Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj decodes the various avatars of Krishna and their manifestation in our lives
lord Krishna, the evergreen deity, has been the most enigmatic charisma of our ancient mythology. So much has been written about the lord in last hundreds of years that many a times one wonders that inspite of research carried out, why is it so that still nobody has understood him fullyIJ
Isn’t it surprisingIJ What is it that makes him so mysteriousIJ Some sects of religion believe that ‘Krishna’ was an incarnation of God himself whereas some believe that he was God himself but in view of the legendary stories prevalent today about him, followers of other religions are not prepared to concede this. In short, while some emphatically assert him being a complete incarnation of God, others, equally emphatically deny it, keeping in view of his deeds and conduct as narrated in ancient literature.
There is no doubt in it that, believers in God truly feel that Krishna is the ocean of knowledge. They also believe that these attributes of his are not mutually contradictory. For instance, if God makes use of his power, that use should not be for a violent act, otherwise it will be contradictory to his being absolutely peaceful. Thus, keeping in view of the prevailing accounts of war and violence attributed to Krishna, believers in the creed of non-violence, find it hard to reconcile them with their belief in God as an absolutely non-violent entity. Similarly, the amorous love tales described by some people, though not actually devoid of glimpses of love, run counter to the concept of purity in love. Hence, in view of mutual contradictions in the attributes of God, some people refuse to accept Krishna as God or his incarnation, while others believe in him as such on the basis of those very accounts. But, the devotees who adore Krishna as their God, while agreeing that he is one of God’s incarnation, will of course add that he was God Himself. It has been observed that over the years, the meaning and exposition of the accounts from Krishna’s life seem to have vastly changed in the process of time. For instance, the account of his stealing away gopis’ clothes is interpreted today in its gross, literal sense, whereas it carries a spiritual meaning intended to be conveyed, viz that God got his devotees and worshippers divested of their gross body consciousness. Similarly, the account of Krishna bringing about a great war has been subjected to a literal interpretation, whereas, in reality, it is an allegorical description referring to man’s fight against the demons (vices), deeply-rooted within himself. Given its spiritual interpretation, the contradiction noticeable in the principal divine attributes of God, referred to above, disappears, for this spiritual fight of man with the vices within himself, as opposed to the ‘lethal war’ among men, actually results in the establishment of purity, peace and love within him and is, consequently, salubrious and beneficial for mankind. This interpretation, if accepted, should remove the doubts of those people who don’t believe in Krishna’s divinity on the ground of God’s attributes becoming self contradictory.
To get a more pragmatic view, we should understand that in reality, Krishna to whom various descriptions are attributed was not a human being — a son born to a mother, who grew from infancy to youth and was busy killing this person and that, by wielding his weapon, named Sudarshan Chakra, but simply the attributive name of God Himself who, ‘in the night of deep ignorance’, enters the body of a human being through whom He works and acts.
So, stealing of butter, destroying of the demons and driving Arjun’s chariot, etc are all accounts which, literally interpreted, run counter to the conception of God’s divinity. Interpreted, however, in their spiritual sense, they lose their contradictions and prove that, far from being the acts of a human being, they are divine tasks which God performs by entering a human body.