How all living beings manifest different gradations of Brahman

ln the Vedanta-sutra, the living entities of different gradations are compared to candles or lamps with different candle power. For example, some electric bulbs have the power of one thousand candles, some have the power of five hundred candles, some the power of one hundred candles, some fifty candles, etc., but all electric bulbs have light. Light is present in every bulb, but the gradations of light are different. Similarly, there are gradations of Brahman. The Visnu svamsa expansions of the Supreme Lord in different Visnu forms are like lamps, Lord Siva is also like a lamp, and the supreme candle power, or the one-hundred-percent light, is Krsna. The visnu-tattva has ninety-four percent, the siva-tattva has eighty-four percent, Lord Brahma has seventy-eight percent, and the living entities are also like Brahma, but in the conditioned state their power is still more dim. There are gradations of Brahman, and no one can deny this fact.

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.1.15 purport