Category:Testing Krsna
Theme Analysis
The concept of testing Kṛṣṇa is presented by Śrīla Prabhupāda not as an act of mundane skepticism, but as a historical mechanism through which the Lord's supreme status is verified for the benefit of the world. While great personalities like Brahmā and Indra are not fools, they occasionally fall under the influence of the Lord's illusory energy to facilitate pastimes that demonstrate Kṛṣṇa's inconceivable potency. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that even when the Lord appears as an ordinary child or a friend, His divinity can be scrutinized and proven, as seen when Arjuna requested the universal form to set a standard for identifying genuine Godhead. Ultimately, these tests lead to a deeper state of surrender and the realization that the Lord's power is unlimited and beyond comparison.
- The Bewildering of Demigods: Even highly empowered beings like Lord Brahmā may attempt to test Kṛṣṇa's lordship due to the Lord's playful human-like pastimes. Brahmā's theft of the cowherd boys and calves only served to reveal Kṛṣṇa's ability to expand Himself into infinite Viṣṇu forms, proving that His energy is the original source of all power.
- Arjuna's Standard for Divinity: Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the Bhagavad-gītā, yet he requested to see the universal form as a test. This was done to provide a historical precedent so that in the future, people could distinguish between the true Supreme Lord and "bogus rascals" claiming to be God.
- Vows and Prowess: In the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa's marriages, such as with King Nagnajit's daughter, the Lord accepted specific tests of heroic prowess. By controlling seven powerful bulls without difficulty, Kṛṣṇa established His position as the chief of all heroes and a suitable son-in-law for the King.
- The Science of Verification: Śrīla Prabhupāda challenges everyone to test his statement that Kṛṣṇa is God. Just as a mother tests a baby's health or a scientist tests a hypothesis, the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness allows one to scrutinize the Lord's qualities and accept Him based on realized knowledge rather than blind faith.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Testing Kṛṣṇa - Establishing the Supreme Potency.
Pages in category "Testing Krsna"
The following 19 pages are in this category, out of 19 total.
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- Brahma and Indra, they are not fools. When they saw that "A boy is in Vrndavana, and He is accepted as the Supreme Lord, and He is doing something like God. Let us test"
- Brahma had tried to test Lord Krsna to see if He was really the Supreme Personality of Godhead playing as a cowherd boy
- Brahma understood that "It was my fault that I wanted to test my Lord." Then he came and surrendered, and there is a very nice stotra of Brahma
- Brahma, to test Krsna's Lordship, stole all the Lord's calves and cowherd boys with his own mystic power. Sri Krsna responded, however, by replacing all the calves and boys in the field
- Brahma, with his maya, wanted to test whether Krsna was actually present
I
- If I say, "Here is God," now it is up to you to test my statement. If you know what God is, then test my statement about Krsna, and then you'll accept Him as God
- In the Eleventh Chapter Arjuna requested Krsna that "If you think, You can show me Your universal form," so that in future others will accept some bogus rascal as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he may test by seeing
K
- King Nagnajit continued, "I have imposed this test just to understand the prowess & position of my intended son-in-law. You, Krsna, are the chief of all heroes. I am sure You will be able to bring these seven bulls under control without any difficulty"
- King Nagnajit continued, "You (Krsna) may kindly know that from the very beginning I have made a vow to marry my daughter to a suitable candidate, one who can come out victorious in the test I have devised"
- Krsna taught Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita, and Arjuna also accepted Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but for our understanding Arjuna requested the Lord to manifest His universal form, thus testing whether He was actually the Supreme Lord
T
- The playful pastimes of the Lord caused suspicion in the mind of Lord Brahma, and therefore Lord Brahma, to test Krsna's Lordship, stole all the Lord's calves and cowherd boys with his own mystic power
- There cannot be different description of God. God is one. One must know who is that God. That is education. Now, we are teaching that, "Here is God, Krsna." Now it is up to you to test whether Krsna is God or not God
- There is another example of indirect astonishment. Trying to test Krsna to see if He were truly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Brahma stole all the cowherd boys and cows from Him
W
- When a baby drinks milk from the breast of his mother, this is a good sign of health. So the elderly gopis were not satisfied with chanting mantras to give protection to Krsna; they also tested whether their child's health was in order
- When Aghasura was being killed by Krsna, who was accompanied by His associates, Brahma was astonished, but when he saw that Krsna was very much enjoying His pastimes of lunch, he was even more astonished & wanted to test whether Krsna was actually there
- When Brahma took away Krsna's associates to test the supremacy of Lord Krsna, the Lord expanded Himself again in the forms of the many cowherd boys and calves, all of whom, as Brahma saw, were visnu-murtis
- When Lord Krsna was present in the earthly Vrndavana, Lord Brahma, taking Him to be an ordinary cowherd boy, wanted to test His potency. Therefore Lord Brahma stole all the calves and cowherd boys from Krsna and hid them by his illusory energy