Sunday, September 23, 2007

Krishna nee begane baaro …

I just finished reading this article on Krishna

http://veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/historical-krsna.htm

On a Sunday night almost half asleep I let my thoughts wander. What does Krishna really mean to me? I have been hearing about Krishna for more than 30 years now.

Did Krishna really exist? Was he really an incarnation of the Lord Vishnu? The Lord who came down to earth in human form to destroy the evil? I don’t know if I can justify any of the above but I don’t doubt the existence of Krishna. I am sure he was a historic figure who lived several years before the birth of Christ. I do believe there are several parts of the story about Krishna which could be true.

Krishna must have been a great ruler. A prince who led a simple life and was close to the masses. A very knowledgeable person who was able to understand the essence of the Yogas and Upanishads and present them in a simpler form, the Bhagavad Gita. I don’t want to get into an analysis on Krishna’s wives but then all rulers of India in those days had many wives and I believe numbers might have been blown out of proportions over years. Krishna must have been a man who personified goodness and a great warrior who stood against evil forces. After all as Kannadasan wrote in Tamil “Manidhan enbavan deivam aagalam” (A man can achieve divine status by his actions and become worthy of worship). So Why doubt Lord Krishna?

Keeping questions on his existence aside, One cannot but marvel at the magic of Krishna. His stories have fascinated people over centuries and inspired so many musicians and poets. Hinduism is a way of life and Krishna and the Bhagavad Gita cannot be separated from Hinduism. I am sure the Story of Krishna will continue to fascinate people and his name will exist as long as this world exists.

As a child the stories of Krishna were really close to my heart. According to me the most impressive thing about the story of Krishna is simplicity. Any common man can easily identify himself with the story of Krishna especially the early years where Krishna is depicted as a careless mischievous child who liked butter and playing pranks on people. I used to get a bit scared imagining Krishna killing Kalinga a five headed snake. Scared as I was of snakes, this meant some sleepless nights as a child but then a more mature reflection of this makes me look at Krishna as someone who had mastered his five senses and kept them under control. A part of the story which might have got distorted over years as the story of Krishna was passed on from generation to generation. How could one dance on a five headed snake?

At home, we do celebrate Krishna’s birthday every year and I lose myself in the special delicacies that are prepared in Krishna’s name. If Krishna had not killed Narakasura we wouldn’t have had Deepavali, the festival of lights, a festival of happiness that is close to my heart and brings to me fond memories of the happy days that I spent with my mom.

On a lighter note, I am not sure if Krishna built any dams but it might not be long before some politician starts questioning about Krishna’s existence and his educational background in the name of rational thinking (Pagutharivu). Read this, the earlier Avatar Rama has just been questioned http://www.indianexpress.com/story/217566.html

Krishna nee begane baaro … (Come soon Krishna) If possible with your certificates and other evidences to satisfy Indian politicians.

1 comment:

Janani Srikanth said...

I love the "Reflections" portion of ur blog a lot. You have always been a good thinker but I guess you have transcended to the next level of great thinking. The faith that you have in religion, the way you view it in line with your living,the anger that you have on how society has been misusing religion for political benefit has been beautifully depicted in this post...Love your posts..keep writing..