Krsna’s Appearances and Activities 63

Krsna’s birth, His appearance and disappearance,
are likened unto the appearance and disappearance
of the sun. In the morning it appears as if the sun is
horn from the eastern horizon, but actually it is not.
The sun is neither rising nor setting; it is as it is in
its position. All risings and settings are due to the
rotation of the earth. Similarly, in Vedic literatures
there are prescribed schedules for the appearance
and disappearance of Sti Krsna. Krsna’s rising is
just like the sun. The sun’s rising and setting are
going on at every moment; somewhere in the world
people are witnessing sunrise and sunset. It is not
that at one, point Krsna is born and at another
point He is gone. He is always there somewhere, but
He appears to come and go. Krsna appears and
disappears in many universes. We only have experi-
ence of this one universe, but from Vedic literatures
we can understand that this universe is but a part
of the infinite manifestations of the Supreme Lord.

Although Krsna is the Supreme Lord and is un-
born and unchangeable, He appears in His original
lranscendental nature. The word prakrti means
“nature.” In the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita,
it is stated that there are many kinds of nature.
These have been categorized into three basic types.
‘There is external nature, internal nature and marginal
nature. The external nature is the manifestation of
this material world, and in the Seventh Chapter of
Bhagavad-gita this is described as apara or material
nature. When Krsna appears, He accepts the higher
nature (prakrtim svam), not the inferior material
nature. Sometimes the head of a state may go to the
