Breathing period of Maha-Visnu

yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Bs. 5.48]

So it is described here that yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya, that you… Just like we are breathing, exhaling and inhaling, so God is also being. We have already explained. So we are also being. We are breathing. He is also breathing. But our breathing is for a moment, but His duration of breathing is described in the sastra that when He is exhaling, innumerable universes are coming out, and when He’s inhaling, innumerable universes are going into Him. Yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya [Bs. 5.48] This breathing period, taking advantage of the breathing period of Maha-Visnu, millions of universes, jagad-anda-nathah… Not only universes, the chief person of the universe, Brahma, they are coming and going, coming and going. And the Brahma’s duration of life, that is described in the Bhagavad-gita, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmanah. We cannot calculate even the twelve hours day period by our mathematical calculation.

So that is meaning of God. And this God, Maha-Visnu, is partial representation of Govinda. Visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhaja… So sometimes cheap gods in the Western country. They cheat you. But God is not so cheap. This is one of the description of God, that within the breathing period of God, Maha-Visnu, who is not directly God—He is an expansion of God, Maha-Visnu—the total material energy is being created an annihilated. That is God. So that aisvaryasya samagra. This is one opulence. If we possess one house, we become very opulent. If another possesses two house or three house… Now, here, in the breathing period of God, there are innumerable universes. You cannot calculate what is the opulence. One universe you cannot calculate. The one universe you are daily experiencing. What is the position of the sun? What is the position of the moon? What is the position of other planets? You cannot calculate. And there are innumerable universes. And that is depending on the breathing period of God. So we say, “God is great.” We should try to understand how great He is, not that the Dr. Frog’s greatness, no. That is not greatness, no, my calculation, “God may be like this. God may be like that.” You have to understand about God from the authorized person who knows things as they are. Then you can also know.
Therefore Krsna says here in the Ninth Chapter, sri-bhagavan uvaca, idam tu te guhyatamam pravaksyamy anasuyave: “My dear Arjuna, I shall speak to you…” He is giving him so many instruction because Arjuna has submitted to Krsna. Sisyas te ’ham sadhi mam prapannam: “I am now perplexed. I am therefore submitting myself unto You.” Krsna was his friend. There was no submission. A friend does not submit to another friend. Then there is no meaning of friendship. But here Krsna voluntarily, er, Arjuna voluntarily said that “I am submitting. Don’t treat me as Your friend. Now You treat me as Your disciple. I am submitting.” So therefore Krsna says, “My dear Arjuna, now I shall speak to you the most confidential part of knowledge.” Idam tu te guhyatamam. Guhya means confidential. And there is comparative, superlative degree. That is guhya, guhyatara, and guhyatama. So Krsna said, “I’ll speak to you the most confidential part of knowledge.” Pravaksyami. Pravaksyami means “I shall explain to you.” Vaksyami means “I will speak,” and pra means prakrsta-rupena, “Very explicitly I shall speak to you.”

Bhagavad-gita 9.1
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Melbourne, April 19, 1976