Lightening the Burden of the World 125

knowledge, and therefore he is an authority. There are four sampradayas,
or chains of disciplic succession, through which Vedic knowledge is dis-
tributed—one from Brahma, one from Laksmi, one from Lord Siva, and
one from the four Kumaras. We have to approach an authoritative repre-
sentative of Krsna appearing in one of these sampradayas, and then we
can receive real knowledge. Thus the earth personified approached
Brahma, who prayed to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ‘‘The
world is now overburdened with demons, and therefore I request You to
appear.”’ Some say, therefore, that the Lord appeared at the request of
Brahma that He lighten the burden of the world.

When Krsna appears, He protects the devotees and kills the demons.
Therefore Krsna in His Narayana form has four hands. In two hands He
holds a disc and club with which to kill the demons, and in the other two
hands He holds the conchshell and lotus with which to bless and protect
the devotees. The Lord says, kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pra-
nasyati. Thus Krsna bugles with His conchshell, ‘‘My devotees will never
be vanquished.’ And with the lotus flower He extends His blessings.
The lotus flower, which sometimes also appears in the hand of Laksmi, is
a symbol of blessings.

Now some may say that Krsna appeared for this purpose or that pur-
pose, but the real conclusion is that Krsna appears for His own pleasure,
not because He is bound by any other cause. We take our birth because
we are bound by our karma, but Krsna, being fully independent, does not
come because of someone else’s request or because of karma. Rather, He
comes by His own free will (dtma-mdayaya). We are compelled to take
birth because of Krsna’s external, material energy, but Krsna is not con-
trolled by the maya, or energy, of anyone else, and therefore He does not
take birth in such a condition. Maya, the illusory energy, is under the
control of Krsna, so how could maya control Him? One who thinks that
Krsna, like us, is controlled by mayd is described in Bhagavad-gitd as
mudha, a fool (avajananti mam miidha manusim tanum asritam).

Krsna is the original Narayana, the original source of the entire cosmic
manifestation. Brahma, or the first living being born just after the cre-
ation, is the direct son of Narayana, who as Garbhodakasayi Visnu first
entered the material universe. Without spiritual contact, matter cannot
create. Those who are seeking the original cause of the material creation
should know that the creation takes place when the spirit soul is present.
Matter is activated by the spirit soul; it is not that the soul is created by
matter.

According to the Buddhist theory, the living force—the living energy
