Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy
T
hink you know all about the creation? Which version do you like, the Bible or the Big Bang?
Well I’ve got another one for you.
Back in 1969, I told the Vedic version to a young American man named Harry as we sat around a table at the American Center, a hangout for young people, on Paris’s Left Bank.
Harry started the conversation. “What’s this thing you’re into?” he asked.
So I told him about the creation as the Vedas tell it.
“If what you say is true,” he said, “you’re really into something far out.”
The upshot? Today, fifty-five years later, Harry is one of the leaders of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement. And still going strong.
Wanna hear what I told him? Then let’s get to it.
Lord Vishnu lies on Sesa Naga, the divine serpent, on the Garbha Ocean as Sri Laksmi massages his lotus feet. In the background Sri Brahma sits on the lotus as he finishes the work of creation.
Would you believe that Lord Krishna can make his body so big that our immense universe could flow out from one of his skin pores? And with room to spare?
Why not? What is there that Krishna cannot do? That’s why we call him God.
And just one universe? Try millions and billions and trillions, the others even bigger than ours. And all of them coming out of his pores as easily as specks of dust through an open window.
Devotees know this gigantic form of Krishna as Maha-Vishnu, the Great Lord.
One time, Arjuna, the hero of the Bhagavad-Gita, went with Krishna to visit Maha- Vishnu. They rode in a chariot away from the earth, riding through the black starry sky of outer space, through the layered covering of the universe, into the Brahma Jyoti, the Great White Light. And on from there.
Arjuna and Krishna then came to the Ocean of Cause, where Arjuna saw the beautiful sight of a strong wind raising waves in the Causal water. An extraordinary experience, all by the grace of Krishna.
They continued across the water till they came to a great palace, still on the water. The palace was more radiant than anything Arjuna had ever seen before. Thousands of pillars and columns made of precious jewels created a dazzling light. The unimaginable beauty charmed the mind of Arjuna.
Then Arjuna saw the huge serpent Ananta Sesa (shay-sha), awe-inspiring beyond what any snake, any cobra, of the material world could hope for. He was shining brilliantly, his fearsome eyes reflecting the brilliance of the jewels on his thousands of hoods.
His body, white as the snow on top of Mount Kailash, contrasted gently with his bluish necks and tongues.
Arjuna then saw the omnipresent and omnipotent Supreme Personality of Godhead, Maha-Vishnu, sitting at ease on the soft body of Ananta Sesa, his bluish complexion dark as a new cloud in the rainy season.
But wait. Maha-Vishnu is bigger than all the material universes together. How could Arjuna see his entire body? Yes, but the Supreme Lord can show himself in any size.
Maha-Vishnu’s charming face was smiling beautifully, and his wide, attractive eyes were lovelier than lotus petals. His helmet was adorned with precious jewels, as were the earrings that enhanced the beauty of his curling hair.
He wore beautiful yellow clothes, and his eight arms, long and handsome, reached down to his knees, as did the Vaijayanti, his garland of lotus flowers. The Kaustubha jewel decorated his neck while the symbol of Srivatsa, “where the goddess of fortune rests her head” adorned his chest.
The Lord’s attendants were serving him, as were his consort potencies, and all his mystic powers, not to mention the personal forms of the disk and other weapons.
Having seen the domain of Lord Vishnu, Arjuna was totally amazed. He concluded that whatever extraordinary power a person exhibits can only be a manifestation of Sri Krishna’s mercy. (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.89.62)
But about the creation—
Maha-Vishnu creates the universes just by breathing. Sounds fantastic? I thought so too. But then, why do we we accept the biblical version that God created light just by saying, “Let there be light”?
If God can create just by speaking, then why not by breathing?
First, Maha-Vishnu lies down on Sesa Naga. As Maha-Vishnu breathes out, bubbles glide out of his pores and float on the Causal Ocean. Each bubble is a complete universe, some of them hundreds of times bigger that the one we live in. Ours, in fact, is the smallest.
Sri Brahma finishes the work of creation as an agent of Lord Vishnu. Brahma lives for the entire duration of the universe. His intelligence is greater than ours to the same degree that his life is longer. He is also an etermal soul.
When Maha-Vishnu breathes in again, the universes glide back into his pores. In other words, the incalculable life span of our universe is only one breath for Maha Vishnu. Now that sounds like God, doesn’t it?
Then Maha-Vishnu and Sesa Naga enter into all of the universes. In each universe they lie on the Garbha Ocean on the lower half of the universal bubble, just as they had lain on the Causal Ocean. Maha-Vishnu is here known as Garbho-daka-sayi Vishnu (“lying on the Garbha Ocean”).
As the Lord lies on the water, Laksmi Devi, the goddess of fortune, who is also the Lord’s wife, massages his lotus feet. Maya Devi, the illusory potency, stands behind Laksmi. The Lord never looks directly at Maya, but as he looks at Laksmi, his looking also falls upon Maya.
The Lord’s act of looking takes the form of the god Shiva, who then engages in sex with Maya and impregnates her with the fallen souls who are destined to be born in this universe. Thus our birth here is not an accident.
A lotus sprouts from Lord Vishnu’s navel, and the four-handed god Brahma appears on the flowering top. Brahma creates the varieties of objects and beings in the universe. His power, though, comes from Garbho-daka-sayi Vishnu.
But why does Brahma create? Why not Vishnu? Srila Prabhupada explains:
‘Eh! What is this?’ [the modern man asks.] ‘If somebody says “Let there be creation,” and immediately [the creation] is ready? And He hasn’t got to do it? These things are simply exaggeration.’
But no, that is the fact. God does not do anything by Himself. He’s so powerful. Simply by His will. There are so many agents, and they are so powerful that immediately they can do it.
The foolish people, they cannot see [how] the hand of God is working everywhere. (lecture Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.31, Oct. 11, 1974, Mayapur, slightly edited for readability)
By the way, Brahma lives for the entire duration of the universe, and his intelligence is greater than ours to the same degree that his life is longer.
And all this time I thought I was the smart one.
Thus I have given a brief summary of the process of creation. The Srimad Bhagavatam describes it in greater detail. But I pray that my little attempt may have the same effect on you that it had on my friend Harry.
⁓Umapati Swami, September 27, 2024
Eternally touching my head to the floor at the lotus feet of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, for showing me this.
Notes:
The Hare Krishna Mantra: Haré Krishna, Haré Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Haré Haré / Haré Rama, Haré Rama, Rama Rama, Haré Haré.
Thanks to my friend and godbrother Yogesvar Das (Joshua M. Green) for suggesting this article.
The descriptions of Arjuna and Krishna’s journey are based on Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.89. 47-61, and “Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead,” chapter 89. But they are not direct quotations and have been slightly edited.
The opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any organization or any other person.
Scriptural passages © Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
Photo top: Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy (Jishnu Das)
Links:
For more about Arjuna and Krishna visiting Maha-Vishnu and the reason for it, see my post It doesn’t Have to Be
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ove it? Hate it? Got a question? Write to me: hoswami@yahoo.com
© Umapati Swami 2024
Srila Prabhupada
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the teacher who brought Krishna Consciousness from India to the West and then to the rest of the world. He is the founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement as well as the author and compiler of many works of Vedic knowledge. He left this world in 1977.
Umapati Swami
One of the first American devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement, he became Srila Prabhupada’s disciple in 1966. Since then, he has preached Krishna Consciousness in many countries and is the author of “My Days with Prabhupada,” available from Amazon. Now 87 years old, he maintains this blog to share what he has learned.
Umapati Swami's Blog 