Prayers by the Personified Vedas
247
unlimited potencies, unlimited strength, unlimited influence, unlimited beauty and unlimited renunciation. Therefore the word  Brahman  can be applied to Kṛṣṇa only. Arjuna affirms that because the impersonal Brahman is the effulgence emanating as rays of Kṛṣṇa's transcendental body, Kṛṣṇa is the Parambrahman. Everything is resting on Brahman, but Brahman itself is resting on Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate Brahman or Parambrahman. The material elements are accepted as inferior energies of Kṛṣṇa because by their interaction the cosmic manifestation takes place, rests on Kṛṣṇa, and after dissolution again enters into the body of Kṛṣṇa as His subtle energy. Kṛṣṇa is therefore the cause of both manifestation and dissolution.
Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma  means everything is Kṛṣṇa, and that is the vision of the  mahābhāgavatas . They see everything in relation to Kṛṣṇa. The impersonalists argue that Kṛṣṇa has transformed Himself into many and that therefore everything is Kṛṣṇa and worship of everything is worship of Him. This false argument is answered by Kṛṣṇa in the  Bhagavad-gītā : although everything is a transformation of the energy of Kṛṣṇa, He is not present everywhere. He is simultaneously present and not present. By His energy He is present everywhere, but as the energetic He is not present everywhere. This simultaneous presence and non-presence is inconceivable to our present senses. But a clear explanation is given in the beginning of the  Īśopaniṣad , in which it is stated that the Supreme Lord is so complete that although unlimited energies and their transformations are emanating from Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's personality is not in the least bit transformed. Therefore, since Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes, intelligent persons should take shelter of His lotus feet.
Kṛṣṇa advises everyone just to surrender unto Him alone, and that is the way of Vedic instruction. Since Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes, He is worshiped by all kinds of sages and saints by observance of the regulative principles. When there is a necessity for meditation, great personalities meditate on the transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa within the heart. In this way the minds of great personalities are always engaged in Kṛṣṇa. With minds engaged in Kṛṣṇa, naturally the captivated devotees simply talk of Kṛṣṇa.
Talking of Kṛṣṇa or singing of Kṛṣṇa is called  kīrtana . Lord Caitanya also recommends  kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ , which means always thinking and talking of Kṛṣṇa and nothing else. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so sublime that anyone who takes to this process is elevated to the highest perfection of life—far, far beyond the concept of liberation. In the  Bhagavad-gītā , therefore, Kṛṣṇa advises everyone to