Seeing God's Form

A short, stocky Indian man asked a leading question. “I would like to ask just one question. I would like to hear your explanation on how you have seen the form of God, if you have had any enlightenment on this, in what form you have..?”

Prabhupada did not wait for him to finish his question: “Here is the picture of Krsna. You don’t believe? You have not seen a picture of Krsna?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Then why do you say there is no form of Krsna? When you see a photograph of a person, how do you know that he has no form?”

The man did not understand Prabhupada’s question. Prabhupada repeated. “If you see a photograph of your father, how do you say that he is impersonal? That he has no form? How do you conclude? First of all answer me. I have seen the form of Krsna. You have seen also the form of Krsna. There are hundreds and thousands of temples in India. Do you think they are all fools? And they were established by big acaryas like Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnusvami and Lord Caitanya. There is Jagannatha temple. Every day hundreds and thousands of people are going to see. In Vrndavana there are 5,000 temples of Krsna. Five to ten thousand people are going. You know in India, there are so many pilgrimages. So do you think all these temples established by our predecessors, they are all fools?”

The man asked, “So therefore you conclude that when you become enlightened, you will see God in the form of human nature?”

“Yes. That is after.” Prabhupada answered the man’s doubt at length, and in conclusion told him “Chant Hare Krsna mantra with your tongue. Take Krsna prasadam. You will gradually develop your Krsna consciousness and you will understand what is God. That is the process.”