Colour of Lord Krishna and Meaning of Plenary Expansion

Sunil, 20^th July 2011

Respected Disciples and Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances

On reading books of Krishna Consciousness I understand that amazing knowledge is shared in this group and I am thankful to all group members who do so

I would like to ask following two questions:

What is the colour of Lord Krishna? I think that I have read that Lord Krishna’s colour is black as cloud and in photos I have many times seen Lord Krishna is blue in colour, So I am confused

Please also tell what is meaning of plenary expansion

Regards

Sunil

Indira G, 20^th July 2011

Please accept my humble obeisances

I dont know whether my answer will help you or not  but i think Shri Krishna , the brahma is symbol of infinity so he appears in color of some time in deep blue or some time in black, or some time in green all  dark shades of all three hues reminds us the unfathomable depth of brahma.

Thanks & Regards

Indira G

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 21th July 2011

Dear Sunil Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you very much for your active involvement and participation. This shows that you are really engaging your intelligence in Prabhupada’s books.

Krishna’s color: Is not material in nature! It is a spiritual color, cannot be seen by anyone with material eyes. In various texts, Krishna is described as “blackish”, or “color of a newly formed rain cloud” or bluish in complexion, the color of the Tamal tree, etc. It is important to note that Krishna’s color is not static, for example, He may take the color that pleases Him most, and this could change – for example, the complexion of Radharani, or any other color that pleases Him. In deity form, it is said that the pure devotee sees Him as He is. So our goal should be to purify ourselves so that we may see Krishna face-to-face and see for ourselves what is really His color – as Lord Brahma says in the Brahma Samhita, and as Srila Gurudeva repeats often “Premanjana Chhurita Bhakti Vilochanena” – we can only see Him with eyes smeared with the ointment of Love, pure Love for Krishna. There is no mundane explanation for Krishna’s color. The impersonalists say that Krishna is a certain color because Krishna represents Brahman, but this is not correct. Krishna is the source of Brahman, the Brahmajyoti or Brahman effulgence emanates from His transcendental body, not the other way around – crude example: the sunshine exists because of the sun, not that the sun exists because of the sunshine.

Plenary expansion: Means expansion that carries the full potency of the original. This means that just because Sri Narayana is an expansion of Krishna, that does not mean that Sri Narayana is not all-powerful or omnipresent. Plenary expansion of Krishna means Vishnu-tattva. All the living entities are also expansions of Krishna, but we are not plenary expansions, we are jiva tattva, it means that we are one in quality with Krishna, that we are full of knowledge and bliss, but in quantity we are infinitesimal…

Dictionary meaning from dictionary.com is given below:

Origin: 1510s, earlier plenar  (late 13c.), from M.L. plenarius  “entire, complete,” from L. plenus  “full,” from PIE *ple-  “to be full”

as an adverb:

full; complete; entire; absolute; unqualified: plenary powers

attended by all qualified members; fully constituted: a plenary session of Congress.

As an adjective: full and complete in every respect

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

SUPARTHA RUDRA, 21th July 2011

Hare Krishna Sunil Prabhuji,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

The explanation given by Mahabhagavat Prabhuji is very nice and complete in sense.

With this may I most humbly add something that I recently read in this group?

It has been written by Jagannath Parbhuji. I’m just putting it below:

In Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila Chapter 9,

text 144 he compares the qualities of Vishnu and Krishna.

“Lord Narayana has sixty transcendental qualities. Over and above these,

Krishna has four extraordinary transcendental qualities absent in Lord

Narayana. These four qualities are (1) His wonderful pastimes, which are

compared to an ocean, (2) His association in the circle of the supreme

devotees in conjugal love (the gopés), (3) His playing on the flute, whose

vibration attracts the three worlds, and (4) His extraordinary beauty, which

surpasses the beauty of the three worlds. Lord Krishna’s beauty is unequaled

and unsurpassed.”

From this it is clear that even though Lord Sri Krishna & His unlimited PLENARY EXPANSIONS are at the same plane but their moods (bhava) are different. Srila Prabhupad used to give the example of a Supreme Court Judge in the office (comparable to Lord Narayan) and that same Supreme Court Judge in his home( comparable to Lord Shri Krishna). In the Court room every body has respect with awe & reverence for the Judge. But in home that same Judge is enjoying sweet loving reciprocation with all the family members. That graveness of court room is not their in home. Similarly with Lord Shri Krishna the loving devotional service attitude dipped in either of the above-mentioned FOUR  TRANSCEDENTAL mellows can be sweetly reciprocated. But for us, we should consider ourselves as das anu das–servant of the servant of the Lord Shir Krishna and perform our devotional service following proper regulation prescribed in the scriptures under the expert and bonafide guidance of pure devotee (Spiritual Master) of Lord.

your servant,

supartha rudra

Sunil, 21^st July 2011

Respected Devotees and Disciples

Please accept my humble obeisances

When I have read your answers I have felt satisfaction

Maybe this is what is called Relishing the nectar of transcendental knowledge

Regards

Sunil