Krishna Vs Brahma-Tale of Self Realization

Title of this blog might confuse you. Why? Because Brahma is an ardent devotee of God almighty and he can’t even in his wildest dream think of doing anything which can desecrate  Narayan. But the fact is that it happened once.
But it was not a fight using arms and weaponry. It was something beyond that. It was a case of self realization. It was a case of knowing what we are and what or who actually God is.
So without much delay, I would start the story.
It was the time when Lord Krishna was on earth living in land of Braj. He would play everyday with his friends while taking his cows and calves out for grazing. He was a small kid and was normal in his life with no pomp and show of his prowess.
One day, Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe, heard about Krishna and that Krishna is none other than God himself. He also got to know that Krishna has recently killed a demon in the form of a huge python named Aghasur.
Brahma knew the power of Aghasur and hence thought that it’s impossible for any human to kill Aghasur, he’s too powerful for even demigods. So definitely this cowherd boy Krishna has deceived the innocent people of Braj and is making them fool. He, now decided to test Krishna and wanted to teach him a lesson. Here we can see how ignorant a person can get in his power and superiority.
Anyways, Brahma came to earth. He witnessed that Krishna was eating and playing with cowherd boys. Krishna was eating from their hands and was feeding them with his.

Brahma’s notion got strengthened that God almighty can’t do such immature activities. God-who’s formless, who’s beyond understanding-can not play in mud like this. God can’t play with these dirty village boys who are from poor families, who are dirty and who are not suitable to feed God from their hands. How can it happen that God who can’t be obtained or understood by penance and meditation of millions of years by sages is eating and playing with these illiterate village cowherd boys. Brahma, hence, in order to teach Krishna a lesson, stole all the calves when they went far while grazing.

When Krishna and friends realized that calves have gone too far and Krishna assured them that he’ll bring them back soon and went away, Brahma stole the cowherd boys as well after sedating them with his power and he took both  calves and cowherd boys with him to his Brahma lok (the planet or residence of Brahma).
Krishna, when couldn’t find calves and returned, witnessed that his friends were missing as well.
He didn’t even take time to realize what has happened and who’s done this act because he knows everything happened or not happened.

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He simply produced all the cowherd boys along with calves from his body. They emanated from his body duplicating the real cowherd boys and calves. Now let’s understand that Brahma’s one day is equal to 4.32 billion years of humans so we can understand that despite of the fact that Brahma went to his lok or his place and kept the stolen boys and calves and came back with a speed much more than the speed of light within a fraction of his second, a year was passed here on earth. Meanwhile, here on earth, mothers of all boys as well as mother cows of calves were happy playing with their boys and calves with utmost affection and love.

This affection was not only because they were with their children but also due to the fact that those children were actually forms of Krishna emanated from his body and since those mothers of boys and mother cows always loved Krishna and wanted to adore him as their child or actually adored him as their child, they were elated and their happiness knew no bounds.
On the other hand, when Brahma came back to earth, what he beheld was enough to bewilder him completely. He observed that Krishna, like any other day, was having his lunch in the forest with his friends he(Brahma) had just now stolen. Calves also were grazing nearby.

Brahma couldn’t believe his eyes and got extremely baffled. He used his divine vision and observed that stolen boys and calves were still in his lok-sleeping. He again looked at Krishna and friends and calves.

Completely perplexed, Brahma meditated on God and prayed to him to give him vision and knowledge to know the truth. Lord or God almighty is none other than Krishna and hence he showed him the truth. Brahma saw that all the cowherd boys and calves were actually Lord Vishnu with four hands and extreme lustrous and glittering persona.

Brahma plunged in the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. He had realized his blunder mistake. He apologized. Within a moment, there were thousands of Brahmas around Krishna. Some of them had 10 heads, some had 100, some had 1000 and so on.

To Brahma’s amazement, Krishna explained him that he is Brahma or creator of just one universe; there are infinite universes or there are multiverses in reality.

Krishna told Brahma that since Brahma was under the impression that he’s the only creator, he had summoned other Brahmas so that he could see and realise the truth and reality. Within a moment all Brahmas returned back to their respective universes as Krishna asked them to do so.

Brahma of this universe apologized and Krishna forgave him. All the real boys and calves were returned by Brahma and those emanated from Lord got dissolved in him.
Brahma offered his obeisance in the lotus feet of Lord and praised his glory and extolled his virtues and all powerful yet most merciful personality and returned back to his Brahma lok or residence.

All friends reunited with Krishna and they all started playing again. Everything in Vrindavan was same again.

I believe that all the pastimes of Lord Krishna we hear or read about are not just a playful act but they have a meaning hidden behind to teach us enumerous valuable lessons of life.
Similarly, this story is not just the story of Brahma’s self realization. It’s the story to preach us to rise above issues like caste, societal status, financial background etc. of the people around us and to give respect to all because God has created all of us- living or non living and he loves us all equally the way Krishna loved all creatures and all his friends negating any factor such as their caste or financial status or physical appearance or any such thing. It is to teach us that no matter how much unlimited power we possess, we can not change what god wants or can’t challenge his creation or rules of nature.
It is God’s notion to preach us to respect his creation without being conceited of one’s power or abilities because that is something God only has given us and it’s all going to get dissolved in him one day except our karmas and our virtues.

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Ways to cope with stress and live happily!

1. Every problem has a solution and everyone has a problem- Everyone has problems. Literally everyone has problems, big or small. I have come across many articles and blogs telling how to cope with them and be happy. But there are some points I have not seen in many articles or maybe I didn’t come across articles having such points.

I would like to share those points with this piece of writing and I hope it will help those who are in need of it.

2. Avoid when you can- First thing first, many problems which we consider a big one are AVOIDABLE. Yes you read it right. many problems can be avoided in life but what do we do with them? we stick to them, keep on thinking about them and ruin our present for either past or for something which has no importance in life.
Example- break ups, or something “i should not have done”, “why someone commented on me?”, “why some kept garbage on my table?”, etc. The moment we start avoiding these things and start thinking about the things and people we HAVE in life, we feel rejuvenated, fresh and very much relieved.

3. Treasure what you HAVE- See what you have and not what you DON’T HAVE. Its right to be progressive in life but thinking about someone else’s palace, we should not ruin the peace and tranquility of our small but sweet home. Just look around. So many people don’t have many things that we have. Be thankful to the god if you believe in him or be thankful to your life for bestowing upon you things that you have.

Some people don’t have mother or father; some don’t have own house; some are not economically very strong; some don’t get to have an education; some don’t even have clothes to cover body and some do not even have basic necessities like water , transportation etc. But if we have anything mentioned above-even one- or anything alike; we should consider ourselves lucky because many people out there have nothing of them but still they are living happily or at least struggling with day to day life without complaining.

5. Learn to forgive- Ramayan, Gita, Quran, Bible- all the religious texts and all the religions teaches us to forgive others. Even if you do not believe in religion or god, just imagine how peaceful and serene life would be if you forgive others who did wrong to you.

Do not tolerate wrong acts but if you are losing your temper and mental peace just because you cant forgive someone in life, then try and forgive and you would definitely see a change in your life and will also feel a change within yourself.

6. Change your perception- Its the perception which makes us act or react in life in many situations. Problems are sometimes not as big as we think they are. Its just the perception in our minds which makes them big or small. Any problem might be as small as our assignments once were when we were in school but today they seem to be nothing.

Same way, all problems can be small if you have will power and you are optimistic. Remember the line from famous TV show-“Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah”- Problems to hain sabke paas, bas najariye ki hai baat.

7. Think big- We are humans, the greatest creation of nature; the greatest creation according to many religious texts. No problem can be bigger than our strength. We all are individuals, we have an individual identity and importance. Don’t think yourself to be less than anything or anyone, even if you have any disability- physical, mental, emotional or any other.

We are born with a motive and we all are potential winners of battles of life.

8. Problems are our best friends- Yes you read it right because they make us what we become. Remember a diamond needs to be polished and then it becomes precious. An arrow needs to be pulled BACK to go FAR. A ball goes higher only when it is thrown with greater force on ground. Milk needs to be churned to get butter and that too both clockwise and anti-clockwise.

Similarly we also need to have both goods and bads to have a nectar of life and to have a complete life.

9. Give happiness- Happiness is like shouting in a cave or in hills. The more we shout and that too in louder voice; the more it comes back with much intensity. Similarly if we give happiness to others-even small-it comes back to us in any other form and also much more than you gave.

Besides, it gives us the peace and mental satisfaction which we can’t buy with money.

10. Life gives second chance- We all get a second chance in life. Be it god, destiny or nature- they always provide us with a second chance. So there is no place in our life for pessimism or there is no need to think of our self as a loser.
No failure is ultimate, there is always a successful achievement hidden behind it.

11. Life means happiness- At last I would like to share that I have tried all these things in life and am still trying. I am not too old to see all the problems of life but I have seen ups and downs and that too major ones. I tried these ways when I faced depression and when I had chaos and tensions in life. But I feel I am blessed to come up with these points and I hope it will help the readers who need them and who practice them.

12. Be happy this moment…this moment is life- Do not forget that we are a part of this infinite creation and our problems can never be too big. Trust yourself and remember friends that YOU are- WE are- an important PART of this huge creation and we make this creation complete else we would not be here. Remember that this very moment is happiness, live this moment, it is a gift and that is probably the reason it is called a present. Be happy, live life. 🙂

Who was Radha? What happened to her when Krishna left?

Tomorrow is Radha-ashtami or birthday of Radha and that’s why I’m republishing this blog telling all about consort of Shri Krishna. Enjoy😊😊😊

We all have seen Radha along with shree Krishna in so many temples and know that they are the embodiment of love and the purest form of love. We know that they are divine lovers but many of us do not know who Radha was and what happened to her after Krishna left Nandgaon. Did Krishna meet him after he left Nandgaon? How did she leave the earth? All these questions are very ambiguous and are not very clear to everyone. So who was Radha and how did she come on this earth and why? Actually the reason of this doubt is that there is very less or no information we have in our mythological texts or Puranas about Radha. Yes it is true. Radha has not been mentioned in any of the major religious texts such as Mahabharata or Padma Purana or Shrimad Bhagvatam, or Harivansha. All these books cover the life of shree Krishna and every aspect of his never ending charming personality. But there is no mention of Radha in any of these books. Now this is a shocking fact that we get no evidence as to who Radha was or was there any village girl named Radha who ever existed or not?

The first time when Radha is mentioned in the texts is when Jayadev wrote about her in Geet govind and also when Nimbaark sect (founded by Nimbaarkacharya) started preaching people about her. Before this era Radha was not worshipped with Krishna in any temple. Now the question arises here is that why such an injustice with the prime consort of the lord. The village cowherd girl Radha who lived only for Krishna, whose life and soul everything was dedicated to Krishna has not been mentioned in these prime texts. Radha is though mentioned in Brahma Vaivart Purana but very scarcely and it is not mentioned what happened to her after Krishna left for Mathura. So why Radha was not mentioned before Jayadev or Nimbaarkacharya? Or why she has no detailed description in Brahma Vaivart Purana? Answer is unknown and we probably won’t get to know these answers but let’s talk about what happened actually to Radha and who was she actually?

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According to Brahma Vaivart Purana, once in the Golok (The world or lok of Krishna where it is said he lives with all his Gopa Gopis and Radha and all his lovers), Sudama, friend of Krishna went to meet Krishna but Radha stopped him and barred him from meeting Krishna. Furious Sudama cursed shri Radha that she would be forced to take birth in the mortal form on earth and she will have to bear the pain of separation from shri Krishna because she has caused him pain by separating him from his beloved lord and friend. Knowing all this, lord Krishna ordered Radha to take birth on earth. On his orders, Radha took birth on this earth. The story of Radha’s birth is equally interesting. It was the month of Bhado (months of august and September), ashtami of Shukla Paksha (eighth day of the waxing moon), Anuradha Nakshatra and time was 12 noon when Radha appeared in this world. Radha was born to the chieftain of the village of Barsana, Vrishbhanu and his wife Kirti. Some say that her mother’s name was Kamlavati. Again it is doubtful because of lack of information regarding Radharani.
Radha’s birthplace is Rawal, a small village around 10 kilometers away from Mathura city. It is said that one day Vrishbhanu was bathing in a river when he saw a lotus which had thousands of petals and it looked like golden lotus in the light of sun and when it came closer, he saw a small baby girl inside that flower. He wanted a baby girl so took her and brought her up as his own daughter. Some also say that Radha in the form of wind entered the womb of wife of Vrishbhanu and took birth in their home as an extremely beautiful daughter. The place where she took birth is now the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple in Rawal. Radha is believed to be eleven months elder to shri Krishna and being the divine lover of shri Krishna, she didn’t open her eyes till she beheld the beautiful face of lord Krishna. Vrishbhanu and his wife were very upset and were under the impression that the girl was blind. After eleven months, when Vrishbhanu with his family went to Gokul to see Nandbaba then Radha opened her eyes for the first time to look at the magnificently beautiful and charming face of her lord her life and soul, bal(baby) krishna. She wanted to see his face on opening her eyes for the first time and that was the reason she never opened it till she saw his face. Radha and Krishna loved each other more than anyone else. Places and people near vrindavan and Mathura still recite the grand saga of their love.
Barsana, a place where Vrishbhanu lived with his family after Radha’s birth is one of the most visited places on the land of braj. Barsana has become a synonym for Radharani. It is the place where she was brought up. This is the place where the goddess of love, the prime and divine consort of the lord of all the worlds lived. Here she is called Laadli ji (which means excessively adored and loved). Few kilometers away is Gahvar van where she would meet Krishna and they would spend hours together in the mood of love. Krishna would also adorn and decorate her hair with flowers here in Gahvar van. Their love bloomed on the land of vrindavan which is believed to be the heart of Radharani and the most blessed land in the braj. They performed many leelas here not to forget the Maha-raas leela on the banks of Yamuna. But then came the time when the curse of Sudama started taking the shape. Krishna was about to leave for Mathura to kill Kamsa. Before leaving, Krishna made her give him her word that she would not cry once he is away from her. Radha, heartbroken and completely devastated, made the promise that she would not cry and won’t shed the tears.

Krishna told her that her love is unconditional and he will be indebted to her till the end of time and the land of braj will always be known as her place and everyone would chant her name instead of Krishna and we can see today that people in vrindavan or braj say radhe radhe while talking or greeting others. Even rickshaw-wallahs here say radhe radhe to people while riding on the way asking to give the way for rickshaw. Every house or tree in vrindavan has radha’s name written on its wall or trunk.

Such was radha’s devotion and pain that Krishna granted her a boon that her name would be taken before that of his.
The doomed day arrived and Krishna left for Mathura. Now it is not mentioned anywhere in the texts what happened to her after this incident. It is believed that Radha had now become just like a lifeless body. Her face which once looked like a beautiful lotus had now become like a faded flower. Her complexion which resembled molten gold was now black like that of Yamuna. She would now wander in vrindavan and other places where she had spent time with Krishna living in memories. She would ask everyone where her Krishna is and when is he coming back. There is also a famous incident of her asking the bumblebee if she had brought a message from Krishna.

People considered her mentally unsound because of her actions but they could not see the immense pain of separation that she was going through.

Her pain was known only to other Gopis who felt that same pain. They revered Radha like they revered Krishna. Radha would not do any shringaar (make-up) now. She wouldn’t comb her hair, won’t wear jewelry, and won’t have flowers in her hair. Her face which once looked like full moon now looked as that of a waned one. However there is no story of Krishna returning to vrindavan.

There is a story that once all the Gopa and Gopis went to Kurukshetra for holy bath on an ocassion of solar eclipse and shri Krishna was also there with his wives and his whole clan. There, Krishna and Radha were face to face with each other but didn’t say a word to each other. Radha witnessed how happy Krishna’s wives and his people were and didn’t want to disturb their peace so kept silence. Her eyes could not hold her emotions and shed tears profusely. Krishna was also in pain more than ever to see Radha like this when he couldn’t express his emotions for the girl he had loved the most in his life, probably more than his wives. Radha satisfied herself that no matter how much happiness Krishna’s wives had from him, but his pain of separation was only for her. His smile was for his wives but his tears were for her only.
There is another interesting story which tells that Radha went to Krishna’s palace and Krishna’s wives after knowing her love and devotion for Krishna tried to test it out of some feeling of jealousy. They served her with the hottest food and asked her to eat. Radha without any hesitation and problem ate the food. Everyone was shocked and when Krishna’s wives went to see Krishna, they witnessed that his feet were all burnt severely. Reason was quite clear. Radha always had Krishna’s lotus feet in her mind and while thinking about his feet, she could not feel the hotness of food but Krishna’s feet got burnt. But these stories are not mentioned in major mythological texts. But people and folklore say that she bore separation from Krishna for 125 years.
Now there are many beliefs as to what happened to her at the end. One belief says that when Krishna was leaving the earth for Golok, then before leaving himself, he summoned a divine aircraft which took all the brijwasis and Radha to his lok-Golok. Another belief is that he played his flute with his most melodious tune he had ever played for Radha and Radha came in front of him immediately and then merged in his body forever- from where she had originally come as many stories say that she came out of Krishna’s body’s left part. May be there are many other beliefs also in many parts of the world that we don’t know. Radha once asked krishna in Golok whom does he love the most, and krishna told her philosophically that he is free from all the emotions and loves everyone yet doesn’t love anyone. To this she asked about herself, to which Krishna smiled and said that you and I are same and inseparable so how can I love myself. In the same way when she asked him why didn’t he marry her? He said how could he marry her because love and marriage needs two people but they are one.
On the contrary, there IS a story of Radha Krishna marriage. It is said that Radha and Krishna married secretly at a place called Bhandirvan few kilometers from vrindavan. Lord Brahma acted as the priest in this marriage and also did Kanyadaan of Shri Radha ji.
These are some other stories also about Radha and how she lived on this earth. We do not know why she never got mentioned in Mahabharata or Shrimad Bhagvatam or any other religious book but what she did for her love is something we can never forget till the end of time. Her sacrifice made her bigger than even lord Krishna. She is the Hladni Shakti (pleasure potency) of lord Krishna. She is inseparable from Krishna and we all are indebted to her. All the humanity is indebted to her because if she hadn’t allowed Krishna to leave vrindavan, Krishna out of the bond of love could never leave for Mathura and could never complete the tasks which he had to complete on this earth. He could not make this earth evil and corruption free and could not establish a righteous society with Pandavas. It is true that Krishna is incomplete without her and can never create the infinite universes without Radha. Radha’s pain is matchless; no one can worship or regard Krishna without Radha. She got lost in the pages of history and mythology may be because she was an ordinary, simple, village cowherd girl unlike goddess Rukmini who is an incarnation of goddess Lakshmi; may be because among those grand and formidable characters of Mahabharata, she was too simple and ordinary to be mentioned. But love and sacrifice of Radha is too big to be ignored or lost in history. The love and sacrifice of this simple village girl is bigger than anyone. No matter how much we debate about her existence, Shrimati Radharani is the base of love and devotion, she is an epitome of devotion, sacrifice and unconditional love and no doubt that’s why we love her so much with lord Krishna and can’t stop chanting her name and worshipping her with our beloved Lord Shri Krishna.

Hey friends, I have written my debut novel, “The Monsoon Marigolds”! read it and show me some love! 🙂 It will be very special for me!