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According to achintya bhedabheda philosophy started by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we the living entities are qualitatively the same with God but are different quantitatively (i.e. those same Godly qualities are in us but in less amount or in small quantities).

So what are those qualities of God or Krishna, that we also possess? Would love to hear what the Hare Krishnas or ISKCON members have to say.

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  • Silence blissful love compassion - silence of mind would lead to blissful nature of Atman which in turn would make you experience of love compassion. Aug 26, 2018 at 10:45
  • But that's part of yoga philosophy, which is silencing the mind or vritti waves and experiencing bliss or true nature of Atman. I'm more interested in Achintya bheda abheda or gaudiya vaishnava philosophy. They say we possess all qualities of Krishna. They named one or two , like Krishna loves pleasures and so do we (us indulging in sensual pleasures) ... Krishna controls Prakriti and so do we (us invading other countries and so on.) Would love to hear a few more. Aug 26, 2018 at 10:57
  • So, you want to conceive of the inconceivable? Oct 14, 2018 at 4:42

2 Answers 2

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According to Rupa Goswami, one of the direct disciples of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Shri Krishna exhibits a total of sixty four qualities, of which fifty of them ordinary Jivas can possess. The following are the fifty qualities by pure devotion:

  1. Beautiful bodily features which automatically attract the eyes, called rucira
  2. Auspicious characteristics
  3. Extremely pleasing
  4. Effulgent
  5. Strong
  6. Truthful
  7. Fluent
  8. Highly Learned
  9. Highly intelligent
  10. Genius
  11. Artistic
  12. Clever
  13. Expert
  14. Grateful
  15. Seer by the Authority of the Scriptures
  16. Pure
  17. Self-controlled
  18. Steadfast
  19. Forbearing
  20. Forgiving
  21. Grave
  22. Self satisfied
  23. Possessing equilibrium
  24. Magnanimous
  25. Religious
  26. Heroic
  27. Compassionate
  28. Respectful
  29. Gentle
  30. Liberal
  31. Shy
  32. Protector of surrendered souls
  33. Happy
  34. Well-wisher to His devotees
  35. Controlled by love
  36. All auspicious
  37. Most Powerful
  38. All famous
  39. Popular 40 Partiality to devotees
  40. Very attractive to all women
  41. All worshipable
  42. All opulent
  43. All honorable
  44. The supreme controller
  45. Ever youthful
  46. Wonderful linguist
  47. Pleasing talker
  48. Determined
  49. Expert judge of time and circumstances

The following are the five qualities that are partially manifested in Brahma and Self-realised Jivas, and fully manifested in Sadashiva:

  1. Changeless
  2. All cognizant
  3. Ever fresh
  4. Sat-chit-ananda
  5. Possessing all mystic perfections

The following are the five qualities present in Narayana:

  1. Inconceivable potencies
  2. Creative
  3. The original source of everything
  4. Liberator of enemies
  5. Attractor of all liberated souls

Alongside the sixty qualities mentioned above, there are four more qualities which are unique only to Krishna:

61: Performer of all wonderful activities 62: Always surrounded by loving devotees 63: Wonderful player of the flute 64. Exquisite beauty

Source: http://www.radhakunda.com/personalities/krsna_64_qualities.html

Now, that doesn't mean Krishna is limited to only sixty-four qualities in Gaudiya Vaishnavism. There are actually infinite qualities of the Lord and the qualities apart from the ones stated above, are indescribable as the Gaudiya Vaishnava definition of the term "Saguna Brahman" states (Brahman comprising of infinite auspicious/positive qualities).

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    So now 64 in spirituality has greater significance from this we can know. 64 Kalai, 64 Bairava, Nataraj Thandav 64 thirumeni - seems everything linked. From this we can understand numbers like 8, 64, 9, 12, 18, 16 have greater significance in a route to Moksha Aug 26, 2018 at 16:17
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    Thanks Surya. And what about the sat chit ananda. You've mentioned in your post that it's present in Shiva & Bruhma. Does that mean it's not present in us jeevas as per Gauda Vaishnavism? Aug 26, 2018 at 16:33
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    @TheCrimson It is said that Brahman is sat cit ananda, and we jiva souls are small particles of Lord Krishna who is Brahman as per Bhagavad gita vedabase.com/en/bg/15/7 So we are also sat-cit-ananda in our essential nature, but in very small degree. Aug 26, 2018 at 18:33
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    Sanatanah means eternal :) Oct 14, 2018 at 11:56
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    @Rubellite The word sanātanaḥ doesn't mean "infinitesimal" but "eternal" as translated and explained in Bhagavad-gita 15.7 at vedabase.com/en/bg/15/7 In that verse the word aṁśaḥ means "fragmental particle", but in the Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.9 the word aṇu describes jivatma to be "atomic" or if you wish infinitesimal or extremely small as I explained at hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/22356/2790 Sanskrit dictionaries also explain sanātanaḥ to mean "eternal". Oct 15, 2018 at 13:21
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In Bhagavad-gītā 14.2 we find,

By becoming fixed in this knowledge (of discernment of the guṇas),
one can attain to the transcendental nature like My own.
Thus established, one is not born at the time of creation
or disturbed at the time of dissolution.

The quality of a living entity after liberation, which is the real nature, is explained in this verse. We attain an eternal nature like Krishna's, unaffected by creation and destruction.

In this way we attain oneness of nature with Krishna. But the oneness is only restricted to scope of having an eternal nature free from sorrow, explained later in the same chapter. There are other verses that talk about Krishna's qualities which belong only to him but never to jiva e.g. omniscience.

We find in Bhagavad-gītā 7.26

O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.

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    Oct 13, 2018 at 8:46
  • @subashrajaa, I doubt that we can attain oneness of nature with Krishna after liberation. He has that 'one' quality, that we can never have. The quality of creation and destruction of the cosmos. Oct 14, 2018 at 11:54
  • Thanks crimson. Made the clarifying edit with another supporting verse. Oct 14, 2018 at 12:24
  • How to tag a verse so it shows up in yellow Oct 14, 2018 at 13:12
  • For formatting help, see "How do I format my posts using Markdown or HTML?". You can also click on ? on the answer editor. It is in the top right corner. Oct 14, 2018 at 16:31

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