01 The Lord has innumerable names (to indicate different functions and dealings)
Krsna expands Himself into many different names:
[Lord Caitanya to Svartpa Damodara and Ramananda Raya]: "My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as Krsna and Govinda, by which You expand Yourself…"
– Sri Caitanya caritamrta Antya lila 20.16
God has unlimited names, each of which is God:
Srila Prabhupada: Because God is absolute, His name, His form, and His qualities are also absolute, and they are nondifferent from Him.…
Father Emmanuel: But our understanding of the name of God is limited.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, we are limited, but God is unlimited. And because He is unlimited, or absolute, He has unlimited names, each of which is God. We can understand His names as much as our spiritual understanding is developed.
– The Science of Self Realization
The different names of the Supreme Lord indicate different functions:
There are different names for the Supreme Lord, and these names have different purposes and meanings. For instance, He is known as Paramatma the Supersoul, Brahman the Supreme Absolute, Srstikarta the creator, Narayana the transcendental Lord, Rukminiramana the husband of Rukmini, Gopinatha the enjoyer of the gopis, and Krsna. In this way the Lord has different names, and these names indicate different functions.
– Teachings of Lord Caitanya
According to people's various desires, Krsna distributes various holy names:
[Lord Caitanya to Svartpa Damodara and Ramananda Raya]: "Because people vary in their desires, You have distributed various holy names by Your mercy."
– Sri Caitanya caritamrta Antya lila 20.17
God has innumerable names, according to His dealings with innumerable devotees:
Since God is unlimited, His names also must be unlimited. Therefore we cannot settle on one name. For instance, Krsna is sometimes called Yasoda−nandana, the son of mother Yasoda; or Devaki−nandana, the son of Devaki; or Vasudeva−nandana, the son of Vasudeva; or Nanda−nandana, the son of Nanda. Sometimes He is called Partha−sarathi, indicating that He acted as the charioteer of Arjuna, who is sometimes called Partha, the son of Prtha.
God has many dealings with His many devotees, and according to those dealings, He is called certain names. Since He has innumerable devotees, and innumerable relations with them, He also has innumerable names.
– The Science of Self Realization
One cannot fully realize the Lord merely by understanding the name of the creator:
Because the Lord is on the absolute platform, there is no difference between the holy name of the Lord and the Supreme Lord Himself. There are different names for the Supreme Lord, and these names have different purposes and meanings.… The aspect of the Supreme Lord as the creator is different from the aspect of the Lord as Narayana. Some of the names of the Lord as the creator are conceived by materialistic men. One cannot fully realize the essence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by understanding the name of the creator because this material creation is a function of the external energy of the Supreme Lord.
– Teachings of Lord Caitanya
