Krishna consciousness awakens the soul to God's supreme attractiveness beyond all material illusion.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Lecture — May 18, 1972, Los Angeles 720518LE-LOS ANGELES [37:33 Minutes] Lecture_720518LE-LOS ANGELES Prabhupāda: [chants maṅgalācaraṇa prayers] oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam vande 'haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgī rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṇamāmi hari-priye śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare So ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your kindly participating in our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. As you know, from the very name, "Kṛṣṇa consciousness"... When this society was registered in 1966 in New York, some friend suggested that the society may be named as "God consciousness." "Kṛṣṇa.." They thought that "Kṛṣṇa..." In the dictionary also, it is said, "Kṛṣṇa is a Hindu god's name," in English dictionary. But actually, if there is any name or if there any name can be fixed up for God, it is Kṛṣṇa. God has practically no name.
"No name" means He has name, but nobody knows how many names He has. [laughter] Yes, that is the way. Because God is unlimited, therefore His names must be also unlimited. You cannot fix up one name.
Just like Kṛṣṇa is sometimes called Yaśodā-nandana, the son of Mother Yaśodā. That is quite all right, because He played the part of son of Yaśodā-mā. So Yaśodā-nandana means son of Yaśodā. Devakī-nandana, son of Devakī.
Vasudeva-nandana, Nanda-nandana, Pārtha-sārathi. Pārtha-sārathi means He acted as the charioteer of Arjuna, Pārtha, the son of Pṛthā. Arjuna's mother's name was Pṛthā, so Arjuna's another name—Pārtha. And because He acted as the charioteer of Pārtha, His name is Pārtha-sārathi. So actually, Kṛṣṇa, or God, has many dealings with His many devotees, and that particular dealing may be called His name.
Therefore... He has innumerable devotees, therefore He has innumerable names. You cannot fix up one name. But this Kṛṣṇa name means "all-attractive." He attracts everyone. That is the real name, "all-attractive." You have seen Kṛṣṇa's picture.
He is attractive to the animals, cows, calves, birds, bees, trees, plants, water in Vṛndāvana. He's attractive to the cowherds boy, He's attractive to the gopīs, He's attractive to Nanda Mahārāja, He's attractive to the Pāṇḍavas. He's still attractive to the whole human society. Therefore, if any particular name can be given to God, that is Kṛṣṇa. And Parāśara Muni, a great sage, father of Vyāsadeva, who compiled all the Vedic literatures, his father, Parāśara Muni, He gave definition of God: aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣaḍ iti bhagaṁ ganā [Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47] By these six opulences, one can ascertain what is God.
What are those opulences? That He's the proprietor of all riches. Here, we have got experience, one rich man. One may be very rich man, but nobody can say that he is the richest, there is no other man who is not richer than him.