Divine
Import of Krishna Leela
SHRI ASHUTOSH
JI MAHARAJ
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It was the darkest hour of the
era. The brutalities perpetrated by despot king Kansa had become unbearable. In
such a period of crisis, during the Dwapar Yuga, the Divine Power
descended on earth in human form as Krishna. He is Raagi as well as
Vairaagi; Nar and Narayan; Chakradhar and Murlidhar — all blending into one
incarnation, Krishna.
Even
the pranks and adventure Balakrishna and his friends engaged in had subtle
transcendental messages. Stealing butter from homes, Krishna as makhanchor
points out the dualistic nature of the world. This world is an
amalgamation of the essential (butter) and the non- essential (butter-milk). By
relishing butter Krishna inspires us to abstract the Supreme Essence, mayapati,
and enjoy pure bliss.
Likewise,
the sport of trampling over the poisonous hoods of the serpent Kalia is also
quite figurative. A similar kind of venomous snake is hissing within us. It is
our conceited mind. The mind, through its attachment to sensuous desires,
incessantly poisons the inner-self. Krishna's feat on the banks of the Yamuna
symbolises the initiation of Brahma-Jnana within us. Experiencing the
Divine through this knowledge will help us overcome vice. Such a pure heart then
proves out to be a perfect platform for Krishna's dance of victory.
Krishna
Leela is both divine and transcendental. But many fail to understand the
real import of the Lord's leela. This failure, in turn, gives rise to
innumerable doubts and even lead to vehement protests objecting to Krishna's
leelas — like the rasleela between Krishna and the gopis. Krishna then was
hardly 7-8 years old and the gopikas were much older.
Moreover,
rasleela was in reality bhavleela, completely devoid of corporeal
sensations. It was the celestial, atmic form of a gopi that used to participate
in ras. Far above the carnal plane, it was a divine communion
between souls (gopis) and the Supreme Soul (Krishna). Krishna Leela is Eko Aham
Bahusyama, One manifested as Many.
Critics
also condemn Krishna's role in the battle of Kurukshetra. They argue that
Krishna with his divine powers could have prevented the war from taking place.
Moreover, they point out, Krishna adopted unrighteous means to slay many great
warriors of the Kauravas. But the Mahabharata war cannot be analysed like
this in isolation — one has to take note of the larger picture. When a limb
gets infected and is beyond repair, and there is danger of the patient
losing his life because of this, the surgeon has no other option left to
save his life than to amputate the infected limb.
Similarly,
the Kauravas posed a real threat to society. They, in fact, had turned murderous
— they did not hesitate to set aflame the Lakshagriha where the Pandavas were
staying; they aided and abetted the disrobing of Draupadi; they rejected all
peace-proposals by Krishna and were reluctant to offer even five villages to
resolve the dispute. They preferred to go to battle.
To
infer and gain know-ledge from the divine actions of incarnations, we need
divine vision. This is what Krishna revealed to a confounded Arjuna: "What
thou hast to see, this thy human eye cannot grasp; but there is a divine eye and
that I now give to thee. Behold Me in my Divine Yoga." On attaining the
divine eye, Arjuna could see the cosmic form of Krishna. Then only, He
could know the divine nature of Krishna and His leelas.
Janmashtami
merely celebrates the spirit of Krishna, and reiterates the need to
cultivate Krishna consciousness and to make efforts to realise Krishna in
His elemental form through Brahma-Jnana.
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