By Giriraj Swami
Why is Lord Shiva considered the greatest Vaishnava? Because he is always absorbed in thought of Vasudeva (Krishna). The state in which one can always be absorbed in Krishna consciousness, in thought of Vasudeva, is called vasudeva, or suddha-sattva, a state transcendental to the material modes of nature. When one is completely freed from the influence of material nature, he comes to the stage of suddha-sattva, or vasudeva, in which Vasudeva, or Krishna, is revealed. Vasudeva is also the name of Krishna’s father, and in a very literal, transcendental way Krishna (Vasudeva) appears from His father (Vasudeva). This fact is explained, and elaborated on, in a profound purport by Srila Prabhupada, in the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods to Krsna in the Womb.”