Who is Krishna ?

K Rajeshwar Sharma *

Janmaashtami celebrated at ISKCON Temple, Imphal in August 2013 :: Pix - Lamdamba Oinam

On 19th August (2022) last week, Krishna Janmasthami was celebrated all over the world with pomp and gaiety. But one might have wondered who Krishna was or rather what Krishna was. One may find Him stealing sweets, playing and dancing with the Gopis, and romancing with Radha, His beloved. Krishna is also seen protecting cowherds, and even killing demons. One may also find Him riding a chariot in a battle-field.

Moreover He is always seen standing and playing the flute. These facets of Krishna have compounded the understanding of Krishna particularly among those who are not Hindus. In the Bhagavad Gita too, Arjuna sees Krishna as a friend but he never thinks that Krishna is an incarnation of God.

Only then when Krishna shows His "cosmic form" does Arjuna realize that actually Krishna is a God incarnate. He apologizes to Lord Krishna for treating Him as a friend. Krishna is everyone and everything. He is at the heart of everyone and everything. Whoever see Krishna in everyone and everything, he or she recognizes the omnipresence of God, and he or she will love and respect everyone and everything.

In the ninth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna said: "I am that which you see and that which you do not see. I am that which exists and that which does not exist." (9:19)

In the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gila, Krishna shows His Viswaroopa to Arjuna to prove that He is indeed the personification of God, the Brahman. Viswaroopa, the "formless form" of Krishna is described by Sanjaya in the following manner which Robert Oppenheimer quoted after witnessing the first atomic explosion at Alamogordo, New Mexico USA on July 16, 1945: "If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once into the sky, their radiance might resemble the splendor and radiance of the mighty Lord in that universal form." (11:12)

Although Robert Oppenheimer, a nuclear physicist was a Jew, he was "deeply affected" by the teachings of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. When he addressed the US Congress regarding the atom bomb, Robert Oppenheimer told the members of Congress that the atom bomb reminded him of Lord Krishna who said in the Bhagavad Gita: "I am death, the mighty destroyer of the worlds." (11:32)

Lord Krishna is considered to be an Avatar of God. It is a Sanskrit word which literally means the descent of God to Earth. Avatar takes place when there is unrighteousness that brings about chaotic disorder in the world, when "the balance of human society is upset by selfish, ruthless and cruel beings", and when "irreligion and Adharma prevail."

In the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad, Lord Krishna said: "Whenever there is decline in dharma and an outbreak of adharma, I descend to protect the good, to annihilate the wicked, and to establish righteousness. I am born from age to age." (4:7 — 8) There are ten major Avatars of Lord Vishnu and twelve minor Avatars as well.

In His first Avatar, Lord Vishnu came down to Earth as Matsya, the fish to rescue Sage Manu from the floods. He incarnated as Kurma, the tortoise in His second Avatar. Kurma raised a sinking mountain and placed it on his back so that the Devas could mine the nectar of immortality. In order to rescue the Earth from the primordial waters, Lord Vishnu in His third Avatar appeared as Vamha, the gigantic boar.

Narasimha, man with the lion head was His fourth Avatar. Lord Vishnu as Narasimha came down to kill Hiranyakasipu the great demon, and to rescue his son Prahlad who was a devotee of the Lord. As His fifth Avatar, Lord Vishnu appeared as Vamana, the dwarf to rescue the world from an Asura king named Mahabali.

In the sixth Avatar, He incarnated as Parasurama, the warrior to control and stop the atrocities of Kshatriyas. Lord Rama was His seventh Avatar. He incarnated as Lord Rama to kill the demon king Ravana. In His eighth Avatar, Lord Vishnu appeared as Lord Krishna, the embodiment of love and peace, to kill demons as well as the Kauravas who brought injustice and reign of terror in their kingdoms.

Budha, the enlightened appeared as the ninth Avatar of Lord Vishnu to bring about several reformations in Hinduism. The tenth Avatar of Lord Vishnu is still awaited. He will appear as Kalki perhaps to cleanse the society of corruption, and to bring justice and equality to all.

At the beginning of the Kali Yuga, the age of strife and injustice, Krishna appeared in this world as the 8th incarnation or Avatar of Lord Vishnu, the preserver and the protector of the universe. He was born as the eighth child of Devaki, the sister of an evil Icing named Kamsa whose astrologers had prophesied that her child would kill him. Thus Kamsa ordered his men to kill each of his sister's eight children.

Following the instructions of Lord Vishnu, to save Krishna, he was hidden at Gokula in the household of Nanda and Yashoda. Soon Kamsa came to know that his sister Devaki's eighth child was still alive. He ordered Putana, a demoness, to kill the infant child, Krishna. The irony is that the infant sucked Putana to death.

When the body of the demoness was burned, a sweet smell rose from the pyre, for she had been liberated by the love of Lord Krishna from incarnations as a demon. Meanwhile, Kamsa was getting desperate as his men were killed. In order to kill Krishna and Balarama, he organized a wrestling competition to which the two brothers were invited.

When all his wrestlers were killed by Krishna, Kamsa came out to challenge Krishna but poor Kamsa was no match to Krishna. Eventually Kamsa, the demon king was killed. Vasudeva and Devaki, Krishna's parents were released from the dungeon, and His grandfather was appointed king. Not only was Lord Krishna a slayer of demons but He was also a great teacher whose teachings have reached every corner of the world.

Lord Krishna's teachings require people to completely change their consciousness. He advocates a life of selfless actions where one performs one's duty without expecting the fruits of performing the duty. One can attain salvation or union with God or Karma Yoga, by doing selfless actions. In the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna said: "You only have the right to act.

At the same time, you do not have the right to the fruits of actions." (2:47) This is the essence of the teachings of Lord Krishna and Hinduism as well. The teachings of Lord Krishna are universally accepted. Many of the western intellectuals go through the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads at least once in their lifetime.

Aldous Huxley wrote, "The Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the most systematic scripture statement of the perennial philosophy." Lisa Miller, the senior editor of Newsweek magazine wrote, "We are all Hindus now" in the August 15, 2009 issue of the magazine.