There are two Catur-vyuhas expanding from Krsna. In Hyderabad Srila Prabhupada alluded to them. He said: “So He’s the origin of Brahma, Visnu, Mahesvara. From Krsna, for material creation, there are three Purusas. First of all, three purusas. Not directly from Krsna. From Krsna, Baladeva. From Baladeva, catur-vyuha: Sankarsana, Vasudeva, Sankarsanaa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha. Then from Sankarsana, Sankarsana, Narayana. Then second catur-vyuha. From the second catur-vyuha, Sankarsana, the purusa-avataras. Three purusa-avataras, three Visnus: Karanodakasayi, Garbhodakasyi, and Ksirodakasayi Visnu. So the, in the Vedic literature all these informations are there.”

At least one dictionary defines “stunning” as “strikingly impressive or attractive in appearance.” Real estate agents and property developers often refer to houses that overlook a river, a lake or an ocean as having a “stunning” view. People are willing to spend millions on their homes just to be able to look at water. It helps us remember that Krishna is blue, that water is His perspiration and that “all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor” (10.41 from BGAII).

In Krsna Book, Srila Prabhupada writes (Narada Muni speaking), ” `My dear Lord, You are the Supreme, Parabrahman, and Your pastimes as an ordinary human are another tactical resource, exactly like a play on the stage in which the actor plays parts different from his own identity. Because the Pandavas are Your cousins, You have inquired about them in the role of their well-wisher, and therefore I shall let You know about their intentions. Now please hear me.’ “

But there is an effulgence that doesn’t depend on the sun, and that is Krishna Himself. Call it a halo or whatever, it is Krishna’s light. In Bhagavad-gita As It Is, He says that His “supreme abode is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity.”

In Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada warns devotees that his and ISKCON’s definition of God should be characterized as THE definition, not A definition ACCORDING to certain sastras or Vedic writings. (December 13, 1973).

“Just like sometimes we take pleasure in a swimming pool, lie down and closing our eyes. Who expert swimmer, they’re lying down. Why it is not possible for the Supreme Lord? What is the difficulty? Sukhanubhavah. We take that pastime for pleasure, for pleasure, lying down on the water, closing eyes. So when we speak, The Garbhodakasayi Visnu lying down in the Causal Ocean,' these rascals, fools, they sometimes criticize,And how it is possible?’ How it is not possible? If a ordinary man can take pleasure lying down on the water, closing and lying for hours-we have seen it-so what is the difficulty for the Supreme Lord? You have got this tendency to lie down on water, half on the water, and close your eyes. So where your tendency has come? Your tendency has come because the same tendency is there in the Supreme Lord. This is the explanation.” (Extract from a Mayapur lecture on March 10, 1976)

An estimated 3.6 billion Indians see Indian films each year. That’s a billion more than Hollywood.

We’re taught that all stars are suns, and that the moon is a satellite of the earth. But Srila Prabhupada talks about the moon and stars in a different perspective, e.g., “Just like in the sky, there is one moon only and there are millions of stars. They’re useless. What is the value of the millions of stars? But one moon, oh, dissipate the whole darkness of night.” (From a New York lecture on November 29, 1973)

The tenth chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita contains a treatise on how to see Krsna everywhere. The Gita Mahatmya Study Guide says: “All wondrous phenomena showing power, beauty, grandeur or sublimity, either in the material world or in the spiritual, are but partial manifestations of Krsna’s divine energies and opulence. As the supreme cause of all causes and the support and essence of everything, Krsna is the supreme object of worship for all beings.”

There’s a nice verse in the Caitanya Caritamrta that says: “In time, great scientists may be able to count all the atoms of the universe, all the stars and planets in the sky, and all the particles of snow, but who among them can count the unlimited transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? He descends on the surface of the globe for the benefit of all living entities.' (Madhya 21.11). I thought to include this in a Thought for the Day, because elsewhere Srila Prabhupada says that modern scientific discoveries andinventions’ have already been performed as mystic powers or `siddhis.’ He writes about this in his books. For example, in the purport to Madhya 19.164 (CC) he writes: “The highest achievements of the yogis are the eight material perfections, such as anima, laghima and prapti.”