“To Me” Means To Kṛṣṇa

Mam, mad, asmi, man, mama and aham (all forms of the words "I," "Me," and "I am") when spoken by Krsna Himself refer to Krsna Himself. Any other interpretation simply hides Krsna and His real identity. By trying to interpret the name Krsna to mean "black," "dark," "unknown" and so on, nondevotees simply want to say that Krsna is not a worshipable person, but something with no personality and therefore not worshipable. This point breeds complete rejection of true bhakti, and a complete misunderstanding of the Gita. Since love must be exchanged between two persons-the lover and the beloved-an impersonal, abstract, formless objective cancels the possibility of devotion. But the Gita, in the above forty-five verses, emphatically declares that bhakti is the way-and ananya, the only way.

One should not waste time trying to concoct twisted interpretations of Vedic statements. For example, hari om tat sat means that Hari, Krsna, is the Absolute Truth. Now, Hari can mean "snake," "thief," "lion" or "Krsna." But are we to understand that the Absolute Truth is a snake? A lion? A thief? Are we to build temples to snakes, lions and thieves? Of course not. Therefore, one must understand the word hari from the definition of the scriptures. The Absolute Truth is Krsna. One cannot expect to fix one's mind and intelligence on snakes, lions or thieves and surrender everything to them, nor can one surrender one's services and the fruits of all activities to "the dark," "the black," or "the unknown." How can there be love if there is no knowledge of the beloved? The recipient of bhakti must be a person, and that person must be the Supreme Absolute Truth. If one considers Krsna less than the impersonal Absolute, one does not understand Krsna. One's show of devotion is then only symbolic and therefore useless. Real love is not symbolic; it comes from the spiritual platform:

"After fully realizing his spiritual identity, one does not hanker for any attainment nor lament for any loss. Seeing all beings with an equal eye, the soul develops supreme devotion." (Bg. 18.54)

Bhakti exists even after mukti, liberation. A devotee will never allow anything to obstruct the soul's passionate love for the Lord, and therefore although other yogis forget their personal independence when they approach liberation, a devotee does not. He continues his devotion beyond liberation. That is real love. Not that one loves Krsna until one achieves liberation, and then love ends. No. Love for Krsna is sanatana, eternal.

The Gita mentions three truths as sanatana: Lord Krsna is sanatana, the transcendental realm is sanatana, and the living being is sanatana. The joining of these three is called sanatana-dharma, or the eternal engagement, and that is bhakti, devotional service.

People often think that the ultimate is a formless spirit and that from that spirit pour Krsna, Visnu, Siva and thirty-three million other demigods. At the ultimate end, they think, all will merge again into voidness. But the Gita states just the opposite. The Lord says, aham sarvasya prabhavaḥ: "I am the source of all." (Bg. 10.8) Furthermore, aham krtsnasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ pralayas tatha: "I am the creator and destroyer of this entire universe." (Bg. 7.6) These statements prove that Krsna is the Absolute Truth. But is the Lord referring to His void aspect or His personal aspect? The answer is very strong:

"Unintelligent men, who know Me not, think that I have assumed this form and personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is changeless and supreme." (Bg. 7.24) Krsna's form does not change, evaporate, dissolve or merge into nonexistence, for it is not a material body. Krsna's pastimes are going on eternally, unobstructed by the creation, maintenance and destruction of this world. His form is not material; it is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha, an embodiment of eternity, knowledge and bliss. That such a form of spiritual qualities exists beyond the three modes of nature is inconceivable to a mind overpowered by these modes, but it is completely clear to the minds of His devotees, for by bhakti and no other way can one understand the Lord. The Lord says, brahmano hi pratisthaham:

"I am the basis of Brahman [the impersonal Absolute]." (Bg. 14.27) The impersonal Absolute (Brahman) is subordinate to the Lord's personal feature (Bhagavan), just as sunlight is subordinate to the sun.

The scriptures are like a grand algebraic equation. One side of the equation describes the Absolute's qualities but does not give His identity. For example, raso vai saḥ: "He, the Absolute, is the source of all loving tastes [rasas]." This gives the idea of a person but keeps His identity hidden. In algebra the equation would look like this: x= the source of rasa.

The four Vedas, the Puranas, the Upanisads, the Mahabharata and the Vedanta-sūtra give the left side of the equation, and Srimad-Bhagavatam, on the right, gives the identity of x. Krsnas caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ: "Krsna is the embodiment of all rasas." Therefore, x= Krsna. Who is the Supreme Lord? Who is the Absolute Truth? Whenever the scriptures speak of the Supreme, the Lord, or the Absolute, if we understand Krsna, the speaker of Bhagavad-gita, to be this unknown Supreme Person, our knowledge is perfect and complete.