jabdakhata

Here is what Sri Ramakrishna revealed about his vision on Swamiji, as recorded in Sri Sri Ramakrishna Leela Prasanga by Swami Saradananda (Translation - Ramakrishna the Great Master by Swami Jagadananda and Ramakrishna the Divine Play by Swami Chetanananda). He saw him to belong to the realm of akhanda or indivisibility, far above the realm gods and goddesses, a divine sage ever immersed in meditation, one of the seven ever pure, ever blissful souls who are ever immersed in the contemplation of the absolute. He himself of course was the divine child seen in the vision. But who were those seven sages - were they the saptarshis of the Hindu Purana or the four sages Sanaka etc. along with others like Kapila who had occupied a position far above gods and goddesses, i.e. were higher than brahmarshis who belonged to the realm of Brahma, below the realm of indivisibility. We do not know but below is the vision outlined. One day I found my mind was soaring high in  Samadhi  along a lumin

Here comes the tales of some extra ordinary feats of the baby Krishna. Some of them are corroborated in the Mahabharata in the Sabha Parva by Sishupala who was disparaging the achievements of Sri Krishna. Mahabharata in its present form misses some sections of the interchange between Bhisma and Shishupala during the Rajasuya sacrifice. Bhisma was perhaps recounting the exploits of Sri Krishna in order to justify his receiving the arghya and Shishupala countered them in his own style. The first exploit is that of killing of Putana. Putana was sent by Kamsa to kill suspected babies by poisoning. According to Vishnu Purana she was a child killer. According to Harivamsa she was the nurse of Kamsa, while Bhagavatam shows her as a demon or an ogre. Bankim Chandra thinks Putana was a bird. He cites the exchange between Shishupala and Bhisma where Shishupala dismisses Krishna’s feats esp. that of killing of a vulture as a child. Also Putana in Sanskrit means a bird. Dhirendra Paul while cons

In the late nineteenth century we saw a huge decline facing Hinduism. Its people had forgotten the true meaning and purpose of religion and were fighting amongst each other as petty sects. Islamic rule had already crippled Hindu enthusiasm for reforms and orthodoxy became the bane which led to a mass disillusionment among the educated class. Scientific ideas and materialism held great dangers, esp. for the dogmas and Reforming religions like Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj placed formidable challenge. Christianity as state religion attacked almost every aspect of Hinduism which was looked down upon by Christian missionaries who launched a vicious propaganda as they saw a great opportunity to convert. Even the most educated scholars among Elite ruling class estimated that it would be a matter of time before Hinduism as a religion vanishes in thin air and Christianity becomes the religion of masses. But they underestimated the resilience of Hinduism. In a remote hamlet about 160 miles away

While in America Swami Vivekananda had encouraged his brother disciples to go ahead and work tirelessly among people, to alleviate their suffering. Some of his brother disciples were skeptical in the beginning but then they began to see the truth as they were enlightened beings themselves. Some of them like Swami Akhandananda wholeheartedly jumped into the fire leaving aside everything else. And in this way his mission was born. Just as Buddha had established the Sangha to propagate the four noble truths and the eightfold paths and developed a monastic order for the first time in the world, Vivekananda developed Ramakrishna Math and Mission with the objective of spreading the doctrine of his guru Sri Ramakrishna. In this respect an interesting anecdote goes like this – One day Ramakrishna in Dakshineswar had been discussing the Vaishnava philosophy to his devotees and said that they (Vaishnavas) emphasize on three aspects – Vaishnav Seva (Service to the devotees of the Lord), Jive Da

Swami Vivekananda had mentioned in many places that Lord Buddha was his Ishta Devata. In fact in his childhood he had a vision that a serene looking monk approached him while he was meditating in his room one day but he being afraid of the monk got up from his meditation and the monk just disappeared within him. He later realized that he must have seen the Buddha. He was devoted to Buddha for primarily two reasons – 1) Buddha’s struggle and search of truth in the early life resonated with his early life struggles to find the truth 2) Buddha’s uncompromising approach towards Truth and Rationality. Buddha rejected anything that was not rational or logical. He constructed his sermons on logic and rationalism and rejected conventional theories of Brahmanical Hinduism that advocated either physical austerities or life of enjoyment and luxury here and hereafter, material prosperity through sacrifices or Yagnas for the appeasement of gods. This quest for truth and lifelong devotion to ratio

As per the facts from Krishna’s life – When Devaki and Vasudeva were married by the efforts of none other than Kamsa himself who loved them both, they were being driven in a chariot by Kamsa. At that point it was only he who heard a divine oracle that the eighth child of Vasudeva and Devaki will be his nemesis. He flew into a rage and decided to kill Devaki then and there but Vasudeva persuaded him to spare her life and reasoned with him. He also pledged his child to Kamsa as soon as it would be born and kept his words. His honesty and sincerity temporarily turned Kamsa into a better person and he set them free with dignity and respect. But sage Narada’s advise and the unholy company of bad men and associated ill advises again made him a cruel ruthless tyrant and he imprisoned Vasudeva and Devaki. Their children were killed one after another and finally the seventh one was mysteriously transferred to Rohini, the other wife of Vasudeva and he was none other than Balarama or Samkarshan

Let us first start analyzing the facts that we know. The sources of information about Sri Krishna’s life are primarily four fold – 1) Mahabharata 2) Vishnu Purana 3) Srimad Bhagavata Purana 4) Harivamsa Purana Of these, Mahabharata primarily deals with an adult Krishna of Dwaraka and his relationship with the Kuru Pandavas. In Mahabharata Krishna Balarama does not appear until Draupadi’s swayamvara. We come to know some aspects of his childhood from his own statements in Sabhaparva and also that of the abuses of Shishupala. Harivamsa gives his exploits and the details about the Yadava dynasty and its kings. Vishnu Purana also has many interesting accounts. But the most comprehensive account of his life and childhood and found in Srimad Bhagavatam or Bhagavata Purana. It is said that there was an older version of Bhagavatam which was composed possibly before Buddhist period. But Bhagavatam underwent some fundamental changes and between 6 th and 8 th century AD it was transformed i

So far so good. We know the Sri Krishna existed. There are far too many textual references and cultural linkages to ignore him as a myth. In fact history of India is inevitably linked to Mahabharata and Krishna and a large part of our cultural lineage is shaped by Sri Krishna. To ignore him is to ignore Indian culture, tradition and one of the major pillars of the Unity in Diversity across India. Now comes the major question. Let us accept Sri Krishna existed, he was not a myth as many Western scholars, Christian missionary historians and Communist writers would want us to believe. Then when did he exist? The Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II dates Bharata war at 3102 BC, which is almost the central period in Kuru-Pandava’s and Krishna’s life. According to Mahabharata, after the war the Pandavas and Sri Krishna lived for only 36 years. But how reliable is this date? Bankim Chandra in Krishna Charitra places Sri Krishna’s period as 1400-1500 BCE, a period which was also proposed b

Historically the character of Krishna is disputed by many scholars. They point out to the mythology and the impossible stories around him which they disregard disdainfully. However such mythological stories have developed around many eminent historical figures, including Lord Buddha and Jesus Christ. So just because there has been some supposedly impossible stories is no ground for dismissal of a well-entrenched personality in the psyche of an entire Nation. In response to the criticisms of the Western scholars who were often driven by narrow prejudices, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was the first to pen a historical account of Krishna. His Krishna Charitra was aimed at finding and establishing facts among myths and providing a fitting reply to missionaries and their propaganda and also to respond to the unfounded and often dubious assertions of scholars and historians like Weber. Similar attempts were made by others, often towing the lines of Bankim Chandra. However in the process of