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Jay: Grandma, I am confused by the difference between Supreme Spirit, Spirit, Divine Beings and individual souls. Will you please explain them again?
Grandma: Yes, Jay, these are terms you should understand well.
The Supreme Spirit is also called the Supreme Person, the Supreme Being, the Supersoul, the Absolute, Father, Mother, God, Ishvara, and by many other names. The Supreme Spirit is called ParaBrahma, Paramātmā, ParamaShiva, or Krishna in Sanskrit. The Supreme Spirit is the source or the root of everything. There is nothing higher than the Supreme Spirit. Spirit (Brahma or Atmā) is a part of the
Supreme Spirit that expands and supports the entire cosmos. Divine Beings (Devas, Devis), such as Vishnu, Brahmā, Mahesha, and many others, are the expansions of Brahma (Spirit). Individual Souls (soul or Jiva), such as all living beings, are the expansions of Divine Beings. The Supreme Spirit and Spirit do not change and last forever. Divine Beings come out of Spirit and have a very long life span. Individual souls or the living beings have a very limited life span. If you compare the creation with a tree, then the Supreme Lord Krishna (the Supreme Spirit) is the root of the tree. Atmā or Brahma (also spelled as Brahman, Brahm) is the trunk of the tree. The cosmos are the branches of the tree, and the holy books, such as the Vedas, Upanishads, and Gita, Dhammapāda, Torah, Bible, Koran, etc. are its leaves. Individualsouls, such as living beings, are the fruits and flowers of the tree. Do you see how everything
is connected and part of the Supreme Being?
Jay: How about planets, such as the Sun, and the Moon and the stars?
Grandma: The entire visible world, such as the Sun, Moon, Earth, other planets, and galaxies, was created by Lord Brahmā and is
supported by Lord Vishnu and is destroyed by Lord Shiva or Mahesha. Remember that Brahmā, Vishnu, and Mahesha are a part of the energy of the Spirit or Brahma. The light energy of the Sun also comes from Brahma, and Brahma is a part of the Supreme Being, Lord Krishna. The sages tell us that everything is nothing but another form of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Being. Krishna is inside and outside everything. He has actually become everything. The One has become all. He also comes to earth in human form to establish law
and order (Dharma) when needed (Gita 4.07- 08).
Here is a story when the Supreme Lord Himself incarnated as Krishna about 5,100 years ago.
19. A Story of Baby Krishna
Baby Krishna had an elder half-brother named Balarāma. Both played together in the villageof Gokul. Krishna’s birth mother’s name was
Devaki. His father’s name was Vasudeva. Krishna is also called Vāsudeva. Krishna spent His childhood years under the care of Aunty
Yashodā. Both Balarāma and Krishna were the favorites of the village milkmaids. Their mothers loved them proudly. Yasodā and Rohini (Balarāma’s mother) dressed their young boys colorfully, Krishna in yellow with a crown of peacock feathers in His hair, and
Balarāma in blue. The two boys went from place to place, making friends wherever they went. Most of the time they got into a lot of
trouble! One day, they were playing outside with a few of the other village boys, digging in the dirt, making mud pies, and getting very dirty. After a while, one of the older boys ran to mother Yashodā and said, “Krishna has been a bad boy, He has been eating clay!” Yashodā was annoyed with her young son. She had also been hearing other complaints from villagers that Krishna had been stealing butter from their houses. She came out of her house and asked Krishna angrily, “Did you really eat clay, Krishna? How many times have I told you not to put things in your mouth!” Krishna didn’t want to be punished, so he played a trick on mother Yashodā. He opened His mouth wide and said, “See, Mother, I haven’t been eating anything. These boys are just lying to get me in trouble.”
Yashodā looked inside Krishna’s mouth. There, in the little boy’s mouth, she saw the whole universe Earth and stars, the wide empty space, the entire galaxy and the Milky Way, the oceans and the mountains, the Sun and the Moon. All were contained within His mouth. She realized then that Krishna was Lord Vishnu incarnate, and she was about to fall before Him and worship. But Krishna didn’t want her to worship Him. He just wanted her to love Him the way mothers love their children. He could have come to earth in any form to fight the demons, but He liked being a little boy to a mother and a father who had performed many difficult spiritual practices to have God as their child. Baby Krishna realized that His trick had been a big mistake! Quickly, He spread His power of Māyā over her. The next minute Yashodā was holding her son as usual, with no memory at all of what she had just seen in Krishna’s mouth. You should read interesting stories of Krishna’s adventures and tricks with village milkmaids when you get time. The Lord also comes as a saint or a teacher to teach us from time to time.
Here is a story of such a saint:
20. The Story of Shri RamaKrishna
The Lord came to this earth as Rama-Krishna, born on February 18, 1836, in the village Kamarpukur of West Bengal. Most of the stories I have told you are from his “Tales and Parables of Shri RamaKrishna.” Swami Vivekananda was one of his most famous disciples. Swami Vivekananda was the first Hindu monk who came to the USA in 1893. He established the Vedanta Society in New York. RamaKrishna led a very simple life, depending on God for his daily food and other necessities of life. He would not accept any money. He was married to Sarada Ma, whom he treated like his mother and never had any child. Sarada Ma used to tell her disciples: “If
you want peace of mind, do not look into others’ faults; rather, look into your own. No one is a stranger; the whole world is your own.” Sarada Ma also warned her disciples not to be too close with persons of the opposite gender, even if God came in that form. RamaKrishna worshipped Goddess Kali as his personal deity in a temple at Dakshineshvar near Kolkata. This temple still exists today.
Chapter 15 summary:
The creation is changeable and does not last forever. It has a
limited life span. Brahma or Atmā does not change and is eternal. It is the cause of all causes. Krishna is called ParaBrahma or the
Supreme Being. He is also called the Absolute because He has no origin. He is the source of Brahma. Everything in the universe comes out of Brahma. The entire visible world and its creatures are created by Brahmā, the creative power of Brahma; sustained by Vishnu’s sustaining power and destroyed by Mahesha.