We Remember Krishna
Krishna, Lord
Narayana
Narrated by Arjuna the Pandava
Remember,
you are mine and I am yours. And who strikes you, strikes me also.
You come from me, and I from you, and
there is no one who can understand the difference between us.
-Krishna
to Arjuna
Of all people who know
Krishna, I perhaps know him best, because I know
him not just in this life, in which I am Arjuna and he is Krishna, but
also in past lives. In fact, in a sense we are the same person, because
at one time I was Nara, the human soul of Vishnu, while Krishna was
Narayana, the divine soul. Together we were the fifth avatar,
or reincarnation, of Vishnu.
Considering this, it's
no wonder that when I first met Krishna (in
this life), I knew there was something
familiar about him, but I couldn't quite figure out why. I was unable
to completely remember my past lives and relationship with Krishna, but
bits and
pieces of memories returned to me as I spent more time with him. During
the time that I and my brothers were exiled from Hastinapura, I was
intrigued by these
memories,
so I went to stay with Krishna at Dwaraka. He welcomed me as a
long-lost brother, and helped me remember our past friendship. While
staying in Krishna's house, I met his beautiful sister Subhadra, and I
instantly fell in love with her. Krishna's encouragement gave me
the confidence to court her; thus Krishna and I became brothers through
marriage.
Right before the battle, my thoughts led me almost to despair. I looked
out at the ranks of the enemy and saw, not enemies, but friends and
family, people who had at one time loved me, and whom I should love. My
heart contracted within my chest, and I felt incapable of advancing.
It was then that Krishna saved me from cowardice masquerading as good
intentions. He explained to me in beautiful, holy phrases, the Bhagavad Gita, or the Song of the Lord. He spoke me with
the kindness of a true friend and teacher, without making me feel
ignorant; he was filled with joy at being able to speak these truths to
me, and eager that I too should be filled with the joy that comes from
true knowledge and wisdom.
It is impossible to fully explain the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita; only Krishna himself
can teach his devotees. However, I can tell you some of the truths,
beautiful in their simplicity, that he revealed to me. One of the
central truths is the perseverance and fortitude of carrying out one's
duty without being distracted. Other desires, like lust or pride, or
even good intentions, like not wanting to hurt a friend, can tempt us
to neglect our duties and keep us from worshipping Krishna properly.
Then Krishna revealed himself in all his divine glory, appearing in his
true, multidimensional form. When Krishna appears this way, it is
impossible to look away; he fills tiny humans with his presence. Blind
men like Dhritarashtra regain their sight, wicked men feel burned by
his glance, his faithful devotees feel fulfilled in their great, pure
desire to be united with him.
Well, you know the rest of the story...how, with Krishna's help, we
defeated the Kauravas and returned to our rightful places as rulers of
Hastinapura. If you are wondering how this story, magnificent as it may
be, relates to you, the answer is in the Bhagavad Gita. You might think that
the example you find in Krishna and me is irrelevant to your life,
because we are
kings and warriors. However, in order to follow our example, you do not
have to have the same purpose in life. A virtuous person is one who
fulfills his duty, whatever that may happen to be, depending on his
circumstances.
Just as Krishna helped me, I hope that this story will give you a
glimpse of Krishna's wisdom that will encourage and strengthen you.
Author's note: I changed a few details of Arjuna's story, mostly for
artistic reasons:
When describing Arjuna's marriage to Subhadra, I omitted the fact that
he abducted her, because that would have created a negative impression
that I didn't have time to correct. Of course it was not an actual
abduction, although he did carry her away, because she was willing and
happy to marry him. Also, there is definitely a precedent for obtaining
a bride this way (see Rukmini's Story, in
which Krishna himself is the
abducter); it's a normal and accepted tradition in Indian literature in
a way that it is
not in Western culture.
In the story of how Krishna came to be an ally of the Pandavas, I
omitted the first bit (how Arjuna entered after Durodhana, and sat at
Krishna's feet, and Krishna seeing Arjuns first when he awoke, etc.)
because I assume most who are reading this storybook will have come
across that story already. For other readers, I felt the details were
not relevant to the story I wanted to tell, which focuses more on
Arjuna's thoughts and feelings.
I have of course vastly oversimplified the Bhagavad Gita. As it encompasses
the Hindu philosophy on the moral life, I could not hope to even
summarize
it here. However, I hope this very general summary gave you a taste of
what it
is like, and a desire to learn more. There are many excellent resources
online; Wikipedia might be a good starting place for a general overview
and links to other sources.
Contents
Coverpage
Introduction
Yasoda's
Story
Radha's
Story
Rukmini's
Story
Arjuna's Story
*********
Bibliography
Arjuna,
Wikipedia article
Bhagavad Gita,
Wikipedia article
Nara-Narayana,
Wikipedia article
Mahabharata, by William Buck. (University of California
Press,
Berkeley: 1973)
The Mahabharata, by R.K. Narayan. (Vision Books, New Delhi: 1987)
Image
Information, top to bottom
Krishna Preaching the Gita to Arjuna, Dolls of India online
art store
Arjuna and Subhara, Dolls
of India online art store
Krishna reveals his Vshvarupa,
Bhagavad Gita Wikipedia
article