kṛṣṇam enam avehi tvam
ÄtmÄnam akhilÄtmanÄm
jagad-dhitÄya so 'py atra
dehÄ«vÄbhÄti mÄyayÄ

 kṛṣṇam - in the Supreme Personality of Godhead; enam - this; avehi - just try to understand; tvam - you; ÄtmÄnam - the soul; akhila-ÄtmanÄm - of all living entities; jagat-hitÄya - the benefit of the whole universe; saḥ - He; api - certainly; atra - here; dehÄ« - a human being; iva - like; ÄbhÄti - appears; mÄyayÄ - by His internal potency.


Text

“ ‘You should know Kṛṣṇa to be the original soul of all ÄtmÄs [living entities]. For the benefit of the whole universe, He has, out of His causeless mercy, appeared as an ordinary human being. He has done this by the strength of His own internal potency.’

Purport

This is a quotation from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (10.14.55). ParÄ«ká¹£it MahÄrÄja asked Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« why Kṛṣṇa was so beloved by the residents of Vá¹›ndÄvana, who loved Him even more than their own offspring or life itself. At that time Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« replied that everyone’s ÄtmÄ, or soul, is very, very dear, especially to all living entities who have accepted material bodies. But that ÄtmÄ, the spirit soul, is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. For this reason, Kṛṣṇa is very dear to every living entity. Everyone’s body is very dear to oneself, and one wants to protect the body by all means because within the body the soul is living. Due to the intimate relationship between the soul and the body, the body is important and dear to everyone. Similarly, the soul, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, is very, very dear to all living entities. Unfortunately, the soul forgets his constitutional position and thinks he is only the body (deha-Ätma-buddhi). Thus the soul is subjected to the rules and regulations of material nature. When a living entity, by his intelligence, reawakens his attraction for Kṛṣṇa, he can understand that he is not the body but part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Thus filled with knowledge, he no longer labors under attachment to the body and everything related to the body. Janasya moho ’yam ahaá¹ mameti. Material existence, wherein one thinks, “I am the body, and this belongs to me,†is also illusory. One must redirect his attraction to Kṛṣṇa. ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (1.2.7) states:

vÄsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ
janayaty ÄÅ›u vairÄgyaá¹ jñÄnaá¹ ca yad ahaitukam

“By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.â€