Leaders must exemplify divine principles, for society mirrors the consciousness of those who guide it.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Rotary Club Lecture Bhagavad-gītā 3.21 — November 29, 1972, Hyderabad 721129LE-HYDERABAD [34:09 Minutes] Lecture_721129LE-HYDERABAD Bg-03.21_721129LE-HYDERABAD Prabhupāda: Rotarians and Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you very much for your kindly inviting me in this important meeting of very respectable gentlemen of the city. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad eva itare janaḥ sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate [Bg. 3.21] Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ. There are leading men in every society—in government post and educational institution, in business, and so many other fields. In every field of activity, there are leading men.
That is natural. And in the Vedas we understand the supreme leading person is God. nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān [Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13] Leaders must be accepted. Just like father is necessary, similarly, leader is also necessary, guru is also necessary. So according to Vedic verse, Vedic version, we can understand that the supreme leader is Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, God, a person.
The conception of Absolute Truth, as given in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate [SB 1.2.11]: "The Absolute Truth is realized from three angles of vision—as the impersonal Brahman, the localized Paramātmā and the Supreme Personality of Godhead." The..., this Bhagavān, this word, is used at the end in the matter of describing the nature of Absolute Truth. So those who are trying to understand the Absolute Truth by philosophical speculation, they can reach up to the impersonal Brahman effulgence of the Absolute Truth. Similarly, those who are trying to find out the Absolute Truth within the heart—dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ [SB 12.13.1]—they are generally called yogīs. And the philosophical speculators, they are called jñānīs. So jñānī, yogīs. So the jñānīs, they reach up to the impersonal Brahman effulgence, and the yogīs, they reach up to the localized aspect of the Supreme Person. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]. Īśvara, the Supreme Person, is within your heart, everyone's heart.
Sarva-bhūtānām. Not only human being, but also animals, trees, insects, aquatics. There are 8,400,000 forms of life. So in each and every living entity, within the heart, there is representation of God, who is known as Paramātmā. So brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate.
At last, Bhagavān. Bhaga. Bhaga means opulence, and vān means possessing. So the possessor of the opulences in full is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is described in Vedic literature as Kṛṣṇa, "all-attractive." Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam.
There is a list of different incarnation of God. Even Lord Buddha's name is there. So the con..., in the conclusive portion it is said, ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28]. All these description of the incarnation, they are plenary portion or portion of the portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But the name we find here as Kṛṣṇa, He is the Supreme.
Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. Svayam. He is the original Personality of Godhead. Similarly, we get information from other Vedic literatures, just like Brahmā-saṁhitā. It is written by Lord Brahmā.