India has carved out unique niches for every single Deity, over and above the Trinity Gods (Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva) and the Trinity Goddesses (Saraswati-Laxmi-Parvati/Durga). But the universal favourite; an irresistibly lovable, playful, humble and vibrant Avatar- is Lord Krishna. This post explores snippets of Lord Krishna’s life and what it tells us about Him and His Divine Ethos.
Lord Krishna: An inspirational Powerhouse
Krishna’s dynamism leaps out of every page of his life, in every little anecdote. The action, complexity and depth of Krishna’s divine tales are enough to make great blockbusters look dull.
Krishna’s ethos literally courses through our veins, reflecting in the way we think, act and philosophize. We are constantly expressing him in our arts, culture, values even in Yoga.
It is a small wonder then, that Krishna as the Purushottama (best amongst men)is one of the most favourite Hindu Gods irrespective of state, language, sect, sub- sect in India.
Maybe it was designed this way! A uniquely unconventional Godhead whose very personality makes his utterly relatable, right from ancient to the modern times.
The childhood stories of Him stealing butter, killing mega-demons, dancing with Radha and the Gopis… and the adulthood stories of His expert statesmanship, infinite spiritual wisdom and upholding of Dharma still has us spellbound.
A few still have their doubts over his role in the Pandava- Kaurava war, while others find it hard to digest that a God would be attached to Radha, entertain the Gopis and then later have 16,000 plus wives.
Krishna, Lord Vishnu’s avatara reincarnated for the sake of establishing Dharma
An avatara descends on Earth to re-establish Dharma, to eradicate Adharma. An avatara mostly does this the human way, meaning he doesn’t wave a magic wand that would simply evaporate enemies.
Instead, he takes the painstaking human way to go about setting wrongs right.
And why would He do so?
So that all those who read about in times to come would be motivated to emulate His actions. And do their personal best as per their human capacities.
This is true for almost all of revered God avatars and prophets of history. They demonstrated Dharma by their actions rather than resorting to the super – natural powers so easily available at their disposal.
Krishna in his Avatar symbolizes the ways in which he strengthens good people on the side of Dharma while weakening the blatantly wicked and Adharmic.
At the same time he exemplifies humane qualities like kindness, humility, love and balances it with supreme statesmanship, mysticism and intellect.
Here’s a summary of Krishna’s Ethos from a personal standpoint
1. Krishna’s Detachment to material wealth and pomp
On vanquishing the evil Kamsa and subduing the evil Jarasandha he did not take over their empires instead he reinstated them to Ugrasena (Kamsa’s father) and Sahadeva respectively.
2. Krishna as a peacemaker between Kauravas and Pandavas
When Krishna met the Pandavas during Abhimanyu’s wedding, after their Vanvaas (banishment to the jungle), he advises them to recover their kingdom in a way most amenable to both Kauravas and Pandavas
Krishna personally makes an attempt to restore peace between the warring cousins, but Duryodhana outright rejects parting with even an iota of Pandavas rightful share.
3. Krishna’s humility and compassion:
Krishna as a charioteer:
Krishna accepted the role of a charioteer to Arjuna – a very junior role for a Godhead by all means. But that role became memorable in the hearts of people with the Bhagavad Gita discourse.
This singular discourse super -charged Arjuna to fight valiantly and helped win the Kurukshetra war.
Krishna’s benevolence:
Krishna not only cared for his foster parents Yashoda and Nanda but also for his parents Devaki and Vasudeva. Despite being a God he was a real friend to the Pandavas, to the cowherds in Brindavan, to Radha and the Gopis, to his miserably poor childhood friend like Sudama, and to all his devotees like Kubja.
Years after schooling when he met his dear friend Sudama who was in the depths of poverty, he treated him royally. When Sudama returned home he was amazed to find that everything had transformed and he was suddenly rich.
Similarly, Krishna compassionately cured Kubja, his hunchbacked devotee into a very beautiful woman.
4. Krishna’s mystic powers: the greatest Yogic mystic, Yogeshvara
Krishna’s stories are peppered with a tinge of mysticism and supernatural element- something possible only for those who have transcended to the highest level in Yogic wisdom.
But he only uses it sparingly in his adulthood like the time when he discloses his Virat Purush self to Arjuna while delivering the Gita discourse, giving a vision of Lord Vishnu to Akrura, supplying Draupadi with an infinte robe, curing Kubja of her ailment and showering wealth on Sudama.
But his childhood stories abound in mysticism like when he lifts the Govardhan hill with a single finger, multiplied himself in size and strength to kill countless of Kamsa’s demons. Also when shows his mom Yashoda the ‘Brahmand’ in the cavity of his mouth or multiplies himself to be with all Gopis at the same time ,
5. Krishna: The most skilled Statesman
Krishna never wanted a war, but peace with Adharma would defeat the very purpose of his reincarnation.
He was contemporary in the sense that he was never deluded into ethereal ideals that looked good in the short term but had harmful long term effects.
Principle on Satya (Truth) and Dharma
There is an instance in Mahabharata when Arjuna vows that he would end anyone who insulted his most beloved and celebrated bow – the Gandhiva. One day Yudhistir was routed by the Kaurava army and when he finally escaped he took it out on Arjunas bow and insulted it
Bound by his vow Arjuna decided to fight but then Krishna delivered a discourse that put things in perspective. The summary of the discourse is as follows:
‘Truth (Satya) is that which is allowed by Dharma and Falsehood (Asatya) is that which is not. True Dharma is that which brings about greater good to the world. Therefore, the test of Satya is whether it brings about good to the world. Hence if a perceived Satya can cause harm to the world , it is actually Asatya. ‘
The Kaurava team had no claim to Dharma
Kauravas had done every conceivable crime against their righteous cousins. They had cheated them out of their kingdom through a crooked game of dice, tried to molest Draupadi, made them suffer in the jungle for years, tried to kill them through a fire, tried to poison Bhima and many more detestable crimes. Their father Dhritirastra, teacher Drona, Pitamaha Bheeshma, Karna or anybody else could not and would not try to stop them decisively.
Therefore, by abetting their atrocities they became a part of the side against Dharma. Krishna was very clear that the Kaurava’s army had forfeited their claim to Dharma.
So, this was his take on Dharma when he deployed statesmanship to win for Pandavas:
Krishna and Arjuna
He coaxed Arjuna – who had a very badly timed moment of indecision and paralysis that could have fully tilted the war against the side of Dharma- to fight with all he had, not worrying about near and dear ones on the other side.
Krishna and Karna
He tried to convince Karna – a formidable warrior to switch sides by revealing to him a secret – that he was actually the first son of Kunti, Arjuna’s mom and hence a brother to the Pandavas.
If Karna has switched sides Duryodhana’s army would have lost a major support. He would have probably withdrawn from the bloody war.
Krishna and Bheeshma Pitamaha
Bheeshma Pitamaha, was a formidable force in the war, powerfully annihilating the Pandava army. Arjuna hesitated to end this due to his deep affection for the veteran.
Krishna realized this. To goad Arjuna, he stepped up with his Sudarshan chakra to battle Bheeshma despite his vow that he would not fight. Taking his cue Arjuna intervened and did the needful.
Krishna Arjuna and Karna
At a point in the war, Karna was down with a fractured vehicle busy trying to extract his chariot’s stuck wheel. Krishna coaxed Arjuna to end him in that unarmed state. He knew if Karna wasn’t eliminated in his moment of weakness, it would be tough to win the war or for Dharma to prevail.
Krishna Arjuna Abhimanyu
In another point in the war Abhimanyu- Arjuna’s young son is killed mercilessly stuck inside his own Chakravyuh.
Arjuna vows to avenge Jayadratha the prime accused by sunset the next day or immolate himself.
Petrified, Jayadratha hides himself all of the next day so well that Arjuna can’t find him. Krishna then creates a partial darkness for Jayadratha (his Sudarshan chakra blocking the sun), who in turn triumphantly steps out in relief. Immediately Arjuna kills him.
Krishna Bhima Duryodhana
At one point in time Bhima is battling Duryodhana in a gada-yudh (mace fight) and the latter is slowly getting an upper hand. Krishna calls out to Bhima and slaps his thigh reminding Bhima of his vow. When Duryodhana had indecently showed his thigh to Draupadi, Bhima had vowed to break it.
Krishna’s signal revived his anger and incensed by the memory of that episode he proceeds to annihilate his nemesis by hitting below the navel.
Krishna and his clan
Krishna even let his own clan the Yadavas perish by fighting between themselves as it had degenerated beyond redemption.
Krishna: The Yogeshwara, a powerfully intellectual and spiritual giant
The wisdom, life lessons, esoteric principles he shares in the Bhagavad Gita, Anu Gita and Uddhav Gita is unmatched in terms of their application to real life problems even today. The ones seeking the spiritual path also can get clear esoteric Yogic wisdom to help succeed.
6. Krishna: the Eternal Divine lover
Krishna’s early life – his childhood and his early teens are laced with stories of how he was loved by almost every Gopi in Vrindavan. And how he loved them back too but with this immensely special place for Radha- the great love of his life.
The Gopi’s love for Krishna
The Gopi’s is open to many interpretations. But from a neutral standpoint let’s put us in their shoes for a moment.
Imagine a God … yes, a GOD is born in a tiny village! An adorable baby- dark, handsome and radiant like the Sun himself.
He is mischievous, friendly, caring and kind all at the same time. At a very young age he has been recognized as a Godhead due to his dazzling acts of bravery, valour and superhuman abilities. He kills countless demons, and avert many disasters for this village.
The Gopis grew up with Krishna and were little older than him. It is easy now to understand that they recognized themselves as the few ‘super lucky ones’ in human history to be so close to a GOD! They obviously couldn’t help worshipping Krishna him with a Prema Bhava similar to what Mirabai felt thousands of years later.
Their love for Krishna was love for love’s sake. Complete, absolute, undemanding, unrelenting devotion mixed with love. All they wanted was Krishna. To see Him, to hear his melodies, be close to Him.
They did not care for anything else in this world or the next. All they wanted was to be close to Him.
The Gopis are symbolic of serious spiritual aspirants drunk with Gods love, whose Jivatman is forever keen on uniting with the Paramatman.
Raas Lila understood in this context is when Krishna fulfils his devotees wishes by being with all the Gopis at the same time by multiplying Himself. And simultaneously being present in their homes in their form so that they do not get into trouble.
Radha Krishna love is legendary. Words cannot do justice to the exquisite love that they shared.
Fast forward many years later, Lord Krishna married Rukmini (the avatar of goddess Laxmi) as they were always means to be. Satyabhama was also one of his eight mahisis (great queens). After defeating the asura Naraka, Krishna married the 16,000 princesses that the demon had imprisoned as their relatives wouldn’t take them back. One day when Narada checked out of curiosity, he found Krishna simultaneously present with every single of his wives.
Well with this hopefully most of the glorious aspects of our Divine lord Krishna ae covered!
Happy Janmashtami!
