Volume 3 - Prabhupada Books

Text 156] Lord Caitanya's Travels to the Holy Places 377
"A pa�arxii is one who considers the great demigods such as Lord Brahma and Lord
Siva equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayal)a" (Hari-bhakti­
vilasa 1.117) The conclusion is that we should not differentiate between the
forms of the Lord. However, we should not equate the forms of the Lord with the
forms of demigods or human beings. For instance, sometimes foolish sannyasis
equate daridra-narayaQa with Narayal)a, and this is certainly offensive. To think of
the body of the Lord as material is also offensive. Unless one is instructed by a
bona fide spiritual master, he cannot perfectly understand these different forms.
Brahma-sarhhita confirms, vede�u dur/abham adur/abham ;Hma-bhaktau. One
cannot understand the differences between the forms of the Lord simply by
academic study or by reading Vedic literature. One must learn from a realized
devotee. Only then can one learn how to distinguish between one form of the
Lord and another. The conclusion is that there is no difference between the forms
of the Lord, but there is a difference between His forms and those of the
demigods.
TEXT 156
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