Question: In the Brahma Samhita verse 5.38, Lord Brahma says that acintya guna svarupam. I was trying to understand this verse with Nector of Devotion chapter 21 where Srila Rupa Goswami says there are 64 qualities of Krishna, which are exhibited in full. I am neither eligible nor qualified to compare realizations of great Mahatmas like Lord Brahma and Srila Rupa Goswami.
Please help me understand how Lord Brahma mentions inconceivable innumerable attributes of Krishna whereas Srila Rupa Goswami is very
specific about 64 distinct qualities of Krishna exhibited in full. How should we understand the apparent contradiction in realizations of Lord Brahma and Srila Rupa Goswami?
Answer by Romapada Swami :
There is no actual contradiction between these two descriptions.
This is resolved right before the beginning of the delineation of the 64 qualities (Cc Madhya 23.69): “The transcendental qualities of Lord Krishna are unlimited. Out of these, sixty-four are considered prominent.”
We can look at a parallel example: Krishna is full in six opulences – these are enumerated by Parasara Muni. But Krishna Himself declares, at the end of BG Ch 10, that His opulences are unlimited. The resolution is that any one of these innumerable opulences can be categorized among the six principal opulences, or a combination of them.
Consider another, quite a material example — material nature essentially consists of only 3 qualities, viz. goodness, passion and ignorance. These three qualities of material nature combine and recombine to produce unlimited material variegatedness.
Although a very poor comparison to transcendence, this can give some idea of how Krishna’s transcendental qualities expand into unlimited varieties. There are 64 principal qualities. Each of these are as dynamic and deep as the ocean. Thus they give rise to unending waves of ever-fresh and unique qualities.
Again, consider any one of Krishna’s qualities, say His compassion – the compassion He exhibits towards Putana is very different and unique, compared to the way He shows His compassion towards Jagai and Madhai, for instance. Our Acharyas explain that since Krishna is reciprocating with innumerable living entities, each reciprocation being characterized by its own unique qualitative features — this is one way how His qualities are also innumerable.
Therefore Lord Brahma prays that no one can enumerate the Lord’s qualities even if they can somehow count the atoms in the universe.
