Hari Aum.
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Om Shyamasundaraya Namah.
Lord Krishna is described as the Lord who is dark in colour, dark as the monsoon clouds. He is quite literally described as the embodiment of male beauty-- 'tall, dark and handsome'. This is the meaning of His name 'Shyamasundara'. He is called by various terms of endearment-- the ultimate charmer, the flute-player of Vrindavan, the irresistible One. The best friend, the true Lover, the all in all. So say the Gurus, so say the yogis.
But, as we weary spiritual seekers, trudge upon the spiritual path, repeating His holy names, what is our experience? Before we reach the happily enlightened stage that our Gurus attained, while we are caught up in the mire of samsara (worldly existence), what is our actual experience of this handsome Lord, this so-called charming One?
Unfortunately, our experience of Him (in the form of this world that He has created) is not always very savoury! The tall, dark and handsome One can appear to have a very dark side indeed-- one that we may actually tremble to see!
On that note, it seems that every few weeks this year, the world holds its breath as another dangerous war breaks out somewhere on the planet (and various world leaders mutter the word 'nuclear' to threaten each other with little care as to the consequences). Yes, this is the world that the good Lord has created, that Krishna has created-- and a wonderful Creation it is, no doubt (despite the horrific side, there is also great beauty-- though we may struggle to see it at times!)
As He Himself says in the Gita, He moves us all as though we were puppets in a play. And, He Himself is the face of Death. We should not be surprised, therefore, at any of today's events on our planet. It is all quite natural.
Our ancient Puranas highlight the strange and whimsical nature of Shyamasundara or Lord Krishna. On the one hand, He saves Ajamila and Pingala, whose actions could be described as less than entirely dharmic-- they sought refuge in Him and were protected. On the other, He creates a terrible Lila of destruction where the children of His own beloved friends and relatives, the Pandavas, are massacred along with countless other people, both noble and ignoble.
While praising Him, Queen Kunti, mother of the Pandavas, asks Him to grant Her suffering so that she may ever remember Him (as the mind is said to remember God more intensely in suffering than in joy). And we know that Krishna certainly granted her wish (based on the events that took place in the Mahabharata)! (We may not all share Kunti's prayer but He generously provides us a dose of suffering anyway!).
Equally, while cursing Him, Queen Gandhari, mother of the Kauravas (all of whom had died in the Mahabharata war) declares that, as the Creator of the world, and orchestrator of this divine Lila, His earthly clan (the Yadavas) too should perish. Krishna smilingly grants her wish, saying that it was already ordained in accordance with His will.
He is alike, indeed, to friend and foe-- as He says Himself, there is none to whom He is partial. He favours none, He rejects none.
However, He always upholds dharma (righteousness/goodness) and the law of karma (the law that says we will reap what we sow). Those who walk the path of dharma are protected by it, and those who do not, fall foul of the law of karma-- that most unforgiving and inexorable of laws.
In His destructive aspect, Krishna is no less terrible than Mother Kali (interestingly, They both share the same beeja mantra 'Klim' suggesting that They are truly One in essence). The only difference is that Krishna looks charming, while Kali looks fearsome.
The childhood Lilas of Krishna may be portrayed as sweet and adorable (filled with music, dancing, play and games), but when He reveals His true divine form to Arjuna (in the Gita), as the Almighty, He is both wonderful and terrifying in equal measure (to the extent that Arjuna is filled with fear and begs to see His usual human form).
As devotees, we play with our Krishna, we worship Him, we talk with Him, we walk with Him, we embrace Him in our lives in so many ways. But truly, we know Him not. We do not know His consciousness, His divine will and His plans for us.
So He is dark in so many ways-- both in His appearance and in His deeds, but most of all, in the form of the future which lies hidden from our view. We know not what tomorrow will bring; it is shrouded in mystery. And we know, that His Lilas can be brutal to both devotee and non-devotee alike-- He impartially gives everyone the results of their own karmas.
Ultimately, He sits upon the throne of judgement, and sees us as we really are-- we cannot hide anything from Him. And Yama (also known as 'Dharma') is His right-hand man (His own manifestation, in fact)-- the one who keeps a score, a count of our deeds, both good and bad, so that we may be given our just desserts in accordance with the law of karma.
And so, as we walk through the darkness of this strange world that He has created, this world that is increasingly filled with violence and madness, we have little choice but to hold on tightly to the hand of this dark Lord, this One who hides His face, who inspires both love and fear within us.
We have little choice because He is the only certainty here-- He alone exists, His will alone prevails over all our little wills, and His justice will ultimately prevail over all of the chaos and madness that we generate.
As the fighting in the Middle East intensifies at the present time, let us do the only thing that we can possibly do, namely, pray. Let us pray to Krishna (or whichever form of God we are drawn to as they are all ultimately One according to the Gurus), whose Lilas are both charming and terrifying, that our minds and hearts may be filled with light instead of darkness.
As the ancient Upanishadic prayer goes:
"Asato ma, Sat gamaya,
Tamaso ma, Jyotir gamaya,
Mrityor ma, Amritam gamaya".
Meaning:
"Lead me from untruth to Truth,
from darkness to light, and,
from death to Immortality".
Om Namo Narayanaya.
P.S. Please can we all continue to recite the ashtakshara or any mantra or prayer of our liking for 5-10 minutes at least every day for world peace. Let us pray to Krishna and Kali that all wars may end and that a state of relative peace may be created on our planet as soon as possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment