Over the last 24 hours there has been an endless din all over the city. Hooligans clad in t-shirts branded with faces of well-fed politicians are zooming all around town on their Yamahas and Pulsars, hooting at women and blowing small trumpets as they go. They call themselves 'Govindas'. Today is possibly the only day besides Ganpati visarjan that offices all over the city specially allow their employees to leave early. The otherwise ordinary town-squares of Mumbai are decorated with huge banners, laden with loud speakers and bustling with people today, "celebrating" the birth of one of the most revered deities by Hindus the world over - Lord Krishna. I am not going to assert his existence with this piece, nor am I going to doubt it, but if you come to think about it, there is a great deal associated with this dark-skinned God than meets the eye.
Over 5000 years ago, on the ashtami, eighth day of the waning moon in the lunar month of Hrishikesh, Lord Vishnu Himself is said to have appeared as His 8th avatar (incarnation) in the form of a baby to Vasudev and Devki in a dark cell of a prison in Mathura. It was foretold that the 'birth' of this child called Krishna marked the impending death of his evil uncle Kansa, who had imprisoned Krishna's parents in the first place, but it was so much more than that. Nanda and Yashodha, Krishna's foster parents who stayed in Gokul, are celebrated as much as His birth parents, and the story of how He got to Gokul from the prison is as intriguing as the rest of His life. The miraculous way how all the prison guards fell in a deep slumber as His father Vasudev took Him out of the prison, wading his way through the flood in the river Yamuna in heavy rains, and finally resting the child in the loving company of Yashodha; all of this doesn't seem that big a miracle if one considers that this was God's way. This was possible, because Krishna willed it.
Krishna's childhood is full of stories about how He vanquished several asuras and rakshasas who were sent by Kansa to kill Him, how He saved an entire village from torrential rains by lifting an entire hill with His little finger, and an event most significant today, His love for butter and the unique human pyramid He built with his friends to reach a pot of butter that Yashodha had tied to the roof by. That He would kill His uncle and liberate the people of Mathura from his tyrannical rule was destiny, or was it His will again?
His role in the Mahabharata is deeper than the feud between brothers. He gave us the holiest book of Hinduism - The Bhagvad Gita. By explaining to Arjuna the basics of karma (similar to 'duty'), Krishna not only resolved Arjuna's dilemma of spilling the blood of his brethren but also laid the way of life for generations to come. To fulfill one's purpose in life is his duty, and deviating from doing this duty is to deviate from karma. To perform one's karma without expecting anything in return is the way to be happy. It is important to understand that the body is temporary, and the soul is permanent, so there has never been a time when you have not existed, nor has their been a time when you are born. So while you are in this body, in this life, it is important for you to perform your duties, and establish dharma (similar to 'righteousness'), and embrace God.
Krishna's involvement in the Mahabharata is that of a passive being who lets the events take their course of action. Although He says that whenever righteousness is in danger He will take birth in every age, He assumes an active role very few times in the Mahabharata, only when situations demand His involvement. Still, it is said that from a bird's eye view, the events of the great battle of Kurukshetra look like a giant Sudarshan Chakra sweeping across a sea of evil and wrongdoing. The Sudarshan Chakra is Krishna's weapon. Isn't that how God's involvement is in our life - He sees it all, lets us fall, sees us rise again, and fulfill our duties, and for all we know, probably also helps us as a parent, or a friend, or a teacher, or a complete stranger. We live the life we live, because He wills it so.
Krishna is a son, a friend, a brother, a husband, a father, a grandfather and a God. He is sensual in his own way, but not perverted. He teases the girls of Vrindavan, steals their clothes while they are bathing in the lake, forces them to come out naked, but He looks at them only with love, not lust. He even lets them dress him up like a woman, embracing the femininity in Himself, without any queer angle to it. In fact, the way he stands also resembles that of a woman dancer - a pose bent at three positions - the neck, the waist and the leg. He has 16,008 wives, but one does not deem Him of questionable character. He finds a friend in Draupadi, or if it is more acceptable, a sister.
Possibly none of us can be like Krishna, after all, who can be like God? But what does Krishna teach us? Freedom - everyone is entitled to it. He who denies freedom to others doesn't deserve any for himself. Krishna did not impose His views on His cousins - the Pandavas. He let them take their own decisions and learn from them, and advised them, but did not force them to do exactly as He said.
Love - one must learn to love without expecting, because true love does not keep any expectation. Be it for a friend, a sister, a mother or a consort, love is pure only when it is free from expectation. Krishna obviously knew that Yashodha was not his birth mother, but he loved her as much as he loved Devki. The love between the much older Radha and Krishna is well known, and it is away from any disgraceful attribute to it. Their love reflects in her dance while He plays the flute. They loved each other despite knowing that they could never be together. Krishna's love for His long lost friend Sudama is also seen in the way He serves him when he comes to visit. His love for his wife Rukmini manifests when he leaves at once from Dwarka alone for her town Kundanpur without an army, right into the military camp of her to-be-husband Shishupal, and flees with her swiftly. Like a doting brother, Krishna saves the Draupadi's modesty while she is being stripped off her clothes amidst the entire assembly in front of her helpless five husbands.
Discretion - after Kansa's death, his father-in-law Jarasandha invaded Mathura 17 times as arevenge on Krishna, who thought it best to leave the city and set up His own - Dwaraka. This is one reason he is also known as 'Rannchhoddas' (the one who left the battlefield), but this again, has no negative connotation to it. Accepting defeat for saving the lives of many innocents is wisdom, not cowardice. This teaches us that bravery might not always be the best choice, and that wit should always be used in dire situations. Despite being a God He could not escape the false blame of a theft of the syamantaka jewel, but the way He got himself out of the situation purely with His presence of mind shows that divine intervention is not always necessary.
When His clan - the Yadavas destroyed themselves completely, He accepted it and realised that it was the end of His time on Earth. He died by an arrow of an ordinary hunter who thought He was a deer, so there was no grand way that He chose to die in. He died so because He willed it. And that is probably the biggest, yet the most confusing lesson Krishna teaches us - that of free will. To live life on your own terms is one of the hardest and the bravest things to do. To stand for what is right, even if no one else stands beside you takes courage, and that is what Krishna did. He even went against His elder brother Balrama at times, and chose to side with the Pandavas because He knew they were right. But free will, needs to be used with discretion, be it in love or living a life of independence, and this is the essence of Krishna's time on Earth.
In summary, Krishna teaches us how to live life - love unconditionally, let others live freely, make calculated decisions, do what you feel is right and most of all, have a lot of fun while you are at it. He is not afraid to assume different roles in life. He is the naughty son, the all-knowing cowherd who is also the ruler of Dwaraka, but assumes the role of Arjuna's charioteer during the Great War, a charioteer who teaches Arjuna the way of dharma, and in one single moment, shows him how all pervasive He is in His true form - the Universal God - the Supreme Soul - The Parmatma.
As I finish writing this piece, the sounds of the thumping drums outside my window slowly die down. The human pyramid that was formed and reformed again and again over the evening is now scattered among a crowd of similar looking weary people. The frolic has come to an end for tonight, and the air is filled with faint chants of 'Govinda re Gopala'! The sky is now dark and glitters in places, and somewhere in the distance I even hear a flute playing...
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