Only devotion reveals Krishna's inconceivable nature as one form expanding infinitely to fulfill His devotees' deepest desires.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Prabhupāda: 'bhaktye' bhagavānera anubhava—pūrṇa-rūpa eka-i vigrahe tāìra ananta svarūpa [Cc Madhya 20.164] [Only by devotional activity can one understand the transcendental form of the Lord, which is perfect in all respects. Although His form is one, He can expand His form into unlimited numbers by His supreme will.] By expansion of Kṛṣṇa, that is being described by Lord Caitanya. They are described in different Vedic literatures, and we are getting the information in one place from Lord Caitanya. So that is the advantage, to be in the disciplic succession.
To find out in different information from different scriptures, it is very difficult, but if we become in the line of disciplic succession, all the experience is at once achieved. If you want to fight in the law court and if you want to find out all the law sections from the law book, it is very difficult for you. Better to go to a lawyer who knows the law section and take help, and it is all right. Similarly, there are different kinds of descriptions of the Supreme Lord.
The experienced spiritual master gives us the information in one place. So about the expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, in Brahma-saṃhitā, Īśopaniṣad, there are various Vedic literatures... They are all, I mean to say, taken together, calculated and presented by Lord Caitanya. He says, svayaṃ-rūpa tad-ekātma-rūpa, āveśa—nāma prathamei tina-rūpe rahena bhagavān [Cc Madhya 20.165] [The Supreme Personality of Godhead exists in three principal forms—svayaṃ-rūpa, tad-ekātma-rūpa and āveśa-rūpa.] Svayaṃ-rūpa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, He is called svayaṃ-rūpa, His personal feature.
Then tad-ekātmā. So tad-ekātma-rūpa means not exactly the same person, but almost the same. Tad-ekātma. And āveśa. Āveśa means that empowered. There is always difference between the individual soul and the Supreme Absolute Soul.
When the individual soul is specially empowered by the Supreme Soul, that is called āveśa. He can act almost like God. We accept, according to this āveśa, āveśa-avatāra incarnation, authorized incarnation, we accept, my Guru Mahārāja accepted Lord Jesus Christ and Hazrat Muhammad, this āveśa incarnation, almost the same powerful. svayaṃ-rūpa tad-ekātma-rūpa, āveśa—nāma prathamei tina-rūpe rahena bhagavān [Cc Madhya 20.165] Now, in the first instance the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, and tad-ekātmā, His next expansion with the same features, and āveśa, a powerful incarnation or powerful living entity... 'svayaṃ-rūpa' 'svayaṃ-prakāśa'—dui rūpe sphūrti svayaṃ-rūpe—eka 'kṛṣṇa' vraje gopa-mūrti [Cc Madhya 20.166] [The original form of the Lord [svayaṃ-rūpa] is exhibited in two forms—svayaṃ-rūpa and svayaṃ-prakāśa. In His original form as svayaṃ-rūpa, Kṛṣṇa is observed as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana.] Svayaṃ-rūpa, the supreme personal feature, and svayaṃ-prakāśa...
His immediate expansion is called svayaṃ-prakāśa. So in His svayaṃ-rūpa, in His personal feature, He always remains at Vṛndāvana, and He is just like a cowherd boy. That is His real feature, Kṛṣṇa. The Kṛṣṇa in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, that is not the real feature of Kṛṣṇa. Just like a person, high-court judge, where you will find his real feature?
His real feature you will find at his home, not on the bench. In the bench, even his father comes, the high-court judge's father, he will have to address the judge, "My lord." That is the court. The same person at home and same person in the court is different, although the same person. Similarly, the real Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, He never goes out of Vṛndāvana. He remains always a cowherd boy.