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Krishn, the pot-breaking butter thief
The Times of India, Oct 09 2015
Damodara Pandita Dasa
Krishna, the pot-breaking butter thief
It's astonishing! A mischievous boy I breaks pots and steals butter and yogurt in Gokula. Today, even after 5,000 years, those memories are so vivid in the minds of people. Why is this craze for breaking pots so deeply embedded in the Indian psyche on Krishna's birthday? An inquisitive child was in the temple. She asked her grandmother, “Why do people break coconuts in temples?“ Her grandma said, “Don't ask! We just follow what our ancestors did!“ The little girl was shocked and dejected. She grew up to be an agnostic.Ignorance must pay a heavy price! I, too, became obsessed with that same question, “Why do people break coconuts in temples?“ No answer! I was in Jakarta in 1992. An Indian gentleman gave me a book of Questions and Answers. I found the answer! “The hard outer shell of the coconut signifies the false ego. When the false ego is destroyed; only then can one relish a loving relationship with God, through devotional service, which is as tender and sweet as the kernel and coconut water.“ Every spiritual emotion is generally offset by an appropriate physical gesture. That external gesture is termed ritual. Just blind ritual, without any concept of its devotional significance, makes the heart run dry. This is very much the scene on Gokulashtami breaking pots for big money! Little Krishna's potbreaking has a deep signifi cance. The concept of `i' and `mine' is a characteristic symptom of the false ego. `I' have butter in `my' beautiful pot! The delicious butter is my devotion to God; but the decorative pot is covering my devotion just as the false ego covers the soul. Krishna is eager to taste the butter, but the pot is blocking Him. Therefore, He smashes that pot (false ego) because He is hungry for devotion (butter).
Why so much ado about the false ego? When the seed of ignorance sprouts within the heart, it ultimately grows into an enormous tree of illusion with the formidable mind as its trunk and the dissipated intel ligence as its many branches.
The countless leaves are incessant desires that haunt us, day and night, and the fragrant colourful flowers are the endless varieties of sense objects that mesmerise the five senses. The fruits of this tree are irresistible.Anyone who tries to pluck one of those juicy fruits is pricked by the thorns of lust, anger, envy, greed, delusion and madness. Despite the pain, if someone manages to taste that treacherous fruit, he is engulfed in a nightmare wherein he finds himself drowning in an ocean of suffering, helplessly tossed about by the endless waves of birth, disease, old age and death.
The monstrous roots are the false ego. They are spread in all directions and are so deeply entrenched within every nook and corner of the heart that it requires superhuman powers to uproot this tree of illusion. It is this false ego which binds the Atman or soul to the illusion of `i' and `mine'. In this deluded state, the eternal soul mistakenly identifies itself with the decorative pot forgetting all about the delicious butter.
However, naughty Krishna comes along and destroys the soul's delusion, by breaking the pot (false ego), so that the soul can refocus its attention on the soft, pure butter, that is, unalloyed devotion to God.
The qualities of Sri Krishn
The Times of India, Sep 05 2015
B V Vaman Maharaj
Srinath Chakravarty , while re ferring to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's teachings, states that the highest object of worship is Krishna. He clarifies that we can worship Nand-nandan Sri Krishna in the context of any possible relationship we desire. This is not possible with anyone else. For example, we cannot participate in all types of relationships with the Supreme Lord in His form as Narayana.Sri Narayana displays a majestic form of God, so we can only have a relationship of friendship with Him from a distance. Narayana plays the role of a majestic king, so fear in the mind is evident. His devotees may become His friends, but their intimacy is inhibited by fear. Moods like parental affection and conjugal love are absent. Therefore, those who wish to serve the Supreme Lord as a bosom friend, as a child or in a mood of conjugal love, cannot acquire this sort of relationship with the Lord in His form as Narayana. Therefore, Narayana cannot be the common centre for all devotees. Narayana can grant moksha, vaikuntha, dasya rasa and partial sakhya rasa to His devotees but nothing more intimate beyond these.
In Krishna, the cowherd body of Vrindavan, however, all sorts of intimate relationships are possible, and there is the possibility of differ ent forms of worship, like for instance the amorous relationship of the gopis for Krishna, considered to be the highest form of devotion and worship.
Human beings are said to have 50 kinds of divine qualities but in minute quantity only, whereas, Shiva and Brahma have an additional five qualities, to a fuller extent. Then we have Vishnu or Narayana who has five more qualities in addition to 55 qualities present in others, again to a fuller extent. This makes a total of 60 divine characteristics or qualities in all. In total there are 64 qualities or gunas. There are four other qualities that one will not find anywhere else except in Krishna, the beloved of all. These four additional qualities are leela madhurya, rupa madhurya, venu madhurya and prema madhurya, referring to divine play, form, musical attributes and love.
Krishna has many wonderful pas times, in which he assumes a sweet form. He does not appear as a gigantic figure with all kinds of weapons. Thus, he does not fight with Putana, the demon, but rather, appears as a baby and he kills her by sucking her breast, exhibiting sweetness towards her. This is the wonder of Krishna leela.
Also, we find that even while retaining his sweet and endearing form, Krishna lifts the Govardhana mountain to provide shelter to his devotees, with just the little finger of his left hand. He does not have to assume a strong and formidable form to accomplish this. As a little boy Krishna subdued Kaliya, the serpent, when he effortlessly jumped onto Kaliya's many heads. In no other form of God will you find such wonderful pastimes.
In Krishna, we find 12 rasas. Rasa is the mellow part of a relationship, the taste or bliss one experiences in a relationship with Krishna. There are five principle rasas, namely , shant, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya.In addition to these there are seven secondary rasas, namely hasya, adbhuta, vira, karuna, raudra, bhayanak and bibhatsa. All of these are mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam.
The theme of Pãrthasãrathi Krishn's life
The Times of India, Sep 04 2015
Shri Shri Anandamurti
The Theme Of Parthasarathi Krishna's Life What did Krishna's worldly existence signify? He was an embodiment of tremendous karma shakti, energy for service. He was determined to overpower whatever was harmful for humanity by application of his indomitable strength and commanding force, while facilitating the growth of all that was good and helpful. Those of noble intentions who are weak and lack the ability to provide for themselves should be supported and cared for by society . This was the theme of Parthasarathi Krishna's life. Many people remain weighed down by numerous cares and anxieties as well as the lack of the basic necessities of life.Parthasarathi took birth at a critical juncture in the history of human society, towards the end of the Vedic Age, when exploitation had reached its zenith, with opportunists finding ample scope to prey on those weaker. At such a moment could he afford to teach people that all was Maya? That their fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters did not really exist? Rather, he expected people to sympathise with the poor and the miserable and help to alleviate their suffering.
Parthasarathi never preached the vairagya message of the mohamudgara. This nihilistic philosophy has made the people of India and Southeast Asia averse to reality and has been the cause of untold misery in their lives. The life of Parthasarathi was the antithesis of this nihilism. He advised people, “Move collectively; look after the welfare of all; develop yourselves in the physical, psychic, and spiritual planes while maintaining proper adjustment among them; follow the dictum, `Varttamanesu vartteta' `Live in the present' meaning that while you engage with your mundane problems collectively, you should direct your minds towards subtler spheres.“
The body you possess in this relative world requires food, water, and so on to maintain its existence, and vital energy in order to function properly. To increase your vital energy you need a suitable quantity of food. If you cannot provide food through your own efforts, then society should do it for you. For this, Dharmarajya, rule of righteousness, must be established, and that is why Parthasarathi devoted his entire time and energy to establish it. His message is, “Do all your mundane duties with utmost sincerity, but keep your mind constantly engaged in the thought of Parama Purusha, the Supreme Entity.“
To make significant progress you must remain in the company of Parama Purusha not just for a fleeting moment, but constantly, round the clock.But if you look upon this world as mithya, then your existence will also be unreal, and then to whom will you turn to for company with your heavy load of unreality? What is the benefit of keeping company with good people only for a moment, if your very existence is negated? Parthasarathi taught people that this body exists, and vital energy also exists.People should always try to develop the body, mind and vital energy that they have been endowed with, and should always bear in mind that Parthasarathi is always with them. He has continued playing his flute to draw your mind towards the internal world, and he who held the flute also held the sword to promote the greater welfare of humanity.
One who is devoted to Ishvara, who meditates on Parama Purusha with madhura bhava, sweetest intimacy, need not go on a pilgrimage, for he remains constantly with Parama Purusha. Such a person will say: “I am always in Vrindavana, I am never without Hari, the Lord.If you call him, he will respond
Sri Krishn and yog
The Times of India, Sep 03 2015
M N Kundu
Sri Krishna taught and embodied yoga
Sri Krishna was undoubtedly the best exponent of yoga, the art of cosmic union with the Absolute and work ng in daily life with that consciousness. In the Gita and the Bhagavatam, he explained the theory of yoga while in real ife he demonstrated the practice of the ame. He clarified that equanimity is yoga, the art of right action which enables one to remain steadfast amid worldly tribulations and tackle all disharmony, the oot cause of all evils and problems with divine anchorage. His yoga was not the preparatory Hatha Yoga for health and healing but the highest yoga for liberation and living. He placed transcendental yoga of Maharishi Patanjali into social ontext, linking it with selfless service to humanity, infinite expansion of Self with ultimate wisdom and entire abolition of delimiting ego with divine devotion.
Entire creation is an ideational compo ition of consciousness of Spirit which is manifested in and through Nature. While Nature is constantly active, creative and operative consciousness lying at the backdrop is always behind the screen.Mind, matter and prana owe their existence to consciousness. As a yogi, Krishna was always anchored in cosmic consciousness, yet perfect in enactment of his human role. This is the yoga of wisdom with which he was simultaneously more divine and more human in the stupendous drama of creation exhibiting what true yoga is. The simplest method of yoga is to develop nonattachment with discriminating wisdom and cultivate unconditional love for God.
In the life of Krishna we find the ideal golden mean for living.He did not follow any worldnegating life of renunciation but showed what mental renunciation is. Clinging to anything was absolutely foreign to his smiling nature.He perfectly played the role of a naughty child, a playful youth, a statesman par excellence, an intimate friend, a beloved husband and above all embodiment of wisdom. His prescription for life is to maintain non-attachment to anything and everything being calmly active. Thus he exemplified the practice of Karma Yoga.He himself remained thoroughly within worldly life, being entirely aloof from it despite apparent involvement. He never hesitated to leave his dear gopis, kingdom and even life, being ever fixed in witness-Self. In the Gita, Krishna advises us to do our duties knowing fully well that the result will be in the hands of the Almighty. Practice of detachment to worldly matters and maintenance of perfect equanimity under all circumstances with absolute surrender to the will of God are the best course.Thus he prescribed yoga, the art of right action as the way to unification with the eternal Self. Keynote of Krishna Consciousness is divine love for the Omnipresent Absolute in everybody. Krishna is the embodiment of love love for mother Yashoda, cowherd friends, classmate Sudama, devotional gopis, Pandavas, specially Arjuna and even his killer-hunter Jara who shot his deadly arrow by mistake.With Christ-like love, he consoled his killer saying that it was all predestined and the killer acted as an actor in the drama of divine love. These are all manifestations of same divine love which enables us to see Krishna in everybody and see everybody in him and serve them all.
Assertion of non-doership despite doing everything, never expecting fruits of action and accepting all that follows despite taking the best action and surrendering everything to the will of the Almighty enables us to acquire our divine inheritance and enjoy peace, bliss and everlasting joy . The life of Krishna embodied his presentation of the aforesaid concept of yoga.
RaasLeela
The Times of India, Oct 26 2015
Seema Burman
Raasa Leela: The night to remain conscious
Why didn't Yashoda, mother of Krishna, attend raasa, a friend asked me on a Sharad Poornima night in Vrindavan. Why do boys perform the role of gopis, she whispered a second time. Why did the raasa take place at night, she nudged me yet again. Why didn't Radha meet Krishna alone for raasa, she enquired and just then the next orator came on stage to explain raasa leela. This is the trickiest incident from Krishna's life, he explained. God is love, bliss, ananda but people interpret these in terms of male-female physical contact so they find the intimacy of Radha and Krishna confusing. Gopis who loved Krishna with meditativeness, servitude and motherly bhava did not hear the flute. Only gopis who adored Krishna with madhurya bhava or sakhi bhava friendly surrender came to the raasa. Madhurya bhava is the highest culmination of devotion. The intense fire of devotion united their hearts with Krishna. Even Krishna's male friends, the gopas, did not hear the flute, proving that raasa is about surrendering the ego of body . Krishna is purusha and individuals are all feminine.
Traditionally , only boys play the role of gopis because raasa can be misinterpreted by young, innocent minds. They can be misguided into thinking that this can be misguided into thinking t is all about loving and dancing.
Raasa takes place at night because union with Paramatma is beyond time and space. Normally , at night, one's vision is blurred and time and space get hidden. To achieve spiritual union with God one must strive beyond time and space restrictions.
Krishna had to fulfil many vows made to various devotees in different avatars regarding un in different avatars regarding uniting with Him. This night Krishna decided to attract all the souls at one place and time. So a perfect night was created for lovers on Sharad Poornima. Lakhs of gopis harbouring desires of uniting with Krishna sneaked out of their homes in the dead of night. Krishna's name means one who attracts. He alone can attract and grant pleasure to all beings while only Radha is capable of giving pleasure to Krishna. So, Radha, the soul of Krishna, the pleasure power of Krishna stood before the Supreme Brahmn on this blessed night.
Both Radha and Krishna are extremely attractive, be autiful, dazzling and deeply in love. They worship each other.
When two souls are united difference of duality vanishes.
The power to love that exists in the world comes from Radha who operates between God and the world. The purest of devotees are able to see their union as divine height in ecstasy.
The magical night is recreated.Under the full moon gopis form a circle.The dark Krishna in a glittering white dress, with intricate zari work and strings of pearls comes on stage. Gopis surround him. The celestial sound of his flute steals hearts and individual consciousness. Suddenly several Krishnas come in dancing. The sight of so many Krishnas with identical white costumes and flutes, rhythmic spin and liveliness is astonishing. We can't get enough of Krishna. He is with Radha in the centre and also with each gopi showing that he is our centre point as Paramatma and is also in each of us as Antaryami. Viewers cry in delight and all become speechless.
A Gita shloka says, “That night when the self-controlled man is awake; when all beings are awake, that is night for the sage who sees.“ This is a night to remain aware, to remain conscious despite attractions and distractions.
