Lord Krishna and Hindu heritage

Like the deities of the Hindu pantheon, the festivals are numerous and frequent, but basically religious, and psychologically and intimately connected with the change of seasons, though many of them have lost the history of their origin in the mists of hoary past. With the passage of time they have undergone a process of transformation and evolution and many new festivals have been grafted upon the old ones.

The Hindu festivals, fasts, rituals, holy baths and the observance of sacred days are part and parcel of the great cultural heritage of Indian civilisation. They are religious and social and a great source of spiritual and moral enrichment. They also lend zest, variety, colour and grandeur to an otherwise insipid, routine and care-worn day-to-day human existence. A Hindu festival is generally characterised by rituals like fasting, ablution, prayer, worship, austerity, vigil, vows, offerings and such other activities of piety and devotion. A Hindu festival is, in fact, something more than a 'festival'. It is cathartic in nature, and as a means of purification strengthens the spirit within. The goal is to find enjoyment through renunciation and self-denial. It is more an exploration of the colourful things of life, without being bound to or obsessed by them.

The Hindu culture and tradition does not derive from any one founder. It has neither a uniform creed nor any organised church. Its history and prehistory seem ageless. There is a single 'reality', but it has many forms and names in relation to its multifarious functions, attributes, aspects and the fulfilment sought from it by the seeker. The same 'reality' becomes' Brahma in its creative aspect, Vishnu in preservation, Shiva in dissolution, Laxmi or Sri in benignity, Kali or Durga in fierce female energy and so on. What Lord Krishna says through the Gita is the very same thing -- 'I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, the oblation, and the herb. I am the prayer and melted butter, the fire and its offering-- even those who are devotees of other gods if they worship with faith, are sacrificing to me alone, though not adhering to the rule.'

Hinduism encompasses an entire civilisation and way of life that has evolved since the dawn of human civilisation. The Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata play an important role in the development and practice of Hinduism. These, the ancient holy scriptures of the world, uphold the eternal truth of the eternal existence of the supreme Lord. 'Owing to the eternal will to communicate God descends on earth to reunite His joyful self with His created beings.' Essentially God manifests Himself in human form to crush and annihilate worldly vices and revive eternal values. Lord Krishna has bound Himself to man and in that consists the greatest glory of human existence. He came down with His full divine manifestations and raised human civilisation to a celestial plane.

Thus came Sri Gauranga and brought a heavenly unification of mankind irrespective of caste creed and races. The Bhakti movement of that time, espousing whole hearted devotion to God in one aspect or another, opened up what was previously esoteric knowledge and practice for large numbers of people. Means were made available for everyone to realise God, with no conflict between knowledge and practice.

There are a number of ways to achieve salvation and spiritual evolution. The Upanishads advocate the path of knowledge and wisdom. Bhakti or devotion is another path, which is far more easy, smooth and open to the masses. In Bhakti the worldly life is not considered an obstacle. Bhakti is based on and inspired by both love and reverence towards the object of devotion -- God. A devotee craves for the divine grace and in order to attain it, indulges in worship, prayer, chanting His names, praising His glory, fasting, and many such ritual observances. The Bhakta maintains a passionate relation with the godhead, whom he considers the sole immanent reality. For him he is father, mother, brother, friend, beloved, family, refuge, teacher, master, -- an omnipotent confidant.

Sri Krishna focused on the unity of religions. His Gita is a deep reservoir of knowledge.

There is also a wide range of spiritual disciplines and practice, such as: Karma-yoga, Bhakti-yoga, Raja-yoga and Tantra. These disciplines are significant to Hindus as well as beneficial to all of humanity. The meanings and intention of the Gita have historically found elaboration and explication in the smritis, the two great epics and various major and minor Puranas. Sri Krishna attracts all beings towards Himself so that they may realise the depth of His infinite mercy and love. He maintains an existence of concrete bliss: The entity of the creatures of the cosmos is part and percel of the Lord. There is a chronological order in the manifestation of the supreme being.

We know that festivals, ceremonies and rituals are integrating and uniting force in the Hindu tradition. Pilgrimages and temples play the same role. There is a huge literature of stories, mythologies and legends that affect the imaginative man. There is also integration at the conceptual level. At this level, many systems of philosophy are developed. The classical philosophies like Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta come under this category. Again, there is no conflict over holding the single, universal truth, rather each system is recognised and respected by the other.

All gods and goddesses are translations of Brahma. Krishna is the most perfect as such of pure Brahma in the human experience. We can talk about Krishna, meditate on Krishna, love Krishna and dedicate our lives to Him. In this universe nothing parallels Krishna. We living beings possess a mortal body and immortal soul, but His body and soul are both immortal. His Gita attempts to bring about a synthesis of existence. This book has attracted the interest of the philosopher as much as have the aphorisms of the Vedanta. Almost all of the great Vedantists have some commentary on this little book of seven hundred stanzas. Apart from the Vedanta philosophy, there exists other systems of thought as said earlier. These systems of thought are not in any sense in serious disagreement with the Vedanta. An attempt has been made to bring about a synthesis of all systems of thought by the Puranas. They are semi-philosophical works, eighteen of them, attributed by tradition to one person, Vyasa. The most outstanding of these Puranas is the Srimad Bhagavada which itself is considered as commentary of the Vedanta. In this book have been fused all the great system of Hindu philosophic thought with wonderful genius and skill.

Prem Ranjan Dev is President of Bangladesh National Hindu Council