Swami Sivananda Vani

[Guest guest]

On the auspicious occasion of Krishnaashtami is on 23/24 August 2008:

 

THE IDEAL OF THE SUPERMAN

By Swami Sivananda

 

Mysterious are the ways and many are the phases by which the universe

portrays itself as an organic oneness moving towards the realisation

of itself in the highest reach of Self-consciousness. Every breath

that flows from man, every movement of his limbs, every form of his

behaviour, is, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly,

an effort towards the reconstruction of his personality to suit a

better purpose, to bring about an easier condition of life with a

greater sense of freedom. Man represents a microscopic specimen of

what happens in the gigantic cosmos in a colossal grand scale. The

aspirations, the changes in the forms of consciousness, the efforts

towards unity, freedom and the greatest happiness in the greatest

quantity possible, which are seen to be vigorously active in man, can

also be seen to be busy in the fulfilment of the scheme of the cosmos.

In one’s own personal life, in family, in society, in the state, one

struggles to manifest a regular system and order, abolishing chaos and

confusion, an intense passion for the firm establishment of what seems

to be innate in the very consciousness of all beings, especially in

the self-conscious ones in whom the development of intelligence has

come to the stage of possessing the ability to know the difference

between right and wrong, true and false. The universe does the same

thing, with this difference, that, while man strives with insufficient

knowledge, the universe moves freely with unrestricted and direct

expression of the tendency to recognise and establish the highest

Truth, Goodness and Freedom in its infinite bosom.

 

The changes that take place in the parts are felt in the constitution

of the Whole. As every cell in the human body attempts to live in

accordance with the law that regulates the whole body, and as every

error on the part of a cell in the execution of its purpose brings

about a reaction from the entire body with the purpose of setting

aright the wrong that has taken place, so the Cosmic Law corrects the

errors on the part of the individuals constituting the cosmos. Small

errors cause mild reactions and great errors cause tremendous

reactions. So does a great virtue bring about a great change. Even the

so-called unheeded acts in the grosser world cause mighty vibrations

in the subtler region. There is nothing in all the different planes of

the universe which is not known in the ether of consciousness in a

very intense manner. God, the Supreme Consciousness, is the highest

Law and Order, and when things go against this Eternal System, He

shall correct this wrong immediately, then and there, in that length

of time and with that mode of operation which will best fit that

particular kind, that nature and that form of wrong. God incarnated

Himself as Sri Krishna to effect such a change.

 

Bhagavan Sri Krishna is the immortal manifestation of God in all His

splendour, that man was ever given the fortune to behold. Man! Blessed

thou art, that hast visualised with thy fleshly eyes the mighty

Dignity of the Supreme Sovereign of the Universe! Thou art purified;

thy birthright is to realise Him; thy fortune is a part of His

Greatness! Sri Krishna may be called the " Collective Man " , who

represented all beings hungering and thirsting to gain the Highest

Freedom and who voiced forth their deepest aspirations in the loudest

possible tone. He came to release man from the thraldom of vice and

correct his vision so that he could walk along the ever-illumined path

to perfection. Sri Krishna is the articulation of the pure longings

that are buried in the hearts of people. Sri Krishna is not merely a

historical man who came and went, like others, but the Eternal Purusha

who dwells even now and shall live in the everlasting future, in the

core of all manifestation. It is the Symbol of the Absolute descended

into relativity that we call Krishna, the ever-beloved protector of

all that breathe and air.

 

Sri Krishna came to reorganise and reconstruct the society of beings

on the basis of Dharma. Dharma is the manner by which one directly or

indirectly abides and lives in conscience with the Law of the

Universal Whole. That which is conducive, in whatever way, either

immediately or ultimately, to the experience of absolute independence

is Dharma. Mankind forgot the Law, groped in darkness, committed

blunders and managed to disturb the equilibrium and harmony of the

Universe. There was a reaction from the Whole, to bring back the

universe to its essential and natural equilibrium, and the result is

Sri Krishna. So Sri Krishna is called an Avatara, a descent of God in

the world, of the Whole in the parts, of the Absolute in the relative.

An Avatara is different from a Rishi or a Jivanmukta who represents an

ascent of man to God, whereas the Avatara is a descent of God to man,

consciously and deliberately. Sri Krishna lived the universal life,

laughed a universal laughter, and walked on earth as the moving Spirit

of the universe. To worship Him is to be in the Presence of God; to

know Him is to realise the Self.

 

In Sri Krishna we find the blending of the Supreme Spirit and the

Supreme Law, as a difference in unity and as a unity in difference.

Sri Krishna can be characterised as one who, with the majesty of a

Seer and a Divine Incarnation, touched God above and the earth below.

The universe is the Glory and the Law of the Absolute in concrete

manifestation. Law is the manner in which the Indivisible one appears

and exists as the divided many. In Sri Krishna, the relative rarefies

into the Absolute, and the Absolute fades away into the relative. The

gorgeous prince and the austere sage embrace each other in Sri

Krishna. In Him man and God see each other, as it were, and the world

recognises its Maker. Power and Wisdom reach their climax, the earth

and the heavens greet one another and peace and joy reach

super-abundance in our benign Lord, Sri Krishna. Dharma and Bhrama

become one, the universe becomes the sport of the Divine, when the

Lila Purushottama, Sri Krishna, hoists the flag of the Infinite in the

region that is mundane, and reports Himself as the representative of

the Eternal among the non-eternal. The dictum that " Truth alone

triumphs, and not falsehood " is picturesquely illustrated in the deeds

of Sri Krishna. The power behind virtue, the spirit behind goodness,

the truth behind the apparent success of evil has been demonstrated

through dramatic scenes in Sri Krishna’s unfailing support to the

Pandava brothers. Here He is, with everyone, as the Eternal Companion;

only He must be looked to for help.

 

What a grand life! The householder and the Sannyasin, the great

enjoyer and the great renouncer, the child and the sagacious, the

sportive and the contemplative, the human and the Divine, melt

together in the menstruum of Sri Krishna and exist as One! Truly, God

is All, and to God all are one. " He is woman and He is man; He is boy

and He is girl; He is the old one tottering with a stick; He exists

pervading all things " (Svetasvatara Upanishad, IV-3). Sri Krishna’s

life is a standing example of the omnipresence, omniscience and

omnipotence of God, of the fact of Divine Grace and of individual

instrumentality in the evolution and involution of the universe. His

life is a pattern of life perfect, of the attainment of the ideal of

the Superman, of the philosopher-statesman, the sage-administrator,

the human realisation in life of the divine Transcendental Reality.

Sri Krishna, as the ideal Superman, shows in His life the way and the

goal of life of all, explains how to live and why to live. Life should

aim at the direct knowledge and experience of the Absolute, and it

should be lived in a way which does not, at any stage, violate the

principle of this eternal Law, but affirms it in every walk of life.

 

Beloved aspirants! Celebrate the birthday of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the

sacred Janmashtami, making it an occasion for you to turn over a new

leaf, to start afresh Sadhana for God-realisation, with added vigour

and greater effort, utilise the day and night of Sri

Krishna-Janmashtami for prayer, Japa, worship and meditation. Be pure.

Be virtuous. Be sincere. Apply yourself with firm faith and strength

of will. Yield not to beguilements and threats. Move on forward with

confidence and determination. You shall succeed in achieving life’s

Supreme Goal. The Grace of the Almighty is ever with you.

 

Peace be to you all! May the mighty Grace of Lord Sri Krishna flow

through your hearts and prepare you for the memorable regeneration in

the Spiritual Consciousness! May your efforts towards Self-realisation

be crowned with glorious success! May you attain Kaivalya Moksha!