Shree Rama and Shree Krishna.

[Guest guest]

Dear friends and devotees,

 

Bhakti is eternal.

 

I would like to share with you the following message received from Sri

Shivashankara Rao.

 

SHREE RAMA AND SHREE KRISHNA

 

Both Rama and Krishna are dear to us as incarnations in human form. They can

also be considered as human beings of extraordinary capacities and who, by

constant effort elevated themselves as God. If that human element is removed,

they cannot be our models.

Rama is synonymous with Parabrahma. Rama means Ramaneeya, Ananda and ananda is

Brahma. " aanandO bramEti vyajaanaat " says taittareeya. Krishna means one who

attracts, one who brushes us up, one who cleanses, one who wakes us up. So,

Krishna makes us study himself.

Rama is more respectable, Krishna is more lovable. While Rama is adorable and

towering, Krishna is like a friend and easy to approach.

 

THEIR TIME

 

Shreerama belonged to Threthaayuga and people during those days were more

disciplined, faithful and the customs etc., were followed rigidly. Krishna's

Dwaapara was a time full of suspicions. " sandEha dwaaparow caata " says the

Amarakosha. No one believed the other and so, Krishna's task of establishing

Dharma at such times was definitely more difficult. So, the intelligent moves

that were necessary for him was not required for Rama. Dharma cannot exist in a

vacuum. It has to exist in human society. There is an instance in Mahaabharata

wherein Arjuna declares that he would kill Karna on that particular day and

fails to do so. Yudhistira cajoles him and says, " Throw your Gaandeeva out " .

Arjuna immediately gets angry and says that he would kill anybody who insults

his Gaandeeva. Krishna at that moment says, " Arjuna, You do not know what Dharma

is " and goes on to narrate the story of Koushika, a sage who uttered the truth

and became responsible for the death of an innocent person at the hands of

thugs. He goes on to explain that sometimes, by truth, untruth gets an upper

hand. So, dharma has to be decided based on the particular situation. This is

the basis on which Krishna has to be understood.

 

THEY WERE HISTORICAL FIGURES WITH EPIC CHARACTERISATION

 

We cannot consider that both of them were imaginary characters. Vyaasa and

Valmiki just wrote their epics based on living personalities, of course mixed

with the navarasas to make their works beautiful. This was necessary for the

poets to see that they enter the hearts of the readers. If they had written

these stories as just reports (like in history), they would not become universal

and would not stay for long. So, we should consider Rama and Krishna as epic

heroes with a firm historical foundation. The great poets had the capacity to

tell a story which is good for humanity with a palatable taste. As Eeshaavaasya

Upanishad tells us, " hirNmayEna paatrEna satyasyaapi hitam mukham " is the method

adopted.

 

GIST IMPORTANT, NOT EXTERNAL SHAPE

 

To enjoy and learn from an epic, we should take the gist and forget the

externals. One should not question whether there could a man with ten heads,

whether monkeys could talk like humans, whether a snake can bow to the one who

danced on its head, whether a man can manage thousands of wives etc. Anyone who

wants to enjoy an epic should have an attitude of " willing suspension of

disbelief " .

 

KRISHNA NEARER TO US

 

While Rama's period was more balanced, Krishna's was a special situation.

Krishna's period is nearer to us. Kaliyuga is the child of the Dwaapara. The

injustice of Dwaapara has increased now. So, the divine has to take another

avathaara now to set right so many incongruities.

 

An interesting story:-

 

Someone asked Swami Chandrashekharabharathi as to why God has not incarnated

despite so much of adharma in the society. He jokingly replied that in other

yugas, there were a few demons who crossed limits and god could kill them and

restore dharma. But now if God takes an avathaara, whom to kill and whom to

protect? god may be confused!!

 

With love and regards,

 

Sastry