In our culture, we have four birthdays. Bhagavan’s birthday is the most important and we tend to celebrate it around Maha-Shivarati. Second is our Shastra’s birthday and we tend to celebrate that during Gita Jayanti. Third birthday is our Sadguru’s birthday and we tend to celebrate that during Vyasa Purnima. And the least important is our birthday or that of a shishya. The birth of this body is not so important, but rather the birth of working hard and smart to “being” happiness is and that is who a shishya is.
On each of these birthdays, we are to reflect on our past and our future. How has our year been? How will our year be? Sanatana dharma is great since every month we have an utsava and these utsavas are to gauge if we are lifting ourselves up. Those who celebrate Vijaya dashami, Dussehra in an external way, are motivated. When the context is right, they feel uplifted, but then the context changes, and they fall again. We should be celebrating these utsavas not based on context, but on content — ‘I am Devi, I am Rama’. Then we are inspired as context does not shake us and when it changes, we do not change.
Analyze what Vedanta in Bhagavata means to us, has done to us? Vedanta is Satyam param dhimahi. The vedanta part of our course is learning how to contemplate, to contemplate on our nature, the Bhagavata part.
Now let us try and memorize this section where Rishi Narada tells Raja Yudhishthira.
Tasmat kena api upaayena manah krshno niveshayet.
tasmat — therefore
kena — any
api — also
apaayena — means or path
manah — mind
Krshno — Bhagavan
niveshayet — immerse
Bhagavata is for us to adopt any means for our mind to be absorbed in Manohara.
One of Bhagavan Krishna’s names is ‘Manohara’ or one who steals minds. In this Utsava, let us analyse if we are tuned into the Vedanta or the Bhagavata. Bhakti is when we feel a sense of anguish, when our mind moves away from Bhagavan, not our body. Our hand doesn’t know if it’s holding a glasses case or a pencil case. When our mind is moved away from Bhagavan, we feel anguish. Rishi Prahlada was always described as being possessed, possessed in Brahman. He only thought and acted in Infinite. And for everyone who is finite, that little boy is possessed. When we see sad people, we relate to them. When we see a happy person, we think what is wrong with that person.
In comparison, when Putana came to see Bhagavan Krishna, Shri Yashoda and Shri Rohini were also possessed, but by maya and not Brahman. They gave more importance to her beauty than to what was inside. Rishi Prahlada in comparison didn’t care that his father was an Asura. His eyes were on who he was inside. A seeker is one who is trying to shift their possession from Maya, which is dependent (finite) to Brahman (infinite) which is independent. We are most fortunate to do this in the tenth skanda where every word is captivating.
When Bhagavan Krishna was being transported from Mathura to Gokula at night, it is shared that the lotuses were still blooming (as we never see lotuses bloom at night). And when we visualise this, we can’t help, but be more in love with Bhagavan Krishna.
Who has Bhagavan Krishna met so far? Putana is a symbol for forgetfulness, like Shri Yashoda and Shri Rohini. Shakata is a symbol for materialism. All our utsavas are for giving, and not getting. Most secular utsavas are about getting more, eating more, sleeping more. And Trinaavarta is the symbol for desire. A beautiful expression in Vedanta teaching is — Lobhat Papasya Karanam — Greed is the cause for unrighteousness or sin. We have six enemies that live inside of us. Focusing on the first three which are also described as the gateways to hell –
- Kama or desire
- Krodha or anger
- Lobha or greed
Desire and anger come into our lives like a storm. They come fast and take over. That is why Trinaavarta is depicted visually as a tornado. When he came into Gokula, his dust went into everyone’s eyes. When we have a desire, do we remember our responsibility or how we should act? Whereas greed never comes as a storm. It comes slowly and stays on slowly.
Today being Vijayadashami, we are now going to celebrate Bhagavan Krishna’s life starting with his Namakarna.
Skanda 10:8:13 — Rishi Garga is speaking to Shri Nanda. With Bhagavan Krishna sitting in his lap, he says that this baby manifests in every yuga or period of time. He has manifested as being white, red, yellow and now dark or black.
Shri Nanda has approached their kula guru or family guide, Rishi Garga, and says that their boys didn’t have names and to please engage in their Namakarna. Rishi Garga, who loves their family, shares that this could not be done publicly as Kamsa and the Asuras would know that these are newborn. So the Namakarna had to be done in a secret way. We know the story, but we should feel this conversation with the two children on their laps.
In Bhagavan Rama’s manifestation, Bhagavan Rama was older than Shri Lakshmana, and throughout their lives Bhagavan Rama ordered Shri Lakshmana on what to do. So Shri Lakshmana had requested Bhagavan Narayana that when he came back again, he wanted to be older as he was tired of being bossed around and pushed around.
Rishi Garga says that the older boy would be Ramayan or causing joy like Rama and that he would be Baladikhyat or most strong. So his name will be Balarama. And he would be the cause for Sankarshana (meaning bringing together) and would be known as Sankarshana Balarama. And that’s what Balarama does, he brings the Kauravas and Pandavas together.
The younger brother is Krshnata, like darkness, like blackness so He would be known as Krshna. He would also be known as Vasudeva’s putra or Vaasudeva. And He has many, many more names as He is Infinite and every name is His. So now that the Namakarna is done, here comes the play or antics.
Both Balarama and Bhagavan Krshna had anklets on both ankles as they were most naughty. Whenever they walked, they went out of their way to take the path which was muddy or sludgy. Everyone loved seeing them, as their front teeth were coming in. Imagine Bhagavan Krshna with two top front teeth and bottom two teeth. And what Bhagavan Krshna, Balarama and the other kids would do is play tug-of-war. They would play tug-of-war with the cows. They would hold onto the tails of the cows and calves and they would pull their tails and the cows would pull them and this fight would go on.
We all know their relationship with the cows. They are known as Govinda or the one who cares for cows. They would release the cows of the Gopis before it was time for them to go out to feed. There is a time for agriculture and farming, but they would always release them early. And when those Gopi’s would get mad at them, they would laugh back at them. When these Gopi’s were tending to the cows, they would go into their homes and eat all the milk, butter, yogurt, and if they were full, they would give it away to the monkeys. After they finished eating, they would break the pots or make holes in all their pots. And if the Gopis got mad at them and left pots with nothing in them, they would get more mad and leave their homes by pinching the other kids in the home by making them cry.
Those Gopis were smarter so they kept the pots higher and higher. So what Bhagavan Krshna did was create devices to reach the pots. Sometimes they climbed on one another or made wooden structures and sometimes used sling shots to put holes in the vessels and put their mouths underneath to consume the butter. So the Gopis then decided to place the pots in dark rooms, but Bhagavan Krshna is light Himself and didn’t need an external light as His skin would shine. So nothing could stop Balarama and Bhagavan Krshna. So these Gopis got mad and whenever they scolded them, the boys would make rude remarks back about how they looked or were living. If that didn’t work, they would answer the call of nature in their courtyard. So Balarama and Bhagavan Krshna would pee and poo in front of those Gopis’ homes almost like they were marking their territory.
All of these Gopis would then go to Shri Yashoda and Shri Rohini to complain to them about what their boys have been upto, but they can’t help but look at the boys. They are speaking to their mothers, but are only looking at Balarama and Bhagavan Krshna who are pretending to be scared. They wanted to complain so they could see them more. It was a very playful relationship that they had.
One final katha about Bhagavan Krshna’s antics. Once a bunch of kids complained to Shri Yashoda that Bhagavan Krshna was eating mud. She caught Him and asked if He was eating mud and He said no and that He was not lying.
Vedanta: Everything that has just been shared is not about Asuras and there is a reason for that. Let us first relate this to Gurudev. Swami Chinamyananda once took a group of Vedanta students for a question and answer period with Shri Nissargadatta. He is a known enlightened being. And when those students were sitting at his feet, what did those students ask? They were asking questions about maya. And finally Shri Nissargadatta told Swami Chinmayananda, “I hope they will ask me questions about Brahman”. Yatha vritti, tatha akriti. As you think, so you develop. Another reason for Bhagavan Krshna’s name is Karshanath or one who attracts — Karshanath, iti Krshna. How does He attract? He is Joy. All of this katha is to elicit joy in us, to attract us to every detail of His being.
Bhagavata is a historical text and it is a symbolic text. It is not limited by history or symbolism, but is a transcendental text. If we know the purpose of Bhagavata, we will go more with the flow as there are no limits or conditions that can be assigned to this map and definitely not to the One who wrote this map that is Bhagavan Krshna. Bhagavan Krshna is supramoral or above morality. Many question why Bhagavan lied or did the things He did, but morality only applies to people like us who are subject to morality. How thoughtfully it is shared that He was once white, then red, then yellow and then black. That shows that He was actually none of these colors of the rainbow. He is that pure light.
When Bhagavan Rama was born, it was 12pm, in the middle of the day when the sun was at its zenith and there was a lot of loud celebration. Bhagavan Krshna was born at 12am, when the moon was at its zenith, hence the lunar dynasty. Bhagavan Krshna’s birth is to be celebrated quietly so that Kamsa and the guards don’t wake up or anyone in Gokula. How do we celebrate Bhagavan Krshna’s birth now? With more dance and more noise because we don’t know the katha. For our understanding of Bhagavan Krshna, we should celebrate it in our heart. Bhagavan Rama was born into a family of Kshatriyas or leaders. Bhagavan Krshna is being raised by Vaishyas or Organizers. It doesn’t matter what is happening externally, but what matters is internally, who we are, what we are doing, No varna, no skin color is better or worse. They are simply different and Bhagavan assumes all of them. When Bhagavan Krshna was born as in Brahman, when He moved through the handcuffs at the prison, all of the locks opened. When Vasudeva brought Maya back, what happened to all the locks? They closed. Brahman opens our locks and Maya closes them.
When Shri Vasudeva carried Bhagavan Krshna to Gokula, he carried Him on his head. Whereas in terms of Shakata Asura, where was Bhagavan Krshna? Underneath the cart. Shri Vasudeva was protected as Bhagavan Krshna was on top. When Putana asura was feeding Bhagavan Krshna, some commentators have written that He closed His eyes. When infants are younger, they close their eyes, but when they get older they like to look around. Why did He close His eyes? Since He is us, we live inside of Him and He did that for us. As He is the manifestation of all of us together, when He feeds, we feel fed as well. When He ate that mud, who does that mud belong to? Bhagavan is the Creator of that mud and Bhoodevi is one of his wives; they are the same.
There are two types of Maya, and it’s more clear when we study Bhakti shastras like Ramayana and Bhagavatam. The first is known as Avidya maya and this makes one more forgetful. The second is known as Vidya maya and this makes us more remembrance oriented. Bhagavan Krishna’s leelas are Vidya maya to help us remember that we live inside of Him. The evolution of that is that He lives inside of us. First we see Bhagavan outside, then we see Bhagavan inside.
We have a raga to maya. Maya is all that changes and we have a dependency on articles, beings and circumstances. So this leela is trying to add the letters vi before raga so raga becomes viraga. And independence from our dependence. If viraga is not enough, we can’t just renounce, so viraga has to evolve to anuraga which means love or bhakti. Shurpanaka is raga and Shri Lakshmana is viraga. He cuts her down. But that’s not the fulfilment. Bhagavan Rama is Anuraga. So analyzing, are we flowing with the Vedanta, are we flowing with the Bhagavata? If yes, we are pulling away from raga to viraga to anuraga.
Vivekji shared some additional thoughts on Dussehra and the Silence Retreat:
Santa Tukaram has shared that the day a Sadhu (one who the shastras) comes to our home, that day is a Dassehra or Diwali. What better way to celebrate Dussehra and prepare for Diwali than being with all the Sadhus. A sadhu is not someone who is poor.
Once you establish a relationship with your Guru, then that Guru becomes your Sad-guru and one steps onto the escalator implying surrendering, and that escalator takes you through the shastra to Bhagavan and finally to the highest that is Brahman.
To celebrate Dussehra in a non-ritualistic way, feel that there is no Devi or Rama outside of you and only when all your inputting has stopped, can one direct your ego towards your Spirit. As long as we are dependent on inputting, we will be dependent on outputting. We will be extroverts and ritualists.
All of us are trying to internalize this utsava to be more inspired and disciplined. Navaratri is not just at the altar, but we should feel Devi in our outer and inner world. Asuras become strong when they have a home, they become weak if not. Don’t give space and place to Putana, Shakata and Trinaavarta. This home is occupied by Devi and Rama. And all of the vices of forgetfulness, materialism and desire will be purged.