The Journey from Kurukshetra to Gokul Brindavan

|| Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

The more we sit down and reflect on the Gita, the more we see ourselves as Arjuna, trapped between the fields of confusion and doubt sown with the seeds of despondency. As we engage with this world devoid of a spiritual foundation we create more demons and plenty nutrition for the despondency which eventually overwhelms us. All we do as we live this mundane life is continuously trim the weeds of pain, allowing just periodic pelts of joy. The rains of circumstances further bring woes in midst’s of your troubles clouding all hope, forcing one to recess into the foetal position and cry.  Oh yes, even mighty men have not escaped the lethal release of the tear ducts taking strain from a gutted heart or a grief stricken mind.

Bala Krishna

Who said all was rosy in the world. Those you who trust and open your hearts out to unconditionally will hurt you the most. That’s what the Veeraboga Sarithram has been saying all along, that we will see a 180 degree phase shift in this dark time. Many psychologists have referred to man as a social being, saying that relationships and interaction with people are an integral part of his existence. However the dynamics of these relationships is often the cause of the Kurukshetra in our lives.

Shree Krishna had presented the Gita to Arjuna as the panacea of human misery clearly unlocking the serum of joy within each of us to douse the flames of anxiety and despondency. Truth be told, the Lord never related anything new to Arjuna but only made him understand his true nature and his ability to awaken the latent divinity within him.

The Bhagavad Gita in my opinion is the ultimate reference book in the field of psychology placing Shree Krishna as the father of psychology. When he speaks of the mind being the friend as well as the enemy we get a sense that he portrays the mind is an instrument of immense influence in our lives and spiritual development.  It is the nucleus of our emotions. Emotions are like a person wearing sun shades. The colour of the shades will determine the colour with which one perceives the environment. If our mind is constituted with grief and sorrow then irrespective of the environment we are in, the perception will be grief and sorrow. The same applies vice versa.

Then the ideal would be to construct the mind in perpetual joy to ensure that we see the world that way. What then is the thread of weakness in our mind’s activity that does not allow us to configure perennial joy?  I would highlight one very significant obstacle as expectation (fruits of our actions). It has become a norm of sorts that whenever we perform any action we expect something in return. In other words, we participate in conditional activities which favour us with a handsome reward.

If the result is positive then we ok, but let the result be negative then all hell breaks loose. Giants have crumbled over emotional turmoil and grief. We must act with unconditional love, never expect anything return for your actions. Shree Krishna said:  “You are entitled to act, however the fruits of your actions you are not entitled to”. Be like Surya (the Sun), always giving indiscriminately your love and affection with no thought what so ever about the return.  That is the secret of happiness and joy. Shree Ramakrishna said if you repeat the word Gita several times, the secret of its message is revealed “Gita Gita Gita”. If you look closely you will see the words Tagi, which roots in Sanskrit Tyagi (meaning to renounce or sacrifice).

Krishna in Brindavan

Renounce the fruit of your actions and you can be on your way to perennial joy. What do we substitute in return for the fruit of our action? The Lord said “Perform all actions as an offering to me alone”. Make every action as worship to the Lord. Build in your heart and mind Gokul Brindavan.  A village of eternal happiness, play along the Yamuna with Krishna, dancing with the Gopis, sleeping perched under the canopy of a banyan tree with the tranquilising effect of the flute. The days and nights are seamlessly impregnated with his blue complexion and radiant love. Take joy and happiness from that alone. Live with Krishna every moment of your life that is the only fruit you need. 

The journey of our life is beautifully portrayed in the Srimad Bhagavatam when the most poetic description of the arrival of Shri Krsna is penned. I can extract mentally the jubilation the universe experienced, right from the devas, gods, and goddesses as they eagerly awaited the appearance of  Bala Krishna, the Paramathma, unmanifest Brahman to take human birth by his grace and mercy for the salvation of his beloved children. The Bhagavatam says even Yamuna rose her waters to take darshan of his divine lotus feet.

Even in his birth a very profound message he has delivered to us. He was born at midnight (referred to many as the ghostly time) in a jail cell in the dark phase of the moon to shackled parents. Bhagawan firstly dispelled the myth as any time being inappropriate and inauspicious.  By his will all the chains were broken and he was carried on a basket by his father across the raging Yamuna to Gokul to be raised by Nanda Baba and Ma Yashoda. The place Brindavan as I explained in the paragraphs above was heaven on earth.

Bhagwan Krishna on Vasudev's head

The profound message in the above narration is that from our eternal immortal state we are all born into bondage of this material limited body. By our own will and thirst for liberation we must cross the ocean of samsara (this life) with the Lord firmly fixed in our minds (like how Vasudeva had Shri Krishna in a basket  on his head). With this type of approach even any challenges that may pose an obstacle to your progress in spiritual life will bow at your feet (like the raging Yamuna in flood bowing to the feet of Krishna).

Finally, you must realise that like Krishna spending just a few hours with Vasudeva and Devaki, and growing up with Nanda and Yashoda in Brindavan. Our material parents are only temporary like everything on this earth, we must journey through this maya to reach our Gokul and live with our real eternal parents, the divine mother and father.

So in essence our life’s purpose is to journey from Kurukshetra to Gokul.  From the battlefield of life to the eternal abode of our father.

May this Krishna Janmasthami bring you eternal joy and bliss is my sincere prayer. Happy Krishna Janmasthami to all!!!