Page 28 - Sri Canakya Niti
P. 28
1.1 Śrī Cāṇakya-nīti
Regarding worship of Lord Viṣṇu as transcendent to this material
world, Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the following quote in the introduction
to the eleventh chapter of the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
If one is a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord
Viṣṇu, and depends on Lord Viṣṇu in every respect, then victory,
opulence and peace of mind are all inevitably available. Such a
person has nothing for which to aspire in the three worlds. The
Supreme Lord is so kind that He especially favors such a devotee
by not giving him opulence that will hamper his devotional service.
Therefore I wish to give up everything for the service of the Lord.
I wish always to chant the glories of the Lord and engage in His
service. Let me become unattached to my worldly family and make
friendships with the devotees of the Lord. I do not desire to be
promoted to the higher planetary systems, even to Dhruvaloka or
Brahmaloka, nor do I desire an unconquerable position within this
material world. I have no need for such things.
Lord Viṣṇu is a four-armed expansion—or plenary portion—of
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa
is identified as the Supreme Lord throughout the Vedic literature, as
confi rmed by Śrīla Vyāsadeva in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.28):
et e cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions
or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is
the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets
whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord
incarnates to protect the theists.
Significantly, the Sanskrit word tu (but) lends important emphasis as
in, “But—out of all other incarnations and forms of the Lord—Śrī
Kṛṣṇa is the self-sufficient Supreme Lord.”
Lord Brahmā, the creator demigod (who is born from a lotus springing
from the navel of Lord Viṣṇu), sings in his Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā:
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