Praneeta Kochhar
Families have always been an extension of one’s identity.
Your beliefs, faith and culture, are all part of your identity, and these are always passed on from one generation to the other.
No matter where you are in this big wide World, you will always remain connected to the roots of your being through nostalgia.
We always recall, at least in our minds, moments of our life with these traditions.
Since this is the month of Janmashtami, and we have just celebrated the birth of our beloved Lord Krishna, I was encouraged to write about the most vivacious persona that anyone has experienced.
Essential characteristics
In mythology, all Gods are portrayed with the help of certain characteristics, which are essential to their depiction as the all-knowing, ever righteous ideals for a human (or Godly) way of living.
And then, there comes the story of a mischievous, trouble-making Avatar of Lord Vishnu, who is known for all the tricks and the menace that followed with His pranks.
A deep teaching backs this portrayal, like that of all other Gods in our scriptures.
Celebrating life
The reason behind His personification as a troublemaker is simple.
At times, you need to just live.
You need to let go of the social norms and dogmas, and live life as if it is a celebration. Only then, can you truly understand the beauty that lies in life.
He showed how to be a perfect child, as the essence of childhood is in the mischief. He showed how to be in love, as He became a personification of love itself with His beloved.
He showed how to be a friend and a mentor by reinforcing the right path in life and sharing the eternal truth with Arjuna in the battlefield.
But most importantly, He showed us how to smile through all the phases in life.
All that we have to do to be a part of Him is dance and play, laugh and love, for what is life, if not a celebration of being here, in this moment.
Great Lessons
I believe that as part of a generation which is now at the point of linking our past with the fast paced life of the future, we need to take a look at some stories and their significance, as they are ever relevant, and can make our lives in these fast paced times seem less complicated, and remind us about the very reason for going through the journey of life.
Praneeta Kochhar recently migrated with her family to New Zealand. She lives in Hamilton.
Photo :
- Lord Krishna with Gopikas in Vrindavan
- Bhaktas eulogise Lord Krishna (Picture by Ashok Kochhar)
- Dance, and He shall dance with you, call out the name of His beloved, and He shall appear
(Picture by Ashok Kochhar)
