Three‑in‑One Now
On Krishna Ashtami in 1967, Bhagavan Baba in His discourse said that man must allow the Krishna within him to Lord over his mind and let Him trample on the hissing hoods and tame the vicious viper; let it vomit the venom and become satwic (pious) and sweet.
This day is a sacred day, when devotees dwell upon the majesty and splendor of the Lord, and taste the sweetness of His name, which is so dear to them because it holds within itself the entire Bhagavatha [Song of Krishna]. The Avatar(manifestation of God) of Krishna was a full incarnation with all the 16 facets of glory. In the Avatar of Rama, out of the 16 the three brothers had one each and Parashurama, the contemporary, had one until Rama met Him and overpowered Him and drew within himself the fraction of the divine power that He had. Other incarnations were for ad-hoc purposes, the suppression of evil represented by one evil person or group of persons. The Rama and Krishna avatars were, however, for more general purposes, the mission of restoring dharma (right action) and fostering virtuous living, besides punishing the wicked and teaching the world that vice will not succeed. Man is an amalgam of humanity, base animal urges, and divinity. It is a tragedy if he cannot get rid of the lower animal behaviors; it is a greater tragedy if he cannot cultivate his divinity. Contemplation of the Rama and Krishna Avatars and their leelas (divine plays) and mahimas (miracle powers) is the surest method of cultivating the divine in man.
Before every incarnation, two collaborators for the task for which the incarnation comes, also appear—the Mayashakti (deluding power) and Yogashakti (power of communion with the Divine). Maya [illusion] comes as the elder sister to warn the wicked; Yoga [union] comes as the elder brother to enthuse and keep constant company. Maya thrust Kamsa deeper and deeper into perdition so that his downfall will be more terrible and educative. But in this Kali [Iron] age, the wicked have to be reformed and reconstructed through love and compassion. That is why this Avatar has come unarmed. It has come with the message of love. The only weapon that can transform the vile and the vicious is the name of the Lord uttered with love.
The great lesson of the Kalinga episode for man
The name is saturated with divine glory; so when it is turned over in the mind it transmutes it into an instrument for liberation from delusion. Take the name navaneetachora (butter‑thief) that is used for Krishna. It does not mean a person who runs away with the butter that people have stored. It is not the stuff called butter that is got by churning curdled milk that He stole. It is the butter of faith, created by the churning process called ‘yearning,’ from the curdled milk called ‘worldly experiences.’ He covets only this ‘butter.’ When Yashoda [Krishna’s mother] chided the child Krishna for this ‘theft,’ He replied, “But Mother, they like Me for stealing it; they are sorry if I do not; they churn it and they churn it in the hope that I will steal it; when I steal it, their hearts are illumined, and they awaken.”
Of all the wondrous adventures that astounded people during His childhood, the one that revealed to them the Divinity that had come among them was the Kalinga episode; it is most meaningful. The serpent Kalinga was poisoning the waters of the Yamuna [River] and the atmosphere over it with its breath. All who approached that area, men or cattle, fell dead. But Krishna, the divine boy, jumped into the depths, forced the foul snake to rise above the level of the river, and leaping on its rapid range of hoods He danced upon them with His tender lotus feet. The pressure of those soft silken soles was enough to force the deadly poison out from the fangs of the monstrous cobra and render it harmless forever.
Allow the Divine in you to Lord over the mind
This is a great lesson for man. This leela [divine play] is quite unlike earlier incidents that evidenced the child’s super‑human strength and wisdom. He was lifted away by the storm‑demon, he was hit by the calf‑demon, he was felled by the cart‑demon, he was pecked at by the stork‑demon, he was poisoned by the nurse‑demon; but sceptics can easily ascribe these miracles to accident or coincidence or exaggeration. But the Kalinga episode is a valuable lesson in spiritual sadhana [devotional effort].
In the Manasa-sarovar (the deep placid mind‑lake) of every man, there lurks a poisonous cobra with six hoods—lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride, and hate—infesting the air and destroying all who are near it. The name of the Lord, when it dives into the depths, forces it to come up to the surface so that it may be destroyed. So allow the divine in you, the Krishna, to lord over the mind. Let Him trample on the hissing hoods and tame the vicious viper. Let it vomit the venom, become satwic (pious) and sweet. This is the sadhana—the episode teaches, the duty it enjoins.
Like all avatars, Krishna announced His advent to the world bit by bit, step by step, testing every time how far the reality would be accepted by the masses. The signs and miracles were intended then as now to proclaim the avatar. Even while in the cradle, Yashoda had a surprise from the child. She was singing lullabies and relating stories to send the child to sleep. One day she told the Ramayana story—how Dasharatha had four sons, how the eldest son, Rama, grew; how Rama was about to be enthroned as crown prince; how His step‑mother persuaded His father to send Him to exile in the forest for 14 years; how a golden deer appeared before His dearly beloved wife; how He pursued wicked Ravana who had played this trick to get Rama out of the way, came to the hermitage at that time and carried her away to his island kingdom! As she said this, the child seemed to be terribly angry. It held forth Its hand and cried, “Lakshmana! Give Me My bow and arrow.” The mother remembered that Lakshmana was the brother who accompanied Rama to the forest and she was convinced that He who was Rama had come as Krishna to the world again.
Krishna’s revelation of His Incarnation
Chaithanya, as a child, also gave indications of His being an incarnation [of Krishna] to His mother. Chaithanya was then a baby crawling on all fours. His mother had a guest in the house, an old orthodox Brahmin, who was cooking his own lunch from the provisions given by her. He desired his food to be ceremonially pure, uncontaminated by the touch of other hands. He offered to God the food he proposed to eat; that was his vow. It was rather late when the offering was ready. Just when he sat before the idol of Krishna for worship, the child toddled forward and dipped his fingers in the vessel of food thus making it ‘impure’ as an offering to God. So, provisions were given again, food was cooked again, and very late in the day the worship was resumed. This time, too, the child crawled in from somewhere and contaminated the sacred food! It repeated the mischief a third time. The mother dragged the child away and threatened to thrash the prank out of its head. But the child asked the mother quite innocently, “He is calling on me to eat it, but when I go near him he gets angry.” Thus, did He reveal that He was Krishna come again.
All avatars teach as the first step in the long road of sadhana the giving up of attachment. In the Tretayuga, the yoga‑vasishtha (Hindu text) taught the same rule. In the Dwaparayuga, Krishna taught Arjuna to give up vishaya‑vasana (attachment to the objective world).
Once there was an ascetic who had given up all attachment. He was going along a path in the Himalayas when the wind blew the hair on to his face and blocked his vision. So he turned and walked in the opposite direction. He was not attached to any direction or place!
People utter with apparent faith, “Krishna-Krishna‑Krishna,” but they never give up trishna (thirst) for worldly goods or fame. In each yuga [era of time], you have the avatar of the Lord come to redeem, revive, and re‑build. At the present time, Mahashakti (superpower), Mayashakti (power of illusion) and Yogashakti (power of the vision of God) all have come together in one human form. Your endeavor should be to draw near and earn His grace.
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Vol. 7
