‘Socialist’ Krishna addresses challenges of Devotees

                                                                  Lord Krishna is the Eighth Avatar of Lord Vishnu (Pinterest Photo)

Hindus in general and Vaishnavites in particular, members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Devotees of Shirdi Saibaba, Satya Saibaba and many others will mark Janmashtami or Gokulashtami today (August 30, 2021).

The birth of Lord Krishna forms the most important Chapter in Mahabharat, one of the greatest epics of India, for it is only the second ‘Sampoorna Avatar’ (Complete Reincarnation) of Lord Vishnu, going through an entire life cycle as a human being.

Even non-Hindus accept that Lord Krishna symbolises the best of things that men and women can aspire during their mortal reign. This Lord is what the beholder perceives – fun, frolic, piety, statesmanship, diplomacy, bravery and even (as mentioned in Mahabharata where He gets Karna killed) perfidious politics.

That in essence is the beauty of Hinduism-the Vedas and the Rishis have passed on one indisputable aspect of a religion or a way of life that is sacrosanct: that every man (or woman) can pray to God the way he or she desires, at home, in a gathering or a place of worship.

Challenging God

For centuries, men and women have had a love-hate relationship with their Gods and Goddesses, openly ‘challenging them’ and of course realising later their folly.

Lord Krishna is one reincarnation or ‘Avatar’ of Vishnu who has been subject to manipulation and criticism during His life on earth. Krishna is the epitome of purity of thought and deed and as ‘Sarathy’ or charioteer for Arjuna, a symbol of loyalty and craftsmanship.

It is perhaps this socialistic aspect of the Lord that drew millions of people from other faiths unto Him. Just look around apart from Hindu Temples for the Lord, there are many other international bodies that have been doing yeoman service to humanity, sublimating all that is good and divine on earth.

The life and times of Lord Krishna are celebrated with enthusiasm.

Birth Significance

Janmashtami or birth on the eighth day of the chronological cycle is one of the most significant for Hindus in every part of the world. This Festival occurs on the eighth day (Ashtami) of a lunar fortnight; hence the name (Krishna+Ashtami).

Krishnashtami, which comes around in August, is celebrated over two days. The first day is Krishnashtami or Gokulashtami. The second day is called Kalashtami or more popularly Janmashtami.

On the midnight between the first and second days, the ‘Birth’ of Lord Krishna is replicated with pomp and ceremony. Delicacies are prepared from milk and curd that Krishna loved. The more popular ceremony of ‘Dahi-Handi’ (breaking a pot full of milk and its derivatives} takes place on the second day. During this ceremony, a large earthenware pot filled with milk, curd, butter and honey, is suspended from a height of 20 to 40 feet.

This ceremony replicates Krishna’s love for milk and butter. In his childhood, the Lord and his mates raided the houses of His neighbours in search of milk and butter. It is a common practice in India to tie up food articles in a pot suspended from the beams of the roof to prevent domestic animals from despoiling them. 

It is also common for parents to adorn their children as Balakrishna on Janmashtami, as a symbolic representation of the Lord’s visit to their homes.

Pastoral Society

The story of Lord Krishna reflects life in a pastoral society. Cattle are the principal means of subsistence. The activity of people revolves around tending cows, milking them, making curds, butter and other modern-day dairy products.

New Zealanders would easily understand the significance.

Krishna himself has names displaying a pastoral character. Govinda and Gopala as he is also known, mean cowherd.

In brief, the life story of Krishna as per mythology is as follows:

Kansa, the king of Mathura was a very cruel tyrant. His tyranny spared no one, even the sages had to bear the brunt. Finally, the Gods could tolerate no more of it and in a dream, Kansa was told that his evil reign would be ended by his sister Devaki’s son. The tyrant threw his sister Devaki and her husband Vasudev into prison so that he could kill all the sons born to them.

Devaki bore seven sons in captivity and each of them was killed. The Gods thought it was time to intervene. On the night the seventh child was born, the prison guards fell into a deep slumber and the doors were unlocked. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Vasudev slipped out of the prison and whisked away the Godchild to the safety of a neighbouring kingdom that was ruled by king Nanda. King Nanda’s domain lay across the Yamuna River. When the waters touched the feet of the God-Child Sri-Krishna, the waters parted making a channel for Vasudev to pass. (Readers would note the similarity with the biblical story of Joseph carrying the child Christ across the Sinai to Egypt).

The generous king Nanda gave away his newborn daughter to Vasudev, aware of the fate that awaited her at Kansa’s hands. The next morning Kansa completed his gruesome job, unaware of the fact that his future assailant was still alive.

Krishna continued to grow at Gokul. He acquired notoriety as a pilferer of milk and butter but endeared himself to the people. He is said to have lifted Mount Govardhan to save the people of Gokul from a storm and tamed Kalia, a giant snake. Still in his teens, Krishna visited Mathura to participate in King Kansa’s wrestling tournament. After defeating all contestants, he challenged Kansa and killed him. The people of Mathura were relieved.

Krishna’s involvement with the Pandavas that led to the Great War (The Battle of Kurukshetra) between the latter and Kauravas was an epic in itself. As Arjuna’s charioteer, he advised him on the virtues of going to war and killing in the process not only thousands of soldiers but also cavalry, infantry and his brothers-the Kauravas. The recitation, which dealt with various aspects of life is known as ‘Bhagavat Gita.’

Some scholars see parallels between Krishna’s life and that of Jesus Christ. They point out that the birth of both Krishna and Christ was foretold, both were destined to bring harm upon the reigning king-Kansa and Herod. Both Herod and Kansa tried to kill their adversaries and failed. The reasons for the failure were that the Godchild was whisked away to a faraway place, Christ to Egypt and Krishna to Gokul.