Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Adi-lila Chapter 5 Verse 18

SYNONYMS

sarva-ga -- all-pervading; ananta -- unlimited; vibhu -- the greatest; krishna-tanu-sama -- exactly like the transcendental body of Krishna; upari-adhah -- up and down; vyapiyache -- expanded; nahika -- there is no; niyama -- regulation.

TRANSLATION

Like the transcendental body of Lord Krishna, Gokula is all-pervading, infinite and supreme. It expands both above and below, without any restriction.

PURPORT

Srila Jiva Gosvami, the great authority and philosopher in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, has discussed the abode of Krishna in his Krishna-sandarbha. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord refers to "My abode." Srila Jiva Gosvami, examining the nature of Krishna's abode, refers to the Skanda Purana, which states:

ya yatha bhuvi vartante puryo bhagavatah priyah

tas tatha santi vaikunthe tat-tal-lilartham adritah

"The abodes of Godhead in the material world, such as Dvaraka, Mathura and Gokula, are facsimiles representing the abodes of Godhead in the kingdom of God, Vaikuntha-dhama." The unlimited spiritual atmosphere of that Vaikuntha-dhama is far above and beyond the material cosmos. This is confirmed in the Svayambhuva-tantra, in a discussion between Lord Siva and Parvati regarding the effect of chanting the mantra of fourteen syllables. There it is stated:

nana-kalpa-latakirnam vaikuntham vyapakam smaret

adhah samyam gunanam ca prakritih sarva-karanam

"While chanting the mantra, one should always remember the spiritual world, which is very extensive and full of desire trees that can yield anything one desires. Below that Vaikuntha region is the potential material energy, which causes the material manifestation." The places of the pastimes of Lord Krishna, such as Dvaraka, Mathura and Vrindavana, eternally and independently exist in Krishnaloka. They are the actual abodes of Lord Krishna, and there is no doubt that they are situated above the material cosmic manifestation.

The abode known as Vrindavana or Gokula is also known as Goloka. The Brahma-samhita states that Gokula, the highest region of the kingdom of God, resembles a lotus flower with thousands of petals. The outer portion of that lotuslike planet is a square place known as Svetadvipa. In the inner portion of Gokula there is an elaborate arrangement for Sri Krishna's residence with His eternal associates such as Nanda and Yasoda. That transcendental abode exists by the energy of Sri Baladeva, who is the original whole of Sesha, or Ananta. The tantras also confirm this description by stating that the abode of Sri Anantadeva, a plenary portion of Baladeva, is called the kingdom of God. Vrindavana-dhama is the innermost abode within the quadrangular realm of Svetadvipa, which lies outside of the boundary of Gokula Vrindavana.

According to Jiva Gosvami, Vaikuntha is also called Brahmaloka. The Narada-pancaratra, in a statement concerning the mystery of Vijaya, describes:

tat sarvopari goloke tatra lokopari svayam

viharet paramanandi govindo 'tula-nayakah

"The predominator of the gopis, Govinda, the principal Deity of Gokula, always enjoys Himself in a place called Goloka, in the topmost part of the spiritual sky."

From the authoritative evidence cited by Jiva Gosvami we may conclude that Krishnaloka is the supreme planet in the spiritual sky, which is far beyond the material cosmos. For the enjoyment of transcendental variety, the pastimes of Krishna there have three divisions, and these pastimes are performed in the three abodes Dvaraka, Mathura and Gokula. When Krishna descends to this universe, He enjoys the pastimes in places of the same name. These places on earth are nondifferent from those original abodes, for they are facsimiles of those original holy places in the transcendental world. They are as good as Sri Krishna Himself and are equally worshipable. Lord Caitanya declared that Lord Krishna, who presents Himself as the son of the King of Vraja, is worshipable, and that Vrindavana-dhama is equally worshipable.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness