If Lord Narayana (Vishnu) is supreme, then why does ISKCON say he is an expansion of Lord Krishna?

 

If Lord Narayana (Vishnu) is supreme, then why does ISKCON say he is an expansion of Lord Krishna?

ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu organization that worships Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to Gaudiya Vaishnava theology, Krishna is the original supreme being, and all other deities, including Narayana, are his expansions.

Maha Vishnu and Krishna are like the same persons as a Judge in Court and as a playful father or child or friend in his house. Vishnu is seen in a revered bhawa. Krishna is seen in a playful bhawa.

SRI Vaishnavas consider Vishnu/ Narayana as Supreme and worship Krishna as Vishnu in a revered bhawa. In fact, in Vaikunta, they prefer to go with Vishnu instead of Krishna in Goloka. This all depends on the bhawa with which we perform our devotional practices. Whereas, the Gaudiya sampradhaya that dates back to Sri Caitanya Maha Prabhu considers Krishna as Supreme and Vishnu/ Narayana are His expansions and they Krishna as a Playful Supreme Person.

The concept of expansions is based on the idea that the Supreme Being is limitless and cannot be fully contained in any one form. Therefore, he can expand himself into multiple forms, each of which is a perfect manifestation of his full divinity.

Narayana is one of the many expansions of Krishna. He is often depicted as a reclining figure on the ocean of milk, and he is associated with the preservation of the universe. However, he is not the Supreme Being himself. He is simply one of the many ways in which Krishna manifests himself in the world.

ISKCON teaches that by worshiping Krishna, we can achieve liberation from the cycle of birth and death and attain eternal happiness in his presence.

However, Srila Prabhupada has explained that all Vishnu tatvas have same potency in this verse:

“In the category of Vishnu-tattva there is no loss of power from one expansion to the next, any more than there is a loss of illumination as one candle kindles another. Thousands may be kindled by an original candle, and all will have the same candle power. In this way it is to be understood that although all the Vishnu-tattvas, from Krishna and Lord Chaitanya to Rama, Narasimha, Varaha, and so on, appear with different features in different ages, all are equally invested with supreme potency.” – (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi 3.71, Purport)