Dedicated to shrikrishn the soul of all beings..............................
BEFORE CREATION, ONLY I EXISTED. THERE WAS NEITHER MATTER NOR SPIRIT NOR WAS THERE IGNORANCE. WHERE THERE IS NO CREATION, I EXIST. WHATEVER EXISTS IS ALSO I. WHATEVER REMAINS AFTER ANNIHILATION SHALL BE I. IF ONE IS NOT ABLE TO PERCEIVE ME IT IS BECAUSE OF DELUSION. AS ALL NATURAL ELEMENTS EXIST IN VARIOUS FORMS YET MAINTAIN THEIR INDEPENDENT EXISTENCE IN NATURE, SO AM I THE CAUSE AND CONSTITUTION OF ALL THINGS THAT EXIST, YET INDEPENDENT OF ALL. EITHER PERCEIVE ME, AS NOWHERE OR EVERYWHERE, IS THE ESSENCE OF KNOWLEDGE. THOSE WHO WISH TO KNOW ME NEED REALIZE ONLY THIS.
LORD SRIKRISHN IN BHAGAVAT PURAN 2/9/32
Stotra by Lord Brahma-Lord Shiv –Dharma
Salutations to you who is the Best, Deserves everything the best, Bestows all boons, Cause of all bestowers of boon, and cause of all living beings.
I salute one that is auspiciousness incarnate, bestows auspiciousness and is the cause of all auspices. Veneration to him who is Brilliance incarnate!
O, Omnipresent! Detached from everything, soul of all beings, away from everything, aloof to all, beyond all logistics. Veneration to him who is Brilliance incarnate!
O, ineffable, manifest, unmanifest, single, self-dependent, omniscient, veneration to you O Brilliance incarnate!
To manifest three properties you appear as Trinity, all other deities are your partial incarnations. O, away from celestial auditions, how can even deities know you? I therefore salute you!
O, Base of all, Manifest as all forms, Cause of all, seed of entire creation, Usurper and Devourer of all, infinite veneration to you, O, Brilliance incarnate!
One that is manifest and endowed with properties can be described by wise men but one who is beyond manifestation how can I describe him? Veneration to you O, Brilliance incarnate!
O, Formless! O, with form! O with senses! O beyond sense organs! O, away from all witnesses and witness of all! Veneration to you O, Brilliance incarnate!
One who reaches everywhere without feet, sees everything without eyes, eats offerings without mouth and hands, veneration to that Brilliance incarnate!
Saints can throw light on that which is prescribed in Vedas but one who is indescribable even by Vedas, my veneration to that Brilliance incarnate!
I am the lawmaker of world, progenitor of Vedas, Lord Dharma is the protector of propriety, Lord Shiv is the destroyer of world but none of us is capable of describing you!
Your grace alone has bestowed ability to sustain righteousness upon Lord Dharma, Your will has appointed Lord Shiv to carry out your decree and only after serving your lotus feet have I become creator of this world.
You are the Lord of All of us devotees. This creation is your mere reflection in which innumerable galaxies float sustaining innumerable servants of your Lordship.
Just as dust and atoms, constituting dust cannot be counted so the number of your servants cannot be counted. However, one who is the progenitor of these creations how can he be described by anyone?
Lord Maha Vishnu whose every single body pore regulates one cosmos even he is your just sixteenth of part in power and prowess.
All yogis meditate upon you and all devotees serve your lotus feet.
O, Lord of All! Bestow upon us your that adolescent form which is enticing, bewitching and is accessible through chanting and meditation.
That form which is dusky like a nimbus cloud, wrapped in golden yellow silken shawl, with two handsome arms playing a flute, spreading a beatific smile, most attractive, crowning a peacock feather, with garlands of malati flowers, anointed with sandalwood paste, aguru, musk, vermilion, bejeweled with golden gems studded ornaments, shimmering crown, a countenance defeating the beauty of lotus flowers blooming in winters, with lips as tender and pink as a ripe fruit of Bimba, with teeth as glistening as seeds of ripe pomegranate fruit, reclining under a Kadamb tree, keen to enter Raasmandala, being gloated by the esurient glances of enamoured Gopis, and that remains enshrined in the heart of Radha, who will not long to see your that form?
Saying so Lord Brahma bowed repeatedly before that bright light appearing in sanctum sanctorum of palace of Radha in Golok. Lord Dharma and Lord Shiv also repeated words of Lord Brahma and bowed with eyes moist before the brilliant light.
In that light then appeared the divine couple, the Parents of Universe, Patrons of all virtues, beauty and auspiciousness whose mere remembrance even in dream, purges one of all impurities and fills the heart with bliss and peace.
In the moments of pain,
Suffering and strife.
When all around turn
Out to be
Unreliable, unyielding,
Tirading spikes!
You alone come to
Wipe off tears
From my eyes.
You alone come to soothe
My searing wounds.
And I know-
I feel healed,
Rather energized,
More than before!
I stand up to fight
And face the life
With manifold pride.
For you are my creator,
You alone can be my
Saviour, my Christ!
Editors’s oblation
Lord Srikrishn is not merely a name or a word.
Millions of galaxies continue to explode and disappear in the consciousness named Lord Srikrishn. Though He is formless by nature, He acquires the human shape from time to time to fulfill the desires of his devotees who wish to see him in human form, and to unburden the Earth of various evil powers.
The Sanatana Dharma mythology states that he acquires the form of a human or an animal according to the task he wished to accomplish at that particular time; from the form of a tortoise, a boar, a fish to that of a super human such as Lord Srikrishn. This human/animal form is called an Incarnation which is quite different from that of a mortal being, he does not go through rigorous process of procreation. The form appears and vanishes solely through his will. (Verse 6, Chapter 4, The Bhagvadgita)
Among all the incarnations, Lord Srikrishn, who strode the Earth more than 5100 years ago, appeared with a complete set of powers. That is why He is termed as a PURNAVTAR. He incarnated along with His Aahladini Shakti RADHA. They are inseparable from each other, but to perform leela, they appeare as two separate entities, male and female. The male part appeared on the 8th day of Lord Srikrishn paksh (The dark phase of the moon) and the female part during Shukla paksh (The bright phase of the moon) of the same month Bhadrapad (when the Sun is in zodiac sign Virgo). The moon has an identical look/brightness on the 8th day of either Lord Srikrishn or Shukl paksh. It cannot be distinguished by merely looking at moon on the 8th day, as to whether it will be a new moon or full moon. The right side of moon is darker than the left, which signifies the male, and latter is brighter which signifies the female. And they are evenly divided signifying equal status to the better half.
Lord Srikrishn is omnipotent and omniscient, but still does not stop anyone from performing the deeds of his/her choice. He neither stopped Yuddhisthir from putting his wife, Draupadi at stake during the game of dice, nor did he interfere when Duryodhan and Karn humiliated and insulted Draupadi. Neither did he stop Dushasan from trying to outrage her modesty in the Kuru Raj Sabha. As he clearly declares in the Bhagvad Geeta (Verse 47, Chapter 2) everyone has the complete right to his/her deeds. Even when he is physically present, he protects everyone’s right to make choices and does not interfere with the same. However, he decides on consequences of that deed, according to rules he had established to run the universe. He undertakes to protect his ardent devotees from facing any kind of pain/loss/insult, provided he/she has completely surrendered unto him and harbours no hope from anyone else. When Dushasan was about to humiliate Draupadi, she pleaded with everyone to come to her rescue, but none extended any help. Finally, she called upon Lord Srikrishn, and help was there to protect her modesty.
Lord Srikrishn is omnipresent, but still remains invisible (both formless and in form) to the majority of people as his form being divine, cannot be seen by physical eyes. He can be realized through meditation with any of the emotions of love, hatred or fear. All three emotions lead to equal and similar end result, - unison with Lord Srikrishn. Love is however, considered to be the most beneficial and important, because those who meditate upon him through hatred or fear spend their lives with an unstable heart until their last breath. Lord Srikrishn proclaims that He values love more than any relation. He blessed Radha that her name would be remembered prior to His name. That is why people chant Radhe-Lord Srikrishn and not vice versa. He reveals his absolute knowledge and form to Arjuna during Mahabharat war. The other four Pandav were present nearby, and had same relation with Lord Srikrishn, but he selected Arjuna because of the latter’s love for Him. (Verse 47, Chapter 11, The Bhagwat Geeta). Similarly Radha is privileged to be worshipped most with Him instead of his eight wives as he wanted to convey the supremacy of love over relations. We have innumerable Radha- Srikrishn temples and very few of Rukmani- Srikrishn temples.
Lord Srikrishn undertook the responsibility to take care of his lovers and their needs. However minute these might be. He provides what his devotees desire and protects what they have already acquired (Verse 22, Chapter 9, The Bhagwat Geeta). He also goes ahead to bear the brunt of Gandhari’s anger after she loses her hundred sons in war, deliberately because he wanted to save his beloved Arjuna and the Pandav brothers from Gandhari’s curse.
Among all religions across the globe, Lord Srikrishn is the first person and till date the last one to declare himself as God. (Verse 29, Chapter 5, the Bhagwat Geeta). He goes further to tell Arjuna that “Ignore every religion, surrender before me. I guarantee to liberate you.” (Verse 66, Chapter 18, The Bhagwat Geeta).
Shree Lord Srikrishn, The Supreme man, incarnated with all his 16 kalas, He displayed all his powers and performed leela to its perfection in all roles he played; from a son to a friend, a lover, a husband, a father, a guide, a king and God. The book describes His leela in detail giving wide coverage to different shades of his personality, which I am sure, everyone will enjoy reading.
My compliments to Ms. Manjula Saxena for enriching us with facets of Lord Srikrishn’s leela. She focuses on the same from the very beginning of His existence; which has enveloped all creation including Radha, Meera, Ramkrishn Paramhans and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to her own personal experiences.
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते.
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते..
Shree Krishanarpanam astu
Swami Ganeshanand
Abu Parvat.
PREFACE
I was born in a family where Lord Srikrishn was the cynosure of all elders’ eyes. My maternal grandfather did not eat or drink anything without offering it with Tulasi leaf to Lord Srikrishn. He had a small room exclusively for Lord Srikrishn worship, where he would wake Him up in the morning with the chanting of mantra, bathe Him, smear sandalwood paste on his forehead, dress Him with bright attire and offer Him a breakfast of butter and candy. Little Lord Srikrishn along with His brother Balaram was regularly offered meals with proper prayers. At night, He had to be put in a suitably sized bed, which had tiny cushions, silken pillows and glittering sheets to comfort Him, preceded by a devotional prayer. Whenever my grandfather was away, the task of taking care of little Lord Srikrishn brass idol was relegated to me. I enjoyed doing it, but I always felt a bit resistant inwardly. Whenever I put him in bed at night I always prayed, “Please do not go to sleep. If you fall asleep then who would take care of us all?” However, being the youngest in a highly disciplinarian family, I dared not express my doubt. So, whenever I went to sleep, I used to remind him, “Please remain awake and take care of me and my belongings, as I want to relax”. I tested his words enshrined in Bhagavad-Gita sundry of times and he never failed me, except sometimes it took me years to realize that whatever he did was for my ultimate welfare only. But I profusely cursed him whenever he disappointed me.
I can never forget one incident when Lord Srikrishn proved his sincerity to an almost unbelievable extent in taking care of my belongings. I had just passed out of college and wanted to give a competitive exam to get a job. The place where I lived in Bareilly was a suburb without any bookshop. I started out with my brother to go to the main market. As soon as I reached the bus stop, I suddenly discovered that my golden earring was missing from its place. I knew that if I told my brother about it, he would ask me to go home and find it first. But I did not want to delay the purchase of my books. So I quietly took out another earring and put it in my purse lest I should be caught with a missing earring. “Please take care of my golden ring as I cannot afford to go back home at this moment", I prayed and moved on. I completed my purchase of the books and reached home three hours after starting out. To my utter amazement, I found that the golden earring was lying on the roadside in front of my house. Several persons must have passed by but still it was lying there as unnoticed as a stone. I was overwhelmed with relief and wonder. Such is the reliability of Lord Lord Srikrishn.
My maternal and paternal grandmothers also worshipped Lord Srikrishn regularly. My paternal grandmother was fond of feasting well, in the name of worship. Her mantra was-“Ram naam laddu, Gopal naam kheer, Hari ka naam misri to ghol ghol pee” This means –“Chanting name of Lord Ram is akin to eating a laddu, chanting name of Gopal is akin to eating kheer, chanting name of Hari is akin to eating candy so have it as much as you can!” She would offer sweetmeats to laddu Gopal and ring a brass bell as a custom to draw the attention of God and enjoy the sweets with added bliss.
My paternal grandfather was an epicurean who enjoyed the theatrical works of Shakespeare and Kalidas alike. He was blessed with literary talent himself and enjoyed renowned status in his circles for composing poetry in English, Hindi and Urdu alike. I was fond of discussing things with him. He held Lord Srikrishn in high esteem for he was a superman who could make thousands of damsels swoon over him, unlike the Prince of Ayodhya - Ram who roamed around in woods shedding tears for his single wife Sita. A painting depicting Lord Srikrishn stealing clothes of Gopis bathing in river Yamuna decorating the wall in front of his bed could not go unnoticed from the eyes of any visitor.
The tradition to rely on Lord Srikrishn in the moments of celebration and suffering alike continues as such in the entire family.
This book is a tribute to Lord Srikrishn for whatever he has bestowed upon me. I say so with utmost honesty that there is not a single wish of mine that he did not fulfill so secretly and generously. However, he always apprised me of his plan whenever things did not move as per my wish. Therefore, there is little to complain. One who gives has a right to direct too.
My sons Ankush and Anshul contributed greatly in composing this book as their constant demands to listen to new bed time stories pushed me to go through various Purans. I am also grateful to my husband Sanjay who shouldered domestic responsibilities while I sat glued to the computer screen to write this book.
My heartfelt thanks to Mr. Bill Gates who provided Microsoft Word that has made writing a pleasant experience.
INDEX
CHAPTER
1. THE SEED OF CREATION
The Golok
Swans celestial
River Virja
Infatuated Goddess Ganga
Gopi Tulasi
The Raasmandal
Matchless abode of Radha
Timeless Golok
The Sweetheart of Lord Srikrishn
Birth of Mahaviraat
Plight of polygamous Lord Vishnu
Save me from wife, cried Lord Shiv
Lord Shiv asked to create tantrashastra
2. THE MASTER PLANNER
The Danav and Gopi on Earth
The Danav and Gopi on Earth
Planning descend
Birth on Earth
Sage Garg
A mother named Putana
The impudent sons of Kuber
Gandharvs became demons
Wooing Radha secretly
Mourning Ashtavakra
Appeasing Akroor
Kubja the fortunate maid
Instruction to Vishwakarma
Strategy to kill Vajranabh
Jara, you are not to be blamed!
3. THE CHARMER
The toddler who showed cosmos
Charmer of Gopis
Stealer of robes
Charmer of Lord Shiv
Charmer of Animals
A devotee named Surasa
Who are you, dear friend?
Blessed Pishacha Ghantakarn
Charmer of Yogis
Markandeya in Ekarnava
Shukadeva rose from Samadhi
Resurrecting Parikshita
A bewildered Narad
The master charmer in fury
Charmer purifies the cursed ones
God meditates on Devotee
Beloved of all
Sporting with Muni Uttanka.
Neelamadhav plays hide and seek
Deluded devotee Indradyumn
Lord Srikrishn stands as witness
Jagannatha arranges wedding
Jagannatha arranges wedding
Gopal the poor brother
I shall eat salt less food insisted Lord Vishnu
Radha alone knows his cure
True lover dreads not even hell
Love is the tastiest of all foods
4. THE PERFECTIONIST
The Son
Miracle of hurling Shakat
Liberating Trinavarta
UNION WITH PARENTS
Unique son of Devaki
The Brother
Let sister elope
Brother in law of Durvasa
Amazing uncle
The Husband
An ardent suitor
Marrying all willing brides
Teasing Rukmani
Pleasing Satyabhaama
The House Holder
Mesmerizing Narad
Sporting at sea
Penalizing Samb
The Warrior
Routing Hans and Dimbhak
Rescuing daughters of Brahmdatta
The Lover
Testimony of love
Lovers meditate.
The Father
Samb the eloper
The Grandfather
Chitralekha kidnapped Anniruddha
The King
Search for Syamantak Mani
Rescuing Bhanumati
The Social Reformer
Worship one that sustains you
The champion feminist.
Marry for perfection, counsels Lord Srikrishn
The Disciple
Offering unique gurudakshina
Seeking wisdom from mother earth
The Friend
Redeeming Draupadi
Shower on Sudama
The Saviour
Draupadi’s darling
Pandav in exile
Attack of Bhagadatt foiled
Amazing Charioteer
The Jagad Guru
Enlightening Arjun
Consoling Ganga
Appeasing Yuddhisthir
Pacifying Radha
Preaching Uddhav
The Diplomat
Helping enemies together
The Mighty Messenger
Coaxing Karn
Thwarting the scheme of Gandhari
Duping Bhishm
Slaying Dronacharya
Slaying Karn
Slaying Duryodhan
Honouring curse of Gandhari
The Enemy
Dreadful Kans
Magnanimous Jarasandha
Imposter Paundrak
Envious Shishupala
Officious Shrigala
5. THE YOGESHWAR
What is yog?
Imbalance causes sickness
Balancing is yog
Lord Srikrishn's command
Lord Brahma too meditated
Origin of Devanagari
Gita and Mahabharat
All are Lord Brahma
Expansion of Brahmanda
The Five Sheaths
The Causal Body
Choosing a Path
Seven Skies
Golok is within
Life after Death
How is he so amazing?
Arjun, can you do it?
Where is life without Yogeshwar?
6. PROPOUNDER OF LAW
The Kaalachakra
Solving Parvati's dilemma
Lord Brahma in Quandary
Moulding Arjun
An Ascetic father
Redeeming king Nriga
Foiling Narayanstra
Dhritarashtra pounced on Bhim
Jubilation at death
Killing Jayadrath
Defeating Bhishm
Yuddhisthir faints
7 THE ANNIHILATOR OF PRIDE
Ashamed Lord Brahma
Asuras baffle Lord Shiv
Sati in sheer confusion
Parvati's elation scuttled
Indra's Blunder
Surya challenged by Asuras
Agni's Fiasco
Sage Durvasa tastes humiliation
Dhanavantari's debacle
Satyabhama’s pride shattered
Clearing Khandav Forest
A Mongoose chides Pandav
8. THE ETERNAL & ULTIMATE MAN
Demonstration by Buddha
Veracity of Bhagwadgita
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Mira who floored men's pride
Ramkrishn Paramhans
Lord Srikrishn descends to take my mother
Gita is mother of spiritual seekers
Abuse Me Please
