Six Types Of Avataras

Six Types Of Avataras

Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 20.245-253
New York, December 16, 1966

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Prabhupada:

avatara haya krsnera sad-vidha prakara
purusavatara eka, lilavatara ara
gunavatara, ara manvantaravatara
yugavatara, ara saktyavesavatara

Now, we have been discussing about incarnations. These incarnations are concerned so far the maintenance of the material world is required. In the spiritual world there is no incarnation. There is a permanent situation of the spiritual planets, and in different planets, He, Krsna, has different expansions under different symbolic representation, and they are differently named. There is no change. But in the material world, when we speak of incarnation, that is in relationship with this material world. In this... For the material world these incarnations are expanded. And what are they? First the purusavatara; then lilavatara; then gunavatara, three; then manvantaravatara, four; then yugavatara, five; and then saktyavesavatara. Saktyavesavatara.

So these incarnations are manifested at different times according to the need. Just like in the Bhagavad-gita it is stated,

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
 [Bg. 4.7]

There is a system. In the process of this material world there is a system. Just like for maintenance of your state, United States, there is system of government, and there is an aim. Just like your government does not like that..., there should be no Communistic persons, and you write that "We trust in God." It is better to trust in God. You have got a system. Similarly, the maintenance of the whole material world, there is a system. It is not blind. Foolish creatures, they think that everything has come out of nothing, and it is being managed by nature. No. Behind nature there is God. In the Bhagavad-gita you have learned, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram: [Bg. 9.10] "Under My superintendence the material nature is working." Material nature is not blind. Just like foolish person, because he cannot see President Johnson and the governmental personalities, they think, "It is going on. Nobody is there behind this government, and it is going on." So similarly, persons who have no knowledge in the affairs of this material world, they think that "This material nature is working, and automatically, by magic, the sun is coming out, the moon is coming out, and the season is changing, and everything is going on just like magic, and we are the master of everything." Never think..., these foolish persons never think that they are not masters, they are servant, servant of the material nature.

So that is their foolishness. Therefore, when there is too much foolishness, so there is need of avatara, incarnation, to correct. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati [Bg. 4.7]. Whenever there is, I mean to say, discrepancies in the maintenance of law and order of this material nature, there is need of avatara, incarnation. Because it is God's kingdom, it is also secondary kingdom -- real kingdom is in the spiritual world -- so God comes in different avatara. And when the material world is created, the first avatara is purusa-avatara. The Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakasayi, They create. And then lilavatara. Lilavatara, under some particular circumstances, to save some particular devotee, or to display some particular feature... Just like Lord Rama, He incarnated. He is lilavatara. Then gunavatara. For maintenance of this material world there are different kinds of modes of nature, and to control those modes of nature there are avataras, Brahma, Visnu, Mahesvara. Lilavatara. Then manvantaravatara. The changes of millenniums, that manvantaravatara. And then yugavataras, yugavatara, in each and every yuga. Just like this Kali-yuga. This is called Kali-yuga. In the Kali-yuga the incarnation is Lord Caitanya.

It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam... There is a chapter. Nava-yogendra, nine great mystics, met one very powerful king, and they explained, each and every one of them. They explained about spiritual things. And there was a transcendentalist amongst them. Amongst the nine personalities, there was one whose name was Camasa Muni. The Camasa Muni said... That is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. When he was asked by Viveha Maharaja, the King Viveha, "What is the avatara of this Kali-yuga, especial?" then he mentioned,

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi su-medhasah
 [SB 11.5.32]

"Now, in this age of Kali-yuga, there will be avatara, incarnation, who is Krsna, but His color of the body is not black." That is Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya was very fair complexion, nice looking. So krsna-varnam tvisa. Tvisa, by complexion, He is not Krsna, but He is Krsna. Krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam and sango 'pangastra-parsadam. And He is associated by His confidential, I mean to say, devotees. You'll find Lord Caitanya always crowded by His devotees, always. His dancing mood -- you have seen the picture. Special associates, that Advaita, Gadadhara, Nityananda. So that incarnation, who is Krsna, but His color, His complexion, is not black, but He is associated with devotees... And the process of worshiping that incarnation is to chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare.

So in this yuga, this Kali-yuga, incarnation is Lord Caitanya, and the process of worship is this sound vibration. That is mentioned. In every avatara, every incarnation... Just like Lord Buddha. His name is also mentioned. And there will be another incarnation, Kalki. That is also mentioned. So they are mentioned, yugavatara. And saktyavesavatara. Saktyavesavatara. All avataras, their mission is to preach the message of God. Avatara has no other business. The message of God. Saktyavesavatara. This Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, this is also considered saktyavesavatara, the incarnation of sound. Incarnation of sound. It is described by Lord Caitanya that kali-kale nama rupe avatara: "In this Kali-yuga, in this age, this incarnation of name -- Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare -- to give facility to the conditioned soul." They cannot do anything. It is very difficult to perform any other religious rituals. This, the best anywhere, everywhere -- you can chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna. Namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-sakti. Sakti, this word is used, sakti. And from sakti, that energy, saktyavesavatara. So this name is also saktyavesavatara.

balya, pauganda haya vigrahera dharma
eta-rupe lila karena vrajendra-nandana

And when Krsna personally comes, He can be seen in two features, balya, pauganda: His childhood and boyhood, up to sixteenth year. That is the real feature of Krsna, kisora. And further features, that is expansion of Krsna, Vasudeva. Vasudevah sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19].

ananta avatara krsnera, nahika ganana
sakha-candra-nyaya kari dig-darasana

avatara hy asankhyeya
hareh sattva-nidher dvijah
yatha 'vidasinah kulyah
sarasah syuh sahasrasah

Now, He is concluding about the topics of incarnation, that "There are innumerable incarnations of Krsna. Nobody can count." He is giving the example: just like nobody can count how many waves are flowing in the river or in the ocean, similarly, it is impossible to count how many incarnation are there.

prathamei kare krsna 'purusavatara'
seita purusa haya trividha prakara'

Now, the first avatara, first incarnation, is the purusavatara. He divides Himself into three. This is stated in the Visnu Purana:

visnos tu trini rupani
purusakhyany atho viduh
ekam tu mahatah srastr

dvitiyam tv anda-samsthitam
trtiyam sarva-bhuta-stham
tani jnatva vimucyate

Tani jnatva vimucyate. Now, in the Bhagavad-gita you have read that,

janma karma me divyam
yo janati tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti kaunteya
 [Bg. 4.9]

Anyone who understands about the appearance and disappearance of God or His incarnation, simply by understanding this, one is liberated. And that person who understands, after quitting this material body, no more he comes here, but he goes back to Godhead to become one of His associates. Such persons who knows about the incarnations, they are not impersonalists. Therefore they do not merge in the impersonal Brahman feature, but they go to the different spiritual planets.

So visnos tu trini rupani: "That Visnu, for the creation of this material world, takes into three forms, trini rupani." Visnos tu trini rupani purusakhyany atho viduh: "And all of them are known as purusavataras." Maha-Visnu purusavatara, Garbhodakasayi Visnu purusavatara and Ksirodakasayi Visnu purusavatara. They are called purusavatara. Ekam tu mahatah srastr: "And the first purusavatara, who is called Maha-Visnu, He creates the material ingredients, which is called mahat-tattva." Everything requires ingredients. So the, I mean to say, original ingredients, the, what is called, subtle ingredients, they were created first by this Maha-Visnu. Then, from those ingredients, universes were produced. And each universe, ekam tu mahatah dvitiyam tv anda-samsthitam. The first purusavatara, Maha-Visnu, creates the ingredients, and the second Maha-Visnu enters in each and every universe. He is called dvitiya. And trtiyam sarva-bhuta-stham: "And the third, He enters into the body of all living entities, Paramatma, or the Supersoul." This is the division of three first incarnation.

ananta-sakti-madhye krsnera tina sakti pradhana
'iccha-sakti', 'kriya-sakti', 'jnana-sakti' nama

Now, Krsna has immense potencies, which are divided into three. What is that? Iccha-sakti, kriya-sakti, jnana-sakti. Iccha-sakti means His potency, whatever He wishes, that can be done, iccha. Kriya-sakti: then activity, kriya-sakti. And jnana-sakti, knowledge, knowledge. In the Vedic literature it is said, parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. Just like one potency is working, producing flowers, producing flowers. We are seeing that a flower is being produced automatically, so nicely scented, so nicely colored. But because we are fools, therefore we think it is being produced automatically. No. It is produced by the kriya-sakti, by the active potency of God, kriya-sakti. Jnana-sakti: and there is such perfect knowledge that nobody can see any defect. You see a butterfly, how it is nicely painted. You just see duplicate in both the wings. Just like an artist paint nicely, it is painted. So we think it is coming out of nothing. This is our foolishness. Here is, that it is coming out of the jnana-sakti. But His jnana is so wide that simply by His desire, simply by His will, it can be executed. These are the things to be studied. Because we cannot see something before our eyes, that does not mean there is no existence. There is existence, but we do not know how one is working, how one is working. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya.

Just like you see the anatomical condition of your body. Now, how this body is produced, how nicely, that every mechanical arrangement, the eyes (piece?), and the...? Just like a big factory and big office. The brain is the office, and stomach is the factory, and it is creating energy, it is coming to the heart and another place... Just like soap factory. Sometimes, in some place, it is being, some part of the manufacture is finished, another... In this way it is going on. But it is coming out a small pea. And how it is developing. In everything you can see. You take a seed, how it develops, a great tree. How much potency is there. So svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. Everything is being done. I do not know. I claim, "It is my body," but I do not know how even a hair is growing. I do not know how it is replaced. I cut in the morning, and the next day, I see again there is. So these things are going on. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. We have to study God's activity in this way, so many things, nature's study. So those who are intelligent, they can see that these things are working. What is that? Iccha-sakti, kriya-sakti, jnana-sakti, these three potencies of God, Krsna, is working.

iccha-sakti-pradhana krsna-icchaya sarva-karta
jnana-sakti-pradhana vasudeva adhisthata

Now, out of these three different potencies, then Krsna expands Himself also to conduct or to control or to act on these three potential power. The iccha-sakti, willing potency, that is being controlled by His expansion which is known as Vasudeva. Iccha-jnana vina na haya srjana. Without desire and without knowledge, nothing can be created, nothing. Suppose we are manufacturing so many things. Now, the manufacturer is first of all thinking, willing, that "This sort of thing, if we manufacture, it will be very nicely sold in the market." That is iccha-sakti. Then he acts, acts on it. That is called jnana-sakti. Without jnana, without willing, nothing is produced. So whenever you find something produced, you must know, behind that production there is that will, the supreme will, the supreme knowledge. This is study. Iccha-sakti-jnana...

iccha-jnana vina na haya srjana
tinera tina-sakti meli' prapanca-racana

So this iccha-sakti, this potency of will, supreme will, and the potency of supreme hand and the potency of supreme knowledge, these three things are conducting all affairs in this material world.

kriya-sakti-pradhana sankarsana balarama
prakrtaprakrta-srsti karena nirmana

And the potential activity, that is being done by the expansion of Sankarsana, either in this material world or in the spiritual world. So parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyat [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]e. In this way the Lord is working in so many ways, and because we have no knowledge, we think that "There is no brain behind it. There is no knowledge behind it. Everything is coming out automatically, and we are the master of everything." That is called illusion. So by Krsna consciousness, you will be free from this illusion, and you will know how God is working by His different potential power.

Thank you very much. Any question? (end)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 20.245-255 -- New York, December 16, 1966

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