Daily Devotion - June 14, 2025 (English)- Who is Shyamsundar?

You must know the identity of the One with whom you wish to establish a relationship.
yasmāt paraṃ nāparamasti kiñcit, yasmānnāṇīyo na jyāyo'sti kaścit -
Shri Krishna is the One beyond whom there is nothing else.

A question was posed in the Vedas:
Ka: paramo deva:? - Who is the Supreme Power?
Kasya jñānena akhilaṃ jñātaṃ bhavati? - By knowing whom, does nothing else remain to be known? Who is the One, after attaining whom, there remains nothing greater to be attained?

The Vedas declare -
kṛṣṇo ha vai paramaṃ daivataṃ -
Shri Krishna is the Supreme Truth. There is nothing beyond Him. By knowing and attaining Him, nothing else remains to be known or attained.

He is endowed with Ṣaḍ-aiśvarya - the six divine opulences, which are described as 'bhag'. The One who possesses them is called Bhagavān -
aiśvaryasya samagrasya dharmasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ। jñānavairāgyayoścaiva ṣaṇṇāṃ bhaga itīraṇā॥
Shri Krishna is endowed with these six opulences.

The Gopis and Gopas serve him. He is the Lord of Vrindavan. He alone is the Supreme One.

Shri Krishna's expansion is Mahavishnu. We, the individual souls, are also His divine fragments, but we are endowed with his power called jiva-shakti, whereas Mahavishnu and other expansions are endowed with His personal power called swaroopa-shakti. In other words, we have always been under the influence of Māyā, but God's personal expansions (svaṁśas) have never been, nor can they ever be, overpowered by Māyā. The swaroopa-shakti governs all individual souls, while God’s personal expansions govern the swaroopa-shakti. Such is the vast difference.

So, Shri Krishna's first expansion is Mahavishnu:
yasyaikaniśścasitakālamathāvalambya jīvanti lomavilajā jagadaṇḍanāthāḥ।
viṣṇurmahān sa iha yasya kalāviśeṣo govindamādipuruṣaṃ tamahaṃ bhajāmi॥ (Brahma Samhita)
"Innumerable universes come into existence with one exhalation of His breath and get annihilated with one of His inhalations. Shri Krishna is the One whose expansion is Mahavishnu."

Mahavishnu lies down in the Kāranāranav, the causal ocean. From Him, Garbhodaśāyī Vishnu is born (from whose naval emerges a lotus flower on which the creator Brahma is born, and who enters into each universe created by Mahavishnu). From Garbhodaśāyī Vishnu, Kṣīrodaśāyī Vishnu manifests (who is the paramātma, residing in the hearts of all beings, recording our thoughts at each moment, bestowing the fruits of our actions, and providing the strength to perform various activities through the senses, mind, and intellect).
Then, innumerable Brahmas, Vishnus, and Shivas, who govern the innumerable universes, appear. But all of them are Bhagavān and have never been under the influence of Māyā. However, the highest divine attributes such as opulence (aiśvarya), sweetness (mādhurya), virtues (sauśīlya), and gentle nature (saukumārya) are found in Shri Krishna.

There are four qualities that are found only in Shri Krishna that are not present even in Mahāviṣṇu - leela-madhuri (the sweetness of His pastimes), prem-madhuri (the sweetness of His love), roop-madhuri (the sweetness of His beauty), and venu-madhuri (the sweetness of His flute).

Even Shri Krishna has many forms:

1. The first form of Shri Krishna is Mahavishnu, who resides in Vaikunth. Unlimited divine opulence is present there. Māyā cannot enter Vaikunth. The sun and moon of this material world cannot go there -
   na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṃ nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto'yamagniḥ।
   Everything there is divine. One who attains Vaikunth does not return to the influence of Māyā. However, there is less sweetness and more opulence there. No pastimes take place, and there are no divine associates either.
2. The Shri Krishna of Dwaraka - There, pastimes and divine associates are present. There is opulence, though less than in Vaikuntha. His nectar, bliss, and sweetness surpass that of Mahavishnu.

First, understand the difference between opulence (aiśvarya) and sweetness (mādhurya):
Aiśvarya - For instance, if someone’s son or husband is a governor, and the mother or wife sees him seated in the governor's chair, this evokes respect, and they may feel proud of him, but there is no ras (the sweetness of love). Love does not deepen amid such seriousness; rather, there is awe.
Mādhurya - When the same governor comes home in regular clothes and behaves like a son or husband with the mother or wife, or speaks in baby language with his own child, that is sweetness. There is bliss in this. When he forgets his majesty in his behavior, he becomes sweet and lovable.

1. The Shri Krishna of Mathura has more sweetness and less opulence than the Shri Krishna of Dwaraka.
2. The Shri Krishna of Vrindavan possesses even greater sweetness and zero opulence. Aiśvarya is not permitted to enter Vrindavan at all - God has barred it from entering. There, both the devotee and Bhagavān forget their true identities. The devotee forgets, "I am a servant of Krishna," and Bhagavān forgets, "I am the Supreme Lord." He behaves like an ordinary village boy or a child born to a poor family. All divine powers genuinely merge into YogaMāyā there. Bhagavan does not merely pretend to forget - the power of YogaMāyā truly makes both forget His divinity. That is why the uneducated Gopis scold and insult Shri Krishna - the same Krishna whom Brahma and Shiva perform austerities to attain in samādhi.If the Gopis ever realized He is God, they would sing His glories instead. Mother Yashoda threatens Him with a stick, saying, “I have received so many complaints about you. I will tie you up and give you a good beating today.” And Shri Krishna sheds genuine tears. Yet, His aiśvarya-shakti (power of divine opulence) secretly serves Him there. When Mother Yashoda asks Him to open His mouth to check if He has eaten soil, she sees countless universes inside. Immediately, the stick fell from her hand; her body trembled, she began to sweat, and she felt dizzy. When she reopened her eyes, the power of divine opulence had already completed her job and fled. And everything returned to normal.

So, the Shri Krishna of Vrindavan has absolutely no need for the power of His opulence.

1. Sweeter than the Shri Krishna of Vrindavan is the Shri Krishna of 'Kunj' (groves).
2. Sweeter than the Shri Krishna of Kunj is the Shri Krishna of 'Nikunj' (private groves).
3. Sweetest of all is the Shri Krishna of 'Nibhrit Nikunj' (supremely private groves). But no soul can enter there - it belongs exclusively to Radha and Krishna.

Below the Nibhrit Nikunj is the nectar of Nikunj - no soul can enter there either. It is the abode of Lalita, Vishakha, and other Gopis of Golok who serve Radha-Krishna.

Below that is the nectar of Kunj - all individual souls can go there, but only on fulfilling two conditions:

1. You must be a devotee with the sentiment of mādhurya-bhāva, and
2. You must be a devotee of samarthā rati, i.e., one who thinks and works only for the pleasure of Shyamsundar, with zero desire for one's own enjoyment. This was the love of the Gopis, also called nishkaam prem, or selfless love.

The Gopis held on to their bodies. Not a single gopī died, despite enduring the pain of separation from Shri Krishna for a hundred years, because they thought, "I have already given our body to Him. If He comes today, He will ask, 'Where is she?' So I must not leave this body. I must serve Him with this body, but not for my happiness. Whether He comes in fifty years, a hundred years, or even after a hundred yugas, I have no objection." They accepted any manner in which Shri Krishna chose to behave with them, without even a hint of “but,” “if,” or “however.” This is the selfless love between the Guru and his disciple, and between God and His devotee. Such love cannot exist in this world, where both parties seek their own happiness.

So the sweetest nectar is that of the Shri Krishna in Kunj - He is our Shyam. Understanding this, you should love Him selflessly, only for His happiness.

Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:

Practise Powerful Meditation - English

Prema Rasa Siddhanta - English