Krishna - the primordial iconoclast

Sri Krishna – the primordial iconoclast

Gautama Buddha, Socrates, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammad, Galileo Galilei, Karl Marx, Martin Luther King, Osho Rajneesh etc. are some of the names which flash through our mind as soon as someone utters the word iconoclast.

But have we ever turned our attention towards Sri Krishna whose entire lifespan of over 125 years was engaged in establishing the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity which later became the founding slogans of American Revolution and thereafter the French Revolution From his very childhood he is seen as breaking the age-old traditions, beliefs and ideologies which had incapacitated the virility of the society of his times. The existing dogmas had stopped the flow of fresh ideas and interpretations of the exhortations once made by the ancients. The exhortations remained pious for the common folk but the knowledge and realization as to what made these calls so sacred got lost somewhere in the long course of time. As humans, civilizations do have their birth, growth, stagnation, decadence and finally death.

As we would be celebrating the 5123^th birth anniversary of Sri Krishna sometime from now with great devotion, fanfare and ecstasy it would be interesting for all of us to go deeper into the life of this larger-than-life personality who has been deified, is revered, worshipped and surrendered to until now but has not been understood.

He has not been explored in his entirety so far. An overshadowing hallow of divinity has been built around him which has eclipsed his other mortal facets which could have given light and direction to the society at large in the current troubling times. The primarily reason might have been the pressing needs of the times when it happened.

The partial reason would have been the self-serving attitude of the upcoming organized religious sects. Now when a multi-billion religious industry has built up around his life, his works and his place of birth where he performed his multifarious leelas as they are called with veneration, it would be all the more difficult and impossible to explain and propagate the iconoclastic personality of Sri Krishna.

At the tender age of 7 Krishna stood against the established practice of worshipping Indra – the devata responsible for showering rains. He was so firm and confident about his analysis that he argued unhesitatingly with elders who were many times of his age and finally convinced them. The entire 24 ^th chapter of the 10^th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, which is revered to be the most exalted scripture on Krishna bhakti and thereby on Vaishnavism, if read with an objective perspective extols the founding principles of the scientific temper and the spirit to inquire.

One day Krishna happened to see that the cowherds were busily arranging for a ceremonial sacrifice. He therefore humbly inquired from the elders, headed by His father, Nanda Maharaj. Krishna requests his father to explain about the sacrifice, its intent and purpose.

He reaffirms his request by giving several arguments such as 'No secrets are to be kept by saintly personalities, who see all others as equal to themselves, who have no conception of "mine" or "another's" and who do not consider who is a friend, who is an enemy and who is neutral.'

He furthers his inquiry by saying that one who is neutral may be avoided like an enemy, but a friend should be considered like one's own self.

He thereafter utters the time tested wisdom that when people in this world perform activities, sometimes they understand what they are doing and sometimes they don't. Those who know what they are doing achieve success in their work, whereas ignorant people do not.

To ignite a response he finally demands that this ritualistic endeavor should be clearly explained to him. The tender Krishna goes further by questioning his father in front of all the elderly folks as to whether the current ceremony is based on scriptural injunction, or is simply a custom of ordinary society?

Forced by the logically framed case of Krishna, Nanda Maharaj replied that the great Lord Indra is the controller of the rain. The clouds are his personal representatives, and they directly provide rainwater, which gives happiness and sustenance to all creatures.

He tries to consoles the little chap that it's not only them, but the entire humanity worships him, the lord and master of the rain-giving clouds. Nanda further explains that they simply offer grain and other paraphernalia of worship which is eventually produced through Indra's discharge in the form of rain.

He tries to convince the little child that by accepting the remnants of sacrifices performed to Indra, people sustain their lives and accomplish the threefold aims of religiosity, economic development and sense gratification. He finally concludes that Lord Indra is the agent responsible for the fruitive success of industrious people and this religious principle is based on sound tradition.

At the end he threatens Krishna by saying that anyone who rejects it out of lust, enmity, fear or greed will certainly fail to achieve good fortune.

Unconvinced and undeterred Krishna exhorts the law of karma, which he later on propounds so beautifully in the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

He explains that it is by the force of karma that a living entity takes birth, and it is by karma alone that he meets his destruction. His happiness, distress, fear and sense of security all arise as the effects of karma. Even if there is some supreme controller who awards all others the results of their activities, He must also depend upon a performer's engaging in activity. After all, there is no question of being the bestower of fruitive results unless fruitive activities have actually been performed.

Living beings in this world are forced to experience the consequences of their own particular previous work. Since Lord Indra cannot in any way change the destiny of human beings, which is born of their own nature, why should people worship him?

Every individual is under the control of his own conditioned nature, and thus he must follow that nature. This entire universe, with all its demigods, demons and human beings, is based on the conditioned nature of the living entities.

Because it is karma that causes the conditioned living entity to accept and then give up different high- and low-grade material bodies, this karma is his enemy, friend and neutral witness, his spiritual master and controlling lord.

Therefore one should seriously worship work itself. A person should remain in the position corresponding to his nature and should perform his own duty. Indeed, that by which we may live nicely is really our worshipable deity.

He continues by raising apt practical questions of the times that if one thing is actually sustaining our life but we take shelter in something else, how can we achieve any real benefit? We would be like an unfaithful woman, who can never achieve any actual benefit by consorting with her paramour.

The brahmana maintains his life by studying and teaching the Vedas, the member of the royal order by protecting the earth, the vaisya by trade, and the sudra by serving the higher, twice-born classes.

He then explains to the entire elderly folks that the occupational duties of the vaisya are conceived in four divisions: farming, commerce, cow protection and moneylending. Out of these, the gopas as a community are always engaged in cow protection.

The causes of creation, maintenance and destruction are the three modes of nature -- namely goodness, passion and ignorance. In particular, the mode of passion creates this universe and through sexual combination causes it to become full of variety. Impelled by the material mode of passion, the clouds pour down their rain everywhere, and by this rain all creatures gain their sustenance. What has the great Indra to do with this arrangement?

He finally asserts what became the foundations of Braj culture thereafter. He told his father with due veneration, “My dear father, our home is not in the cities or towns or villages. Being forest dwellers, we always live in the forest and on the hills. Therefore why should we not perform a sacrifice for the pleasure of the cows, the brahmanas and Govardhana Hill? Why should we not use all the paraphernalia collected for worshiping Indra to worship the Govardhana hill?”

Krishna was extremely rational in advocating the same. The hills of Braj were the pasture lands for cattle which eventually formed the basis of the prosperity of the cowherds. Reciprocating to the very natural forces which are the root cause of their prosperity is nothing but gratitude which averts their overexploitation and eventual destruction.

Elated by his master advocacy he starts giving directions for the new celebration. “Let many different kinds of food be cooked, from sweet rice to vegetable soups! Many kinds of fancy cakes, both baked and fried, should be prepared. And all the available milk products should be taken for this sacrifice. The brahmanas who are learned in the Vedic mantras must properly invoke the sacrificial fires. Then you should feed the priests with nicely prepared food and reward them with cows and other gifts. After giving the appropriate food to everyone else, including such fallen souls as dogs and dog-eaters, you should give grass to the cows and then present your respectful offerings to Govardhana Hill. After everyone has eaten to his satisfaction, you should all dress and decorate yourselves handsomely, smear your bodies with sandalwood paste and then circumambulate the cows, the brahmanas, the sacrificial fires and Govardhana Hill.”

In his concluding remarks he backtracks and plays a masterstroke by saying, “This is my idea, O father, and you may carry it out if it appeals to you. Such a sacrifice will be very dear to the cows, the brahmanas and Govardhana Hill, and also to me.”

Who could have countered a case put so splendidly by Krishna? Everyone accepted what he proposed. They arranged for the brahmanas to recite the auspicious Vedic mantras, and using the paraphernalia that had been intended for Indra's sacrifice, they presented offerings to Govardhana Hill and the brahmanas with reverential respect. They also gave grass to the cows. Then, placing the cows, bulls and calves in front of them, they circumambulated Govardhana. As the beautifully ornamented cowherd ladies followed along, riding on wagons drawn by oxen, they sang the glories of Lord Krishna, and their songs mingled with the brahmanas' chanting of benedictions. The members of the cowherd community, having thus been inspired by Krishna to properly perform the sacrifice to Govardhana Hill, the cows and the brahmanas, returned with Lord Krishna to their village, Vraja.

This entire narrative shows how Krishna broke the existing practices and traditions in which he saw no reason and rationale. He was firm in his arguments and at such a tender age was able to bring about such a transformation.

Millions are earned through bhagwat kathas these days, but none of the speakers dares to refer to this chapter, for if he does he would indirectly promote iconoclasm and people would start questioning his personal acts. He would then not be able to raise millions in the name of the service of the holy abode of Sri Krishna and thereby construct palatial mansions which go very much against the very spirit and soul of Braj.

Organizations like The Braj Foundation and its sister concerns like Braj Rakshak Dal have started raising such fundamental questions in due agreement with the lineage of Krishna bhakti. They are not only questioning the entire concept of dhaam sewa and Krishna consciousness but are reinterpreting the same by taking on the task of the protection and conservation of the rich ecological heritage of Braj through massive community participation. Their endeavour has led to the restoration of over 30 ancient water bodies, revival of several sacred groves and the protection of thousands of acres of hill slopes.

This Janmashtami, let's meditate on the Iconoclast Krishna, let's worship that Krishna who dared to question the accepted yet aberrational practices of Braj. Let's pray to that Krishna who can inspire all of us to stand for truth, justice and reason.