Krishna represents godhood in totality and is rightly called yogeshwar — a complete blend of rational and emotional
As we celebrate Janmashtami to mark the birth anniversary of lord Krishna, we need to realise what he stands for. For most of us Krishna is the real hero of Mahabharata, who stood like a rock on the side of dharma and ensured it prevails. It was not Arjuna, but the lord who made the difference. The lord leading from the front was not just a charioteer but a friend, philosopher and guide.
The golden lesson of Gita on karma (duty) as given in the battlefield of Kurukshetra is an infinite fountainhead of inspiration that leads to removal of ignorance, thereby giving the ultimate joy of self-realisation. Arjuna — representing the confused, limited ordinary mortal with his innumerable weaknesses, agitations and fear — is charged once he receives the supreme knowledge from the lord, and picks up his bow, the instrument of effort and achievement.
This is the essence of Gita, which is an elaborate discourse on karma yoga, which says spirituality and karma cannot be separated. Rather there is complete synthesis of the two, provided one understands the significance of duty. This is the problem of the present day society, the confusion leading to dichotomy between spirituality and karma. The lord is the final refuge and he decides who gets what. This is what Krishna has emphasised. Western philosopher Kant’s moral rigourism reflects this kind of synthesis between spirituality and duty when he advocates “duty for duty’s sake” without any attachment to results.
But the Mahabharata was focussed on some of the aspects of the godliness of Krishna as the soul arbiter of right and wrong. Krishna is beyond these — a complete God, in which man can seek refuge through complete surrender. God is the creator and the destructor, the alpha and the omega. The Mahabharata war presents the destroyer God, who destructs for the cause of dharma. However, there are other aspects of God apart from the destructor. The loving God, the caring God, the compassionate God, the playful God. lord Krishna represents godliness in all its splendour and totality. Krishna is a Sanskrit name of god meaning all attractive. It was this attractiveness that made the gopikas dance around the lord in ecstasy. His raasleela represents the loving aspect of God. His love for them transcends that mundane form of affection which we lesser mortals are wont to see. Krishna’s love is the all encompassing agape love which is beautifully symbolised in the tales of Meera bai. The dance of the lord in Vrindavan and his escapades with Radha are all expressions of divine love which we call leela, the nearest English equivalent of which being acting. But this leela is not acting in the sense we use. Even though the lord is not involved because he is beginningless and endless, for the human beings who have a life span it is a real experience.
Similarly, lord Krishna’s gestures to Sudama. It is again leela, but for Sudama it is real friendship. To Draupadi he is the compassionate saviour and to Sandipan muni he is the perfect shishya (pupil). From gurukuls of learning to gardens of romance, from destruction of wars to gestures of friendliness, Krishna represents godhood in totality and is rightly called yogeshwar — a complete blend of rational and emotional.
The writer is a professor, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (Jharkhand). He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com
