“Krishna, the reservoir of pleasure, blowing His flute, accompanied by His elder brother Balarama and other cowherd boys and cows, entered the beautiful forest of Vrindavana to enjoy the atmosphere. They walked into the midst of newly grown leaves of trees whose flowers resembled peacock feathers. They were garlanded by those flowers and decorated with saffron chalk.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 18)

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One aspect to the image of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the two-handed manifestation of Shri Krishna is the flower garland.  The same is seen on most forms of the original God, such as with Shri Rama in Ayodhya and Vishnu in the Vaikuntha planets.

The image is neither imagined nor solely symbolic; it is based on the authority which is beyond the defect of the imperfect senses.  Since He is the most…

“Having heard all these words said to Me, I promised to give full protection to the rishis of Dandaka-aranya, O daughter of Janaka.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya-kanda, 10.16)

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मया चैतद्वचश्श्रुत्वा कार्त्स्न्येन परिपालनम् |
ऋषीणां दण्डकारण्ये संश्रुतं जनकात्मजे ||

mayā caitadvacaśśrutvā kārtsnyena paripālanam
ṛṣīṇāṃ daṇḍakāraṇye saṃśrutaṃ janakātmaje

The aim of the human existence is to connect with God. The process is known as yoga, and as Shri Krishna recommends in the Bhagavad-gita, always be a yogi.

तपस्विभ्यो ऽधिको योगी
ज्ञानिभ्यो ऽपि मतो ऽधिकः
कर्मिभ्यश् चाधिको योगी
तस्माद् योगी भवार्जुन

tapasvibhyo ‘dhiko yogī
jñānibhyo ‘pi mato ‘dhikaḥ
karmibhyaś cādhiko yogī
tasmād yogī bhavārjuna

“A yogi is greater than the ascetic, greater than the empiricist and greater than the fruitive worker. Therefore, O Arjuna, in all circumstances, be a yogi.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 6.46)

Don’t get bogged down by the ups and downs of…

“My dear Krishna, Your Lordship has protected us from a poisoned cake, from a great fire, from cannibals, from the vicious assembly, from sufferings during our exile in the forest and from the battle where great generals fought. And now You have saved us from the weapon of Ashvatthama.” (Queen Kunti, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.8.24)

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विषान् महाग्नेः पुरुषाद-दर्शनाद्
असत्-सभाया वन-वास-कृच्छ्रतः
मृधे मृधे ऽनेक-महारथास्त्रतो
द्रौण्य्-अस्त्रतश् चास्म हरे ऽभिरक्षिताः

viṣān mahāgneḥ puruṣāda-darśanād
asat-sabhāyā vana-vāsa-kṛcchrataḥ
mṛdhe mṛdhe ‘neka-mahārathāstrato
drauṇy-astrataś cāsma hare ‘bhirakṣitāḥ

Friend1: One of the more sympathetic characters from the Mahabharata is Kunti Devi, the mother of the Pandavas.

Friend2: We should be clear that by saying “character”, we are referencing a historical personality whose story happens to be told in a beautiful poetry style format in the Sanskrit language.

Friend1: Yes, of course. There is symbolism to the factual events, especially since the Supreme Personality…

“The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.60)

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यततो ह्य् अपि कौन्तेय
पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः
इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि
हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः

yatato hy api kaunteya
puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ
indriyāṇi pramāthīni
haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ

1. Drinking

“Never again. I mean it this time. I don’t ever want to have this experience repeat in the future. Standing over the toilet bowl last night for hours was not fun. I would rather just vomit and be done with it. Why does the stomach have to hurt for so long?

“And what did I really gain? Short-term sensation. Some relaxing of the tensions brought on by daily responsibilities at home and at work. But as the t-shirt reads, I borrowed from tomorrow for happiness today. My…

“Sometimes mother Yashoda used to ask Krishna to bring her a wooden plank for sitting. Although the wooden plank was too heavy to be carried by a child, still somehow or other Krishna would bring it to His mother. Sometimes while worshiping Narayana, His father would ask Him to bring his wooden slippers, and Krishna, with great difficulty, would put the slippers on His head and bring them to His father. When He was asked to lift some heavy article and was unable to lift it, He would simply move His arms. In this way, daily, at every moment, He was the reservoir of all pleasure to His parents.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 11)

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The Vedanta scholar tends to look down at the bhakti process. To them it is just that: a process. A means to an end…

“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.9)

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जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यम्
एवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर् जन्म
नैति माम् एति सो ऽर्जुन

janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna

The event is called Krishna Janmashtami. The attendees are well-dressed. Many of them have fasted the entire day. No food or drink. No water, even. They are awaiting the clock striking midnight to commemorate the sacred moment of Krishna’s appearance in this world some five thousand years ago.

Of all places, the setting for that moment was a jail cell. Mother Devaki would deliver on the promise from the voice…

“One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his activities is known to be always renounced. Such a person, liberated from all dualities, easily overcomes material bondage and is completely liberated, O mighty-armed Arjuna.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.3)

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ज्ञेयः स नित्य-सन्न्यासी
यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति
निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महा-बाहो
सुखं बन्धात् प्रमुच्यते

jñeyaḥ sa nitya-sannyāsī
yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati
nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho
sukhaṁ bandhāt pramucyate

The Vaishnava acharya says to go beyond dualities. For this reason the genuine teacher of the Absolute Truth, as passed down in a chain of succession, will never venture into the areas of material life that will resemble a self-help guru or life coach. Such information is already available in mass quantity, but the secret of all secrets is reserved for those who have become exhausted in the constant swing of up and down, enjoyment and…

“A baby gives pleasure by speaking sweet words in broken language, and when the sons and daughters are grown up one becomes involved in their education and marriage. Then there are one’s own father and mother to be taken care of, and one also becomes concerned with the social atmosphere and with pleasing his brothers and sisters. A man becomes increasingly entangled in household affairs, so much so that leaving them becomes almost impossible.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.6.11-13 Purport)

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Friend1: I’m struck by how much Prahlada knew about life’s patterns at such a young age. Particularly about family life, considering that he was only five years old.

Friend2: You get these kinds of counterarguments sometimes. If a person has never been married but offers up advice on the subject, someone will object:

“What do you know, pal? What experience do you have?…

“According to Shrimad-Bhagavatam, there are twelve mahajanas, or great souls, and these are: (1) Brahma, (2) Lord Shiva, (3) Narada, (4) Vaivasvata Manu, (5) Kapila (not the atheist, but the original Kapila), (6) the Kumaras, (7) Prahlada, (8) Bhishma, (9) Janaka, (10) Bali, (11) Shukadeva Gosvami and (12) Yamaraja.” (Teachings Of Lord Chaitanya, Ch 21)

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Feeling down on your luck? The daily grind getting to you? Too much pressure to sleep each night because of the imminent deadline that is the morning alarm clock, signaling the beginning of another hectic day at the office? No time for rest and relaxation, with one responsibility piled on top of another?

The acharyas of the Vedic tradition have some formulas to implement for the short-term. Something like emergency treatment provided by first-responders on the scene of an issue, the long-term solution is a little more involved.

“The many past births you spoiled can be rectified right now, today, if you start chanting Shri Rama’s holy name and renounce bad association, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 22)

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बिगरी जनम अनेक की सुधरै अबहीं आजु |
होहि राम को नाम जपु तुलसी तजि कुसमाजु ||

bigarī janama aneka kī sudharai abahīṃ āju |
hohi rāma ko nāma japu tulasī taji kusamāju ||

1. God lives

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada reveals that there are particular principles which had a significant influence in attracting him towards the message of His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. One of them is that God is a living being, not just an abstract.

This is an important distinction to make because without active encouragement and constant discussion, how would a person arrive at the conclusion on their own? It is not like we are born with…