See Krishna by Chanting Krishna
by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Supreme Lord has nothing to do, and no one is equal to Him or greater than Him. He hasn't got to do anything, because He has so many energies. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. Everything is being done by His energy perfectly.
The Supreme Lord's energy is working even in the water, so you can perceive His energy within the water. We are daily using water. We are tasting water. So you can perceive Krsna's presence, Krsna's all-pervasiveness, even while you drink water. In the taste of water, Krsna says, "Here I am."
That taste is Krsna's impersonal feature, but behind the impersonal feature is the person. Krsna says mayadhyaksena prakrtih: "Material nature is under My supervision." Water is one of the products of material nature, but behind the existence of water is Krsna.
You can understand Krsna by studying His energy. Therefore Krsna says, "Although you cannot see Me just now, you can see Me in these energies."
In the preliminary stage no one can see Krsna, although Krsna is present everywhere. Andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham. He is present even within the atom. But it requires qualified eyes to see Him, or purified senses to perceive Him.
That is stated in the sastra, or scripture: atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih. "With our present senses we cannot understand the holy transcendental name of Krsna." Sometimes people misunderstand us "Why are these people chanting Hare Krsna?" An ordinary man, or ordinary senses, cannot understand the value or the nature of the Lord's name.
Namadi means "beginning from the name." We can realize God by chanting His name. Nama cintamanih krsnas caitanya-rasa-vigrahah. These are the descriptions of the sastras. Nama, the holy name of the Lord, is completely spiritual. Nama cintamanih krsnas caitanya-rasa-vigrahah: Krsna's name is as good as Krsna, and those who chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra without offense taste spiritual nectar. Srila Rupa Gosvami has written, "If I could possess millions of ears and millions of tongues, then I could enjoy the transcendental taste in chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra."
But tasting the holy name is not possible for an ordinary human being in the beginning. Therefore sastra says, atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih. Our unpurified senses cannot appreciate the value of the holy name of Krsna. Nama-adi means that our realization of so many things begins with the Hare Krsna maha-mantra: Krsna's qualities, His pastimes, His form, His activities. The more we chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, the more we become purified.
To chant the holy names of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra involves no loss or expenditure. Anyone can chant. The holy name has been freely distributed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Anyone can take the opportunity to chant Hare Krsna.
Sometimes we find friends on the street who, simply by seeing us, chant "Hare Krsna." That is a good sign. They are learning the value of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
In this age the chanting of the holy name is very, very important for God realization. The sastra says, kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha: "In Kali-yuga [the present age] there is no way to attain the goal of life except by chanting the holy names of the Lord."
If you are not inclined to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, then try to understand Krsna as He describes Himself in today's verse. This is the process given by Sri Krsna Himself. Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya. You have to drink water; you cannot avoid it. Apsu means any liquid. Whether you drink milk or even wine, you get some taste in any liquid. So Krsna says, raso 'ham apsu kaunteya. "My dear Kaunteya, Arjuna, I am the taste in that liquid."
Just see how easily it can be done. No one goes without drinking some liquid. Coca-cola or water or this or that you must drink something. So Krsna says, "I am that taste."
