Lord Krishna by Gyaan Ranjhan

Tomorrow and day after many Hindus and non-Hindus worldwide will be celebrating Sri Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, hence I would like to talk about two myths related to Lord Krishna's life. 1. Krishna lustfully played with the Gopis in Brindavan. The first question that must be asked in this context is “What was the age of Lord Krishna at that time?” Was he not a boy of seven? Could there be any trace of passion in Him? It was only the Gopis who could understand the secret of Rasalila (the culmination of highest Bhakti, Atmanivedan or total surrender to the Lord) because only they were qualified for this. From the beginning of His divine birth, Lord Krishna performed miracles because He was the incarnation of the Lord Supreme. For example, He showed Virat Darshan to His mother when He was a baby. He performed a cosmic dance on the head of the most venomous Kaliya serpent. He multiplied himself into countless Krishnas to dance with each Gopi individually during the Rasalila dance. Who were the Gopis? Were they not intensely God-loving beings who saw only Krishna everywhere, and saw themselves as Krishna? The sound of the Murali (flute) could throw them in a state of divine ecstasy or Holy Communion. There was no consciousness of a body and its adornments. Lord Krishna took away their clothes from the shores while they were bathing nude in the river. There is a great philosophy in this. He taught Gopis to have no attachment for worldly things. Forsake all thoughts related to body and sex and attain Immortal Atman. The Gopis showed complete self-surrender (Atmanivedan) in its truest sense, and did not even care for their lives. In order to attain the Lord, one must serve Him like a Gopi, and must adore Him with the mental attitude of a Gopi. The devotee who worships the Lord with the Gopi- Bhava or earnestness of a Gopi, will enjoys permanent bliss. Lord Krishna who incarnated for the sake of eradicating evil and protecting righteousness could not be associated with the sexual instinct or passion towards the Gopis. He is the slave of His devotees. 2.Lord Krishna & His 16,108 wives Once again, the first question that must be asked in this context is “Why did Sri Krishna marry so many women?” Bhaumasura, a wicked and tyrant king had kidnapped and made captive over sixteen thousand princesses by collecting them from the palaces of various kings. Lord Krishna killed Bhaumasura and entered the palace of Bhaumasura. When the princesses saw Krishna enter the palace, they were captivated by the beauty of the Lord, and prayed that He would become their husband. They laid their heart at His feet and Krishna, being omniscient, understood their pure desire and so agreed to accept them as His wives. In the Vedic system, if a girl were touched by a man nobody would marry her. Bhaumasur had already touched them. They, therefore, pleaded with Lord Krishna to marry them. Krishna arranged to marry the 16,108 girls brought from the custody of Bhaumasura. By manifesting Himself in 16,108 forms, He simultaneously married them all in different palaces at the same auspicious moment. The beauty and riches of all the palaces of over 16, 000 queens of Krishna were unparallel. The newlywed queens of Krishna were all manifestations of the Goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, In the Vedic system, a Kshatriya could have more than one wife, and we find many examples of this. (When Krishna accepted wives, he did so in His Lila as a king, or Kshatriya.) Even so, we cannot find anyone marrying 16,108 wives! To satisfy all of His queens, Krishna manifested Himself in multiple forms to reside with each queen, simultaneously! This is but one demonstration of the unique opulence and unlimited potency of Krishna. “Why only 16,108 wives?” Srila Prabhupada would sometimes remark about Krishna’s marriages “Everything and everyone ultimately are His property and He is the ultimate enjoyer”.