The
human mind is naturally inclined to chase suka
(pleasure) and run away from dukka (pain/sorrow/misery).
Despite its best attempts to enjoy suka
longer, we find it fleeting. Worse yet, it finds itself mired in dukka. A calm wise mind can clearly
perceive that they are two sides of the same coin. Even in the best
unadulterated worldly pleasure has a tinge of sorrow is at its core, as it
comes to an end. Navigating this samsara
requires the use of another coin. It has shanti
(peace/contentment) on one side and the other is ananda (ecstasy/bliss). Many
great examples of mahatmas have
showed us the art of living peaceful, blissful life. But, none come close to Sri Krishna, who lived an exemplary life
demonstrating the art of solving problems.
The
problems, most of us are used to, come from outside – other people, situations
arising from our choices or lack thereof. But all these problems have a root in
our own mind. In certain situations we are definitely handicapped or have our
hands tied behind, but most times it is our inability to address the problem
with the right attitude that pins us down. The best way one can identify and
fix our inner inconsistencies is to learn from others. So we are going to take
a concise biography of Krishna and
study it with the sole intention of applying it in our lives.
How to emulate Krishna?
It
is important to keep this short preface in mind, prior to studying his life
through Bhagavatam and Mahabharatam. Any Avatara like Rama or Krishna must be studied in at least a fourfold
mechanism, as they simultaneously exhibit all these qualities. They are the Paramatma, so one cannot understand this
dimension, and all we can do is merely meditate on the Brahman aspect. Secondly, they exhibit the Ishwara aspect, where there is an element of their lordliness, yet
shrouded in some mystery, Maya. This
aspect we can only pray. The third
dimension of their actions can be understood as avatara. The aspect of marrying many or dancing on Kaliya can only be done by an avatara and way beyond the grasp of our
minds. This dimension can help us cleanse our mind and develop bhakti. Lastly Krishna exhibits many qualities as an exalted human being,
something we must strive to stretch and emulate. In our study we will purely
look at Krishna’s human attributes and
have the sole purpose of profiting ourselves from the easy ones we can copy him.
Though
his life was filled with impossible problems of humongous magnitudes, we
remember him only about how he solved. The
key here is focus on solutions, not bury one by only by the hard aspects of the
problems that affect us or people around us. We will sample a few. In time
we will focus on each episode in depth.
Identity crisis: Krishna begins his life with an identity
crisis. He had a death threat even before his actual birth. This led to him
being switched at birth; give up his real parents Vasudeva and Devaki.
Though Nanda and Yashoda gave more than extraordinary love, a time came when the
truth had to come out. Again he gets switched back, giving up his carefree
rural loving to a cultured urban life.
Our take away:
Our real identity comes from not our environment, but mostly from our actions.
Strength comes from tying our actions to dharma.
Krishna adapted to blend into the
environment and acted according to the dharma
of the situation. He respected
Vasudeva-Devaki and retracted his four arm nature and played out the drama
of escaping to satisfy his parents’ wishes. But once in Gokula, he was perhaps the most free-spirited child ever, keeping
the innocent gopas and gopis wrapped in amazement.
Do not let others define who you are by constantly being rooted in your
own true nature.
Stolen identity: Years later, Paundraka called
himself as the real Vasudeva, though
he was not even remotely related. He drummed up propaganda and even challenged Krishna to a war to settle the dispute.
Needless to say Krishna accepted it
and killed him.
Our take away:
When our real identity gets questioned, stand your ground. Do not let others or
even your own misguided mind steal your real self. Our real nature is Sat-Chit-Ananda, but our avarana, veil of ignorance, is so thick
that it mistakes itself as the body or mind or even the intellect. Worse yet,
it extends the circle to the objects it is so attached as family, status,
objects of possession, money, fame as its identity. We must treat our inner Paundraka, the same way Krishna dealt with the external one.
Defamation: Krishna handled defamation differently under
different circumstances. To avenge Mathura,
Kamsa’s father-in-law, Jarasandha attacked it seventeen times
with 23 akshounis each time, enraged by the killing of Kamsa, at the hands of his nephew, Krishna. Despite the seventeen
victories, Krishna chose to evade the
attack the 18th time by evacuating the residents to go far away to Dwaraka. He got crowned a thorny title
of ranchor, the one who ran from the
battlefield. Many enemies addressed him condescendingly as Gopala, cowherd. Duryodhana
and Shishupala specialized in these
taunts. Deliberate rumors were spread by the owner of Syamantaka, when it went missing under mysterious circumstances
along with the death of his brother.
Our take away:
Krishna ignored the baits and taunts
of most like Jarasanda or Duryodhana. Though he could have handled
either of them easily, knowing others destiny to eliminate them made him show
the extra grace of kindness towards them. If we realize that we may be many
times stronger than our bullies or enemies, ignoring them work in quite a few
situations. This can be a stance only when we have a complete understanding of
their strengths and weaknesses and ours.
In the case of Shishupala, he let him exhaust all the grace before dealing a
deathblow, but even there was a bigger demonstration of his grace. Be graceful when showing aggression.
When false accusations are spread
through rumor mongering, it is better to address the problem, head on, rather
than let it take a life of its own. This also implies that we nip it in the
bud. The way Krishna handled very
similar problems so differently implies that we cannot approach life with one
cookie cutter solution. We must not hesitate to have radically opposite
approaches as solutions. We may draw
from our past or others experiences, but each solution has to be grounded in
the reality of NOW.
Seemingly endless problems: Imagine being at the epicenter of others attack. Jarasandha’s tenacity to turn every
defeat, despite leading 23 akshounis
of army, 17 times against Mathura
will faze anyone. To add to everyone’s mystery, Krishna even lets him back each time from the death grip of Balarama, who is now completely confused
by Krishna’s action. The wave of
attacks never cease till Krishna
resettles the entire population to a remote island, Dwaraka.
Our take away:
What Balarama failed to grasp was Krishna was using Jarasandha’s own abilities to do his work as avatara. Jarasandha in
his rage raised numerous waves of huge armies only to be destroyed. Tap the
problem to strengthen yourself. What good times fail to teach will be done when
we solve some impossible problems.
Solving problems by facing them head-on, grows us not only to stronger,
but prepares for even tougher challenges ahead. The never ending problems will challenge us to think outside the box,
we are comfortable in hiding ourselves, as long as we have the right
intentions, attitude backed with right actions.
Life is
not easy: Krishna’s life is
cherished by anyone who has the faintest trace of bhakti or jnana. Yet, if
we were to put ourselves in the shoes of Nanda
or Yashoda, despite the joy of being
with Krishna, they were worried with
waves of rakshasa attack on the
child. Putana
vada was followed by Sakatasura,
Trinavatra, Vatasura, Bakasura, Aghasura, Dhenuka, Pralamba and ended with
meeting the evil uncle Kamsa. We
would definitely not face a fraction of it, especially when we are so dependent
on others.
Our take away:
Attitude is everything. We do not have to daydream of hope, but instead stay
focused on our actions with a right mind. This will be possible only if we have
a fierce determination to be rooted in dharma
at all costs. If strive hard to protect dharma
even under treacherous conditions, it will turn around to protect us. We
definitely will not be able to perform the miracles as an avatara, but we can take a leaf from Krishna’s life and be eternally grounded in dharma.
Special circumstance: Rukmini was the chief and first queen,
but on the eve of her proposed marriage to Shishupala,
she sends an emergency letter professing her love for Krishna and pleaded him to abduct and marry her. Even today, this
distance is not a day by train, but she expected Krishna to be there overnight. Krishna
went there defeated the Kings assembled and carried her away to her delight. (Read
more in depth in the Secrets of Rukmini
vivaha) Balarama understood Krishna’s
hasty exit as a message and followed him with a huge army to do some rearguard
action.
Our take away: When
our loved ones are counting on us, it is the time to take our eyes off our
shortcoming or inconvenience. When the only object is serving others, we
achieve more as we can tap into powers deeper than with our selfish goals.
Be prepared when challenging larger problems or complicated mission. Though Krishna did not ask or need Balarama
to assist, the lesson for us is having a strong team to be ever ready will aid
in achieving bigger goals.
Sometimes it is the people closest to
us that might present a challenge, which we may not be able to avoid or
postpone, like Rukmini did. This is neither
the time to complain or be weary, but stay focused on deeper emotions like love
or even bigger ideas like dharma.
More family problems: Krishna’s close family
presented a series of challenges. In case of Balarama he killed Rukmi, Rukmini’s eldest brother in the
presence of Krishna, landing him in a
tight spot. Balarama also wanted to
give away their sister, Subadra, in a
political wedding to his favorite pupil, Duryodhana.
But Krishna made it go the other way
by getting her married to Arjuna. Balarama also wanted to join Duryodhana’s side in the Mahabharata war, but due to Krishna’s prior stance could not go
against him.
Narakasura presented a different
challenge, which ended by Krishna
using his wife Satyabhama as his
charioteer. Samba, Krishna’s son through Jambavati was the problem child. He
married Lakshmanaa, daughter of Duryodhana to complicate the family
affairs. He also drew the curse of the destruction of Yadavas by trying to mock the visiting rishis.
Aniruddha was the son of Pradyumna, the son of Krishna and Rukmini. He got abducted by Banasura’s daughter, Usha and comfortably started living in
her quarters. Krishna had to mount a
rescue mission where he had to face the entire forces of Shiva, who had come to the aid of Bana.
Our take away:
The toughest of challenges come from the ones closest to us. Since they are
close to our heart, there is an in built bias when we approach them either with
love or anger. Hence, it becomes more important for keeping the dharmic lens at all times coupled with
deep love and compassion. The gravest danger lies in the fact that our own
desire, due to its intensity and our attachment, morphs and can hurt the same
people we love. (Read
more on how desire can morph into other things in detail)
Develop a bigger taste for dharma, through periodic study of
scriptures. This helps us insulate and protect us from the darker aspects of
desire modification. Desire without such a grounding can short circuit and
destroy our own desired objects.
Pandavas – the most troubling bhaktas: Krishna
states this numerous times in Mahabharata
that his love for Pandavas is only
due to their fierce determination to uphold dharma
at all costs. This makes Krishna ever
involved in their lives as they seek out his grace to tide over their numerous
problems. Perhaps, they rival Krishna
in the number of problems they have to overcome in their lives. He is available
to their as a friend, philosopher and guide, even their primary support in the Mahabharata war.
Our take away: When
someone is deeply rooted in dharma,
in our sphere of influence, then we must strive harder, like Krishna, to support. We must always
remember that dharma is a
fragile ecosystem. It is crucial for us to keep our eyes on protecting it. It may
be a small trivial act or a real Mahabharata
war, we must do our part.
No one listens:
Perhaps we may relate to this one the best. Krishna
was understood as avatara by many in
his own lifetime. Yet, most around him failed to listen to him. It is
understandable that Duryodhana or Dhritarashtra would ignore his advice due
to their vasanas.
Karna declined his advice due to his
twin bindings – his desire to payback Duryodana’s
friendship and his ego to duel Arjuna
successfully.
The
saddest one, who did not fully grasp Krishna
despite numerous blessings, was Arjuna.
Despite the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna falls into the pit of misery due
to Abhimanyu’s death and makes a
promise to kill Jayadratta before
sunset or die in a blazing fire. He goes on to pick a fight and was about to
kill Yudhishtra himself during Karna Parva. The best part of Arjuna’s folly is when he returns to Dwarka, many moons latter to seek Krishna to give him the essence of Bhagavad Gita as he had forgotten it
completely. This is Arjuna who
through intense meditation was able to focus and please even Shiva to bless him Pasupatastra. Krishna
then out of compassion gives Anu Gita.
Our take away:
Understand that every Jivatman is in
its own journey. If Krishna could not help Arjuna
retain Bhagavad Gita, despite his Vishwaroopa darshan, then we must
realize that the vasana pressure on
each of the jivas is so great. We
must understand that our interactions with others are more complex than we
trying to communicate. Just like our perception and reaction is based on a
complicated dance of our gunas, vasanas and the situation we are getting
dealt with, so it others. That is why it is critical to understand our role in
each situation, so we can play to the perfection.
To
summarize few of the salient take-away from Krishna’s
biography:
- Live in the now: The present is the only reality. The heaviness or greatness of the past is mere memories, while the aspirations of the future are a mere fantasy. This doesn’t mean don’t plan for the future, but the future has its roots in the NOW, if we do not want the past to cast its shadow even longer than the present.
- Try lateral thinking: Instead of confining oneself to a rigid thought pattern, having an open mind and having a fresh start enables other possibilities; just like Krishna’s move to Dwarka.
- Achieve more: It may be possible to solve multiple problems in one go, rather than solving them serially. Being aware of the possibilities provide better options. When Jarasandha attacked the 18th time, Kalayavana also arrived to attack. Krishna resolved the latter by introducing him to Muchukunda. As also while fighting with the invading Salwa, he still provided an option for Draupadi to be protected.
- Do not let the problem grow: During the Syamantaka mani episode, he ensured there was a record of his efforts and ensured that resolved the mystery, cleared his bad name.
- Don’t have a cookie cutter approach: Problems come in different sizes. Having one formula to resolve make them ineffective. With Kamsa, he waited to eliminate all his strong rakshasas from Gokula and Vraja, before finishing off his uncle in Mathura. He used the 17 invasions of Jarasandha to perform his avatara work. On the 18th he relocated to a far away Dwarka to shield his citizens from the incessant fighting. Have a fresh open mind for every instance, even if the pattern is almost the same.
- Grow your strengths: Krishna waited for the right time to strike Kamsa. It is during that interim, when we get the most delightful stories of Krishna’s eventful childhood. Not every problem has to be tackled head on.
- Understand your actions’ reactions: While it is easier to get why Kamsa was obsessed with killing Krishna, it is not easier to switch and anticipate, Jarasandha’s waves of attack. Sometimes when we solve a problem, we end up creating few more due to our solution. It is critical to give deeper thought to our actions’ potential reactions. When the false Vasudeva, Paundraka was killed along with his friend, the Raja of Kasi, his son Sudakshina launched a counter attack using black magic. This is another example of fallout due to the actions.
- Focus on relationships: As soon as Krishna got comfortable with the affairs of Mathura, after eliminating Kamsa, he sent Akrura on a special mission to Hastinapur to do a fact finding mission about the Pandavas. He also sent Uddhava to Vrindavan to console the Gopikas. He continuously monitored and protected the Pandavas, even for that matter the way he was concerned about Rukmini whom he had never met.
May we strive to study Krishna in his human dimension. Let us
not brush aside that Krishna is Bhagwan / Avatara and see him only in a
superhuman prism. Nor should we be stupid enough to ignore everything like a
Hinduphobe or atheist. May our study of Krishna
raise our Saatvic qualities and
eventually open our minds to understanding his other dimensions.
ॐ तत् सत
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