In Hindu ideology, culture, and thought, Krishna is revered as a lighthearted and exuberant deity who is eternally at play with himself. As the master of play, the master of līlā, Krishna is said to delight in the elements of his own nature symbolically through his cosmic and earthly divine interaction with his śaktis manifested as a dance with the gopīs. This abstract relationship truly unfolds with an understanding of the nature of Krishna with respect to his līlā, an analysis of the four modes of devotion, or bhāvas, through which the devotee may approach Krishna, and, as an example, with a look into the most intimate kind devotional relationship attainable with Krishna using his relationship with the gopīs and with Rādhā as a module. Krishna’s …show more content…
In order of increasing intimacy, they are dāsya-bhāva, sakhya-bhāva, vātsalya-bhāva, and mādhurya-bhāva. Dāsya-bhāva, as the servant/master relationship between devotee and deity, highlights Krishna’s heroic, royal, and princely characteristics. Vasudeva Krishna, as the supreme lord of the universe, slayer of demons, and protector of the people, is the best representation of Krishna in this bhāva. Arjuna, who is awestruck by lord Krishna’s brilliant appearance in manifest form in the battle of the Mahabharata, is the best icon as the devotee following this model. Sakhya-bhāva describes a kindred, friendly relationship between deity and devotee. This model reveals Krishna’s adventurous, charismatic, playful, and amiable nature as a cherished friend. The gopas, or cowherd boys, are the iconic figures in Krishna’s līlā who best exhibit this bhāva. Vātsalya-bhāva relates a parental bond as a means of devotional service. As the sacred cow (go) cares for her calf (vatsa), a devotee following vātsalya-bhāva cares for Krishna. In vātsalya-bhāva, Krishna is celebrated as the playfully mischievous, beloved, endearing, and adorable butter thief, while his parents Nanda and Yasoda emulate the role of the iconic devotees. Mādhurya-bhāva, as the lover/beloved portrayal of devotion, highlights Krishna’s passionate, erotic, enticing, blissful, and charming aspects. Pairing with these elements of his nature are the models for this devotional service: the gopīs and most essentially Rādhā. Due to the nature in which the paradigm of erotic love has found expression, mādhurya-bhāva divides into two contrasting forms: the more broad, collective love-līlā of Krishna with the gopis, and the more private expression of Krishna’s love for
From the beginning of humankind, people have constantly had to deal with inner battles. Many of these issues cease to exist as time goes on, while new ones arise to take their place. There is one issue, however, that has remained consistent throughout time – morality. For centuries, humans have fought against the outside world and themselves to keep their morals properly aligned. The issue of morality is so dominant that it is still plays a vital role in today’s society. This can be seen in wars, law systems, codes of conduct, and religious texts. An example of a religious text where this can be seen is in pages 185 - 188 of the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna, also referred to as “The Blessed One”, guides Arjuna through his inner struggles between
In the chapter on Hinduism in Philip Novak’s book The World’s Wisdom the section titled “The Transmigration of the Soul” describes the Hindu concept of reincarnation, the wheel of life, and ultimately becoming one with god. The lines in this passage very concisely describe the Hindu concepts of Brahman, Atman, Samsara, Karma, Maya and Moksha (Molloy). I believe that these concepts are at the core of all of the expressions of the Hindu religion; which makes understanding this paragraph the key to having a basic understanding of the Hindu religion.
In Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, the protagonist is introduced to many people who had an influence on his growth; the two individuals having the largest impact on Siddhartha being Kamala and Vasudeva. Both of these characters taught him about the importance of love, first with the act of it, and finally with the feeling of love.
Nothing can be more life changing than when a god chooses to interact with a mortal man. Much of Greek mythology describes the natures of these interactions. The Olympian Gods meddle with the mortals they rule over constantly, but what is the result for these interactions, and how do they impact the mortals? The question that this paper tries to address is what is the nature of these divine interaction, and how does each side truly perceive each other? The Gods and mortals interact in a variety of ways, but the true natures of these interactions truly describe how the ancient Greeks perceived their gods.
The idol of Lord Krishna is always being seen in well dressed every time. Exquisitely worked jewels, some dating ba...
The Bhagavad-Gita, a portion of the great epic the Mahabharata, is the “most typical expression of Hinduism.” It is eighteen chapters long and was composed around the first century BCE. The sage Samjaya recites the story to the blind king Dhrtarastra, the father of the Kaurava princes. While presenting ideas of wisdom, duty, and liberation in the midst of the rivalry between the Kauravas, the Bhagavad-Gita epitomizes the teachings of Krishna. Focusing specifically on the moral struggle of the Pandava prince Arjuna, the Bhagavad-Gita’s major themes include yoga, karma, dharma, and moksa. Yoga, being discipline or the strict and “attentive cultivation of mental character and meaningful action” , is crucial to the text because it is dharma yoga, acting properly according to one’s dharma, and bhakti yoga, a disciplined life of devotion that allows one to achieve moksa, or liberation, one of the four aims of li...
Rajas is the mode of passion is born of cravings and desires, so the being is bound by material furtive actions. “Greed and constant activity, excessive projects, cravings, restlessness,” arise when Raja is the ruling mode (Mitchell 159). Actions done in the heat of passion can lead towards unplanned outcomes or even misery. Those in the mood Raja live on the earthly planets. When a being dies in the mood of passion, he birthed into life among those who are engaged in furtive activities on the earth. Since the being is so fixated on sexual acts, and achieving his desires, he becomes attached to the material life.
Sometimes religion can be a necessity for comfort. Over time, we may already possess our very own identities and then develop different ones after a tragedy. In order to easily move on from a plight, some sort of comfort or security is needed, whether its time, family, friends, a sport, or religion. In the novel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, one can clearly see the viewpoint of how Gogol’s life over time has evolved from American to Bengali. With the comfort of his Bengali life he’s able to push through the tragedy of his father’s death. However, apart from when Gogol needs his family and culture for comfort, he is simply a true American.
The Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the most famous, and definitely the most widely-read, ethical text of ancient India. As an episode in India's great epic, the Mahabharata, The Bhagavad Gita now ranks as one of the three principal texts that define and capture the essence of Hinduism; the other two being the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Though this work contains much theology, its kernel is ethical and its teaching is set in the context of an ethical problem. The teaching of The Bhagavad Gita is summed up in the maxim "your business is with the deed and not with the result." When Arjuna, the third son of king Pandu (dynasty name: Pandavas) is about to begin a war that became inevitable once his one hundred cousins belonging to the Kaurava dynasty refused to return even a few villages to the five Pandava brothers after their return from enforced exile, he looks at his cousins, uncles and friends standing on the other side of the battlefield and wonders whether he is morally prepared and justified in killing his blood relations even though it was he, along with his brother Bhima, who had courageously prepared for this war. Arjuna is certain that he would be victorious in this war since he has Lord Krishna (one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu) on his side. He is able to visualize the scene at the end of the battle; the dead bodies of his cousins lying on the battlefield, motionless and incapable of vengeance. It is then that he looses his nerve to fight.
Fisher, Mary Pat. "HINDUISM." Living Religions. 1991. Reprint. Upper Saddle River: Person Education, 2011. 73-120. Print.
While examining different religious paths within Hinduism from the perspective of four patterns of transcendence (ancestral, cultural, mythical and experiential) it is interesting to see how each pattern found its dominance over four segments of Hinduism: Vedic sacrifice, the way of action, the way of devotion and the way of knowledge.
The book is based on the conversation between Arjuna who was one of the greatest warrior of his time and Krishna who was a charioteer of Arjuna. Studying Bhagavad Gita teaches us about Dharma, Karma, reincarnation and salvation. Dharma is defined as duty and Karma is a belief that each and every action we do have consequences which has to be suffered by reincarnating through various lives. Bhagavad Gita informs us that Karma guarantees that every individual will be able to reap the benefits of his/her good work and have to suffer the consequences for the actions, good actions brings benefits whereas bad actions brings costs (Chatterjee). Taking base of the facts about Dharma, Karma, reincarnation, and salvation, the book teaches us to be wise and faithful with our duties. With an irony that salvation can only be attained by keeping track of Dharma, the book motivates us to rethink about the consequences of every action we take. This has helped developing good morality in individuals and has helped developing a better
The Hare Krishna movement can be described by using Ninian Smart's six dimensions of religion. This is a series of six different dimensions that are present in any religion. They are doctrinal, ethical, mythical, experiential, ritual, and social. Each dimension is different, but is a necessary part of religion. In this report I will discuss how the Hare Krishna movement falls into these categories, but first allow me to provide some background information.
Hinduism is regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion, but it’s also a way of life for much of India and Nepal. Unlike other religions, Hinduism allows and encourages multiple paths to the divine. There is no single founder and no single scripture, but is rather a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. They are often understood to be different means to reach a common end. But this acceptance of variety makes it difficult to identify religious tenets that are specifically Hindu. Still, there are some basic principles common to Hinduism that are essential to one's approach to life.
Thus the common man was presented with the puranas, itihas and mythology through the medium of enacting dramas. Soon artists took this old tradition on a larger platform i.e. to the place where the people of the bygone era used to meet frequently namely the temples. After yet another 100 years, the then kings, 'Maharajas' started using this art form as a means of entertainment. Earlier under the reign of the Hindu kings this art mainly consisted of describing the events and incidents occurring in the life of Lord Krishna right from his birth, adolescent, adulthood including his heroic deeds so as to connect with the common man and involved a lot of ‘Bhakti rasa’. But after the invasion of India by the Mughals. this scenario underwent a drastic change. The pious virtue of devotion was entirely eliminated and more of ‘Nazakhat’ as well as ‘Shrungar’ (Sensuousness and beauty) became a prominent part. Yet the end was good as some traditional people secretly protected the ancient art form and at the same time the Mughals also enriched Kathak by including new and varied movements, skills and items. Thus the cumulative result was that Kathak became an art wholly complete from all