Red ? Black ? Green ? White ? Yellow ? Blue ?
The simple answer would be "God is whatever color He chooses to be",
which is true.
But there are also official and scriptural explanations... which follows......
The four Yuga-Avatars (incarnations of God Who appear in the four different yugas (ages)) are sukla (white) in the Satya-yuga; rakta (red) in the Treta-yuga and also in a greenish form, as Lord Ramachandra; syama (dark blue - (in His original form of Krishna)) in the Dvapara-yuga. His color is also compared to a monsoon cloud, or a blue lotus.
In this age we now live in - Kali yuga , the rare appearance of God in His golden form took place in the 15th century as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Who gave us the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Sometimes Lord Krishna Himself appears in Treta yuga instead of Dvapara-yuga. And at the end of Kali yuga He appears as Lord Kalki to end the Yuga cycle and to begin anew starting with Satya yuga (the age of Goodness) again.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
There is nothing comparable to the bodily features of Lord Krishna when He was present in this world. The most beautiful object in the material world may be compared to the blue lotus flower or the full moon in the sky, but even the lotus flower and the moon were defeated by the beauty of the bodily features of Lord Krishna.
This was certified by the demigods, the most beautiful living creatures in the universe. The demigods thought that Lord Krishna, like themselves, was also created by Lord Brahma, but in fact Brahma was created by Lord Krishna. It was not within the power of Brahma to create the transcendental beauty of the Supreme Lord.
- Srimad Bhagavatam 3.2.13 Purport by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
The color of the Personality of Godhead Krishna, is described here as nilotpala-dala, meaning that it is like that of a lotus flower with petals tinted blue and white. People always ask why Krishna is blue. The color of the Lord has not been imagined by an artist. It is described in authoritative scripture.
It is in the Brahma Samhita also, the color of Krishna's body is compared to that of a bluish cloud. The color of the Lord is not poetical imagination. There are authoritative descriptions in the Brahma samhita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita and many of the Puranas of the Lord's body......
- Srimad Bhagavatam 3.28.13 Purport by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
and here's a nice description from Chaitanya Charitamrta Adi Lila 4.224........
"My dear friends, just see how Sri Krishna is enjoying the season of spring! With the gopis (the cowherd girls of Vrindavan) embracing each of His limbs, He is like amorous love personified. With His transcendental pastimes, He enlivens all the gopis and the entire creation. With His soft bluish-black arms and legs. which resemble blue lotus flowers, He has created a festival for Cupid (the God of Love)."
- Purport by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami: This is a verse from Jayadeva Goswami's Gita Govinda (1.11)
- Govinda (one of Krishna's many names), means He Who gives pleasure to 'Go'- which means - the senses of all living entities.
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, Who is adept in playing on His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus petals, with head bedecked with peacock's feather, with the figure of beauty tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and His unique lovliness charming millions of Cupids.
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth and substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane."
This form has nothing whatsoever to do with material forms. Impersonalists say, "Oh, you say Krsna has a form. If so, how can you say that He is the Supreme? The impersonal Brahman is the Supreme, and the impersonal Brahman is formless."
But we have information from Bhagavad Gita that Krsna is the Source of the impersonal Brahnman.
brahmano hi pratisthaham
amrtasyavyayasya ca
sasvatasya ca dharmasya
sukhasya ikantikasya ca
"And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal and imperishable, eternal, the constitutional position of ultimate happiness."
- BG 14.27
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Krsna certainly has form, but His form, as stated before, is sat-cit-ananda-vigraha - eternal, full of bliss, and full of knowledge. The attributes of His transcendental body are summarized by Lord Brahma in this way:
isvarah paramah krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva-karana-karanam
"Krsna, Who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Gohead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes."
- Brahma-samhita 5.1)
Krsna is the exalted Supreme entity having His eternal name, eternal form, eternal attribution and eternal pastimes. The very name "Krsna" implies His love-attracting designation, expressing by His eternal nomenclature the acme of entity. His eternal heavenly blue-tinged body glowing with the intensity of ever-existing knowledge has a flute in both His hands.
As His inconceivable spiritual energy is all-extending, still He maintains His all-charming medium size by His qualifying spiritual instrumentals. His all-accomodating supreme subjectivity is nicely manifested in His eternal form. The concentrated all-time presence, uncovered knowledge and inebriating felicity have their beauty in Him. The mundane manifestive portion of His own Self is known as all-pervading Paramatma, Isvara (Superior Lord) or Visnu (All-fostering).
Hence it is evident that Krsna is sole Supreme Godhead.
His unrivalled or unique spiritual body of superexcellent charm is eternally unveiled with innumerable spiritual instrumentals (senses) and unreckonable attributes keeping their signifying location properly, adjusting at the same time by His inconceivable concilliative powers. This beautiful spiritual figure is identical with Krsna and the spiritual entity of Krsna is identical with His own figure.
The very intensely blended entity of eternal presence of felicitous cognition is the charming targeted holding or transcendental icon. It follows that the conception of the indistinguishable formless magnitude (Brahman) which is an indolent, lax, presentment of cognitive bliss, is merely a penumbra of intensely blended glow of the three concomitants, viz., the blissful, the substantive and the cognitive.
This transcendental manifestive icon Krsna in His original face is primordial background of magnitudinal infinite Brahman and of the all-pervasive oversoul. Krsna as truly visioned in His variegated pastimes, such as owner of transcendental cows, chief of cowherds, consort of milkmaids, ruler of the terrestrial abode, Gokula and object of worship by transcendental residents of Goloka beauties, is Govinda.
He is the root cause of all causes who are the predominating and predominated agents of the universe. The glance of His projected fractional portion in the sacred originating water viz., the personal oversoul or Paramatma, gives rise to a secondary potency - nature, who creates this mundane universe. This oversoul's intermediate energy brings forth the individual souls analogously to the emanated rays of the sun.
- From Brahma-samhita Purport by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami, the beloved guru of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
|