Easy Method for Realising Krishna

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Hare Krishna,

Chanting the Divine names has been recommended in the scriptures as the antidote to all the sins of man. Besides, in this age when it has become difficult to adopt the other methods like penance and sacrifices to realise God, the method of singing Lord Krishna's names in the form of hymns or repeating them as in Japa, will bestow the same result. There are no stringent regulations regarding how the names should be chanted. They can be handled by anyone at any time.

The authority often cited to substantiate this is Bhishma's elucidation to Yudishtra when he expounded the various aspects of Dharma to him after the Mahabharata war. Yudishtra was dejected that so many lives had been lost in the war and he felt that he was directly responsible for it and sought advice from Krishna about what he must do to expiate for the sins he had incurred in the war. The Lord assured him that he had only discharged his duty and told him to approach Bhishma who was awaiting his end and learn the intricacies of Dharma from him.

When they reached Bhishma lying on a bed of arrows and Krishna expressed the purpose of their visit, the elder had a mysterious smile on his face and remarked how he could dilate on Dharma when He, the Supreme One, the repository of all knowledge and wisdom was there before him. There is a lot of significance in Bhishma's observation. The Pandavas who had the guidance and friendship of Lord Krishna throughout their lives and especially during the war, when He had assumed the role of Arjuna's charioteer, had because of their proximity often lost sight of the fact that He was the Supreme One.

Yudishtra consulted Krishna always and hence he should not have entertained any remorse about the outcome of the war. Arjuna also had even after listening to Krishna's discourse before the commencement of the war lost his nerve when he had to fight with Bheeshma. His love for the elder clouded his intellect and he could not put up an equal fight and it appeared as though he would willingly lose.

Krishna became very angry and mounted from His chariot, ‘Chakra’ in hand to take on Bheeshma. This brought Arjuna to his senses as Krishna had vowed not to fight in the war. He did not want to be responsible for Krishna breaking His promise and terrified of the consequences, fell at His feet and sought His pardon. Bhishma expounded the intricacies of Dharma to Yudishtra in the presence of Lord Krishna and it was at this

instance that the elder sang the Vishnu Sahasranama hymn identifying Krishna as the Supreme One.

One will perhaps wonder why the Lord who is the truth Himself asked another person to expound on it when He could have easily explained it to Yudishtra. There is a great significance to this action of the Lord . Spiritual tradition reiterates that there is greater merit when the truth is expounded by His devotee because he is dear to Lord Krishna and he elucidates this from his self- experience.

It is for this reason that of the two important expositions of truth in the Mahabharata, the hymn Vishnu Sahasranama is held in greater esteem than the Bhagavad Gita though the Lord Himself taught this. The hymn was sung by the great devotee Bhishma in the presence of Lord Krishna Himself and it was specially taught to Yudishtra who was the very personification of Dharma. It was written by Veda Vyasa, a great sage and compiler of the Vedas, who is revered as a manifestation of Lord Vishnu.

Parasara Bhattar of the Srivaishnava tradition, in his commentary on this hymn, adduces more reasons to highlight the hymn's merit. The hymn according to him is the quintessence of the Mahabharata. Each Divine name in this hymn was selected for the Lord by a different sage due to the fact that Lord Krishna derives great joy in the different forms and names that His devotees endow Him. Bhishma after dilating on several aspects of Dharma finally pointed out that Lord Krishna was the supreme Dharma.

Further, the glory of the Divine name and the efficacy of chanting it for realising Krishna have been underscored in the Vishnu Sahasranama. Many great sages like Sanatkumara and Narada had advocated this method though they were men of great tapas and renunciation. The name ``Bhagavadguna Darpana'' given by Bhattar for his commentary gives the clue that it is Lord Krishna’s auspicious qualities (Guna) which are glorified in this hymn.

While the Gita highlighted devotion as the means to God - realisation after explaining at length all the associated concepts, the Vishnu Sahasranama guided the spiritual aspirant directly to chant the Divine names as the easy method for realising Krishna.

Please Chant:Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare HareAnd Be Happy.

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