Even when Krishna is in the universe, the universe is still in him

When Krishna descends to the world, he appears to be just like any other person, someone who is limited to one place and needs to move for getting to another place. Those who assume that this appearance is the reality can’t conceive how such a localized person can be the all-pervading Supreme.

To comprehend the reality underlying this appearance, we need to understand Krishna’s transcendental position and disposition. The world’s theistic traditions proclaim God’s transcendence, underscoring his self-existence in a realm that transcends time and space. Being the source of everything, including the fabric of time and space, he is never limited by his emanations.

Gita wisdom goes beyond this universal revelation of God’s transcendental position to the confidential revelation of his transcendental disposition. We are usually disposed to flaunt our power and enjoy others’ submitting to us. Krishna’s disposition transcends such egoistic drives – despite having the supreme power, he delights not in the display of his godhood, but in the intimacy of love. He knows that his loved ones will feel inhibited in loving him intimately if they remain aware of his divinity. So, in his world of love, he conceals his supremacy and manifests in a finite-seeming humanlike form. And to invite all of us to his world, he descends to our world in that same form.

During his pastimes here, he seems, like us, finite. But he can, at will, exhibit powers impossible for us. For example, the Bhagavad-gita (11.07) reports how he, while seeming to be a person on a battlefield within the universe, demonstrated that the whole universe was within him.

By thus meditating on Krishna’s transcendental position and disposition, we can realize his supreme lovability, redirect our love from the world to him and gradually relish intimate love for him.