“But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.42)

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अथ वा बहुनैतेन
किं ज्ञातेन तवार्जुन
विष्टभ्याहम् इदं कृत्स्नम्
एकांशेन स्थितो जगत्

atha vā bahunaitena
kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam
ekāṁśena sthito jagat

1. Pizza

“Seriously? This is all we get? One freaking slice? Do you not understand how hungry I am? I have been working all day. It was so stressful. One dumb person after another to deal with. It appears that the smart ones, the people who are with it, who have their stuff together, who are responsible, end up shouldering the burden to compensate for the incompetence of others.

“It is simply not fair, but I have learned not to complain. There is nothing useful which comes out of raising issues with higher ups. They simply pass the buck. They are busy with their slide-deck presentations, endless meetings, and get-togethers involving other higher-ups. It is like they all meet together to laugh at the rest of us, who have to handle the menial tasks, which actually make the company work.

“All I ask is for some nice food at the end of the day. Something to make the trouble worth it. Without this reward, I would have no incentive to continue. And now you tell me that I can only eat this one slice of pizza? I am ready to devour an entire pie. This is an insult.”

2. Tool

“What am I going to do with this? Yes, I understand that it is a hammer. There is the other end which can be used for extracting nails. I am well aware of what is capable, but this is a major project. You do realize that they make toolbelts for a reason. There is a toolshed. A toolbox. Figured out the pattern yet? Do any of these ring a bell?

“You expect me to complete everything with only a single tool? I am not sure that is possible. Be prepared for a revised estimate, then. This will take a lot longer. The job will not be up to standard. You are severely handicapping me.”

3. Computer monitor

“Hold on, we only get one monitor? How is that going to work? What if I am in a meeting and I need to look up something? What if I want to log into a web app while I am simultaneously presenting? What if my eyes need a break? How are we supposed to get any tasks accomplished in a timely manner?

“You people are so cheap. You have so much money available for the higher ups. You waste thousands of dollars on high-priced office space, in an upscale part of town so that you can impress your friends. And you can’t spare some extra change for a second computer monitor for the employees? Shameful.”

4. Room

“I have to stay here an entire week. No other rooms? It is like a studio apartment, but really tiny. How is this any different from a prison cell? This is going to be absolute torture. I might not make it. Someone will have to come and rescue me.”

5. Drum

“You do realize there is a reason people carry what is known as a drumkit. This is an ensemble of various drum types. Different heads. Different sizes. Each one making a unique sound. Some are positioned for the feet to strike. Others are kept higher up, so as to allow room for full vibration.

“I will not be able to do much with this single drum. People will get bored of the sound. I can try my best to vary the intensity of the strike. Maybe if I hold the drumsticks differently, to create some variation. But I am not making any promises as to the quality of the output.”

…

These issues only make sense, as there is a limitation based on sheer volume. The numbers do not add up. We are expecting something more, but told to make due with less. We cannot be expected to accomplish anything great when we have such a dependency on numbers.

We can use such commonly experienced limitations to further understand the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In His personal form He is known as Shri Krishna. This is God the person, who is the detail behind the otherwise abstract picture. He is the sum collection of everything and more. Whatever concept we think to be the greatest, Krishna is behind it.

He is simultaneously the creation and separate from it. He is inside of the atom, but also living eternally in spiritual realm of Vaikuntha. He works diligently at His craft, in whichever task He happens to find, but He is also so relaxed that He is known to always lie on the serpent bed known as Ananta Shesha Naga.

As Krishna describes in Bhagavad-gita, it takes only one part to accomplish the work of the creation. Both at the macro and micro levels. There is the beginning phase of creation, but that which gets created also needs to be maintained. It is something like starting a business from the ground up. The business might be only an idea in the mind of an entrepreneur, who then gives the idea shape.

They establish a single office or factory, to produce a single product or service. As the venture grows, so do the places of business. The single founder obviously cannot expand or divide themselves. They need help. That which they created needs to be managed. The demand might warrant expansion. The more expansion that occurs, the more help will be required.

The difference with Krishna is that everything takes place through a single part. The Sanskrit term is eka-amsha. Just one expansion of Krishna, like a single drop of His limitless splendor, creates the entire universe. From that one part there is also maintenance. It is like Krishna pervades the entire space. Everything rests in Him, but He is not dependent on anything that He creates.

मया ततम् इदं सर्वं
जगद् अव्यक्त-मूर्तिना
मत्-स्थानि सर्व-भूतानि
न चाहं तेष्व् अवस्थितः

mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ
jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni
na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ

“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.4)

If we take away only this one piece of understanding, of the potency of the eka-amsha, then we have sufficient knowledge of the Absolute. We do not need to delve further into the details, though they are certainly available for study. Vedic literature expands infinitely precisely because of these details, in how we can see the impact of Krishna in every sphere of existence.

As His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains, everything exists due to the splendor of Krishna. We should never consider that the varieties within the manifest world have an independent or separate existence. The splendor of the world represents but a small glimpse into the splendor of the complete whole, who can accomplish the most amazing through a single expansion of Himself.

In Closing:

Authority of entire universe commanding,
Through only a single part expanding.

While on the serpent bed to lie,
The complex from hardly to try.

And through future to maintain,
Like every sphere to sustain.

This knowledge sufficient so,
For Krishna as God to know.

Categories: the five

Tags: creation, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, science