The topic of energy and the possessor of energies has been under discussion for a long time. Some people say that whatever is seen in the universe is but a manifestation of energy. They doubt whether there is anything other than energy. Energy is the revealer of things. The things themselves cannot be realized but are perceived only through their energy. Among the examples they give, the following is one.
Earth has various qualities. What we call earth is but a collection of those qualities. One cannot say whether earth exists or not, after taking away the qualities. Qualities are energy. Therefore energy is the only principle of existence.
Others counter this argument by saying that energy has no separate existence; it is an inseparable nature of the object. What the object reveals is called energy.
The great devotees have concluded that energy (quality) is one entity and the possessor of energy (object) is another entity. Though they are different they are yet inseparable. Because man's mind is limited, he cannot understand the deep relation between the energy and energetic. The object and its energy, though distinct, are yet not different. Difference and non-difference coexist. This inconceivable different and non-different nature between an object and its energy is described in Caitanya Caritāmṛta.
rādhā pūrṇa śakti, kṛṣṇa pūrṇa śaktimān
dui vastu bheda nahi, śāstra paramāṇa
mṛga mada tā'ra gandha yaiche aviccheda
agni, jvālāte, yaiche kabhu nahi bheda
rādhā kṛṣṇa aiche sadā ekai svarūpa
līlārasa āsvādite dhare dui rūpa
Śrī Rādhā is the full power, and Lord Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of full power. The two are not different, as evidenced by the revealed scriptures. They are indeed the same, just as musk and its scent are inseparable, or as fire and its heat are nondifferent. Thus Rādhā and Lord Kṛṣṇa are one, yet they have taken two forms to enjoy the mellows of pastimes. (C.C.Adi,. 4.96-98)
This conclusion can be found in the Veda and Vedānta. In the scriptures the following statement is seen:
śakti śaktimator abhedaḥ
The energy and the energetic are nondifferent.
Actually there is no object except Kṛṣṇa. For that reason Kṛṣṇa is called advaya or without a second. Those who are dedicated to brahman or paramātmā, however, cannot easily identify Kṛṣṇa as the supreme object. Although the object is one only, that one object appears in three different ways according to qualification of the observer of the object.
Three people may view a mountain from three different angles. On the north side is mist. The person viewing from the north side discerns the mountain as a huge peak surrounded by mist. Bright sunlight is falling on the southern side. The person who views from the south side sees the mountain as an effulgent rock wall. The person who views the mountain from the side without any external influences sees the complete mountain clearly; he sees the actual mountain. In perceiving the absolute truth as well, learned men see the truth differently according to their different points of view.
Those who cultivate knowledge and try to see the absolute conclude that the absolute truth, which is the opposite of material existence, is devoid of form, change, energy and action. This they call brahman. However, they have not discerned the real nature of the ultimate truth. Those who, using their intelligence, search for the final object, perceive the friend of the soul, paramātmā, endowed with a form and similar in nature to the individual soul. Those who see the absolute truth by means of bhakti yoga, whose vision is without obstacles, understand the lord as he is, as bhagavān, full of all energies, all sweetness and all opulences.
nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo
na medhayā na bahunā śrutena
yam evaiṣa vṛnute tena labhyas
tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛnute tanuṁ svām
One cannot understand the supreme soul by studying the Vedas or by hearing many scriptures or by ones mental energy. The Lord reveals himself to the person who accepts the Lord as his master. That person alone attains the Lord. (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23)
In the Bhāgavatam it is written:
athāpi te deva-padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda leṣānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavān mahimnā
na cānya eko'pi ciraṁ vicinvan
O Lord, only those who attain a particle of mercy for your lotus feet can understand your glory. Those who search for you by studying the scriptures using logic cannot understand you at all. (S.B. 10.14.29)
Realizations of brahman and paramātmā are covered by māyā. Brahman realization has a covering of māyā by negation, and paramātmā realization has a covering of material energy directly. When a person is able to see the Lord with uncovered, spiritual eyes, he sees the spiritual form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This form is the highest truth, and his energies are his manifestations. If a person realizes the Lord devoid of energies, he has realization of brahman. Some, according to their inclination, think that this is the final realization. Actually, realization of bhagavān without energies, without qualities, is brahman; brahman with qualities and energies is bhagavān. Thus bhagavān is the real truth, brahman is only his impersonal effulgence, and paramātmā is the Lord's expansion who enters into the material universe. Though he appears to be brahman through the impersonal quest, the Lord is eternally existing in an inconceivable form with qualities, separate from both matter and the living etities.
Therefore Bhāgavatam says;
vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānām advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate
Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. (S.B. 1.2.11)
Realization of the Lord without energies is brahman. Realization of the Lord as a subtle being pervading the material universe is paramātmā. Realization of the Lord in full with all qualities is bhagavān. Realization of bhagavān pervaded by majesty is called Nārāyaṇa, the lord of Lakṣmi. Realization of the Lord pervaded by sweetness is called Kṛṣṇa, the lord of Rādhā. Kavirāj Gosvāmī says "Rādhā is the complete energy, Kṛṣṇa is the complete possessor of energy." This is the correct understanding.
Putting aside the realization of brahman and paramātmā as secondary, and covering the majesty of Nārāyaṇa with sweetness, Kṛṣṇa, endowed with all energies, remains the highest truth.
Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad says thus:
na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate
na tat samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śruyate
svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca
Kṛṣṇa has no work to perform with material senses, because he has no material body or senses. His body is a completely spiritual form, and thus is not limited in good qualities like a material body. Kṛṣṇa, endowed with unlimited wonderful qualities performs eternal pastimes in spiritual Vṛndāvana. But though he is so, he is still the supreme entity. No other form is equal to or superior to his form, because his form is the abode of all inconceivable energies. It is called inconceivable because by limited human intelligence the contradictions cannot be resolved. This inconceivable energy is called the superior energy, para śakti. Though one, this intrinsic energy takes three forms: jñāna (samvit), bala (sandhinī) and kriyā (hlādinī). (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8)
Thus in the Caitanya Caritāmṛta it is said:
kṛṣṇera svarūpa āra śakti traya jñāna
yāṅra haya, tāṅra nahi kṛṣṇete ajñāna
cic-chakti svarūpa-śakti antaraṅgā-nāma
tāhāra vaibhāva ananta vaikuṇṭhādi dhāma
māyā śakti bahiraṅgā jagat-kāraṇa
yāhāra vaibhāva ananta brahmaṇḍera gaṇa
jīva śakti taṭasthākya nahi yāra anta
mukhya tina śakti tāra vibheda ananta
ei ta' svarūpa gaṇa āra tina śakti
sabāra āśraya kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇe sabāra sthiti
One who knows the real feature of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His three different energies cannot remain ignorant about Him. The cit śakti, which is also called svarūpa śakti or antaraṅga śakti, displays many varied manifestations. It sustains the kingdom of God and its paraphernalia. The external energy, called māyā śakti, is the cause of innumerable universes with varied material potencies. The marginal potency, which is between these two, consists of the numberless living beings. These are the three principal energies, which have unlimited categories and subdivisions. (C.C.Adi. 2.96, 101-104)
kṛṣṇera svābhāvika tina śakti pariṇati
cic chakti, jīva śakti āra māyā śakti
Lord Kṛṣṇa naturally has three enegetic transformations, and these are known as the spiritual potency, the living entity potency and the illusory potency. (C.C.Madhya 20, 111)
There is a kārikā to elaborate on this:
śaktiḥ svābhāvikī kṛṣṇe tridaḥ cety upapadyate
sandhinī tu balaṁ samvij jñānaṁ hlādakarī kriyā
śakti-śaktimato bhedo nāstīti sāra saṁgrahaḥ
tathāpi bheda-vaicitryam acintya-śakti- kāryataḥ
sandhinyā sarvam evaitat nāma-rūpa-guṇādikam
cin-māyā-bhedato bhedo viśva-vaikuṇṭhayoḥ kila
samvidā dvi-vidhaṁ jñānaṁ cin-māyā bhedataḥ kramāt
cin-māyā-bhedataḥ siddhaṁ hlādinyā dvi- vidhaṁ sukham
hlādinī śrī svarūpā yā saiva priyaṅkarī
mahābhāva-svarūpa sā hlādinī vārṣabhānavī
In the scriptures, Kṛṣṇa's three intrinsic energies are described as bala (sandhinī), jñāna (samvit) and kriyā (hlādinī). The energies and the source of the energies are non-different. This is the conclusion of the scriptures. However, through the operation of the inconceivable energy of the Lord, variety becomes manifest. The function of the sandhinī (existence) śakti is manifestation of name, form and qualities of things. This brings about the material existence through sandhinī's material function and the spiritual existence through its spiritual function. Jñāna also has two varieties, spiritual and material samvit. Similarly there are spiritual and material hlādinī energies which give rise to spiritual and material pleasure. The hlādinī śakti is the dear servant of Kṛṣṇa. She becomes Rādhā, the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu in manifesting mahābhāva, the highest ecstasy of spiritual love.
Kṛṣṇa has only one intrinsic energy called the superior energy (parā śakti). This energy creates variety in the spiritual world and increases the varieties of bliss. Though the influence of this energy is infinite, from the point of view of the jīva, it appears to have three functions: as the cit śakti, the jīva śakti and the māyā śakti. The influence of the three energies are described in many places in the Vedas. Śvetāśvatara describes the cit śakti manifestation thus:
ṛco akṣare parame vyoman yasmin devā adhiviśve niṣeduḥ
yas tan na veda kim ṛca kariṣyati ya ittad vidus ta ime samāsate
The verses of the g Veda describe the indestructible spiritual sky, where all the devas reside. Of what use are the Vedas to a person who does not know this fact? Those who understand this have been successful. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.8)
There is a kārikā:
viṣṇu-śaktih parā proktā purāṇe vaiṣṇave tu yā
sā caivātrātmā śaktitve varṇitā tattva-nirṇaye
The parā śakti described in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa is called the svarūpa śakti in philosophical discussions.
This is likewise explained in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad.
te dhyāna-yogānugatā apaśyan devātmā-śaktim sva-gunair nigūḍām
yaḥ kāraṇāni nikhilāni tāni kālātmā-yuktāny adhi tiṣṭhaty ekaḥ
The one possessor of energy appears as the controller of all causes, along with the jīva and time. The persons absorbed in yoga meditation have seen this personal energy of the Lord (ātmā śakti) which is surrounded by its expansions. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 1.3)
There is a kārikā concerning the māyā śakti:
avidyākarma saṁjñā vā vaisṇave hy anuvarṇyate
māyākhyayā ca sā proktā hy āmnāyārtha- vinirṇaye
In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa what is called the energy of avidyā karma is called māyā śakti in the Vedic texts.
Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.8 says:
chandāṁsi yajñāḥ kratavo vratāni
bhūtaṁ bhavyaṁ yac ca vedā vadanti
asmān māyī sṛjyate viśvam etat
tasmiṁś cānyo māyayā sanniruddhaḥ
Whatever is glorified in the Vedas, such as yajñas, chanting Vedas, aśvamedha kratu, vows such as cāndrāyaṇa, is created by the Supreme Person, controller of māyā. The jīva is bound by this same māyā.
Concerning the taṭastha śakti, there is a kārikā:
kṣetra-jñakhyā ca yā śaktih sā taṭasthā nirūpitā
jīva-śaktir iti proktā yayā jīvāś cānekadhā
The energy called ksetra jna mentioned in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa is the taṭastha śakti or jīva śakti. Through this śakti unlimited jīvas appear.
Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (4.5.) says:
ajām ekāṁ lohita-śukla-kṛṣṇāṁ
vahvīḥ prajāḥ sṛjamānāṁ sarūpāḥ
ajo hy eko juṣamāno' nuśete
jahaty enāṁ bhukta-bhogām ajo'nyaḥ
The unborn person, jīva is serving the unborn material nature, which generates numerous material bodies for the living entities and is composed of goodness, passion and ignorance. The other unborn person, paramātmā, is detached from the enjoyment of material nature.
prakṛtiṁ svām avaṣṭabhya visṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ
bhūta-grāmam imaṁ kṛtsnam avaśaṁ prakṛter vaśāt
The whole cosmic order is under Me. By My will it is manifested again and again, and by My will it is annihilated at the end. (B.G.9.8)
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram
hetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate
This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again. (B.G.9.10)
bhumir apo'nalo vayuḥ kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahaṅkara itīyaṁ me bhinna prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
apareyam itas tv anyaṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me param
jīva-bhūtam mahābāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego-altogether these eight comprise My separated material energies. Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which are all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe. (B.G.7.4-5)
Through these three energies, the spiritual world, material world and the jīvas make their appearance. In these three energies, the influence of sandhinī, samvit and hlādinī are present.
In the realm of cit śakti, the sandhinī gives rise to the qualities, the objects, and all other things which assist in the Lord's pastimes. Kṛṣṇa's form, name, qualities and pastimes are all due to the sandhinī potency. By the influence of the samvit śakti on the cit śakti all the spiritual moods arise. By the hlādinī influence on the cit śakti, prema expands.
By the influence of the sandhinī on the jīva śakti, the jīva's spiritual existence, name and place appear. Through the influence of samvit on the jīva śakti the knowledge of God arises. Through the hlādinī influence the jīva experiences spiritual bliss. The jīva's experience of bliss of samadhi by practicing astaṅga yoga and merging into brahman are also the effects of the samvit on the jīva.
By the influence of sandhinī on māyā śakti, the material universe composed of fourteen material planetary systems, the gross and subtle bodies of the jīvas and material senses, and the goals of the jīvas such as svaga, are manifested. The material name, form qualities and actions of the conditioned jīva all arise from this. By the influence of the samvit on the māyā śakti, the worries, hopes, speculations and thoughts of the conditioned jīva arise. By the influence of hlādinī on the māyā śakti, gross material bliss and the subtle material happiness of svarga arise.
One should understand that the sandhinī, samvit and hlādinī manifest their pure, full form in the cit śakti. In the jīva śakti, these appear in very minute quantity. In the māyā śakti these appear in a perverted or shadow form. For the jīva, the forms manifested in māyā are detrimental. In the jīva himself, these three influences are not detrimental but dilute. Without joining to the hlādinī manifested in the cit śakti, the jīva cannot experience full spiritual bliss. Such joining cannot be accomplished, except through the mercy of Kṛṣṇa or his devotee.
On this there is as kārikā:
virodha-bhañjikā śakti yuktasya saccid ātmānaḥ
vartante yugapad-dharmāḥ paraspara-virodhinaḥ
sarūpatvam arūpatvaṁ vibhutvaṁ mūrtir eva ca
nirlepatvaṁ kṛpāvatvam ajatvaṁ jāyamānatā
sarvārādhyatvaṁ gopatvaṁ sarva-jñaṁ nara bhāvatā
saviśeṣatva-sampattis tathā ca nirviśeṣatā
sīmāvad yukti-yuktānām asīma-tattva-vastuni
tarko hi viphalas tasmāc chraddhāmnāye phala pradā
Kṛṣṇa has one energy called his inconceivable, contradiction-breaking energy. By this energy all contradictory qualities become non-contradictory and exist together eternally. Having form yet being formless, having full power, yet taking the limited form of a deity, unaffected by anything, but responsive to his devotees, unborn but taking birth as avatāra, all-worshipable but taking the form of a cowherd, omniscient but appearing as a human being, being without quality but full of qualities-all such contradictory qualities appear in the form of Kṛṣṇa and assist His service to Śrī Rādhā, the embodiment of the hlādinī śakti. Logic and argument are fruitless here. As man's power of logic is limited, it is of no use in topics which are beyond his limit. The fortunate person gives up logic and faithfully accepts the words of scripture. From the seed of faith, the creeper of bhakti develops, and finally the devotee attains the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
The statements of scripture about the contrary qualities within the Lord are many.
apāṇipādo javano grahītā paśyaty acakṣuḥ sa śṛnoty akarṇaḥ
sa vetti vedyaṁ na ca tasyāsti vettā tam āhur agryaṁ puruṣaṁ mahāntam
The Lord has no material hands or feet, yet he accepts things and goes everywhere.. He has no material eyes but sees past, present and future. He has no ears but hears. He knows all, but no one knows him. The learned call him the original Supreme Person. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.19)
tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad vantike
tad antarasya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bahyataḥ
He is moving and non-moving, far and near. He is within the universe and outside the universe.
saparyagāc chukram akāyam avranam asnāviraṁ śuddham apāpaviddham
kavir manīṣī paribhuḥ svayaṁ bhur yathātyato'rthān vyadadhāc chāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ
Such a person must factually know the greatest of all, who is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated, the self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling everyone's desire since time immemorial. (Īśopaniṣad 5, 8)
Talavakāra Upaniṣad 3.6 speaks of his inconceivable power:
tasmai tṛṇaṁ nidadhāv etad daheti
tad upapreyāya sarva javena tan na
śaśāka dagdhum sa tata eva nivavṛte
naitad aśakaṁ vijñātuṁ yad etad yakṣam iti
When the devas became proud after conquering over the demons in battle, the Lord, in order to curb their pride, placed a blade of grass in front of Agni. Agni approached the blade of grass, but in spite of using all his strength, he could not burn the grass. Coming before the devas he said, " I cannot comprehend this worshipable Lord."
Chāndogya Upaniṣad and Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad speaks of his energies and form:
śyāmāc cavalaṁ prapadye
śamalāc chyāmaṁ prapadye
Through his energy I surrender to Kṛṣṇa. . Through Kṛṣṇa I surrender to his energy. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.13.1)
gopaveśaṁ sat-puṇḍarīka-nayanaṁ meghābhaṁ vaidyutāmbaram
dvibhujaṁ mauna-mudrāṭyam vana-mālinam īśvaram
We worship the lord, with dress of a cowherd, lotus like eyes, complexion of a cloud, yellow cloth, two armed, showing the mauna mudra and decorated with a forest garland. (Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad: Pūrva 13.1)
To understand about śaktis of the Lord, the Caitanya Caritāmṛta should be studied:
kṛṣṇera ananta śakti tā'te tina pradhāna
cic cakti, māyā śakti, jīva śakti nāma
antaraṅgā, bahiraṅgā, taṭastha kahi yā're
antaraṅgā svarūpa śakti sabāra upare
sac cid ānanda maya kṛṣṇera svarūpa
ataeva svarūpa śakti haya tina rūpa
ānandāṁśe hlādinī, sadaṁśe sandhinī
cidaṁśe samvit, yā're jñāna kari' māni
kṛṣṇake āhlade ta'te nāma ahlādinī
sei śakti dvāre sukha āsvāde āpani
sukha rūpa kṛṣṇa kare sukha āsvādana
bhakta gaṇe sukha dite hlādinī kāraṇa
hlādinīra sāra aṁśa tā'ra prema nāma
ānanda cinmaya rasa premera ākhyāna
premera parama sāra mahābhāva jāni
sei mahābhāva rūpa rādhā ṭhakurāni
Kṛṣṇa has unlimited potencies, which can be divided into three main parts. These are the spiritual potency, the material potency and the marginal potency, which is known as the living entities. In other words, these are all potencies of God-internal, external and marginal. However, the internal potency is the Lord's personal energy and stands over the other two. Originally Lord Kṛṣṇa is sac cid ānanda vigraha, the transcendental form of eternity, bliss and knowledge; there His personal potency, the internal potency, has three different forms. Hlādinī is His aspect of bliss; sandhinī, of eternal existence; and samvit, of cognizance, which is also accepted as knowledge. The potency called hlādinī give Kṛṣṇa transcendental pleasure. Through this pleasure potency, Kṛṣṇa personally tastes all spiritual pleasure. Lord Kṛṣṇa tastes all kinds of transcendental happiness, although He Himself is happiness personified. The pleasure relished by His pure devotee is also manifest by His pleasure potency. The mos essential part of this pleasure potency is love of Godhead. Consequently, the explanation of love of Godhead is also a transcendental mellow full of pleasure. The essential part of love of Godhead is called mahābhāva, transcendental ecstasy, and that ecstasy is represented by Srīmatī Rādhārāni. (Madhya 3, 151-160)
Through this inconceivable energy, Kṛṣṇa appears in the material world along with his abode and associates. By his unlimited mercy, the spiritual abode, name, form qualities and pastimes become visible to the conditioned souls. These things cannot be seen by the material eye, but by the inconceivable energy and Kṛṣṇa's mercy, these become visible to the material eye. Sometimes he also appears in other forms such as Matysa, Kurma, Varāha, Nṛsimha, Vāmana and Rāma and performs his pastimes. But, it should be noted that Kṛṣṇa is the source of the avataras. Yet Kṛṣṇa and his expansions are all spiritual. They are not influenced by the material energy and do not take material bodies. Occasionally, the Lord may invest a qualified jīva with his energy, appearing as a śakti avesa avatāra.
In the Caitanya Caritāmṛta the avataras are described thus:
prābhāva vaibhāva rūpe dvi vidha prakāśa
prābhāva vaibhāva bhede vilāsa dvidhākāra
prakāśa vilāsera ei kaila vivaraṇa
svāṁśera bheda eve śuna sanātana
saṅkarṣana matsyādika dui bheda tāṅra
avatāra haya kṛṣṇera ṣaḍ vidha prakāra
puruṣāvatāra eka līlāvatāra āra
guṇāvatāra āra manvantāra bhāra āra
yugāvatāra āra śaktyaveśa avatāra
In his original form, Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself in two features-prābhāva and vaibhāva. He expands His one original form into many, as He did during the rasa līlā dance. (C.C. Madhya 20.167)
Again the vilāsa forms are divided into twofold categories -prābhāva and vaibhāva. Again the pastimes of these forms are of unlimited variety. (C.C. Madhya 20.185)
Now please hear about the different personal expansions. The first personal expansion is Saṅkarṣaṇa, and the others are incarnations like the fish incarnation. Saṅkarṣaṇa is an expansion of the puruṣa or Viṣṇu. The incarnations such as Matysa, the fish incarnation, appear in different yugas for specific pastimes. There are six types of incarnations of Kṛṣṇa. One is the puruṣa incarnations, and another is the līlā avatāras. There are incarnations of guṇas, incarnations of the Manus, incarnations in different millenniums and incarnations of empowered living entities. (C.C. Madhya 20.243-246)
Further descriptions and identity of the avatāras may be obtained by consulting the 20th chapter of Madhya līlā, Caitanya Caritāmṛta and the Laghu Bhāgavatamṛta.