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A Krishna Consciousness

It's a story that most of us know by heart but the birth of krishna symbolises a bigger reality

Krishna Krishna represents Brahman or 'God consciousness'. Being in touch with your consciousnesss is what spiritual health is all about. Krishna avatar is synonymous with self-realisation. Normally desires and negative thoughts cloud our consciousness and this veil represents ignorance. The journey to self-realisation involves removal or shedding of this ignorance which can only be done by the eight spiritual principles defined by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. These are yama (self control), niyama (self-disciplane), asanas (bodily postures), pranayama (control of breath), pratihara (one-pointed), dhyana (contemplation) and samadhi (self-realisation).

Ignorance is symbolised by a prison, which represents darkness, narrow-mindedness (small entry gate); limitedness (small room). Or things that keep the mind, body and soul in prison-like conditions. The chain in the prison means the bondage of lust, greed , desires and the ego.

Birth of Krishna in the prison means self-realisation born out of ignorance. Self-realisation born out of ignorance. Self-realisation can be acquired only by adhering to the eight principles of ashtangyoga with tapas (abhyasa) or hard work. Sri Krishna, born, as the eight child of Devaki, represents tapas of eight limbs of yoga. Self-realisation i.e. the eighth step, can only occur after the first seven steps are successfully negotiated and the mind is purified in the process.

In the state of samadhi, there is spontaneous birth of the self. In this state (sama = equal ; dhi = intelligence) one controls equality. You balance yourself between the good and the bad.

The symbolism is that as Krishna was born, the chains that bound his father fell, the doors that had been bolted flew open and the prison guards suddenly went into deep sleep. While the father, Vasudeva, took the child and went to Gokul. Around the same time, Yashoda, the consort of Nanda, gives birth to a female child.

The chains here imply the bondage to the external world and the five senses. A self-realised person is free of these bondages. The opening of gates means, control over lust, desire, greed and attachments. The sleeping guards stand for all that's asleep in the self.

The thunderstorm, the rain and the fire all represent the internal turmoil of the uncontrolled desires and hatred. The moment Krishna's feet touch the turbulent waters, everything settles. The lesson is that by turning towards your consciousness you can calm the self.

Controlling the ego is depicted by the snake sitting over the basket and guarding Krishna. The girl represents the mayashakti, that is killed by Kansa (the ego).

Krishna Controlling your desires and vasnas is easy but controlling your ego is the most difficult thing. That is what is represented by the fact that at the times of Lord Krishna's birth, Kansa still remained alive. It took many years for Krishna (self-realised state) to kill to the ego (Kansa).

Thus, acquiring a state of self-realisation is not the ultimate goal inlife. After self-realisation if your ego controls you, you can misuse your spiritual power. The ultimate aim in life should then be to kill the ego, which is what Krishna ultimately did.

Health is not defined as the mere absence of disease but as a state of physical, mental, social, spiritual and environmental well-being. Attaining mental and spiritual health is one of the most important aims in maintaining good health. The same can be achieved only by controlling the triads of mind, intellect and ego on one side and gear, attachments and anger on the other. One of the ways is to realise the scientific aspect of religion. Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have scientific basis. The birth of Krishna similarly has a Vedantic basis which depicts the principles of acquiring spiritual health.


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