The 64 qualities of Krsna who is like an original candle that lights all other candles.

The 64 qualities of Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of ALL causes explained.

Krsna is like an original candle that lights all other candles, Krsna is that original candle. 

Srila Prabhupada - "In Brahma-saṁhitā the example is given of an original candle which lights a second candle. Although both candles are of equal power, one is accepted as the original, and the other is said to be kindled from the original. The Viṣṇu expansion is like the second candle. He is as powerful as Kṛṣṇa, but the original Viṣṇu is Kṛṣṇa. Brahmā and Lord Śiva are obedient servants of the Supreme Lord, and the Supreme Lord as Viṣṇu is an expansion of Kṛṣṇa." (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Ch 8)

Krsna has 64 qualities that are the full expression and potential of His Personality however, Krsna's Visnu-tattva expansions (also God) have only 60 of those 64 qualities of Kṛṣṇa, which means they have 93.75% of Krsna’s qualities.

Some cannot understand why Krsna has more qualities than Visnu/Narayana, and why Krsna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes. 

It is simple to understand, Kṛṣṇa is like an original candle that lights all other candles, therefore Krsna is the first, the original Personality of Godhead. 

All Visnu/Narayana four armed forms are expansions of Krsna and Krsna is not an expansion of Visnu/Narayana in the full understanding as many Hindus wrongly believe today. 

Although they are also right when they say Krsna in the material world is a Visnu expansion explained in this way-

In the material world it is a Visnu expansion of Kṛṣṇa who plays the role of Krsna, this is because the original Krsna never leaves the spiritual world (Goloka-Vrindavana)

Krsna has four qualities that Visnu/Narayana do not have always,  they are the following–

(1) Krsna is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes).

(2) Krsna is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead.

(3) Krsna can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute.

(4) Krsna has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in the creation.

These four qualities Krsna always has in full, while the Visnu/Narayana forms of God can only partially exhibit them. 

Visnu/Narayana expansions of Kṛṣṇa only sometimes exhibited these 4 unique qualities above partially, having only 93.75%

Siva-tattva (Lord Siva) has 55 of Krsna's 64 qualities or 85.938% of Krsna’s attributes

Jiva-tattva (jiva-souls) have 50 of Krsna's 64 qualities, which is 78.125% of Krsna’s attributes.

So, there is a difference between Krsna (64 qualities) and his many different expansions. 

Although technically there are only two types of living entities, Visnu-tattva and jiva-tattva then there are rare categories like Siva-tattva (Lord Siva) in a league on its own.

1 - Krsna (64/64 qualities) = 100%

2 - Visnu/Narayana and the many Visnu-tattva expansions (60/64 qualities) = 93.75% 

3 - Lord Siva and his many Siva-tattva expansions (55/64 qualities) = 85.938% 

4 - Jiva-soul (jiva-tattva) that includes Brahma and Narada Muni (50/64 qualities) = 78.125% 

Although, Visnu can temporarily exhibit all 64 qualities if necessary, (like when He plays the part of Krsna during Krsna lila in the material creation) He mostly only has 60 qualities of Krsna's 64 qualities.

The original child Krsna never leaves Vṛndāvana and that is why Krsna's Visnu-tattva expansion plays the part of Krsna while in the material world.  

The full extent of Krsna’s wonderful qualities or attributes are inconceivable.

Here are Krsna’s 64 qualities or attributes–

(1) Beautiful features of the entire body

(2) Marked with all auspicious characteristics

(3) Extremely pleasing

(4) Effulgent

(5) Strong

(6) Ever youthful

(7) Wonderful linguist

(8 Truthful

(9) Talks pleasingly

(10) Fluent

(11) Highly learned

(12) Highly intelligent

(13) Genius

(14) Artistic

(15) Extremely clever

(16) Expert

(17) Grateful

(18) Firmly determined

(19) An expert judge of time and circumstances

(20) Sees and speaks on the authority of Vedas, or scriptures

(21) Pure

(22) Self-controlled

(23) Steadfast

(24) Forbearing

(25) Forgiving

(26) Grave

(27) Self-satisfied

(28) Possessing equilibrium

(29) Magnanimous

(30) Religious

(31) Heroic

(32) Compassionate

(33) Respectful

(34) Gentle

(35) Liberal

(36) Shy

(37) The protector of surrendered souls

(38) Happy

(39) The well-wisher of devotees

(40) Controlled by love

(41) all-auspicious

(42) Most powerful

(43) all-famous

(44) Popular

(45) Partial to devotees

(46) Very attractive to all women

(47) all-worship able

(48) all-opulent

(49) all-honourable

(50) The supreme controller.

(51) Changeless

(52) all-cognizant

(53) Ever fresh

(54) sat-cit-ananda-vigraha (meaning eternity, knowledge, bliss and form) AS the eternal bodily spiritual form Kṛṣṇa is. The jiva-souls (marginal living entities) in their original full potential are also in the image of Krsna, as a spiritual bodily eternal form.

(55) Possessing all mystic perfections.

(56) He has inconceivable potency.

(57) Uncountable universes generate from His body.

(58) He is the original source of all incarnations.

(59) He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills.

(60) He is the attractor of liberated souls.

As said above, Krsna has four more qualities mostly not manifested in His Visnu/Narayana form of Godhead.

They are as follows-

(61) He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes).

(62) He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead.

(63) He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute.

(64) He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in the creation.

The Absolute Truth is anandamaya (desiring to increase His joy), hence from His original Bodily form Kṛṣṇa expands and becomes many.

These emanations from the Supreme PERSON Krsna are of two categories:  

* The "full expansions" of Kṛṣṇa (Visnu-tattva) 

* The "separated expansions" of Krsna (the eternal individual marginal living entities known as the jiva-tattvas or jiva-souls).

*And what category of living entity is Lord Siva?

Srila Prabhupada - "Lord Śiva is not one of the living entities (Siva is NOT a jiva-tattva (jiva-soul) or Visnu-tattva (Krsna's direct expansion). Siva is in a league of his own, although he is simultaneously more or less, Kṛṣṇa Himself also (a paradox). The example of milk and yogurt is often given in this regard, yogurt is a preparation of milk, but still yogurt cannot be used as milk. 

Lord Śiva is an expansion of Kṛṣṇa, but he cannot act as Kṛṣṇa, nor can we derive the spiritual restoration from Lord Śiva that we derive from Kṛṣṇa. Lord Siva is simultaneously one with and different from the viṣṇu-tattva. 

Due to Siva's association with māyā, he is different from the viṣṇu-tattva, but at the same time he is an expansion of Kṛṣṇa's personal form. This situation is called- 

bhedābheda-tattva or acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, which means- 

"Simultaneously one and different."

The essential difference between Siva and Krsna and Viṣṇu is that Lord Śiva has a connection with material nature, but Viṣṇu or Lord Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do with material nature."(From The Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Ch 8 and CC Madhya 20.308, Purport) 

The Lord’s various full and partial expansions, and the Lord Himself simultaneously co-exist, only appearing to manifest under the influence of time.

These full expansions of Krsna are known as Visnu-tattva Forms of God, and they are also the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Visnu-tattva expansion Balarama is Kṛṣṇa’s first expansion and from Him come,

Balarāma,

Pradyumna,

Ramachandra,

Narsingadeva

Visnu,

Narayana,

Maha-Visnu, 

Garbhodakashayi Visnu, 

Paramatma, etc.

All accept their own role as Godhead in the mood of servitor to the original Supreme Being Lord Krsna. 

For example, Visnu/Narayana 4 armed Forms have unlimited names found throughout the Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual world

Lord Krsna possesses two other expansive qualities known as Siva-tattva and jiva-tattva.

Together with Visnu-tattva, these three represent the Absolute Person’s 

1 - Internal - Visnu-"sakti"-tattva, internal potency headed by Srimati Radharani 

2 - External - (mahat-tattva or material energy)

3 - Marginal energies - (jiva-tattva or jiva-souls).

As explained above, Krsna has expanded Himself as Lord Siva in a league of his own with 85.938% of Krsna's qualities, this means he has 55 of Krsna's 64 qualities.  

Lord Brahma is also jiva-tattva or jiva-soul (marginal living entity) with 78.125% of Krsna's qualities. 

We are also jiva-soul (marginal living entities) expansions of Kṛṣṇa.

1 - As said above, Lord Siva is between Visnu-tattva and jiva-tattva.

2 - Lord Visnu/Narayana is Visnu-tattva almost Kṛṣṇa (God).

3 - Visnu-tattva, Siva-tattva and jiva-tattva are all expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

4 - The jiva-souls are "separated expansions" with their own unique personality and character that allows free will.

As a reminder, we can summarize the qualities of each category of living beings as follows-

1 - Lord Krsna has 64 qualities or 100% of His own qualities.

2 - Visnu-tattva and Visnu-"sakti"-tattva (internal potency headed by Radharani) have 60 qualities or 93.75% of Krsna's 64 qualities.

3 - Siva-tattva has 55 qualities or 85.938% of Krsna's 64 qualities.

4 - Jiva-tattva (jiva-soul) has 50 qualities or 78.125% of Krsna's 64 qualities.

This is the reason why Krsna is called Param Purushottam, Purnavatar or Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Learned scholars in transcendental subjects have carefully analyzed the summum bonum Krsna to have sixty-four principal attributes. 

All the expansions or categories of the Lord possess only some percentages of these attributes. But Sri Krsna is the possessor of the attributes cent percent. 

And His personal expansions such as svayam-prakasa, tad-ekatma up to the categories of the avataras who are all Visnu-tattva.

In the conditioned state of material existence, the living being only possesses these attributes mentioned above in very minute quantity, varying in terms of the pious life of the living being. 

Most life in the material world is the lower species where there is no free will and only the animalistic urges of 

eating,

sleeping,

mating,

defending.

The most perfect marginal living entity is Brahma, the managing administrator of each individual universe.

All other demigods have the same attributes in less quantity, whereas human beings in the material world possess the attributes in very minute quantity as said above

There are 8 million 400 thousand species of life, 8 million of them have no free will while trapped in the lower species of individual life. 400 thousand are various human species where free will is variegated depending on the advancement of the humam species. 

The marginal living entities or jiva-souls can never possess attributes like Siva, Visnu or Lord Krsna.

The jiva-souls can become godly by developing their full potential but can never become a God like Krsna or Visnu or an advanced living being like Siva.

As said above, the jiva-souls can become a Brahma in due course.

The godly living beings who are all residents of the Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual sky, are eternal associates of Visnu in different spiritual planets called Hari-dhama and Mahesa-dhama.

However, the abode of Lord Krsna is above the Vaikuntha planets and is called Krsnaloka or Goloka Vrndavana. 

The perfected jiva-soul can enter the planet of Krsnaloka (Goloka-Vrindavana) or the Vaikuntha planets after leaving their the present material bodily vessel in the material creation.

By reaching there full potential, the jiva-souls can again enter the planet of Krsnaloka (Goloka-Vrindavana), or a Vaikuṇṭha planet of their choice, after leaving their present decaying material bodily vessel.=÷=