KRISHNA AVATAR

Roughly five thousand years ago, the Lord incarnated as a Poorna Avatar, this time bearing the name Krishna. Babies cry when they are born, but Krishna came into the world smiling.

Immediately after birth, Krishna revealed His Divinity to His father Vasudeva and mother Devaki, both held captive in a prison by Kamsa, the brother of Devaki. Kamsa feared death at the hands of one of Devaki’s offspring and he wanted to kill all her babies as soon as they were born. Invoking His Divine Powers, Krishna arranged for His escape from the prison, thereby outwitting Kamsa.

Krishna grew up in the village of Gokulam under the care of Nanda and Yasoda. As a little boy, He was quite mischievous which greatly endeared Him to the villagers while at the same time causing them much exasperation! Among other things, He was fond of stealing butter. Later, He frolicked with the cowherd boys (Gopalas), but in between, He quietly vanquished or totally annihilated all the demons that sought to make Him their target. This included a huge snake that lived in a lake, poisoning the waters and giving much trouble. On one occasion He saved the entire village from a torrential deluge sent by an angry rain god, by simply holding up on His little finger the Govardan Hill, so that the hill became a gigantic umbrella.

When he was eight, Krishna went back to Mathura the place of His birth, and put Kamsa to death. His captive parents were freed and the kingdom was turned over to the gentle ruler Ugrasena.

Soon after this, Krishna came into contact with His aunt Kunti and her sons the Pandavas. Years later, His ties with the Pandavas got further strengthened when His sister Subadhra married Arjuna, one of the Pandavas. In the course of time, Krishna became the ruler of Dwaraka.

Step by step, Krishna arranged to get imperceptibly involved in the fratricidal conflict between the Pandavas and their evil cousins the Kauravas. The conflict finally veered towards a full-scale war, when the Kauravas illegally appropriated the entire kingdom of Hastinapura, denying the Pandavas their legitimate share.

At this stage, both the Kauravas and the Pandavas sought the help of Krishna. He gave them a choice: “You can have either My army or Me. If you choose Me, I will not fight but only advise. Take your pick.” Duryodhana the representative of the Kauravas eagerly opted for Krishna’s army, while Arjuna the representative of the Pandavas sought with humility the moral support of Krishna.

Kurukshetra was chosen as the venue for the war, and both sides agreed on an elaborate code of war procedures. Just before the battle was about to commence, Arjuna was seized with a grave doubt: “Was it good to kill one’s own kith and kith for the sake of a mere kingdom?” He turned to Krishna his charioteer for advice, after first surrendering to Him completely. Thus came into existence the famous Bhagavad Gita, God’s Message to man. After hearing the Divine Words of Wisdom, Arjuna’s doubts were all dispelled and he entered battle to do his duty in the cause of Dharma. With God on their side, the Pandavas naturally emerged victorious, the evil Kauravas being totally annihilated. When the means are pure and God is the goal, victory is assured – this is the message of the Kurukshetra war.

Unlike Rama, Krishna did occasionally reveal His Divinity, but by and large He very much lived like a normal person. Even when He invoked His Divine Powers, it was always for the benefit of others. Krishna was ever smiling, was always in a state of Divine Bliss, and constantly in the service of others.

Swami says that the main purpose of the Krishna Avatar was to bequeath to humanity the priceless gift of the Gita, and to tell man how he can earn the love of God. The simplest way is to get firmly attached (emotionally) to the Personal God, spend all of one’s time thinking about Him, and do everything as a loving offering for Him. God in turn will shower His Grace, protect, and confer all the blessings that one could ask for and also the blessings that one does not even know one should ask for!

The accompanying paintings have been done in the Kangra style.