Question: Why do Mathurā and Vṛndāvana change with the seasons if they are eternal? If “eternal” means no change, then why does Kṛṣṇa grow after being born? Does this mean that He is not eternal?
Answer: He is eternal, His abode is eternal, and change in them is also eternal. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī explains that Kṛṣṇa, His associate and His abode have unlimited prakāśas. His pastimes are going on eternally, unlike material actions.
In everyday life, an action signifies change, which means it cannot be eternal. However, in the case of Kṛṣṇa, His actions are eternal. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī illustrates this with the example of the sun. From a specific location on Earth, the sun appears to rise in the east at a particular time, then gradually ascends in the sky. As it moves upward, however, it simultaneously appears to be rising at another location further west. In this way, at any given moment, the sun is always in different phases—rising, at its zenith, or setting—depending on one’s perspective.
Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is eternally manifesting in different prakāśas (divine manifestations) of Vṛndāvana. He is always taking birth, always engaged in pastimes, and always present in different stages of His līlā. Likewise, the seasons in Vṛndāvana exist eternally, each present in a particular prakāśa. To our limited perception, it seems as though Kṛṣṇa is growing or that the seasons are changing, but in reality, these states are all eternally present.
Question: Kṛṣṇa weds, Kṛṣṇa battles demons, and Kṛṣṇa saves people in need! If Kṛṣṇa isn’t capable of making the world the way He desires, then neither has He pure freedom nor is He omnipotent.
Answer: What if He desires the world to be exactly as it is, so that He can continue battling demons and engaging in His pastimes? The problem with the above argument is that it attempts to confine Kṛṣṇa within human logic, thereby denying Him His divine freedom. But He is far too clever for that. He remains beyond the limits of logic—and that is His ultimate freedom.
