4 June, 2025

• Krishan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, lives in goloka vrindavan, the spiritual world, which is beyond the material universe.
• The spiritual world is eternal, full of bliss and knowledge, and is the ultimate destination for all souls.
• Only devotess of the lord can reach krishna by the mercy of the lord and devotees.
• Even demigods cannot approach Krishna.
• Even if one may have lot of power, wealth, fame, beauty, knowledge, renunciation, travel at the speed of light, they cannot approach Krishna without the mercy of devotees.
• Bhakti requires bhava. Krishna looks at the intent of the heart not the content.
• Krishna is bhava grahi janardana - He accepts the bhava of the devotee.
• Although Krishna is in golok vrindavana, He can be everywhere and travel instantly to anywhere.
• Sun is millions of miles away, but we can see the sun instantly and perceive the heat.
• Similarly, Krishna is in golok vrindavana, but He can be everywhere and travel instantly to anywhere.
• This is through Krishna's three energies:
  • Internal potency – manifests the spiritual world.
  • Marginal potency – includes living beings and demigods.
  • External potency – constitutes material nature.
• There are many subcategories of the three energies of the Lord.
• Krishna has mainfested Himself in the form of the hare krishna maha mantra.
• We should perform bhakti - chant - sravanam, archana - worship dieties.
• Prabhupada gives here on how to appraoch the lord.
• Lord Krishna can be approached very easily.
• Krishna has expanded himself everywhere.
• Impersonalists think that Krishna is distributed everywhere impersonally and loses his personal form.
• Vaishanavas understand that Krishna is everywhere, but He is still a person and does not lose His personal form. He remains intact. This is confirmed in the invocation of the Śrī Īśopaniṣad, which states that the Supreme Lord is a person, not just a force or energy and Krishna, who is the absolute truth remains a whole even after such expansion.
• BG 10.2 - Not even great rsis and suras can know him. What to speak of the asuras.
• The Supreme Lord is the source of the Vedas and alone knows the complete truth.
• One must learn from Him, not through independent speculation.
• Krishna is the final and only authority on who can understand Him or appraoch Him.
• Best way to Know Krishna is to approach a devotee of Krishna.
• If one speculates on Krishna, one cannot understand Krishna. That becomes impersonalism as well. anumana and pratyaksha are not the ways to understand Krishna. Only through śruti and smriti can one understand Krishna -sabda pramana is the only way to understand Krishna.
• The Lord is not impersonal despite being all-pervasive.
• suras who are devotees are able to approach and understand the Lord.
• The mantra emphasizes that the Absolute Truth is a person, not just a force.
• Human lifei s meant to work the way Krishna wants us to work.
• BG 2.40 -svalpa api dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat - even a little bit of devotional service can save us from the greatest fear.

5 June, 2025

• Krishna is faster than the mind.
• Even the most powerful demigods cannot catch up with Him.
• He remains still yet controls all forces of nature, like air and rain.
• Only the lord's devotees can reach the Lord.
• We are all part and parcel of the Lord, but we will never be equal to the Lord.
• A drop of water is part and parcel of the ocean, but it will never be equal to the ocean. Qualitatively, the drop is the same as the ocean, but quantitatively it is not.
• We are anu (minute) and Krishna is vibhu (all-pervasive).
• The Lord is the source of all energies, and He is the controller of all energies.
• The Lord's energies are not to be mistaken as the Lord Himself.
• Prabhupada: Even though we are part and parcel of the Lord, Some people think that they are independent of the Lord. Foolish people think that they can be independent of the Lord, but they are not. They are dependent on the Lord.
• The goal of Shastras is to identify who we are and establish our relationship with the Lord.
• Isopaniṣad is a very important Upanishad because it establishes the relationship between the Lord and the living entities.
• If we forget our relationship with the Lord, we will be in illusion (māyā).
• We should be careful not to forget our position and relationship with the Lord.
• Finger severed from hand has no value. We have value only when we are connected to the Lord.
• Similarly, a screw off a machine, machine makes noise and when put back works properly.
• Perfection is to align ourselves (and our will) with the Lord's will.
• Prabhupad: When we utilise our energies coming from the lord correctly - BG 7.8, Then in a humble position we can serve the lord.
• Not with a puffed up ego, but with a humble position.
• Gauranga Darshan Prabhu: Devotees should be humbble and always remain humble.
• Prabhupada: When we have this understanding on energies from the lord, we will have a humble position.
• Prabhupada: The Lord can be known by one who has adopted such a submissive service attitude.

My Summary

Śrī Īśopaniṣad – Mantra 4 Summary

Source: Vedabase.io – ISO 4

Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running. The powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence.

1. The Lord Is Beyond Material Limits

• Though He resides eternally in His own abode, goloka vrindavana, the Supreme Lord is faster than the mind.
• Even the most powerful demigods cannot catch up with Him.
• He remains still yet controls all forces of nature, like air and rain.

2. Not Attainable by Mental Speculation

• Mental speculation is futile in knowing the Supreme.
• Even great philosophers, traveling at the speed of the mind for millions of years, cannot reach Him.
• He can be known only through His mercy, not intellectual effort.

3. Simultaneously Localized and All-Pervading

• Like fire radiating heat and light, the Lord remains in Goloka yet acts everywhere.
• His presence throughout creation is due to His inconceivable potencies.

4. Three Principal Energies of the Lord

• The Lord’s energies are classified as:
  • Internal potency – manifests the spiritual world.
  • Marginal potency – includes living beings and demigods.
  • External potency – constitutes material nature.
• All beings, including humans and demigods, are part of His marginal energy.

5. The Lord Remains a Transcendental Person

• The Lord is not impersonal despite being all-pervasive.
• His energies are not to be mistaken as the Lord Himself.
• The mantra emphasizes that the Absolute Truth is a person, not just a force.

6. True Knowledge Comes from the Lord

• The Supreme Lord is the source of the Vedas and alone knows the complete truth.
• One must learn from Him, not through independent speculation.

7. Living Beings Have Designated Roles

• Each soul is a part and parcel of the Lord, empowered to fulfill a specific role.
• Forgetting this role leads to illusion (māyā).

8. Free Will Must Be Used Properly

• The soul shares the Lord’s initiative in a limited way.
• When used properly, it leads to revival of original consciousness and liberation from māyā.

9. Submissive Service Attitude Reveals the Lord

• Perfect knowledge includes:
  • Knowing the Lord’s personal form,
  • Understanding His energies,
  • Realizing how those energies act under His will.
• This knowledge arises only through a devotional and submissive mood.