga duhkha-yonaya eva te
ady-antavantah kaunteya na tesu ramate budhah
 

An intelligent person does no delight in the pleasure of the senses because he knows that they have a beginning and an end. Dukhalayam Ashasvatam. Ashasvatam means temporary. The temporary condition of our life is the cause of all our miseries. janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi. Due to the temporary nature of this existence, we have to get old, we have to get diseased, we have to die and we have to take another birth. These are the miseries. So to come out of misery means to transcend the temporary condition of life of this world and enter into the eternal. Eternality, there can be no suffering. Mukthi means liberation from the temporary and entrance into the divine eternal energy of God. Therefore this is one of the very, very great forms of liberation that is available by the mercy of Sri Krishna. Sat means the eternal aspect of God, Cit means Knowledge. Who is the source of all knowledge? Krishna says in Gita:
vedaham samatitani vartamanani carjuna bhavisyani ca bhutani mam tu veda na kascana. I know everything, past, present and future. I know all living beings.
Sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistho mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
 
 
Krishna says, I’m seated within the heart as Paramatma and I’m the source of all knowledge, remembrance and forgetfulness. The Paramatma, is the reservoir of all knowledge. Therefore, the yogi’s, they aspire to enter into the Cit potency of the Lord by realization of the Paramatma, the Lord in the heart. Ananda, means the supreme infinite bliss of the soul. Bhagavan, or the Personality of Godhead is that feature of Godhead which is the source of all bliss. Because, by entering into the divine lila of the Lord, we can enjoy the eternal Ananda, the eternal bliss which is the inherent nature of the soul. Therefore Brahman realization, we accept as a partial realization of Absolute Truth. To realize Paramatma means also the inclusion of Brahman. But to realize Bhagavan, is the full manifestation of the realization of Krishna, because it includes Sat, Cit, Ananda. Just as the example is given of the sun, the sun has rays, the rays are the energy which are all pervading everywhere, the source of all light. Everything is resting within the sun rays. But the source of the sun rays is the sun planet. If you understand the sun planet, automatically you understand the sun rays. But within the sun planet is the sun God, Surya. To understand Him, means to understand the planet as well as the rays. But you can have a personal relationship with Him and that personal relationship is the source of joy and bliss. Sat means mukthi or eternal liberation or pure being. Cit means knowledge, but Ananda means love. The nature of every living being is to seek love. Therefore it is explained by Prabodhananda Saraswati,
kaivalyam narakayate
 

That even if one attains the realization of Brahman, because of the nature of the soul is to seek love and there is no loving relationship in that realization of the Lord, that living being must again, sooner or later fall down into this material world, looking for some loving relationship. The Brahmavadis are those bonafide transcendentalists, who are seeking this particular realization of the Absolute Truth. Bhakta’s even in the impersonal aspect of the Lord, the Bhaktas, they see the Personality of Godhead because they understand how this effulgence is coming from the Personal form of Sri Krishna. As it is described in Sri Isopanisad,
 
 
hiraṇmayena pātreṇa
satyasyāpihitaḿ mukham
tat tvaḿ pūṣann apāvṛṇu
satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye
 

“O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.”
 
A devotee of the Lord, knows that the source of this brilliant effulgence of Brahman is the Personality of Godhead. Therefore this material nature which is made up of 24 elements, a devotee wants to transcend this. He wants to pierce through these material coverings and within this entire creation, this entire creation, I should say is all resting within the Brahma jyothi or the spiritual sky. It is described that, Sri Krishna is living in Goloka and Sri Narayana is living in Vaikuntha. From the personal rays of His body, the entire planet of Vaikuntha is illuminated and from that planet of Vaikuntha the Brahma jyothi is spreading in all directions, everywhere. It is a spiritual light, not like the light of this world where the further you go from this world the dimmer it becomes. But in spiritual light, everything, everywhere, the light in of itself, everyway is full of the divine energy of Godhead. The entire spiritual sky, all Vaikuntha planets, with the various forms of Narayan, are resting within the spiritual sky or Brahmajyothi.
 
 
There is a Vaikuntha planet for the devotees of Rama, for the devotees of Varaha, for the devotees of Narasinghadeva, for the devotees of Narayana. Every form of God, if you worship that form in this world, and become a pure devotee, you can gain entrance into that particular Vaikuntha planet with that particular manifestation of Narayana existing eternally and you can have eternal relationship with Him. So there are innumerable Vaikuntha planets, eternal spiritual worlds all resting within the spiritual sky. The spiritual sky has no beginning and no end. It is described, when the Supreme Lord decides to create this material existence, as a facility for the living beings to enjoy apart Him, within the spiritual sky comes a cloud called the Maha Tattva. Within this Maha Tattva or cloud all the material ingredients are ingrained. It is described, the Karanodaksayi Visnu, Maha Vishnu, He lies within this Maha Tattva and by His glance He impregnates within this Maha Tattva, all life in all living beings in all jivatmas that are meant to take birth within the cosmic creation. To liberate ourselves from the temporary sufferings of this world we must pierce through the 24 elements which compose the material creation within this Maha Tattva. We must transcend the Maha Tattva and enter into the Brahma Jyothi, which is the spiritual sky on which it is resting and for the jyanis this is the Supreme goal of life. But for the devotees, for the Bhaktas, he wants to enter into that Spiritual planet or Vaikuntha which is the source of Maha Tattva and Brahma jyothi and we want to enter into a personal loving relationship with Bhagavan Sri Krishna! So therefore through Bhakthi only Krishna says,
 
 
Bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yaseasmi tattvatah
 

Only through Bhakthi, can one understand Me as I am. It is that Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, who in Sri Brahma Samhita, Lord Brahma explains, from whose body, the whole Brahma jyothi is emanating that cause of all causes, Sarva Karana Karanam, He comes to this world, to reveal Himself, to us in His original, personal form. That is the true greatness of God. That is the Supreme mercy of God. In one sense, Krishna is Vibhu, He is infinite and the jivatma is anu, which means quantitatively we are finite. How is it possible for the finite to know the Infinite? The impersonal philosophers, they explain, that if the finite could know the Infinite, that would mean that the finite must be Infinite. Does that make sense? That means if we are infinite, that means we are vibhu, that means we are God. We are not just a part, if we are infinite. But the bhaktas have another way of looking at it, which is a higher principle. If the Infinite, could not make Himself known to the finite, How would not be Infinite. Do you understand? Because, this argument may come upon you. You say you can know God and God is Infinite and you say that you are anu, finite. How is it possible? Now we are finite, because we don’t know God. But if we can know the Infinite, that makes us infinite, means, we are God. So what is your reply? Do you have an argument for that? If you don’t then the eternal principle of loving service to the Lord is defeated.
 
 
jivera swarupa hoy krsnera nitya dasa
 

Therefore this is the reply, you must give. That if the Infinite cannot make Himself known to the finite, He is not Infinite. This is the difference between the ascending process and the descending process. The ascending process, is through our tapasya, through our knowledge of veda, through our sadhana, that we are going to obtain a supreme position of knowledge of God. But the descending process of bhakthi is that, God is great, He is unlimited, He is inconceivable, He is all merciful and by pleasing Him, He makes Himself known to us, by His causeless mercy.
bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma
 

Krishna says, after many births and deaths, after one finally comes to the point of knowledge, one surrender to Vasudev, the Personality of Godhead. Knowing Me to be the causes of all causes and all that is. Is there any questions in this regard?
 
Devotee: We perceive Him to be Infinite because He makes Himself understood to the finite.
 
Maharaja: Yes
 
Devotee: That is why He is Infinite?
 

Maharaja: And the Supreme Infinite Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan, Sri Krishna, by His causeless mercy, enters into this material world and appears just like an ordinary human being to many, but He reveals His Divine pastimes just to attract our minds back to that land of Infinite, that land of love, Goloka.
Maharaja: Now some people they claim, Krishna is an incarnation of Visnu. So what do you say to that?
 
Devotee: The Bhagavatam says, krishnas tu bhagavan svayam. All Others, are either incarnations or plenary portions of portions of the plenary portions.
 
Maharaja: So according to Bhagavatam,
ete camsa-kalah pumsah krishnas tu bhagavan svayam
That means that Krishna appears, the Supreme Absolute Truth appears in so many forms and we have just described what Vedavyasa says, so many of the principle incarnations, but of all of them, Krishna is the source of all. He is the origin. But still we see that so many bonafide vaisnava acharyas say, that Krishna is the incarnation of Visnu. Ramanuja says that, Madhava says that. Are they wrong?
 
Devotee: In one sense they are not wrong, because in one sense Krishna appears as an incarnation of Visnu and at the same time Visnu is a part of Krishna.
 
Maharaj: We see any of the incarnations that come into this world, they are incarnation of Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. We see that when Krishna, before He advented because of the great atrocities of Kamsa, the demigods approached Lord Brahma appealing to Him to call upon Narayanan to come into this world. They went to the ocean of milk, and their they offered their prayers to Ksirodaksayi Vishnu and Ksirodaksayi Vishnu in the heart of Brahma, explained to him, to tell all the demigods, that Yes, I will fulfill their desire, I will incarnate, I will come as a member of the Yadu dynasty. So Ksirodaksayi Vishnu, Krishna appears as an incarnation of Him. Infact all the incarnations Matsya avatar, Kurma avatar, Parasurama avatar, Varaha avatar, Narasingha avatar, Vamana avatar, Rama avatar, Balarama avatar, Buddha avatar, Kalki avatar, all the incarnations of Godhead, they are all the incarnations of Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. But Krishna, who is the source of Ksirodaksayi Vishnu appears through Him. So therefore, He is an incarnation of Visnu on one level. As far as incarnations go, He and all other incarnations, are incarnations of Visnu. But at the same time He is also the source of Visnu. So they are both correct. So therefore, we have no argument, if someone says Krishna is an incarnation of Visnu. Say, Yes, that is correct. But we also understand from the Bhagavatam, that Visnu is also an expansion of Krishna. Krishna is an incarnation of Visnu, but Visnu is an expansion of Krishna.
 

Devotee: ……….. Brahman is the eternal aspect, but Brahman is also considered as the source of bliss, Brahma-bhuta prasanatma
 

Maharaja: Yes, Krishna says in the Gita, brahmano hi pratisthaham
I’m the source and basis of Brahman, which is the source of great bliss. But if you see, Mukthi, it is blissful compared to Bhukthi, material enjoyment because it is the source of all suffering. Therefore, Rupa Goswami explains, the difference. He says compared even to the greatest pleasures of this world, the most wonderful sex life, the most wonderful aggrandizement, the most wonderful power to control material nature, the pleasures of that, compared to the pleasures of mukthi, which means to experience that I’m eternal, it is like one drop compared to an ocean. Pleasure of Brahman realization is millions and millions of times greater than any pleasures of this world. So compared to material life, it is supremely blissful. Then Rupa Goswami explains, but compared to the bliss of the loving service to Sri Hari in the spiritual world, Goloka, the bliss of mukthi, is like one fraction of a part of a drop, compared to the unlimited ocean. So there are different degrees of bliss. When we are speaking of sat, cit, ananda, the ananda of Bhagavan is the supreme bliss, the supreme spiritual ecstasy, pure love of God.
 
Any other questions? Yes,
Devotee: Its still not clear about how Krishna appears through Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. May be Krishna appears directly, being the only exception. I thought Krishna is the only exception to that. All the other incarnations come from Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. Krishna appears Himself as He is without the medium or via medium of any other form of the Lord.
 
Maharaja: He is not dependent on any other form. Still Krishna is the same Person, but taking different positions. But when Krishna comes in to this world, He follows the etiquette of all other incarnations. You see, they approach Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. They approached Him. Therefore He appeared through the agency of Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. When Ksirodaksayi Vishnu spoke to Brahma, He said, Yes I’ll come. The ocean of milk is the place, which is around the island of Svetadvipa, which is the aboard of Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. They were appealing to Him. Its not He comes through like a child comes through a mother, that He comes through a womb. It means He comes through the agency. They appeal to Him and He responded and said I’ll come. Then He came as Krishna.
 
 
Devotee: Visnu that appeared before Vasudev and Devaki is Ksirodaksayi Vishnu?
 
Maharaja: Yes
 
Devotee: He appeared in four armed form.
 
Maharaja: He appeared first in that form. Then He transformed Himself into Krishna. In one sense, even right before Vasudev’s eyes, he saw that this baby is an incarnation of Visnu. Is it not? In that sense He is an incarnation of Visnu. So we accept. But at the same time where is Ksirodaksayi Vishnu coming from? He is an expansion of Krishna. He is an expansion og Garbodaksayi-Vishnu, who is an expansion of Karanodaksayi Visnu who is an expansion of the catur vyuha, which means Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, who is an incarnation of Narayana, who is the incarnation of the Original Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Vasudeva, who is the incarnation of Balarama, who is an expansion not incarnation, but an expansion of Shyamasundar.
 
govindam âdi-purusham tam aham bhajami, The Original Purusha, Govinda.
 
Devotee: In that sense Balarama is the first expansion of Krishna, and then the catur vyuha.
That Balarama is different from Balarama who incarnates in one of the ten incarnations. Again the same logic?
 
Maharaja: Same Balarama, He is also considered an incarnation of Vishnu, because He is coming through that agency as well. In other words Krishna has established certain principles of the incarnates.
 
Devotee: In the 3 Purusha incarnations after Karanodaksayi Visnu, we say Garbodaksayi-Vishnu, who lies in the Garbha, garbha ocean, that is different from the milk ocean is it?

Maharaja: What does Ksira mean?
 
Devotee: Ksira means, milk and Garbha is different……. That is where Vishnu comes.
With Brahma, in one particular universe, apart from him, Garbodaksayi-Vishnu incarnates another Vishnu in a separate ocean?
 
Maharaja: Within Svetadvipa, there is the residence of Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. But it is explained that the same Ksirodaksayi Vishnu enters in to the heart of all living beings and in between there will be vaccum…..
 
Devotee: In Bhagavad Gita, ………….
 
Maharaja: Ksirodaksayi Vishnu, all the Vishnus are the same Person. They are all the sources of Brahma,…….. literal expansion of Brahma…….
Atmabhu, means Brahma is born without a mother, directly from Narayana.
 
Devotee: …Trying to understand, the impersonal philosophy is to attain the Brahmajyothi. That is there main goal as such and we say that there we cannot attain that lasting peace…because loving relationship is not there. Why are people getting more attracted to impersonalistic philosophy when there is no lasting peace?
 
Maharaja: It may last, but hundreds or quadrillions of years. You are in a frame work that is beyond time. Brahmajyothi is beyond time. In one sense it is eternal and everlasting but one minute in eternity is eternity. There is no time in Brahmajyothi. It is very inconceivable to try to understand. But sometime or other even within a realm of where there is no time that natural propensity of the soul to love, to reciprocate will awaken. In that condition if one has consciousness of Vaikuntha and Narayana, the soul will go there. It could go from Brahmajyothi to Narayana, but if you had not cultivated that awareness then you will be simply looking for that loving reciprocation in this material world.
 
Devotee: Is it true that from Vaikuntha we cannot go directly to Krishnaloka?
 
Maharaja: In Vaikuntha, if you have the desire to enjoy, not to enjoy but to be enjoyed by Krishna in a spontaneous rasa then you will be transferred to Goloka. Vaikuntha is cintamani dham. Whatever you desire will be fulfilled. But in Vaikuntha, people like Hanumanji in Ayodhya, there is a planet of Ayodhya in Vaikuntha, does not want to be a friend of Krishna. Simply wants to serve. Vaikuntha, all the residents there are simply ecstatically immersed in total satisfaction, loving Krishna, as His eternal servant.
 
Devotee: Is it that theoretically, one can go from Brahmajyothi to Vaikuntha, but actually what is happening is most of the souls are falling down?
 
Maharaja: But the difference is in Vaikuntha, your heart is full of desires to please Krishna. Brahmajyothi, all of your personal attributes are in an unmanifested state, including all of your desires are in an unmanifested state. Eventually that desire has to come into your heart. That desire for love. Wherever you go. If haven’t developed that Krishna Consciousness, then you will again come to the world to try to find some love.
 
Devotee: You don’t have a spiritual body in the Brahmajyothi state?
 
Maharaja: Brahmajyothi, you have no body.
 
Devotee: Only soul?
 
Maharaja: Soul is there. The soul has an eternal spiritual body, even right now. But it is in an undeveloped and in an unmanifested state. In the Brahmajyothi you remain as a spark. If the sunshine is full of rays, Brahmajyothi is full of rays. Each Jivatma is a ray in Brahmajyothi.
 
Devotee: is there preaching there also for bringing the souls to Krishna?
 
Maharaja: I just said there is no personality, there is no consciousness of personality. There is no talking, there is no walking, there is no thinking. They are simply existing. You do nothing but exist.
 
Devotee: whatever degree they desire to change and then they transfer themselves to Vaikuntha or fall down?
 
Maharaja: Yes. So these things are very important that we should understand and this is a good opportunity that we could very very thoroughly understand, comprehend all the basic principles of Krishna Conscious philosophy. Then by the time we get to the mood of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we will be very well prepared. Slowly but surely read the Adi Lila of Sri Caintanya Caritamrta. Consider that…. I hope it’s not too much an austerity for all of you.
 
Devotee: is there any process in Krishna Consciousness by which we can understand a person dies in the material world he has a rebirth or he has gone to Vaikuntha or gone to Goloka?
 
Maharaja: By the quality of the peron’s life, you can understand, where Krishna has taken him. If a person is surrendered to Lord Narayana, then know he is gone to Vaikuntha. If a person has truly surrendered his heart and life to Krishna, you can know he is gone to Goloka. If a person is struggling in this material world, trying to be Krishna Conscious, you know he is going to take another birth as a devotee and continue where he left off. If a person is sinful, you can know he is probably cast into some suffering species of life. We are not so concerned of these things.