[Draw your reader in with an engaging abstract. It is typically a short summary of the document. When you’re ready to add your content, just click here and start typing.] Lord Krishna- the Jagat Guru K Sriram Sri Ramana Bhaktha Samajam Chennai Lord Krishna– The Jagat Guru [Loka Maha Guru] Devaki Paramanandam Vasudeva sudam Devam Kamsa Chanoora MardanamI Devaki Paramanandam Sri krishnam vande Jagat GurumII The One who was born to Vasudeva, the One who annihilated Kamsa & Chanoora, the One whose very name plunges his mother Devaki into ecstacy, To Him, the Loka Maha Guru, Lord Krishna, I pay my humble obeisance. Page 1 of 9 Introduction It is surprising to note that Lord Krishna’s life represents the average person of today. Brought up in a lower middle class family, the small boy spends his entire time in his studies under very trying circumstances. Higher studies take him to the cities and even overseas. His circumstances change totally when he converts his Knowledge into Experience. Experience takes him to corridors of Power which, again, lands him in a completely different atmosphere. His later days don’t even remotely resemble his childhood days. He could hardly return to his native village which was his dwelling place as a child. Finally, he leaves the world as a loner in yet another totally different atmosphere. Lord Krishna’s life exactly corresponds to such a life of an average person today in spite of the fact that 5000 years have elapsed since his appearance on this planet. He was brought up in a cowherd’s family as a child. Circumstances forced him to a city where he became a prince along with his elder brother. There he was sent to Sage Sandeepani under whose tutelage he learnt Vedas and other studies like Martial arts, Administration of State etc which took years to complete providing him a different atmosphere. Once he was properly trained in Governance of the Kingdom and other arts, he returned to the capital to take up an active role in body politics. Under political compulsion, he shifted his capital to an island in mid-sea for the safety & security of his citizens. He became an eye-witness to the greatest war of his times while it is an irony, his army fought against him joining the opposite camp under his own command and that should have been a new and strange experience for him. His was a glorious life that set an example as to how a human life should be lived. He lived the life of a house-holder steeped in God- Consciousness and Bliss of God while carrying out worldly activities. He had a son by name Pradhyumna & he got his grandson, Anirudh, married, thus faithfully fulfilling all his duties as a house-holder. But he is never remembered as a Grandpa but as a Divine child-prankster, a flutist, a Romancer to Gopikas, a Master-Instructor to Arjuna on the quintessence of Vedas & Upanishads and as Supreme Being. He saw his own Yadava clan foolishly fighting among themselves that resulted in their destruction. Finally he left the world as a loner hit mistakenly by the arrow of an unknown hunter in a forest under circumstances that defy logic. It appears that he never returned to Vrindavan, his childhood dwelling and never went back to his teacher, Sandeepani nor to his original capital once he shifted to mid-sea. It seems when one phase of life was over for him, it was over forever. Now we go into the finer details of his life that serve as an eye-opener for everybody born as a human being irrespective caste, creed, religion, race, Language or Nationality. We will also see why millions worship him as Supreme Deity for generations together in spite of the fact that he shed his mortal coil some 5000 years ago befitting the his name ‘Krishna’, which means, ‘the attractive one’. Krishna comes from the sanskrit root word ‘karsh’ which means ‘to pull’ & ‘to attract’. It also means - the well- known meaning - ‘Dark’. Page 2 of 9 Birth, Early Life & Youth Based on scriptural details and astrological calculations, the date of Krishna's birth, known as Janmashtami, is 18 July 3228 BCE. Kamsa, Prince of Mathura, put his father, Ugrasena, behind bars & became the King. He got his sister, Devaki, married to Vasudeva. During the celebrations, a voice from the sky said that the eighth child of Devaki would kill him. Enraged Kamsa immediately imprisoned both Vasudeva & Devaki. He killed six children that were born to her one by one. The seventh pregnancy of Devaki apparently ended in miscarriage but in reality the womb was transferred to Rohini, the first wife of Vasudeva from Devaki. The seventh child was named Balarama ans was sent to Vrindavan for further upbringing. Rohini’s next child was Subhadra who was married to Arjuna whose son was Abimanyau, in turn, whose son was King Parikshit who begot King Janamejaya. Thus Rohini was the ancestress for the entire Kuru Kingdom. Krishna appeared before Vasudeva & Devaki before his birth & assured them of his protection. He instructed Vasudeva to transfer him to Vrindavan in the midnight before Kamsa came to know his birth. Then he entered the womb of Devaki & the birth of Krishna took place. Immediately Vasudeva found himself unfettered; prison doors opened automatically; the Jailor and his clan were fast asleep; Vasudeva left for Vrindavan carrying the child in a basket over his head & a big-sized cobra [Adi Sesha] spread his hood over the child & kept vigil till he reached his destination. He handed over Krishna to Nandagopala and took back the girl child that Yasodha, his wife gave birth to. Soon he was back in the prison and everything was back to normal. Kamsa, on hearing the news that the eight child had arrived, rushed to the prison & was about to kill the child. The girl baby easily slipped from his hands & rose in the sky saying that his enemy was brought up somewhere else! It took quite some time for Kamsa to find that the eighth child was being brought up in Vrindavan. He sent several of his deputies, like demoness Putana, tornado demon Trinavarta to kill the child but Krishna put every one of them to death. Kalinga, a powerful & arrogant serpent poisoned the waters of Yamuna & thought he could do so for ever with impunity. Krishna danced on his five hoods & tamed him without any trace of fear on his face. Page 3 of 9 Once Krishna suggested that the annual Indra pooja festival could be performed for Govardhan Hill. Indra became furious & sent thunder storms. The Lord lifted the very Govardhan Hill on his finger and held it as an umbrella for several days & thus saved his people, cattle, plants and the pasture of the Hill. By doing pooja to Govardhan Hill, Krishna exhibited his concern for the environment about which our modern scientists are so vociferous today. His pride punctured, Indra realized that the Lord is Maha Vishnu Himself & immediately became respectful & accepted Krishna’s superiority. When the Lord played on the flute, Gopikas forgot themselves in the divine music and assembled around him irrespective of whatever activity they were engaged in, to the banks of the Yamuna River and joined him in singing and dancing. His romancing with them & his acceptance of their divine love, particularly, of Radha, [daughter of Vrishbhanu, one of the original residents of Vrindavan], is known as Rasa lila that was immortalized by Jayadeva in his poetry, Gita Govinda. Radha is now worshipped as the Divine Consort of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna’s childhood reinforces the Hindu concept of lila, playing for fun and enjoyment and not for gain. His pranks as a child; His lifting of Govardhan Hill & not taking Indra seriously; the dance on the five hoods of Kalinga treating it as a game without any fear of death even though he was engaged in a fierce battle with the serpent; killing of all Asuras, sent by Kamsa effortlessly as if it was a child’s play [in fact he was doing it as child]; His interaction with the Gopikas at the rasa dance or Rasa-lila are all great examples of playing for fun. The playfulness of Krishna has inspired many celebrations like the Rasa-lila and the Janmashtami ; where they make human pyramids to break open handis (clay pots) hung high in the air that spill buttermilk all over the group after being broken by the person at the top. Further it gives the participants a sense of unity. Also, it reminds us Krishna and through him, enables us to connect ourselves to Maha Vishnu. Krishna, the Prince Returning as a youth to the Capital city of Mathura, Krishna overthrew and killed his maternal uncle, Kamsa together with his supporters. He reinstated Ugrasena, his grandfather, as the King. He released Vasudeva & Devaki and restored to them the Royal living they deserved. The King in consultation with the elders & Rajarishi decided that the Princes, Krishna & Balarama should be sent to Sage Sandeepani for study & education. Both the Princes submitted to the wishes of their elders & spent years in the Gurukula of the Sage. Once they were properly trained in Governance of the state, they returned back to Mathura & virtually ran the day-to-day administration & thus gaining enormous & vital, hands-on experience. Page 4 of 9 Jarasandha, the powerful king of Magadha prevailed over many kings, and was crowned emperor. Many powerful kings, like Narakasura, Pundru Vasedev, Shishupala of Chedi, Shalva of Shuva and Vishmak became his allies.