Krishna & his human aspect!

Victory & defeat in life are like warp and woof with which a piece of cloth is woven. Victory alone or defeat alone cannot make a life, as warp alone cannot make a cloth. To make a life whole victory and defeat, success and failure, gain and loss, right and wrong are all essential. Life is made up of these opposites; these opposites are like two sides of a coin. The real question is not weather Krishna wins a battle or losses it (as in case with King Jarasandh!). The real question is the totality of our life ends in victory or defeat. It is possible that a defeat becomes a stepping stone to victory. It also is possible that victory may serve as jumping board to fall into abysmal defeat. The warp and woofs of life are so vast and complex. It is ok if one loses a battle or two and wins the war. The ultimate judgment of on ours life is not depends on the counts of victory and losses, but on the final summation of our whole life story. It is natural that Krishna had moments of defeat in his life. It is inevitable with life. If God has to live in the world he will have to live as humans do. In fact, one who is not ready to face defeats in life should give up all thought of victory. Krishna’s life contains both victory and defeat, which is why it is so human. But this humanness does not detract from the grandeur and glory of his life, it really adds much to it. Krishna is not an egoist; he is ready to face everything life brings with it. He accepts the ups and downs of life unconditionally. That is what makes Krishna tremendously human and because of this humanness he looks for us the human, small in comparison to the divinity of Buddha and Mahavira.  Krishna is not going to be harsh, so he accepts all that we call human weakness. And he does not take mistake as mistake; he takes it in stride, as something coming with life.

Krishna’s life is a flux; he moves with the winds. He goes eastward with east wind and west wards with the westerly. He goes with his life totally. As a Zen story goes, there is a river which is flooded. It is rushing toward ocean with tremendous speed and force. Two small stalks of a plant are flowing with its currents. One has placed itself cross wise against the currents; it is tense and anxious, tries to fight against them. But it does not make any difference as it is so powerful to be resisted. The currents are not even aware that a little straw is in their way, trying to resist their triumphant advance. But as far as the little stalk is concerned, it is fighting for its life and wasting all its energy for nothing. The other stalk has left itself length wise in the currents, which are taking it with them effortlessly. This stalk is relaxed and joyous and festive. It is dancing with the ripples of river; it has a feel of sharing and celebrating with the river. The ways of stalks make not the least difference to the river, but makes all the difference to them.

Like the stalks there are two kinds of people in the world. One is demanding, aggressive and resistant like the first stalk which places itself against the river and fights with it and suffers at every step. And there are other type of people who say ‘Yes’ to life, who cooperate with it like the stalk which places length wise and moves effortlessly and happily with them. These people have a sense of deep kinship with the existence; they move with it, with a song in their hearts.

There is flute in the hands of Krishna, because he has left himself completely in the hands of existence, he flows effortlessly with its currents. That is how he sings and dances and plays the flute and goes blissfully through life. It is unthinkable to put the flute in the hands of any other realized soul, it is unthinkable. That is the way of a choice less person of total acceptance of existence. And ‘choicelessness’ is the door Krishna shows for bliss and ecstasy.

Life is not all about Victory or defeat of battles but of its totality of war itself, if we use Life as War metaphor. But life is not a war but a celebration, as per Krishna.

Let us understand Krishna to understand Gita!

Dr Dwaraka Nath