Krishna’s identity

[1]

Raji P. Shrivastava [1]

Krishna is many things to many people: He is the naughty butter-thief of Gokul, the apple of the eye of his mother Yashoda and the object of the adoration of the gopis in Vrindavan. He is the slayer of a long list of demons, evil strongmen and tyrannical rulers. He is the king of Dwarka and the secret sweetheart of Rukmini. He is a friend and guide to the Pandavas and the saviour of Draupadi.

But Krishna is more than the sum of the myths and legends about him. In the very first verse of the Shrimad Bhagavat-mahatmyam of the Padma Purana, there is a reference to the grandeur of Krishna: “We sing of the glory of Krishna who is truth, consciousness and bliss (sat-chit-aananda-roopa). He is responsible for the creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe (vishvotpatyaadi hetave).
In his battlefield advice to Arjuna, Krishna expounds on the supreme knowledge that perfects, ennobles and liberates: “For creatures of every species, Nature is the conceiving mother and I am the seed-giving father.”(14:4, Shrimad Bhagavad Gita)
Krishna bestows the vishva-roop darshan or a vision of his magnificent form on a dazzled Arjuna and tells him that the light that powers the sun, the moon and even fire, owes its radiance to Him. (15:12). Krishna is the core controller of the hearts of all living creatures (sarvasya chaaham hrdi sannivishto). He is the sum total of all knowledge enshrined in the Vedas and is completely beyond the perishable. He is superior even to the indestructible soul (Jivatma): this is why he is known in the Vedas as the Purushotam or the Supreme Being.
“Just as the rain that falls from the skies eventually meets the ocean, prayers offered to every deity ultimately reach Shri Krishna.” (sarva deva namaskaara keshavam prati gacchati)
To the man (Arjuna) on the verge of collapse, Krishna extends the boon of clarity, confidence and courage: matchitta sarva durgaani matprasaadaat tarishyashi (18:58): “Fix your mind on me; by my grace, you shall overcome all troubles.”
Krishna clearly says, “Be devoted to Me, offer worship and obeisance to Me — in this way, you will come to Me alone, I promise you, for you are exceptionally dear to Me.” In Kaliyug where vice and suffering are in the ascendant, the struggling human needs an icon who will say to him, “…take refuge in me alone, I shall liberate you from all sins.” (18:65, 66)
The awesomeness of Krishna is underlined in the Bhagavad Gita, too, by his all-encompassing, ever-comforting reassurance, “ma shuchah” or “Worry not!”