Kurukshetra: War between the 3 Krishnas?

Tags

arjun, battle, battlefield, Bhagwad Gita, compassion, danda-neeti, death, decision, dilemma, hand, heart, inspiration, justice, killing, Krishn, kurukshetra, Mahabharat, mind, passion, symbol, sync, war

3 Krishnas: Krishn (Dwarka), Arjun (Krishn) and Draupadi (Krishnaa).

All 3 shared a name, shared their dusky complexion and shared a deep emotional bond.

Traditionally, Kurukshetra was a war of these 3 Krishnas against evil.

Symbolically, though, was it a war of Arjun versus Krishn & Krishnaa?

Any great deed requires the mind, the heart and the hand to be in-sync.

The Mind = for cool analysis, planning, ideas, impulses, thoughts.

The Heart = for passion, emotions, inspiration and fire.

The Hand = for skills, finesse, well-honed, strong, the doer.

Krishn was the mind, Draupadi was the inspiration and Arjun was the executor of their combined vision.

           What if the hand rebels against the heart & mind?

On the eve of Kurukshetra, Arjun paused, paralyzed by his dilemma. Then followed the enriching Q & A session which we know today as Bhagwad Gita.

At Kurukshetra, the mind and the heart were

Krishn, the Rorschach test.

Tags

atom bomb, bhagvada Gita, Bhagwad Gita, choice, festivals, gandhiji, interpretation, kansa, Krishn, Krishna, kurukshetra, non-violence, oppenheimer, perspective, war & philosophy

Bhagwad Gita inspired Robert Oppenheimer for Hiroshima-Nagasaki’s ‘Liitle Boy & Fat Man’  atom bombs.

Bhagwad Gita inspired M.K. Gandhi’s Ahimsa (Non-violence movement) as a strategy for India’s freedom struggle.

One source. Polar interpretations. 

Bhagwad Gita is a Rorschach test. So is its orator, Krishn.

On the eve of Janmashthami (Krishn’s birthday), let us try to explore the Krishn Rorschach. 

He plunged through the entire gamut

Atheism to theism – via a man and a meal.

Tags

Arjun Related posts, arjuna, Atheism, bhagvada, Bhagwad Gita, faith, God, ISKON, Krishn, Krishna, Mahabharata, maximum comments, religion, spirituality, temple

Born to a theist Papa and an atheist Mom, I had the luxury of choice. I chose to be an atheist.

Being  a science student automatically made me lean heavily towards ‘proof and results’. Temples contributed liberally to my disgust of theism. Think impatient Pujaris  (We are the proprietary middle-men to Heaven.) Think lecherous peddlers (A hundred rupees note will get you instant darshan, Madam!) Think repugnant God-men (I distinctly remember meeting one with red eyes, grey beard and saffron robes. When I and my brother refused to genuflect, his eyes darkened in incredulous rage. P.S: The only en’light’ment he saw must be at the end of his ganja–chillum!)

Meanwhile a wily God with a zany sense of humor decided to ensnare me with two most unlikely baits. A man and a meal…

Quotes

Tags

Bhagwad Gita, ISKON, quotes, spirituality

There is no unanswered prayer. Sometimes the answer is “No.”

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.

When opportunity knocks on the door, most complain about the noise.

Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare.