Krishna’s Birthday
Following are some excerpts from Swami’s discourses given on Krishna’s birthday. They illuminate Krishna’s central message, providing guidance for living a spiritually grounded life while engaging in the action of the world. After Swami’s words are those of Krishna, as recorded in the Bhagavad Gita—a dialogue between Krishna and His devotee, Arjuna. In a larger sense, the Bhagavad Gita is not an external dialogue, but an internal one between an ordinary human personality, full of questions, about the meaning of life and the deepest self, which is divine. Like Swami, Krishna is not an external being; rather, He is the spark of divinity that lies at the core of every human personality.
Swami’s words on Krishna
“Krishna dealt with the world as with a sitar, pulling its heartstrings to arouse the melody of comradeship, heroism, love, affection, compassion, and conviction. But of these, the two emotions of love and compassion were most characteristic of Him. His breath itself was love; His behavior, compassion. Adore Him, placing a garland of tears around His neck, washing His feet with tears, springing from joy at the contemplation of His love. That very worship will endow you with the wisdom that sages seek and the bliss that the books extol!”
Thought for the day—1008 gems, p. D-5
“On the eighth day of the lunar fortnight, God appeared as Krishna to charm humanity by His pranks, His play, His song, His sweetness and to instruct man by His teaching and grace. The Lord is devoid of attachment or hatred. His task is to restore vision to man, to turn his footsteps along the path of morality and self-control so that he may achieve self-knowledge. He acts as friend, companion, charioteer, teacher-guide, and guardian of His devotees. The war of the Mahabhaaratha is not a chapter in ancient history; it takes place in every human breast between the forces of good and evil. Accept Him as your master. Surrender all activities to Him; dedicate your words, deeds, and thoughts to Him, as flowers at His feet. He assures you, mokshayishyaami (I shall liberate you). He assuages you, Maa suchaah (do not grieve).”
“How Far Is God?,” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. V
“Krishna was the embodiment of prema (love), soundharya (beauty), and aanandham (bliss).”
“Krishna has three separate meanings: (1) The word karsh is one root from which the name is derived. It means ‘that which attracts.’ Krishna attracts hearts to Himself by His sportive pastimes, miraculous victories over the forces of evil, His charming conversation, His wisdom, and His personal beauty. (2) Krishna also relates to the root krish, meaning ‘to cultivate a field for growing crops.’ The name means ‘He who removes the weeds from the heart of man and sows seeds of faith, courage, and joy.’ (3) The third meaning also relates to the root krish, meaning ‘something above and beyond the three attributes and the three eras.’ Na means ‘sath-chith-ananda (existence, knowledge, bliss).’”
Thought for the day-1008 gems, p. D-4
“Arjuna was a qualified candidate for being told the highest truth. He had discrimination, renunciation, and the aspiration to know. He was always aware of the glory that was Krishna and he had implicit faith in Krishna’s wisdom, power, and grace. He belongs in the category of priya namra sakha—a loved and humble friend.”
“How Far Is God?” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 5
“The Gopis, however, were in a class by themselves, as devotees. They had reached the highest peak of devotion. They had no consciousness of anything other than the Lord. Having renounced the consciousness of the senses and the body, they were attached only to the principle of Krishna, which was resident in that body. The Gopis knew the secret of spiritual surrender. Their worship was not tainted by any bargaining spirit.”
“How Far Is God?,”Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 5
“Radha’s prema [the love of Radha, a devotee of Krishna] was pure without egoism. She was ever in the contemplation of the Lord and His glory. She saw the child Krishna as a divine manifestation, separate from His human form. One day, Yashoda was searching for Krishna, who had strayed away. She looked everywhere. Finally she went to the house of Radha. Radha just closed her eyes and meditated on Krishna for a while. Then she called, ‘Krishna,’ and Krishna was there. Yashoda shed tears of joy. She said ‘I love Krishna as a mother; I have a sense of egoism in me that He is my son and that I must save Him from harm and seek to give Him guidance and protection. Your prema is pure; it has no egoism prompting it.”
“The Love of the Gopis,” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 3
“Krishna’s pranks reveal—by the inner meaning that they convey—the divine essence that He was. Krishna is condemned as a thief who stole butter from the cowherd maidens, but the butter represents the bhakti (devotion) of the heart that results from the process of churning. It is a question of a symbol being taken literally. He is chithachor (the stealer of hearts). Normally, a thief steals at night, in the darkness, without awakening the master. But when this thief steals, the master awakens. The thief Himself wakes the master to tell him that He has come. The victim is left supremely happy and satisfied.”
“The Love of the Gopis,”Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 3
“The story of Kuchela tells how one has to meditate on the Lord. Kuchela knew exactly what had to be given to Him. The Lord cares about the feeling that accompanies a gift, the attitude with which an offering is made. He is not moved by the quantity or the cost of the gift. Droupadi offered a tiny piece of a leaf still sticking to the side of the vessel she had used to cook the meal. The Lord was so amply fed that He said He was freed from all hunger. Rukmini placed just one single tulasi (basil) leaf on the scale, but since she had saturated it with her devotion, it weighed as much as Krishna Himself. Kuchela took a little ‘beaten rice’ and the Lord ate it with relish. He was highly pleased with an offering so full of bhakti. The imprint of bhakti made the beaten rice precious.”
“Su-Darshana,” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 3
“Give the Lord the fruit, prema, that grows on the tree of life. Develop the illumination of prema and the bats of grief, envy, and egoism will fly away into the darkness. Swami continues to say, ‘Feel that you are the Lord’s own. Then the work will not tire. It will be done much better; it will yield more satisfaction. And the wages? The master will maintain you in bliss. What more can anyone aspire to? Leave the rest to Him; He knows best; He is All. The joy of having Him is enough reward. This is the secret of human happiness. Live out your lives on these lines and you will never come to grief.’ Na me bhakthaah pranashyathi (my devotees never suffer sorrow), says Krishna. ”
“How Far is God?” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 5
Krishna’s Words
“I am ever present to those who have realized me in every creature. Seeing all life as my manifestation, they are never separated from me. They worship me in the hearts of all, and all their actions proceed from me. Wherever they live, they abide in me.”
(Bhagavad Gita 6.30-31)
“When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were his own, he has attained the highest state of spiritual union.”
(Bhagavad Gita 6.32)
“The one I love is one who is incapable of ill will, who is friendly and compassionate. Living beyond the reach of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and of pleasure and pain, [He is] patient, contented, self-controlled, firm in faith with all his heart and all his mind given to me. With such a one I am in love.”
(Bhagavad Gita 12.13)
“I am the Self in the heart of every creature, Arjuna, and the beginning, middle, and end of their existence.”
(Bhagavad Gita 10.20)
Source: Bhagavad Gita quotations are taken from The Bhagavad Gita translated by Eknath Easwaran,
founder and director of the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation,
copyright 1985; reprinted by permission of Nilgiri Press, Tomales, California
