Thinking, learning about Krishna
Krishna (Sanskrit: कृष्ण, IAST: Kṛṣṇa Sanskrit: [ˈkr̩ʂɳɐ]) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is widely revered among Hindu divinities. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar.
The anecdotes and narratives of Krishna's life are generally titled as Krishna Līlā. He is a central figure in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, and the Bhagavad Gita, and is mentioned in many Hindu philosophical, theological, and mythological texts. They portray him in various perspectives: as a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the universal supreme being. His iconography reflects these legends and shows him in different stages of his life, such as an infant eating butter, a young boy playing a flute, a handsome youth with Radha or surrounded by female devotees, or a friendly charioteer giving counsel to Arjuna.
The name and synonyms of Krishna have been traced to 1st millennium BCE literature and cults. In some sub-traditions, like Krishnaism, Krishna is worshipped as the Supreme God and Svayam Bhagavan (God Himself). These sub-traditions arose in the context of the medieval era Bhakti movement. Krishna-related literature has inspired numerous performance arts such as Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, and Manipuri dance. He is a pan-Hindu god, but is particularly revered in some locations, such as Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, Dwarka and Junagadh in Gujarat; the Jagannatha aspect in Odisha, Mayapur in West Bengal; in the form of Vithoba in Pandharpur, Maharashtra, Shrinathji at Nathdwara in Rajasthan, Udupi Krishna in Karnataka, Parthasarathy in Tamil Nadu, Aranmula and Guruvayoorappan (Guruvayoor) in Kerala.
Since the 1960s, the worship of Krishna has also spread to the Western world, largely due to the work of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
A wide range of theological and philosophical ideas are presented through Krishna in Hindu texts. The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita can be considered, according to Friedhelm Hardy, as the first Krishnaite system of theology.
Ramanuja, a Hindu theologian and philosopher whose works were influential in Bhakti movement, presented Krishna in terms of qualified monism, or nondualism (namely Vishishtadvaita school). Madhvacharya, a philosopher whose works led to the founding of Haridasa tradition of Vaishnavism, presented Krishna in the framework of dualism (Dvaita). Bhedabheda – a group of schools, which teaches that the individual self is both different and not different from the ultimate reality – predates the positions of monism and dualism. Among medieval Bhedabheda thinkers are Nimbarkacharya, who founded the Kumara Sampradaya (Dvaitadvaita philosophical school), and Jiva Goswami, a saint from Gaudiya Vaishnava school, who described Krishna theology in terms of Bhakti yoga and Achintya Bheda Abheda. Krishna theology is presented in a pure monism (Shuddhadvaita) framework by Vallabha Acharya, the founder of Pushti sect of Vaishnavism.
Madhusudana Sarasvati, an India philosopher, presented Krishna theology in nondualism-monism framework (Advaita Vedanta), while Adi Shankara, credited with unifying and establishing the main currents of thought in Hinduism, mentioned Krishna in his early eighth-century discussions on Panchayatana puja.
The Bhagavata Purana synthesizes an Advaita, Samkhya, and Yoga framework for Krishna, but it does so through loving devotion to Krishna.
Bryant describes the synthesis of ideas in Bhagavata Purana as:
The philosophy of the Bhagavata is a mixture of Vedanta terminology, Samkhyan metaphysics, and devotionalized Yoga praxis. (...) The tenth book promotes Krishna as the highest absolute personal aspect of godhead – the personality behind the term Ishvara and the ultimate aspect of Brahman.
—Edwin Bryant, Krishna: A Sourcebook
While Sheridan and Pintchman both affirm Bryant's view, the latter adds that the Vedantic view emphasized in the Bhagavata is non-dualist with a difference. In conventional nondual Vedanta, all reality is interconnected and one, the Bhagavata posits that the reality is interconnected and plural.
Across the various theologies and philosophies, the common theme presents Krishna as the essence and symbol of divine love, with human life and love as a reflection of the divine. The longing and love-filled legends of Krishna and the gopis, his playful pranks as a baby, as well as his later dialogues with other figures, are philosophically treated as metaphors for the human longing for the divine and for meaning, and the play between the universals and the human soul. Krishna's lila is a theology of love-play. According to John Koller, "love is presented not simply as a means to salvation, it is the highest life". Human love is God's love.
Other texts that include Krishna such as the Bhagavad Gita have attracted numerous bhasya (commentaries) in the Hindu traditions. Though only a part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita has functioned as an independent spiritual guide. It allegorically raises the ethical and moral dilemmas of human life through Krishna and Arjuna. It then presents a spectrum of answers, addressing the ideological questions on human freedoms, choices, and responsibilities towards self and others. This Krishna dialogue has attracted numerous interpretations, from being a metaphor for inner human struggle that teaches non-violence to being a metaphor for outer human struggle that advocates a rejection of quietism and persecution.
Madhusudana Sarasvati, known for his contributions to classical Advaita Vedanta, was also a devotee of Krishna and expressed his devotion in various verses within his works, notably in his Bhagavad Gita commentary, Bhagavad Gita Gudarthadipika. In his works, Krishna is identified as Supreme Deity and as Bhagavan, whom Madhusudana describes as nondual Self, embodying Being, Consciousness, and Bliss, the pure Existence underlying all. In his commentary on the Gita, Krishna is often interpreted as representing nirguna Brahman, thus presenting a transtheistic understanding of deity.
The anecdotes and narratives of Krishna's life are generally titled as Krishna Līlā. He is a central figure in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, and the Bhagavad Gita, and is mentioned in many Hindu philosophical, theological, and mythological texts. They portray him in various perspectives: as a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the universal supreme being. His iconography reflects these legends and shows him in different stages of his life, such as an infant eating butter, a young boy playing a flute, a handsome youth with Radha or surrounded by female devotees, or a friendly charioteer giving counsel to Arjuna.
The name and synonyms of Krishna have been traced to 1st millennium BCE literature and cults. In some sub-traditions, like Krishnaism, Krishna is worshipped as the Supreme God and Svayam Bhagavan (God Himself). These sub-traditions arose in the context of the medieval era Bhakti movement. Krishna-related literature has inspired numerous performance arts such as Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, and Manipuri dance. He is a pan-Hindu god, but is particularly revered in some locations, such as Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, Dwarka and Junagadh in Gujarat; the Jagannatha aspect in Odisha, Mayapur in West Bengal; in the form of Vithoba in Pandharpur, Maharashtra, Shrinathji at Nathdwara in Rajasthan, Udupi Krishna in Karnataka, Parthasarathy in Tamil Nadu, Aranmula and Guruvayoorappan (Guruvayoor) in Kerala.
Since the 1960s, the worship of Krishna has also spread to the Western world, largely due to the work of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
A wide range of theological and philosophical ideas are presented through Krishna in Hindu texts. The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita can be considered, according to Friedhelm Hardy, as the first Krishnaite system of theology.
Ramanuja, a Hindu theologian and philosopher whose works were influential in Bhakti movement, presented Krishna in terms of qualified monism, or nondualism (namely Vishishtadvaita school). Madhvacharya, a philosopher whose works led to the founding of Haridasa tradition of Vaishnavism, presented Krishna in the framework of dualism (Dvaita). Bhedabheda – a group of schools, which teaches that the individual self is both different and not different from the ultimate reality – predates the positions of monism and dualism. Among medieval Bhedabheda thinkers are Nimbarkacharya, who founded the Kumara Sampradaya (Dvaitadvaita philosophical school), and Jiva Goswami, a saint from Gaudiya Vaishnava school, who described Krishna theology in terms of Bhakti yoga and Achintya Bheda Abheda. Krishna theology is presented in a pure monism (Shuddhadvaita) framework by Vallabha Acharya, the founder of Pushti sect of Vaishnavism.
Madhusudana Sarasvati, an India philosopher, presented Krishna theology in nondualism-monism framework (Advaita Vedanta), while Adi Shankara, credited with unifying and establishing the main currents of thought in Hinduism, mentioned Krishna in his early eighth-century discussions on Panchayatana puja.
The Bhagavata Purana synthesizes an Advaita, Samkhya, and Yoga framework for Krishna, but it does so through loving devotion to Krishna.
Bryant describes the synthesis of ideas in Bhagavata Purana as:
The philosophy of the Bhagavata is a mixture of Vedanta terminology, Samkhyan metaphysics, and devotionalized Yoga praxis. (...) The tenth book promotes Krishna as the highest absolute personal aspect of godhead – the personality behind the term Ishvara and the ultimate aspect of Brahman.
—Edwin Bryant, Krishna: A Sourcebook
While Sheridan and Pintchman both affirm Bryant's view, the latter adds that the Vedantic view emphasized in the Bhagavata is non-dualist with a difference. In conventional nondual Vedanta, all reality is interconnected and one, the Bhagavata posits that the reality is interconnected and plural.
Across the various theologies and philosophies, the common theme presents Krishna as the essence and symbol of divine love, with human life and love as a reflection of the divine. The longing and love-filled legends of Krishna and the gopis, his playful pranks as a baby, as well as his later dialogues with other figures, are philosophically treated as metaphors for the human longing for the divine and for meaning, and the play between the universals and the human soul. Krishna's lila is a theology of love-play. According to John Koller, "love is presented not simply as a means to salvation, it is the highest life". Human love is God's love.
Other texts that include Krishna such as the Bhagavad Gita have attracted numerous bhasya (commentaries) in the Hindu traditions. Though only a part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita has functioned as an independent spiritual guide. It allegorically raises the ethical and moral dilemmas of human life through Krishna and Arjuna. It then presents a spectrum of answers, addressing the ideological questions on human freedoms, choices, and responsibilities towards self and others. This Krishna dialogue has attracted numerous interpretations, from being a metaphor for inner human struggle that teaches non-violence to being a metaphor for outer human struggle that advocates a rejection of quietism and persecution.
Madhusudana Sarasvati, known for his contributions to classical Advaita Vedanta, was also a devotee of Krishna and expressed his devotion in various verses within his works, notably in his Bhagavad Gita commentary, Bhagavad Gita Gudarthadipika. In his works, Krishna is identified as Supreme Deity and as Bhagavan, whom Madhusudana describes as nondual Self, embodying Being, Consciousness, and Bliss, the pure Existence underlying all. In his commentary on the Gita, Krishna is often interpreted as representing nirguna Brahman, thus presenting a transtheistic understanding of deity.
