[Kalpana.v]

Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, how is it that Lord Jesus is called the son of God? If Kṛṣṇa is usually the son, how is Jesus—

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Not "usually." Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father, but He becomes His devotee's son out of His love. Being a son is not Kṛṣṇa's constitutional position; being the father is His constitutional position (ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā [Bg. 14.4]). But sometimes He voluntarily becomes a son to taste His devotee's fatherly or motherly love for Him.

When a pure devotee prays, "My dear Lord, I want You for my son," Kṛṣṇa accepts his prayer. Vasudeva and Devakī became Kṛṣṇa's parents in this way. In a previous life they underwent severe austerities. They were married, but they had no sex. They were determined that unless they could get the Lord as their son they would not have a child. So they performed severe austerities for many thousands of years. Then the Lord appeared to them and asked, "What do you want?"

"Sir, we want a son like You."

"How can you get a son like Me? I'll become your son!"

So Kṛṣṇa, the Lord, is the father of everyone, but He voluntarily becomes the son of His devotee. Otherwise, His position is always the supreme father.

Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, I read in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that when one becomes a liberated soul he attains perfect freedom and that sometimes his freedom is on the same level as Kṛṣṇa's or even more than Kṛṣṇa's. Can you explain this?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Take Vasudeva, for example. He's more than Kṛṣṇa. Or Mother Yaśodā. You have seen the picture of Yaśodā binding Kṛṣṇa?

Devotee: Kṛṣṇa looks like a little baby?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is feared by everyone, but He becomes fearful of Mother Yaśodā: "My dear mother, kindly do not bind Me. I shall obey your orders."

So Mother Yaśodā has become more than God, more than Kṛṣṇa. The māyāvādī [impersonalistic] philosophers want to become one with the Lord, but our philosophy is to become more than Kṛṣṇa. Why one with Kṛṣṇa? More than Kṛṣṇa. And, actually, Kṛṣṇa does make His devotee more than Himself. Another example is Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa took the part of his chariot driver. Kṛṣṇa was actually the hero of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, but He gave that position to His devotee: "Arjuna, you become the hero. I shall be your charioteer."

Kṛṣṇa is just like a father who wants to see his son become more than himself. If the father has an M.A., he wants to see his son get a Ph.D. Then the father is satisfied. He'll not tolerate an outsider's becoming more than him, but he's glad if his son becomes more than him. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, wants to see His devotee become more than Himself. That is His pleasure.