Vaisnava-siddhanta-mala -1

by Srila Thakura Bhaktivinoda
QUESTION: Who is Bhagavan, the Supreme Perrsonality of Godhead?
ANSWER: Bhagavan is the one supreme being Who expands all souls and all matter by His inconceivable energy (acintya-çakti), and then enters into these emanations as the Supreme Lord (éçvara-svarüpa). He also transcends all souls and matter as the impersonal brahman effulgence (brahma-svarüpa), which is far beyond all imagination. He manifests His divine potency (para-sakti) to reveal His form of eternity, knowledge and bliss (sac-cid-ananda-svarüpa), thereby becoming the object of devotion for all souls.

QUESTION: What are the various types of saktis (potencies) of the Lord?
ANSWER: We are unable to fully describe the Lord's potencies. The reason for this is that while His sakti has no boundaries, we have boundaries. Therefore His energies are called para (above), because His sakti is completely imperceptible to us. Above the veil of matter, in the divine realm of His para-sakti, all things are accomplished effortlessly. The opposing affairs of spirit and matter are conducted by the para-sakti automatically.

QUESTION: Then is Bhagavan subordinate to the sakti?
ANSWER: It's not that Bhagavan is one thing and the sakti is another thing; just as the burning power of fire is inseparable from the fire, so Bhagavan's sakti is similarly inseparable from Bhagavan.

QUESTION: If Bhagavan, God, is the one and only Supreme Truth, then why did Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instruct His followers about devotional service to Sri Krsna (krsna-bhakti)? Isn't Krsna just one aspect of Bhagavan?
ANSWER: Bhagavan has six eternal qualities that make Him all-attractive. He possesses unlimited and ever-expanding wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. Different forms of the Lord (bhagavat-svarüpa) manifest according to whether these qualities are expressed to greater or lesser degrees. For example, when His wealth feature is foremost, the He manifests as Narayana, the Lord of Vaikuntha. When His beauty or sweetness predominates, then Bhagavan manifests as Sri Krsna. The name Krsna means "all-attractive"; therefore Krsna is the topmost supreme manifestation of Bhagavan.

QUESTION: What is Sri Krsna's lila?
ANSWER: Lila means "pastime" or "play". God is the origin of everything, including the playful spirit. In the limitless realm of the spiritual world, the most supremely charming portion is called Sri Vrndavana. There, Sri Krsna displays His conjugal lila with His divine feminine counterpart Sri Radha. When souls attain their own forms of divine bliss, they become qualified to participate in Radha and Krsna's eternal loving pastimes.

QUESTION: What are the obstacles to the attainment of Sri Krsna lila?
ANSWER: There are two types of obstacles: 1) material consciousness (jada-buddhi) and 2) impersonal consciousness (nivisesa buddhi), which is beyond the conception of material consciousness.