Krishna: the beloved of the masses
At this year’s Janmashtmi festivities I was fortunate enough to be attend two separate celebrations. Both of the mandirs which I visited were fast running out of space to sit. Devotees of all ages had travelled from near and far, where they gathered to take part in the celebrations.
What is it about Krishna that makes him so popular? To a sizeable range of age groups? To people with completely different lifestyles and upbringings? To His devotees born at different ages?
September 28th, 2007 at 7:56 am
Hare Krsna!
What I think it is about Krishna is that for alot of people he is a ’seen’ god. He is a very peaceful god and alot of people are drawn to him because of his respect for animals and much more. For me personally it is this as I am an animal lover so of course I am drawn to a spirituality that rejects the eating of meat.
September 29th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
i like krishna because he was a heroic warrior-philosopher and highest upholder of dharma.
the fag image of krishna that is promoted by organizations like ISKCON should be banned because its really an insult to such a great virile warrior like shri krishna.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Sir, Krishna is one deity that provides us true guidance on how to live a useful and purposeful life. He himself lead a full life and did everything that a man does or should do when growing up. Then a statesman and a warrior he has given us the most practical philosophy and the message of which is to rise to the occassion and to do what was expecyed of us as a part of our duty. Devinder Thakur
October 5th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I totally agree with Thukurji. Krishna has done everything under the sun, he has been cute, boyish, handsome, which is why he is loved by women and he has been knowledgable, rather, the creater of knowledge, heroic and diplomatic - which is why he is loved by men and business men!!
October 8th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Sorry, Cheran senguttuvan, fagg image of krishna?
What do you mean by this? Would u like to elaborate?
ISKCON is one of the few organisations that promotes Krishna properly. If you ever made the effort to read the Bhagavatam printed by ISKCON you would become aware that ISKCON presents the whole life of the Lord. So that also includes his pastimes as a King and Warrior in Dwarka. With your reference to ‘fagg image of Krishna’ i beleive you’re making reference to the Lord’s vrindavan pastimes where he flirts, dances and plays with the girls in Vrindavan. Why should anyone bann this? If you read the Bhagavatam and the philosophy you would probably know that Krishna’s romantic pastimes are the most significant, infact more than his ‘virile warrior’ pastimes.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:31 am
“ISKCON is one of the few organisations that promotes Krishna properly.”
Not really actually its totally the opposite.I’ve read plenty of their books and they’ve manipualted everything to suit their own sects agenda.They have destroyed Krishna’s image and message.Their version of the Gita is the worst interpertation there is and totally against the message itself. If we follow Iskcons message we’ll all end up dancing around like Gopis and thats what belief intends.And that definitely wasn’t the message he give to Arjun now did.Hindus need to apply logic then blindly believing anything without questioning it.
October 8th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
I bet this is a great image to inspire Hindus:
http://www.gita-society.com/images/krishna-christ.jpg
October 8th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Christian propaganda.
Sorry.
1) a poor introduction to Krishna is still an introduction. Hare Krishna
2) even a secularist should read the Gita as there is no holy book like it in the world scriptures - a dialogue with man and God with questions and answers that are universal. The closest thing in content is the Tao Te Ching but even this is without a true dialogue where the human says things like: Hey, you said x now your saying y and that makes no sense, explain it. Hare Krishna
3) the vision of Krishna is that all rishis and gods are bowing to Krishna. Krishna Krishna
4) the picture referred to above suggests egalitarianism and Krishna on the left side, this is not be chance. Hare Hare
5) christians often use such images to legitimize their beliefs before they go about killing off the so called equal - note jews for christ. Hare Rama
6) the christian intent is to no less than destroy the vision and dialogue of Krishna, to breed ignorance, and then to profit by it. Hare Rama
7) Krishna teaches that we must be discriminatory in our intellect between right and wrong; thus not deluded by misteachings. Hare Rama
8) This includes seeing that different persons and different life stages have their own divinity in action. Rama Rama
9) Hare Hare.
If I am Ignorant and lost in darkness, any light will be great. As I grow and understand light, I seek the source of light - Tat savitur.
Hariaum
October 8th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
A few points from my article on Sri Krishna Janmashtami 2007.
Sri Krishna’s birthday falls on the ashtami or eighth day of the dark half of the month of Bhadrapada (August-September). 04 September 2007 is the 5234th Janma-Divas (birthday) of Sri Krishna. On this day, 5234 years ago (or 3227 BCE, Before Common Era), Krishna appeared in this world as avatar of Vishnu (Supreme God) to protect the righteous people (His devotees) and destroy the wicked, and reestablish the Dharma (righteousness). Krishna gave us the vital message of the Bhagavad Gita—the guiding principles for every mankind.
Krishna stayed for 125 years and left this mortal world in 3102 BCE, 35 years after the Kurukshetra War. The Kali Yoga (present Iron Age) started with the disappearance of Krishna. These dates are calculated based on the new data from archaeology, astronomical data contained in the Mahabharata, Puranas, and Surya-Siddhanta; and are accepted by the Indian as well as western scholars. Krishna is a historial personality, and not a mythological figure, as colonial historians used to depict.
Though Krishna appeared in a human body, He had a divine body not composed of five elements or pancha-bhutas (i.e. akasha or space, vayu or air, prithvi or earth, agni or fire and apah or water). He did not take any birth here in the usual sense of the term. He did not die. He appeared and disappeared through His Yoga-Maya (supernatural way) as He has declared in the Bhagavad Gita.
Krishna - The all-attractive personality:
Sri Krishna is complete personality in every aspects, that is why He is known as the ‘Purna Purushottam.’ He was great in knowledge, great in emotion, great in action, all at once. The sastras (scriptures) have not recorded any life more full, more intense, more sublime and grander than the life of Sri Krishna. Millions of spiritual seekers worship Him and repeat the mantra: Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.
As an all-attractive Personality of Godhead, Krishna attracted His devotees all through time and place. Devotees built mandirs (temples) and monuments in His honor, composed beautifully garlanded verses in His praise, painted all-pleasing aesthetically marveled images of His Divine avatar, created movements to spread His eternal philosophy of love and compassion, dancing to the tone of His name with a single-minded devotion to return back to Godhead.
Sri Vallabhacharya (1479-1531), a contemporary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534), eloquently described Krishna’s sweetness and all-attractiveness in his magnificent composition Madhurashtakam (adharam madhuram vadanam madhuram … mathurâ dhipate rakhilam madhuram, “Sweet are Your lips, sweet is Your face…O Lord of Mathura, everything about You is sweet!”). Both of them dedicated their lives for the spread of bhakti path to realize God.
Swami Ramdas (1884-1963) described, “Krishna is an avatar of perfect love. The word Krishna is derived from akarshana which means attraction. So the name itself signifies that Krishna is the Supreme Truth, manifest in human form, to attract the whole world towards Him.”
O Krishna! Lead me from the unreal to the real
Lead me from the darkness to light
Lead me from death to immortality.
May there be peace, peace, and perfect peace.
Om Tat Sat!
October 8th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
yea thats what i said, fag image. you become what you worship. and that is a falsified image of krishna.
i wudnt be surprised to see pritesh patel wearing sari and dancing and clapping in the streets wearin lipstick like a total hijra.
http://www.gita-society.com/images/krishna-christ.jpg
isnt tht a very accurate representation of krishna by iskcon??
ur all a bunch of conners, better watch out, kranti is coming.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Dear cheran
Regardless of what Isckon or Pritesh Patel believe, I don’t think you are doing any good to your image by using such cheap language here!
The image of Krishna is so complex, that not many have done justice to it.
Isckon (and I am not a follower of it) may potray Krishna in their own way, but what they have achieved is remarkable in the field of education and social service. It may have negative aspects, questionable beliefs, but it doesn’t give you a right to demean their believer.
Something that you got to learn from Krishna himself - if you insult someone, you degenerate your own self.
October 9th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Dear Friends,
Namaste/Hare Krishna!
Let we agree to disagree others viewpoints. Krishna belong to none, He is Eternal; at the same time He belong to all who worship Him, love Him. Krishna resides in the hearts of all beings, those who believe Him and those who don’t.
About Iskcon:
Srila Prabhupada and his foundation Iskcon has done most visible and wonderful work for the Vedic Sanatan Dharma, after Swami Vivekananda. Prabhupada made it possible for the world to get the message of Bhagavad-Gita in almost all the languages of the world. Now, we can see devotees of Krishna in every corner of the globe, every continents, every regions and almost every nations. Vedic rishis wanted Vedic dharma and culture to spread all over the world to transform the mankind into noble beings (arya). Krishna just don’t belong to Bharat/India and Hindus, He belong to everywhere, to every person/beings.
>>isnt tht a very accurate representation of krishna by iskcon??
This is not Iskcon website. That site run by someone in the USA. Visit the main site and see it by yourself. Iskcon sites are full of Krishna images, Radha-Krishna images.
Those who have misgivings about Iskcon, I requests them to visit nearby Krishna mandirs/temples of Iskcon and understand their perspectives and ways. Don’t jumped into conclusions by hearsay. I learned many things by visiting Iskcon-run Krishna mandir, they celebrate every tiny aspects of Krishna and Radha so marvelous way, true Vedic way. They do everything with great shraddha (faith) and bhakti (devotion).
There are many ways to reach the same goal; that is what Veda teaches us:
Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadandi (Truth is One, wise men/rishis call it by different names).
Those who taking names of Krishna, all are worshiping Him in their own ways. That is why, we are fortunate followers of Sanatan Dharma (Eternal dharma), with no dogmas or secterian views.
May Krishna bless us all!
October 9th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Hare Krishna’s are total nutters, “ISCON” is more apt than “IKSCON” for these lot.
“Krishna just don’t belong to Bharat/India and Hindus, He belong to everywhere, to every person/beings.”
Typical cultish behavior, who said anything about Sri Krishna belonging to only Bharat?
October 10th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
“About Iskcon:
Srila Prabhupada and his foundation Iskcon has done most visible and wonderful work for the Vedic Sanatan Dharma, after Swami Vivekananda. Prabhupada made it possible for the world to get the message of Bhagavad-Gita in almost all the languages of the world. ”
Vivekananda is totally hated by Iskconites as he’s supposed to be mayavadi or something.They hate all other Hindus who follow different patg and their Gita is one of the worst interpertations of Krishnas message.
“Now, we can see devotees of Krishna in every corner of the globe, every continents, every regions and almost every nations.”
This is total nonsense.If apply that logic then people selling cocaine are having more success as you can find them on everystreet in every country but then that doesn’t mean its right.
“Vedic rishis wanted Vedic dharma and culture to spread all over the world to transform the mankind into noble beings (arya). Krishna just don’t belong to Bharat/India and Hindus, He belong to everywhere, to every person/beings. ”
Of course Vedic Rishis wanted Sanathana Dharma to spread around the world but not Iskcons version where they say they’re not Hindus one sec but the next when they need money they suddenly become Hindus.
“Those who have misgivings about Iskcon, I requests them to visit nearby Krishna mandirs/temples of Iskcon and understand their perspectives and ways. Don’t jumped into conclusions by hearsay. ”
Actually the reason I know what I’m talking about is that I’ve been to Iskcon temples for years and know many devotees and I’ve seen what really goes on behind the scenes.Unless they are ready to reform they are dangerous and a trojan horse within Hindu society.
“I learned many things by visiting Iskcon-run Krishna mandir, they celebrate every tiny aspects of Krishna and Radha so marvelous way, true Vedic way. They do everything with great shraddha (faith) and bhakti (devotion). ”
Lord Krishna wanted warriors and not dancing gopis around everywhere.
October 10th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
ISKCON are a con. They say they are Hindus when they wnat money but at the same time say they are not. Their version of Krishna might as well be Jesus, Muhammad or Mao Tse Tung. It is not the Krishna beloved of the masses but a cosmic Fuhrer, a Stalin, who demnads total obedience eg. women have got smaller brains than men, no meat because Krishna demands it (not because all life is sacred), working is bad (so how do the lazy cult get their money then), etc.
Keep ISKCON out like rabies.
October 10th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
I think the monastic traditions are bunk. I think the sects that don’t allow their gurus to see women are bunk. I think that a group that calls itself Hindu but doesn’t use political power to further the cause of Hindus is bunk.
Let’s face it, there is a lot of bunk in our tradition. (I suspect there is a lot more malicious bunk in other traditions - religion of peace, god of mercy, communists see all people as equal…).
But I side here with ISKCON. When I was growing up in the US the only mandirs I knew about was ISKCON. I only heard about Vedanta and Vivekananda at Uni. I hardly heard about Aurobindo or Krishnamurti at all. My turn to Hinduism, frankly, preceded my awareness of ISKCON and I was lucky to have a brother that happened to have a series of Upanisads with Sankaracharaya’s commentary. I am also aware of some of the problems they have had as to cult v sanatana dharma, like Rajneesh, Sai Baba, etc. Thus I do not put all my eggs in the ISKCON basket at all. But I do believe, to use the cocaine model, life sucks if you don’t have Krishna consciousness. That religion is the opiate (or salve) of the people, that the best medicine is the truth. And thus I want my “drug dealers” pushing Krishna consciousness into all the corners of the world. For then at least they will be exposed and perhaps even encouraged to go beyond one guru.
As to the personalities of the ISKCON workers, they have been, in my experience, very kind and gentle. But then so have most Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Atheists I’ve met. Yet I am certain that the ideology of the one right way (as some ISKCONites clearly have) is itself very dangerous - himsic. The anecdotal experience is, unfortunately, charisma. Truth is beyond that.
hariaum
October 10th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Namaste all,
I would not be too harsh like many of you. No matter how narrow are they, they practice our culture (Bharatiya Vedic samskriti) and worship our Icon, Bharatiya Icon, Sri Krishna and all the avatars of Vishnu. Even narrower way, they practicing our culture, spreading our culture and philosophy. And they are proud and happy, I respect their ways.
I am a follower of Vedic Sanatan Dharma (or Hindu Dharma). I visit HareKrishna mandir to pray to Sri Krishna or Jagannath. Its immaterial to me, how they perform rituals, how they practice and so on. Sanatan Dharma is universal, and not an organized cult like religions- Christianism and Mohamedism. So, there are diverse views and ways of worship. As Swami Vivekananda says, both theists and atheists have place in Hindu dharma. If someone falls from the dharma, it is our duty to liberate him.
Where there is hate, there is no dharma. And no one can win dharmic discourse with hate. Those Iskcon devotees hate others, they themselves don’t practice Krishna and His teachings. Krishna teaches love, compassion, not hate. I boldly say them, when I hear any wrong words. Vedic culture does not teach hatred, they have to learn that.
Yes, there are Krishna devotees in Iskcon with narrow mentality. Thats simply because, they are new to a faith (very align to their culture), and most of them are not well-educated. They are average and below average level literate people. They live in their own world following their new path. Moreover, new converts are always jealous of their new-found faith and behave aggressively (as child thinks knows more than the mother). Look, who are the christian missioanries work aggressively in India? All are neo-converts from India, not from western countries. Of course, they fund. Its Indian (Keralite, Tamil etc) neo-converts who go aggressively around to harvest souls. Not many western christians these days have zeal to go around for soul harvesting business.
Another point I wish to share: Sometime back I was requested to give a presentation on ‘Science and Religion’ by Iskcon devotees. I wanted to know what they wish to listen on such a serious topic. When they said presentation have to be within Prabhupada’s teachings and science, I politely refused. I can’t be a narrow dogmatic presenter, just to please them.
However, there are Krishna devotees in Iskcon I met, who have broad mind and not dogmatic. They lived in Bharat for several months or years and learned good enough about Hindu dharma and its diverse mode of worship. They politely ignore the fellow devotees, who are dogmatic. They are the educated one, who left christianity due to dogma and its low-level philosophy.
In Bharat, we have so much diversity in rituals and practices. Some worship ancestors, some worship trees as deities, river as deities, animals as deities and so on. That’s why its sanatan, all worships reach to the same Para Brahman. We the same person go to Krishna mandir in the morning, Shiva mandir in the evening and so on.
Lastly, I support and will support Iskcon (even though I don’t like many things) as they can do many good things what we Hindus can’t. They can go around different countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia (taking risks) with a Jaggannath ratha-yatra and preach Krishna Consciousness. They can be counter to christian missionaries in Bharat, as Iskcon is an organised movement. They are doing good enough social services in Bharat, Iskcon serves mid-day meals to over 30,000 school childrens in Mumbai, over 20,000 in Ujjain and so on. They have several projects in Bharat for Gow-raksha (cow-protection). Ultimately, they are preaching/practicing Bharatiya Vedic Culture and philosophy. No matter how narrowly.
Om Tat Sat.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
I just love Lord Krishna’s leadership throughout the Mahabharat. I don’t like the way ISCKON associate Lord Krishna with jesus or allah while ignoring Lord Shiva or Mataji. But I am grateful for ISCKON for providing a place for darshan in the middle of London for busy people like me.