There’s A Lot To Be Learnt From Krishn’s Life

Bhagavan Krishn’s unparalleled influence on the world has prevailed for thousands of years, pervading every aspect of life, including devotion, literature, the arts and even political strategy. The Bhagwad Gita is the core text of Sanatan Dharma, which Krishn gave to us by teaching Arjun. It is a scripture that transcends all religious boundaries.The Bhagavataṁ defines Krishn as a purna avatar — a complete incarnation. The word ‘avatar’ means ‘to descend’. It signifies the totality of consciousness assuming a human form. Krishn was a purna avatar in that he always abided in the True Self — ever perfect, with no ups and downs or mental disturbances. However, just as a policeman goes undercover dressing as a thief to catch a thief, so did Krishn; he went down to the level of man. When we see how some people live — devoid of dharma, with no sense of charity, just greedily grabbing and accumulating what is not theirs, hurting others, wasting this precious gift of human birth just eating and drinking — we can understand Krishn’s avatar as descent; going down to each one’s level in order to show them how to live life in a way that would bring peace to themselves and to others.Through his life and teachings, Krishn awoke bhakti, jnana and the true spirit of karma in us.Bhakti is love for the imperishable. From an objective point of view, it is the love towards one’s goal. Without it, one cannot move forward on any path. In any area of action, it is love that elevates a person. Whether a book is about science or history, the words in it are comprised of letters; they are its foundation. In the same way, the foundation of any path is bhakti. Bhakti is nothing but constant and continuous remembrance of God. Bhakti starts as a trickling stream within our hearts. But gradually it grows to become as forceful as the Ganga, filling our hearts and overflowing. Faced with its strength, all sensory attachments and desires weaken. Thus, our mental impurities fade away. Our love becomes divine and transcends body consciousness.There are many lessons to be learnt from Krishn’s life. This world and nature are God’s visible form; they are indeed God. Our life is the prasad — the blessed offering of God. What do we do when we get prasad? We eat it. In the same way, this life, which is God’s mahaprasad, should be accepted and welcomed by properly imbibing its underlying principles.We should learn to experience a mahatma’s lives through our hearts. The knowers of the Self can be experienced only through our own Self. We should be able to imbibe their sacrifice and equal vision in our own life. When we do this, our life will naturally fill the lives of others with happiness and peace.Krishn came into this world with a smile. He also left this world with a smile. The illustrious life and teachings of Krishn could be summarised as: Love life. Learn to welcome and accept all experiences, both good and bad with a smile. That is the way to be happy.