Saturday, April 25, 2009

Is Krishna really an Avatar ?


Is Krishna an Avatar ?


In Srimad Bhagavad Gita, there is an extraordinary declaration by Krishna:


“Whenever Dharma declines and when irreligion flourishes, I will be born in each of such eras to reestablish dharma and to destroy the irreligious”


To some it is a sacred statement. But to many, it seems a far fetched one. The very idea of a God being born is a ridiculous one to them. Is there a significance to this statement ? What are its implications ? In searching for answers, I was spell bound by an explanation. Please read on.


Whenever Krishna as being born a human is discussed, Buddha and Mahavira are also discussed there. Is this comparison correct ?


Buddha and Mahavira were enlightened masters who reached that stage through rigorous sadhana (spiritual exercises). Their sadhana was to empty out whatever belonged to them- physical, mental and intellectual till they reached the empty stage.


On the other hand , we have not known Krishna to have done any Sadhana. But still his preaching on the battle field in the form of Srimad Bhagavad Gita remains the greatest gift to humankind for the last 5000 years. What differentiates Krishna from the other two ?


Osho, in his superb book, “ Krishna, the man and his Philosophy”, gives a beautiful explanation. Here are his words.


If I empty out my inside, if I negate something in me, it will cease to be, and I will achieve a kind of emptiness. But this emptiness will be just the absence of something that I have negated.


But there is a different kind of emptiness which is not of our making: this emptiness is born out of our awareness of our being. We are empty; we are emptiness itself, so we don’t have to become it.


Emptiness is our very nature; we are it. And when we come to it, it is not the result of some sadhana, some discipline or effort. And this emptiness is multidimensional.


Krishna makes an extraordinary statement on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, one no other man of enlightenment has ever made. He tells Arjuna, ”I will continue to come whenever the world is in trouble. I will continue to come whenever religion declines and disintegrates.”


Buddha and Mahavira cannot say this. There is no statement of theirs on record that they will come back again when the earth is beset by darkness and disease, by irreligion and profanity.

Rather, they will say, ”How can we come again? We are now liberated, we have attained to mahanirvana.”


But Krishna says, ”Don’t worry, I can come back whenever this earth is in distress.” When Krishna says he can come again he only means he has no difficulty whatsoever in coming and going. It makes no difference for him. His emptiness is so total that nothing can affect it.


Mahavira and Buddha can take emptiness only in the sense of release, of liberation, moksha,

because they have longed for and labored all their lives for this liberation. So when they come

to this emptiness they feel free and relaxed. It is the point of no return for them; the question of going back does not arise.


For them, going back will mean going back to the same old world of greed and anger, of craving and attachment, of hate and hostility, of sorrow and suffering. Why go back to the rotten world of senseless strife and war and misery? Therefore when they come to emptiness they just become dissolved into it, they just disappear into the infinite. They will not talk of returning to the same corruption and horror they have left behind.



But going back to the world does not make any difference to Krishna: he can easily go back if it becomes necessary. He will remain himself in every situation – in love and attachment, in anger and hostility. Nothing will disturb his emptiness, his calm.



He will find no difficulty whatsoever is coming and going. His emptiness is positive and complete, alive and dynamic. But so far as experiencing it is concerned, it is the same whether you come to Buddha’s emptiness or Krishna’s.



Both will take you into bliss. But where Buddha’s emptiness will bring you relaxation and rest, maybe Krishna’s emptiness will lead you to immense action. If we can coin a phrase like ”active void”, it will appropriately describe Krishna’s emptiness. And the emptiness of Buddha and Mahavira should be called ”passive void”.


Bliss is common to both but with one difference: the bliss of the active void will be creative and the other kind of bliss will dissolve itself in the great void.” Thus concludes Osho.


Buddha and Mahavira strived for an empty state. But Krishna is that emptiness itself. It is this that separates a seer from an incarnate. Buddha was time bound. Krishna is timeless. Krishna is God incarnate, an avatar.




12 comments:

Thimmappa’s said...

Wonderful distinction that I was not aware, thanks Venkatji for bringing it to us with such sharp focus: Emptiness as a natural state of being and as the attained one. Brilliant Osho!

Anupam said...

Very nicely and distinctly propounded by a great master - Osho. With reference to Shastras, Lord Sri Krishna was a Poornavtar with 16 kalas...as compared to Buddha (10 Kalas) or Sri Rama (12 Kalas)...thus, the distinction is Clear and Certain. Thanks for recording it in your Blog. Best Wishes.

Unknown said...

a very nice explanation. but what are kalas mentioned in Anupam's comments and who decides the number of kalas that each avathar is assigned ? since buddha has been asinged some kalas, i would like to know whether such assignment is there for other saints of hindu and other religions

۞Ghanesh said...

Thanks for the share.Krishna's anthardhanam was on 17/18 Feb 3102 BC and 5110 years has passed since then. Every calender across india is counting the Years and the days since he left. Both has to be calculated as around 700BC something happennd and Sun set was twice on that particular day. That was the celestial event which once again made imbalances all over. especially additional of 5.2524 days to an year. This has been recorded by 15 civilisations from Mayan to central Asian tribes.
Ever since Kali slowly established his link all over the earth with total control over monetary policies across the world. Its intresting to know that Duryodana was always liking to control the treasury and introduce new taxes to hold his control over the human minds. We are exactly in the same moment. I beleive blood line of this Kurus exists till day and they are the ruling class in UK/EU.
In last 500 years they were able to completely destroy the lunar race kings (Chandra Vamsi kings) from the face of planet. Well, this was per the plan of Krishna, as he states of a new golden age in kali lasting upto 10000 years, 5000 years after his anthardhanam. That age has dawned and sooner we would have the solar reign kings all over earth per Krishna calculation. So all eyes over the 2012 solar event and advent of Skanda to establish the Surya vamsam. :)

Venkatasubramanian said...

Welcome Thimmappaji,
yes Osho is superb.

have you downloaded the book "Krishna, the man and his philosophy ?" It is available in the net for free download.

Thanks and regards
Venkat

Venkatasubramanian said...

Welcome Anupam ji

Will you please elaborate on the Kala aspect ? I am not aware of it .

Venkat

Venkatasubramanian said...

Welxome Sarveswaran ji, Welcome Ghanesh ji

Thanks for your inputs. Sarweswaran ji, I am also awaiting Anupam ji's response on the kala aspect.

Ghanesh ji, thanks for that piece of history. Keep coming.

Venkat

Me said...

Jesus, Abraham/Ibrahim, Mohammad, Shankaracharya, Mahathma Ghandi and Martin Luther king are all avatars.

If no one is updating the list of Avatars since Buddha, then could it be that those in charge of keeping Hindu philosophy alive are failing and causing it to 'act' like dead?

Buddha said...

guess ur understanding of Sakyamuni is completley flawed.
He was the Bodhi sattva who postponed his own Liberation Untilll he could do it no more....

A Buddha is a person who had taken a vow to be born again and again unltill all beings are liberated.
Pls do not Spread false views.

Acchedya said...

Sri Krishna is not an Avartar of Lord Vishnu, but he is as he said in Bhagavad-gita As it is, the fountainhead of all Avartars.

Unknown said...

dear friends i like to share some facts which sooner or later every body will come to this same conclusion the are as follows:
1.Krishna was 16 kala sampuran because he had a pralbdh jiven thats why u had never seen any of his picture meditating of doing any tapyasya.
2.he had soul consciousness like other 33 cr devi devtas but he is first among those to took birth in satyug. his soul is purest of pure with complete 16 kalas and saravgun sampan like full moon.
3.there r 5 yugs satyug,trita,dwapar,kalyug and sangam yug. krishna was born when kaliyugs complition and satyugs beginning(and kaliyug is not of lakhs of years).after krishnas birth beginning of satyug has started.
4. symwat starts from soyamver of radhe and krishna.
6.after him gaddi were followed like pop1, pop 2...
7. krishna was puran nirvikai and double ahinsak.
8.he lived completly for 150 years and leves his body according to his own will.
8.this is transformation period soon golden age is going to come.
The main question is when,from where and from whom krishna got this wonderful pralbdh life means when,where krishnas soul did his tapysa, dhyan, yog and pursharath. And do we have a chance to become his gop gopiyas. i have that answer you people have to find it time is coming to an end when those sazayia of soul mentioned in gita will take place.
tell u more if paramatmas wish is there.

Sujnyanendra said...

Can anyone post krishna yajurvedi sandhyavandanam in sanskrit in pdf format.