Well, this write up is not about any God or
his Godly powers but simply about a guy who remained perhaps the most youthful,
the most futuristic, a very self-assured, a very care free, a very independent,
least power thirsty, ever unbiased, a very pride less, most courageous and most
importantly someone who always had the coolest head above his shoulders no
matter in which situation he was thrown into. For me it’s best to see Krishna
as an idea rather than a God, because I can bargain and implement an idea but a
God is simply out of my reach and at best, his use in my life would be limited to
worshipping, something which even Krishna would reject.
So who was Krishna?
Was he a king? No, his grandfather was the King of Mathura.
Was he the most righteous among nobles? No, Yudhishthira was the one
who knew best of Dharma.
Was he the best looking among nobles? No, Nakul was the most
handsome person of his time.
Was he the biggest warrior of his time? No, Bhisma was the one who
could never be defeated in a battlefield.
Did he win over other kingdoms? No, in fact he ran away from Mathura
to Dwarka just to avoid war.
And there are many more ordinary stories of
him, but wait, let’s discuss some examples from his life which shows how
different and ahead of his times he was.
Unorthodox,
Futuristic
a. Krishna helped his sister Subhadra elope
with Arjuna. He was against the practice of forced marriage or ‘Swaymvar’ of
princesses at that time: as the girls were just the prize money in these
contests and they never had a say in whom they really wanted to marry. In fact,
the forceful swaymvar of Amba by Bhisma led the first foundation of Mahabharta
war.
b. In his childhood, he stopped the
meaningless and irrational worshipping of many Gods in Gokul.
Content,
not power hungry
a. He did have Sudarshan Chakra, the mightiest
of all weapons but he never went to annex other kingdoms. He could have easily won
over Pandavas and Kauravas, but he was content with his own kingdom.
b. He could himself have become the King of
Mathura after killing Kansa, but made his grandfather the king. And see the
irony, for the same throne, Kansa had imprisoned his father and killed many. A
gold for someone is just a dust for someone else!
No
glory in Pride, care free
a. When Jarasandha attacked Mathura, Krishna opted
to leave Mathura and settle far away in Dwarka for the welfare of his people.
He didn’t find any pride in fighting an unnecessary war just for the sake of
his own pride or for the pride of his clan. The opinion and abuses of others
never bothered him, even if they called him ‘Ranchor’ for running away from
battlefield.
Ever
Unbiased, Independent
a. Krishna was a friend of Pandavas, but had
his own mind. He respected Karna, very much to the dislikes of Pandavas, who
ridiculed him for having friendship with a low born. But for Krishna a birth
was never a low but a life could be if surrounded by low thoughts.
b. He also rebuked Draupdi and Bheema for
their inhuman vows to punish Duroyadhan and Dushashan.
c. He criticized Bhisma and Karna for their half-baked
definition of Dharma, when they showed unflinching support to Duroydhana. As
for Krishna dharma could never be static, never be absolute. It was meant to change
in changing times and for bigger good.
d. When Arjun and Duroyadhan both approached
him for his help in the Mahabharata war, he didn’t refuse Duroyadhan just
because Duroyadhan was the enemy of Pandavas, but gave him his army.
Courageous,
self-assured
a. When war looked imminent and everyone had
given up hope on peace, Krishna took his chance for peaceful settlement between
Pandavas and Kauravas, and went alone to Hastinapur to persuade Dhritrashtra
and Duroyadhna to abandon this mad idea of war. Standing alone, and amidst his
enemies he had the courage to scold Duryodhna and Shakuni for their
self-defeating schemes, something which even Dhritrashtra could never do. And
what else could poor souls do at his audacity other than being mesmerized!
b. And look at his self-assuredness, he did
not fight in Mahabharta war, but also didn’t run away when a choice was to be
made between good and bad, and participated in the war as a charioteer of
Arjun. And all the big names kept falling in that war, but he stood tall despite of being totally unarmed, and no one could dare touch him. And only if Kauravas could
have tried to get rid of him, the war could not have lasted even more than a
day!
A
true friend, the guy next door
a. Krishna never went around with his baggage
of heroic claims. He was just himself when he friended others. And look at the
variety of his friends; Bhisma adored him, Vidura praised him, Karna respected
him, for Draupdi he was a brother, for Sudama he was always a childhood friend,
for Arjuna he was a guide and friend, and for Gopis of Vrindavan, he was just one
of their own. He was unlike other kings, who were known either because of their
ancestry or stature in society. Krishna was always just him. He never friended
people based on ranks, pedigree, age or gender.
It feels so envious, that how could someone live a life so carefree,
so effortlessly amidst so much chaos around him. Only if we could learn a bit from his life rather than making him just another God.