Looking at the Cultural Background 85

Lord Krsna, son of a cowherd,
Is their milker,

Arjuna is the calf,

The supreme nectar of the Gita
Is the milk,

And the wise man

Of purified intellect

Is the drinker.

PURPORT

Unless one understands spiritual variegatedness, one cannot under-
stand the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. In the Brahma-samhita
it is said that Krsna’s name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage, and
paraphernalia are all dnanda-cinmaya-rasa—in short, everything of His
transcendental association is of the same composition of spiritual bliss,
knowledge, and eternity. There is no end to His name, form, etc., unlike
in the material world, where all things have their end. As stated in the
Bhagavad-gita, only fools deride Him; whereas it is Sankara, the greatest
impersonalist, who worships Him, His cows, and His pastimes as the son
of Vasudeva and pleasure of Devaki.

—5—

Thou son of Vasudeva,

Destroyer of the demons Karhsa and Canira,
Thou supreme bliss of Mother Devakt,

O Thou, guru of the universe,

Teacher of the worlds,

Thee, O Krsna, I salute.

PURPORT

Sankara describes Him as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. Does he
mean thereby that he is worshiping an ordinary material man? He wor-
ships Krsna because he knows that Krsna’s birth and activities are all
supernatural. As stated in the Bhagavad-gitd [4.9], Krsna’s birth and ac-
tivities are mysterious and transcendental, and therefore only the
devotees of Krsna can know them perfectly. Sankara was not such a fool
that he would accept Krsna as an ordinary man and at the same time offer
