Å›rÄ«-devaky uvÄca
rÅ«paá¹ yat tat prÄhur avyaktam Ädyaá¹
brahma jyotir nirguṇaá¹ nirvikÄram
sattÄ-mÄtraá¹ nirviÅ›eá¹£aá¹ nirÄ«haá¹
sa tvaá¹ sÄká¹£Äd viṣṇur adhyÄtma-dÄ«paḥ
Å›rÄ«-devakÄ« uvÄca - ÅšrÄ« DevakÄ« said; rÅ«pam - form or substance; yat tat - because You are the same substance; prÄhuḥ - You are sometimes called; avyaktam - not perceivable by the material senses (ataḥ Å›rÄ«-kṛṣṇa-nÄmÄdi na bhaved grÄhyam indriyaiḥ); Ädyam - You are the original cause; brahma - You are known as Brahman; jyotiḥ - light; nirguṇam - without material qualities; nirvikÄram - without change, the same form of Viṣṇu perpetually; sattÄ-mÄtram - the original substance, the cause of everything; nirviÅ›eá¹£am - You are present everywhere as the Supersoul (within the heart of a human being and within the heart of an animal, the same substance is present); nirÄ«ham - without material desires; saḥ - that Supreme Person; tvam - Your Lordship; sÄká¹£Ät - directly; viṣṇuḥ - Lord Viṣṇu; adhyÄtma-dÄ«paḥ - the light for all transcendental knowledge (knowing You, one knows everything: yasmin vijñÄte sarvam evaá¹ vijñÄtaá¹ bhavati).
ÅšrÄ« DevakÄ« said: My dear Lord, there are different Vedas, some of which describe You as unperceivable through words and the mind. Yet You are the origin of the entire cosmic manifestation. You are Brahman, the greatest of everything, full of effulgence like the sun. You have no material cause, You are free from change and deviation, and You have no material desires. Thus the Vedas say that You are the substance. Therefore, my Lord, You are directly the origin of all Vedic statements, and by understanding You, one gradually understands everything. You are different from the light of Brahman and ParamÄtmÄ, yet You are not different from them. Everything emanates from You. Indeed, You are the cause of all causes, Lord Viṣṇu, the light of all transcendental knowledge.
Viṣṇu is the origin of everything, and there is no difference between Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Kṛṣṇa because both of Them are viṣṇu-tattva. From the Ṛg Veda we understand, oá¹ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaá¹ padam: the original substance is the all-pervading Lord Viṣṇu, who is also ParamÄtmÄ and the effulgent Brahman. The living entities are also part and parcel of Viṣṇu, who has various energies (parÄsya Å›aktir vividhaiva Å›rÅ«yate svÄbhÄvikÄ« jñÄna-bala-kriyÄ ca). Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, is therefore everything. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (10.8), ahaá¹ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaá¹ pravartate: “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me.†Kṛṣṇa, therefore, is the original cause of everything (sarva-kÄraṇa-kÄraṇam). When Viṣṇu expands in His all-pervading aspect, we should understand Him to be the nirÄkÄra-nirviÅ›eá¹£a-brahmajyoti.
Although everything emanates from Kṛṣṇa, He is ultimately a person. Aham Ädir hi devÄnÄm: He is the origin of BrahmÄ, Viṣṇu and MaheÅ›vara, and from them many other demigods are manifested. Kṛṣṇa therefore says in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (14.27), brahmaṇo hi pratiá¹£á¹hÄham; “Brahman rests upon Me.†The Lord also says:
ye ’py anya-devatÄ-bhaktÄ
yajante Å›raddhayÄnvitÄḥ
te ’pi mÄm eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
“Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of KuntÄ«, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without true understanding.†(Bg. 9.23) There are many persons who worship different demigods, considering all of them to be separate gods, which in fact they are not. The fact is that every demigod, and every living entity, is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa (mamaivÄá¹Å›o jÄ«va-loke jÄ«va-bhÅ«taḥ). The demigods are also in the category of living entities; they are not separate gods. But men whose knowledge is immature and contaminated by the modes of material nature worship various demigods, according to their intelligence. Therefore they are rebuked in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (kÄmais tais tair há¹›ta-jñÄnÄḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatÄḥ). Because they are unintelligent and not very advanced and have not properly considered the truth, they take to the worship of various demigods or speculate according to various philosophies, such as the MÄyÄvÄda philosophy.
Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu, is the actual origin of everything. As stated in the Vedas, yasya bhÄá¹£Ä sarvam idaá¹ vibhÄti. The Absolute Truth is described later in the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (10.28.15) as satyaá¹ jñÄnam anantam yad brahma-jyotiḥ sanÄtanam. The brahmajyoti is sanÄtana, eternal, yet it is dependent on Kṛṣṇa (brahmaṇo hi pratiá¹£á¹hÄham). The Brahma-saá¹hitÄ states that the Lord is all-pervading. Aṇá¸Äntara-stha-paramÄṇu-cayÄntara-stham: He is within this universe, and He is within the atom as ParamÄtmÄ. Yasya prabhÄ prabhavato jagad-aṇá¸a-koá¹i-koá¹iá¹£v aÅ›eá¹£a-vasudhÄdi-vibhu-ti-bhinnam: Brahman is also not independent of Him. Therefore whatever a philosopher may describe is ultimately Kṛṣṇa, or Lord Viṣṇu (sarvaá¹ khalv idaá¹ brahma, paraá¹ brahma paraá¹ dhÄma pavitraá¹ paramaá¹ bhavÄn). According to different phases of understanding, Lord Viṣṇu is differently described, but in fact He is the origin of everything.
Because DevakÄ« was an unalloyed devotee, she could understand that the same Lord Viṣṇu had appeared as her son. Therefore, after the prayers of Vasudeva, DevakÄ« offered her prayers. She was very frightened because of her brother’s atrocities. DevakÄ« said, “My dear Lord, Your eternal forms, like NÄrÄyaṇa, Lord RÄma, Åšeá¹£a, VarÄha, Ná¹›siá¹ha, VÄmana, Baladeva, and millions of similar incarnations emanating from Viṣṇu, are described in the Vedic literature as original. You are original because all Your forms as incarnations are outside of this material creation. Your form was existing before this cosmic manifestation was created. Your forms are eternal and all-pervading. They are self-effulgent, changeless and uncontaminated by the material qualities. Such eternal forms are ever-cognizant and full of bliss; they are situated in transcendental goodness and are always engaged in different pastimes. You are not limited to a particular form only; all such transcendental, eternal forms are self-sufficient. I can understand that You are the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu.†We may conclude, therefore, that Lord Viṣṇu is everything, although He is also different from everything. This is the acintya-bhedÄbheda-tattva philosophy.
