jabdakhata

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...

A beautiful parable in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna where through a simple story the master teaches us a profound truth. The parable is based on the everyday life in a village, a household where matriarchy rules in the form of a domineering mother in law, who has several daughters in law. It is the mother in law who is the decision maker in every affair. She dispenses what every daughter in law gets to eat as food, esp. during the lunch. She has an earthen pot which measures the quantity of rice that each daughter in law should get. Goes without saying that the measure of the earthen pot is not adequate to fill the stomach of the daughters in law and they are not quite happy about it. However the daughter in law in a typical rural household of eighteenth or nineteenth century had no voice of her own to protest. So she had to forebear the ignominy of the autocracy that would deprive her of every possible enjoyments. Here in the story our daughters in law are helpless but then deliver...

Swami Vivekananda had asserted that secret behind all successes in work is concentration. It is a common knowledge that when we are free of all distractions and of calmer disposition we are able to focus better and the outcome of the endeavour is also the best with a focussed approach. When we have distractions galore we perform very badly. Sometimes the task is hand is never accomplished when we have too many distractions in the form of thoughts or work. That is why modern theories acknowledge that multi tasking is a key source of waste. Only when we are able to concentrate, we do the work better. The magnitude or the scale of success depends on the amount of concentration. if we are able to concentrate fully into a task we do it in the best possible way. That is why Sister Nivedita said that the greatest contribution of her guru was that he was able to remove all distinctions between sacred and secular. From a non dual plane there is indeed no difference as both are rooted in Maya,...

One of the key trends that we see today in social media are that people are easily outraged by any incident that they associate with, in terms of their own beliefs, values and core ideologies, but remain mute, try to trivialize or just ignore when a similar incident happens with a segment or sub segment or individual that do not conform to their beliefs and values. This is also evident in case of mainstream media where stories are often described, blogs are written and editorials are posted on horrendous and nefarious crimes against humanity when that crime is committed to a selective group, while completely ignoring or downplaying possibly similar or more horrendous atrocities against other groups. There are actions and reactions. When atrocities evoke outrage from a group, the opposite  group tries to divert attention to a more vicious atrocity or similar incident, completely ignoring or forgetting the fact that by the very act they are acting in the same manner as they are acc...

Another great aspect of Buddhism was the emphasis on service, compassion and kindness for all. Buddha himself wanted to sacrifice his life to protect the lambs meant for the Vedic yagna. It is no wonder that his main thrust was on ahimsa or non violence for all. Swami Vivekananda had said that it was Buddhist influence that largely contributed to the later Hindu traditions of protecting cows from slaughter, although Ahimda was a fundamental tenet in Vedic Hinduism as well as Jainism, more so in Jainism. However before the Buddhist period it was largely forgotten owing to the dominance of the rituals or karmakanda (Vedic sacrifices) that required sacrifices. The sacrifices in fact formed an important constituent of all major religions, including the Abrahamic religions. That Ahimsa was the highest principle was emphatically declared in Gita and Gita also questioned the infallibility of Vedas, because, according to Sri Krishna, the sacrifices were done with a view of quenching the desi...

Even though Buddhism was primarily developed and driven around the charismatic leadership of Buddha, it will be wrong to presuppose that it was Buddha centric. In fact Buddhism was the earliest missionary religion, as Swami Vivekananda pointed out. Its sphere of influence once included almost the half of the world population before the advent of Christianity and Islam. Buddhism spread mainly through the silent work of a band of monks whose simple and austere life style attracted people. Buddha himself came to fulfill, not to destroy, like Christ. He was an embodiment of Upanishadic teachings and his doctrine was much more closer to Vedanta than that can be imagined as has been pointed out by Swami Vivekananda. Buddhism was possibly more inspired by Kapil's Samkhya philosophy. In any event, Lord Buddha did not face any major hostility. For one, India was always receptive to great teachers whom the people had an uncanny ability to recognize and understand. Buddha's main adversa...

Every religious festival is marked by four aspects - The cultural, the mythological, the philosophical and the spiritual. The cultural aspect comes first because it the culture that largely molds the way a particular religion gives shape to its festivals and celebrations. Take for instance Christmas and Easter, the two greatest and grandest festivals associated with Christianity. Early Christianity had two formidable enemies in its path - Judaism and Paganism. The Pagans were more powerful because they were the ruling class. In order to win over the common people who were deeply rooted in Pagan cultures Christianity needed more than faith in Christ. It needed to redefine and reshape the cultural aspects of Paganism while keeping its core intact. It is no coincidence that 25th December is almost near the beginning of summer solstice or Uttarayan in Sanskrit, marking the Northbound journey of sun. This is linked with festivities in most cultures of the world which signifies our primary...