This Assembly will surely be charged with breach of the rules of Dharma, for the law is that one should not remain where Adharma is being perpetrated. A different group of people said, “A wise man should not attend Assemblies indiscriminately, in view of the evils that can arise from it. Whether you acquiesce yes in its happenings and deliberations or whether you dissent, or whether you profess ignorance, you have your share in the evils caused by it. — These are the murmurings that are happening in the arena as Bhagavan Krshna and Sri Balarama are challenged by the bow, by the elephant, by the wrestlers.

Shreya Tat asti — When one follows Dharma, this is for their integration, this is for integration through all facets of creation. What these citizens in Mathura realized, we also realize, that one should be a servant, an ambassador of Dharma for the One who gave us these responsibilities, for Bhagavan. Thus Dharma is the means to Bhagavan — Shreya Tat Asti.

In Chapters 41 & 42, Bhagavan Krshna begins to move through Mathura. In Chapter 43, there is a lovely sharing of poetry by Rishi Vyasa, by Rishi Shuka about who Bhagavan Krshna is to all. Rishi Bharata has written the Natya Shastra. This is why the culture, the art is called Bharatanatyam. Part of this scripture shares that there are eight rasas or emotions that are to be depicted through dance. A ninth was added afterwards, the idea being that the fulfilment of the eight rasas is the ninth rasa. Let us see what these nine rasas are and we will see that divinity is in the details –

• Shringara — Romance
• Hasya — Humor
• Raudra — Anger
• Karuna — Compassion
• Bibhatsa — Disgust
• Bhayanaka — Terror
• Veera — Courage
• Adbhuta — Wonder

And the ninth rasa is — Shanta — Peace. When Bhagavan Krshna is moving through Mathura, depending on one’s personality they related to Bhagavan in this way. To the wrestlers, He is like lightning which is Bhayanaka. They are terrified of Bhagavan Krshna. The deeper meaning is that Bhagavan Krshna is Everything to Everyone. It also shows that on the surface, there may be these emotions, but deep down there is this feeling of Oneness.

In Chapter 44, Bhagavan Krshna, breaks the bow, breaks the elephant, breaks the wrestlers, and then He breaks Kamsa, the personality that Skanda ten begins with. Kamsa and Bhagavan Krshna fight in the air like falcons would, jumping from one end to the other end in the air, until Bhagavan Krshna holds Kamsa and grounds him. That is the destruction of Kamsa.

Earlier, Vivekji had shared with us that Kamsa symbolizes violence in our personalities. The deeper symbolism of Kamsa is that he is the icon of ego. A primary expression of ego is doership. What we fail to appreciate about a doer is that they are also a prompter. They are always prompting or provoking others, just like Kamsa did with all the asuras like Putana, Bakasura, etc. He provoked them to go and harm infants. Another expression of doership is deservership and that is where violence comes in. We feel that we deserve this and we deserve that and when it doesn’t happen, we feel that we are violated and as a result, we start to be violent with others. Kamsa at the deeper level is ego and at the surface level is violence. So what are we supposed to do?

The antidote for mada or arrogance is to acknowledge. We struggle with arrogance because we feel that we are the only doer. By remembering or acknowledging that we are not the only doer, that our parents contributed, that our guides contributed, Nature contributed, it is that knowledge that enables us to be humble. In terms of violence, the antidote to violence is the insight that everything that is going to come to us or not come to us on the outside and inside is temporary. All the assets that come into our lives also go away, like cars, computers, cell phones. Do we have to hold on to them so tightly that we fight others for them? The same applies to our inner world with positive and negative thoughts coming all the time and there is no need to fight them. Simply observe! The temporary nature makes us less of a himsaka and we practice more ahimsa. With the death of Kamsa, there is a transition in this Skanda in Srimad Bhagavata.

10:45:23 — Rishi Shuka is speaking to Raja Parikshita sharing what Shri Krishna is saying to His foster father, Sri Nanda — Return to Vraja. Take care of those who are with you right now (family members and friends). You must return as those who love you and those who love Me must be feeling sad, but remember that I am going to come back to see all of you.

The last scene we studied together was Bhagavan Krshna and Sri Balarama meeting their biological parents after a period of twelve years. Imagine Devi Devaki has not held Bhagavan Krshna for twelve years! She was barely conscious when He had manifested for her. Bhagavan Krshna places His head at His parents’ feet, looks up and says to them — Those whose parents are older, one whose spouse is noble, whose child is young, whose Guru or teacher have less outwardly, those who do not help them, ie support older parents, noble spouse, younger child, or the Guru, that person is breathing, yet dead. They are only biologically alive, but nothing more. That’s how Sri Krshna feels about how He has treated His parents, that He has not helped them or supported them for twelve years. As He is saying this to them, He is appearing as Bhagavan, and Sri Vasudeva and Devi Devaki do not know how to respond to Him. Bhagavan understands their plight, so He removes His divinity and appears as their suta or son, and they just put these boys on their laps and cry, and laugh and hug them. What a lovely scene!

After they are reunited, everyone is in awe of Bhagavan Krshna, so He starts giving orders in Mathura as Kamsa is now destroyed. He unites all the family members especially Ugrasena. Bhagavan Krshna’s mother’s name is Devi Devaki and her father is Ugrasena. So He makes Ugrasena the King of Mathura and brings back all of the people who had left or escaped Mathura due to Kamsa’s provoking and violence. When they all return to Mathura, they all appear old, but as they start to live in Mathura, they become young again.

Then Bhagavan Krshna goes to Sri Nanda, with whom He has been for twelve years and to all His family members and tells them that He has to stay in Mathura to bring harmony here. He tells them that they have to go back to Vrindavana to bring harmony there. We have to infer that Bhagavan Krshna does not go back. Everyone is crying a lot and He embraces them with eyes full of tears.

This is the age timeline of Bhagavan Krshna’s life according to Vivekji, based on his extended study. There are very few references to Bhagavan Krshna’s age in Srimad Bhagavata.

• He was raised in Gokula from ages 0–3, His toddler life. Gokula is like a village of farmers.
• Then He shifted to Vrindavana from ages 4–6, when He was a child. So from a village, He moved to a bigger area in the jungle — Vana means jungle and Vrinda means bigger. As a child, Bhgavan Krshna tended to the calves.
• From ages 6–12, as a kid, Bhagavan Krshna lived in Nandagrama, a bigger town, and as a kid, He tended to the cows. So Bhagavan Krshna moved from a village to a portion of the jungle to a town-like area.

As Bhagavan grew up, so did His responsibilities. Bhagavan Krshna never missed any of the people that came into His life and left, as He was always tuned into the oneness that He was always with them. He may have said He missed them, but He never became dysfunctional, missing them because He was always deeply engaged in His responsibilities. That is a very practical message for us. The more we miss someone shows that we have a limited relationship with them. In a divine way, we do not miss anyone as we always feel the oneness. We should always be present in our dharma.

Now Sri Nanda has left and Bhagavan Krshna is in Mathura with His parents. We have so far studied the Purva or early part of Bhagavan Krshna’s life. Now the Uttara part of his life begins, essentially the Shishu leela. The childlikeness is complete. Now Bhagavan Krshna’s life, though still joyous, is much more serious.

Shishu leela begins with Bhagavan Krshna engaged in the samskara called Upanayana. This is the eleventh purification practice. Upa means near, Nayana means led. Bhagavan Krshna’s parents are “leading Him towards Bhagavan”. His parents are leading Him towards Him here, and Bhagavan Krshna just went with the flow. During this samskara, a kid is given a sacred thread, a yajna upaveeta, which is worn from the left shoulder to the right hip. What this does is cuts our body in half. When one is given this sacred responsibility, sexuality and pleasure through one’s stomach are no longer to be a focus. Instead, the development of one’s head and heart are to be focused upon. That’s the significance of cutting the body in half. Also Yajna means dedication, Upa means near and Vee means to shine. So this external symbol is to teach us that only when we are dedicated, will we shine. If we are shining, as in we are applying ourselves, then we will be dedicated.

When one goes through this samskara, it is their responsibility to chant the Gayatri mantra many times a day. The simplest way to understand what this mantra teaches — to have a brilliant intellect. Just like the brilliant sun that makes all clear externally, when we have a shiny intellect, there is clarity, conviction and confidence, and one begins to be called a Dvija. Dvi means two, and ja means born — one is born twice. Our teeth are called Dvija. Birds are called dvija, as they are born out of their eggs and then they learn to fly. We are also Dvija, for example, the pre Vedanta in Ramayana Vivekji was focused on Moksha and the post Vedanta in Ramayana Vivekji is focused on Bhakti. As we complete this portion, part of the Upanayana samskara is being led to Bhagavan and one of the mediums is to be led through one’s Guru.

10:45:45: Bhagavan Krshna is speaking to Deva Yama, the icon of death. He tells him, “My Guru’s son has been brought here, rightfully so on the count of his karmas. Maharaja, let him go, because my grace is superior to your law!”.

Bhagavan Krshna’s Guru is Rishi Sandeepani. Bhagavan Krshna is in Mathura and Rishi Sandeepani is from an area called Avanti. The capital of Avanti is Maahishmati, presently Madhya Pradesh and the capital is Ujjain. Rishi Sandeepani is from Kashi, but he finds himself in Ujjain.The word Sandeepani means the one who is well lit, which means they are lit and they can light up someone else. So Rishi Sandeepani is the well lit here who has the responsibility to light up Bhagavan Krshna. The Veda is the breath of Bhagavan Krshna, but He goes to the gurukula, like anyone else and learns sixty-four sciences in sixty-four days! Some of these sciences that Rishi Sandeepani taught them were the science of arms, and the related mantras with all the divine codes. In brief, he taught them about every facet of life.

When Bhagavan Krshna and Shri Balarama complete their time at the Gurukula, they ask Rishi Sandeepani what dakshina he wants, and Rishi Sandeepani responds that he didn’t want anything. A Guru typically has no wants, but functionally there are needs, so the Rishi asks his wife, as in the Gurukula, both the Guru and the Gurupatni are teachers. Rishi Sandeepani’s wife then in a sad way requests Bhagavan Krshna to bring back their son, their son who had died. So this is what happened.

Rishi Sandeepani’s son was in Prabhasa, on the coastline of Gujarat. He was near the ocean and there was a rakshasa named Panchajana who was in the shape of a conch. This rakshasa essentially drowned Rishi Sandeepani’s son. So Bhagavan Krshna and Sri Balarama go to Prabhasa and they summon Deva Samudra, the icon of the ocean, and ask him to bring back their Guru’s son. Deva Samudra tells them that it wasn’t him, but Panchajana Asura who took Rishi Sandeepani’s son. So Bhagavan Krshna and Sri Balarama go into the water and destroy this Asura, but never find their Guru’s son. So they infer that he may be at Samyamini where Deva Yama lives. When Bhagavan Krshna goes to Deva Yama, He blows the conch, and from the Bhagavad Gita we know that Bhagavan Krshna’s conch’s name is also Panchajanya. Hearing the conch, Deva Yama comes and returns their Guru’s son back and Bhagavan Krshna escorts His Guru’s son back to his parents. Rishi Sandeepani and the Gurupatni are elated with the return of their son. The thirteenth samskara is Vivaha and Bhagavan Krshna will be married soon, and many times.

Here is a lifestyle insight — the 12th samskara is called Samaavartana — sam means well, avartana means to return. When one has lived in the Gurukula, then they return back home in the best way because they become the best. Why? They are clear about Brahman, the Infinite, and dharma, the way to be Infinite. What a Sadguru does for us is infuses Infinity into our personality, literally forces Infinity into us. For some of us, it is intellectual, but for those who reflect, it percolates into their hearts as well, and for those who contemplate, it percolates to their hands as well. So their whole personality expresses infinity — from the head, to the heart, to the hands. When this percolates more, one is ever humble as there is no individuality in Infinity. They are not only humble, they are also grateful. A sign of one tuned into Infinity is one who no longer seeks gains. They have already gained the highest, so what else is there to gain? Instead they give and give and give. Samaavartana is whatever comes into our life, we always remember that what we learned and received is from the Guru and Gurukula. So everything that comes into our lives, we give back part of that to the Guru and Gurukula. This insight is needed for all of us for many reasons –

• One systematically asks their Guru, what they need, just as Bhagavan Krshna asked Rishi Sandeepani what he wanted as dakshina. That is more humble, than projecting or inferring.
• This is not a one time offering. One gives their whole life as their whole life has been made by the Guru and Gurukula.
• This is not a donation as there is a lack of intimacy in a donation. Dakshina is offered with the feeling that this is our family. We are supporting our father, our mother, and the one who does not support their parents, is breathing, but nothing more.

Such powerful insights about Upanayana, Samaavartana! We should strive to correct our lifestyle by learning how Bhagavan Krshna lived.