Living a Complete Life is the Legacy of Krishna
Shri Krishna cannot be understood in percentages. He has to be known completely. Anything less and you will miss everything about Krishna. He was a lover, statesman, politician, warrior, Sage, friend, Dancer, Artist and Pacifist. At least those are the dimensions that we can see. But when he was asked by Arjun as to who he was, he chose to equate himself to everything in the creation. “I am All”, he said!
Depending on their tendencies, people – devotees and even Sages – have chosen to concentrate on one or few dimensions of Krishna. But knowing limited dimensions of him is to not know Krishna at all. He is the existence and life itself. You cannot say that I will live only 50% of my life today. You either live or you don’t. One cannot live in percentages. Similarly, you cannot understand Krishna in a few dimensions and leave out others. So, if Krishna has to be accepted, he has to be accepted in full. That is the greatness of Krishna and the difficulty in understanding him.
The holistic nature of Krishna is also reflected in the holistic nature of Bhagwad Gita itself. Very few Sages have gone beyond perfecting one Yoga. A Jnana Yogi who has reached the highest state can credibly share the journey as he took on that path. A Bhakti Yogi can discuss credibly about the power of devotion. But in no other case, has anyone been able to discuss all the four Yogas – Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, and Raja – like Krishna did. His discussion is not intellectual, but that of a Realized Being. Living life in complete intensity and clarity is an essential part to understand Krishna and his message.
कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः।
स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु स युक्तः कृत्स्नकर्मकृत्॥४-१८॥
In this verse, Krishna says one who see Akarma (lack of Karma) in performance of Karma and Karma in not performance of Karma, is the real wise person. When one sees no Karma is being performed in every and any Karma, then one can freely attempt and do everything completely. Inaction, on the other hand, does not mean lack of Karma. Instead, meaningless inaction adds to one’s Karma.
The body and mind are nothing but instruments and repositories of Karma. There is nothing more to them and nothing less. To utilize these two instruments to the fullest yet knowing that these are but tools in “your” hands and not “you” is the point of realization.
Realization of unattached Karma and the primacy of the underlying “Chetna” or Consciousness leads one to perform all actions with complete passion without hesitation. That is the central theme of Krishna and his life. Complete Holistic life.
Beyond the material body is the energy state of our existence. If at the sub atomic level, everything is energy, then we are nothing more than energy states. Somewhere at the grosser level we manifest the body. This is the Physical fact. Biological fact does not see the non-material energy state existence. It deals only with material.
When one dies biologically, one dies physically. But at the energy level, what dies? That is the difference between Shareer (Body) and Shareeri (Atman). What is material (biological) can die. But that which is non-material (Energy state) cannot die. It is the same through the entire existence.
Violence and non-violence in material terms are of biological nature. At the energy level there is no violence nor non-violence.
Morals and convictions are for the material. At the energy levels there are no morals. To go beyond the Sattvik, Tamasik and the Rajas – the good, bad and neutral is to live as a liberated being.
Such a state does not come by living in percentages but from a life lived in its entirety. That is Krishna’s greatest legacy.